Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

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The moment Kona appeared, she locked onto the tiny purple figure standing frozen on the spatial fragment.

Roar! ! !
A destructive roar, mixed with the scalding smell of sulfur and the awe-inspiring shockwave of the dragon's might, exploded like a billion tons of dynamite in Hayden's ears.

The violent sonic waves instantly destroyed Hayden's protective magical barrier and spellcasting awareness.

Kona did not use the dragon's most common attack, dragon breath.

Its attacks are more direct.

The head, larger than a battering ram, swung violently toward Hayden with an absolute brute force capable of shattering mountains.

Boom!
A dull thud, so loud it could stop your heart from beating, echoed across the ring.

Hayden Costa's tiny body, along with the spatial fragment beneath his feet, looked like a piece of paper thrown into a furnace.

Before he could even let out a final scream, he was thrown against the protective shield surrounding the arena by unimaginable force, his fate unknown.

Asuna took a deep breath, suppressing the last surging dragon blood within her body.

She gently tucked a strand of hair, blown by the heat and clinging to her cheek, behind her ear, and calmly awaited the referee's announcement:
"The winner is Duchess Asuna Iliad of Efein, the Red Dragon."

After a moment of silence, the Imperial Arena erupted in a frenzied roar like a tsunami.

The audience's blood was boiling, not only because their beloved female warrior had turned the tide of battle against all odds.

It was also because they witnessed the most primal, savage, and visually striking absolute power crushing everything in their path.

The dragon's unreasonable, close-range, destructive strike perfectly matched the human bloodline's worship and fear of primordial beasts.

Effie waved his flag wildly, a mixture of excitement at witnessing the display of supreme power and an instinctive fear of that destructive force.

Compared to the bustling audience, the contestants' rest area was much quieter.

Whether it's the host "Arcane Knight" Joren Wertheimer, "War Priest" Kazimir August, or the most popular player before the start of the competition, Jinlunga Cox of the Southern Empire.

They were all silently replaying the events that had just transpired on the arena in their minds.

If I were in the same situation as Hayden, facing the red dragon's close-range attack, would I have been able to dodge it?
Can I stop it?

As a sorcerer carefully trained by a great empire, Hayden's strength was not much different from that of Joren and the others. The fact that his opponent was defeated so miserably cast a shadow over Joren and the others.

They originally thought their biggest rival would be the mysterious King Efein, but in the end, this woman, who was rumored to have been made a duke because she climbed into His Majesty's bed, already put them under immense pressure.

The atmosphere in the VIP section was equally bizarre, especially among Heisenberg Wertheimer, the first in the House of Nobles.

He hadn't forgotten that Cohen was aiming for the Dragon Plane, a legacy passed down through generations of the Noble Academy, to build a dragon legion for this dragon-riding warrior.

Heisenberg had previously scoffed at this idea.

To assemble a dragon legion—how arrogant!
This kind of thing only happens during the war between gods and demons.

Dragons are proud, untamable, and even incomprehensible ultimate supernatural beings. A single dragon-riding warrior is already one in ten thousand, let alone an entire legion... how is that possible?

However, given the opponent's demonstrated powerful control and compatibility with dragons at the Silver rank, it might actually be possible to...

Heisenberg clenched his fists, a fear even more real than when he murdered the king, like a cold, venomous snake, tightly coiling around the heart of the chief of the House of Nobles.

……

With Asuna's victory over Hayden, and including Cohen, who received a bye in the second round, a total of thirteen players advanced to the third round.

This time, one person still needs to have a bye.

As everyone gazed at the "Mirror of the Sky," boos erupted throughout the hall after the draw results were announced.

Because the bye spot was given to Cohen again.

This left many viewers who wanted to see Cohen's match feeling like they had been completely fooled.

In the viewing area of ​​Effie, Melanie chuckled and said:

"Are the people of the Central Empire afraid that you'll steal the spotlight again?"

Windsordler shook his head, his tone not very pleasant:
"This is putting Cohen on the hot seat."

The fact that he was given a bye spot repeatedly easily leads people to speculate that it was because of his status as the Empress's fiancé.

If he loses the next match, Cohen's reputation will be completely ruined.

Cohen nodded slowly:

“That’s right, Heisenberg probably had the same idea, but he’s miscalculated this time.”

Bermotti behind him asked softly:
"Just how strong are you now?"

The Jinlunga of the Southern Empire has been hiding his strength. He currently possesses at least a seventh-tier combat power, and there is also an astonishing power lurking within him, which should be the Frost Giant bloodline he has awakened.

If this power were to be unleashed, it would likely be around the eighth rank.

Are you sure? "

As the Lord of the Lost Lands and a seasoned Legendary-rank Sequencer, Belmody had a keen eye and saw through Jinlunga's true strength.

Cohen's eyes remained confident as he calmly replied:

"Don't worry, he's no match for me!"

After Cohen received a bye, all eleven contestants except Asuna came from the five great empires.

This was only the Silver Group. In the Gold Group and Legendary Group, starting from the second round, the contestants from the five major empires basically dominated the competition.

The matchups were quickly determined by a draw.

The match is between Kinlunga Cox, the "Frost Warrior" of the Northern Empire, and Olivia Jun, the "Star Druid" of the Southern Empire.

Mills Knight, the "Dragon Knight" of the Eastern Empire, versus Darren Roberts, the "Bard" of the Western Empire.

The Eastern Empire's "Berserker" Zheen Tang faces off against the Central Empire's "Arcane Knight" Joren Wertheimer.

August Dubin, the "Spellcaster" of the Western Empire, faces off against Casimir August, the "War Priest" of the Central Empire.

Reed Berg, the "Energizer" of the Western Empire, faces off against Hela Reeves, the "Totem Warrior" of the Central Empire.

Philip Marlowe, the "Storm Priest" of the Northern Empire, faces off against Asuna Iliad, the "Dragon Rider" of Effie.

Although it's called a lottery, there are still certain principles involved.

For example, players from the same country will not meet, and seeded players who have won all their group stage matches will not meet.

However, compared to the somewhat dull competition before, starting from the third round, the strength of all the contestants was significantly higher than before.

They were all at the peak of the Silver rank. If it weren't for participating in the Noble Martial Arts Festival, most of them would probably have already broken through to the Gold rank.

The six matches will be played over three days.

The first match featured the "Frost Warrior" Ginnunga Cox, the eldest prince of the Northern Empire, who was considered the strongest Silver-ranked player.

This prince, famous for his ability to fight opponents of higher ranks, enjoys extremely high popularity throughout the continent.

If it weren't for the variable of Cohen, the "strongest silver" title would basically have been in the hands of the Northern Empire.

Jinlunga's opponent was a druid from the Southern Empire, but unlike the "Earth Society" and "Moon Society" commonly found on the continent.

Olivia Jun, the druid from the Southern Empire, comes from the relatively rare "Society of the Stars".

It's actually related to the Starlight Clan, to which Jia Lin belongs, as they are both able to draw upon the energy of starlight.

The druids of the "Society of Stars" have been recording celestial phenomena and exploring the secrets hidden within constellations since ancient times, gaining power by revealing and understanding the mysteries of the stars.

They recorded the knowledge and cosmic secrets they discovered in places like Stonehenge, pyramids, rock carvings, or underground temples, places that would protect the sacred knowledge of their association from the erosion of war and the passage of time.

This also makes the "Society of Stars" more complete in its lineage than other societies.

However, becoming a "Star Druid" is very demanding; one must at least be a senior astronomer.

Olivia June is also a top student in the Astronomy Department of the Royal Academy of the Southern Region Empire. The June family is an ancient noble family that has been passed down since the founding of the Southern Region Empire.

Incidentally, the June family has a connection with Flint and Claire.

Back then, Imperial Navy Vice Admiral Flint Salgado was framed by the Imperial Prince, and the entire Salgado family was wiped out. He was forced to flee to the Northwest Sea and become a pirate of the Scarlet Raiders.

Flint's Salgado family and the June family have been related by marriage for generations, and Claire's mother after her reincarnation is the eldest daughter of the June family.

After Flint's incident, the June family made efforts, but unfortunately, it was the imperial prince who wanted to deal with Flint, and in the end, they were unable to protect the Salgado family.

However, the fact that the Zhu En family was not affected by their son-in-law who "colluded with the sea monsters" shows the power and prestige of the Zhu En family in the Southern Empire.

Cohen stared at the documents Nephthys handed him, lost in thought.

The June family... could be used.

With turmoil imminent on the mainland, under Cohen's instructions, the Military Intelligence Bureau had already laid out its plans in major empires across the continent, including the Zhu En family!

……

In terms of actual combat strength, Olivia is no match for Kinlunga, but this match still attracted a lot of attention.

Firstly, very few people have seen a Druid from the "Star Society," and secondly, many people want to see Jinlunga's true strength through this match.

Although Jinlunga's performance in previous matches wasn't as freakish as Cohen's, frankly speaking, Jinlunga's matches against those opponents weren't even warm-ups.

Players like Joren, Kazimir, and Mills, who are determined to compete with Kinlunga for the championship, are naturally paying close attention to this match, hoping to get a sense of Kinlunga's strength.

In the VIP section, to the right and behind Winston Smith, the Prime Minister of the Southern Empire, sat Marquis Gringoire June, the current head of the June family.

Both of them looked rather grim.

Hayden Costa unexpectedly lost to Asuna.

Olivia was already the last remaining representative of the Southern Empire, and yet she was placed opposite the favorite to win the championship, Jinlunga.

Isn't this clearly designed to eliminate the entire Southern Empire before the fourth round?
Even though the Southern Empire was isolated overseas and had relatively little interaction with the other four great empires, they still felt a sense of genuine anger at being set up by the other side.

Adding to the woes, with the Southern Empire's favorite, Wolf, eliminated early in the Bronze Division competition, this year's Noble Martial Arts Festival has been a complete failure for the Southern Empire. "Before any real unrest even begins, these continental nations have already joined forces against us."

If we wait for future turmoil to erupt, our Southern Empire will likely be the first to be isolated!

The Gold Group competition had not yet started. The First Prince of the Southern Empire, Greg, was still watching from the sidelines. After seeing the draw results, he lowered his voice and spoke to the two of them.

Prime Minister Winston nodded in agreement:
"Yes, our Southern Empire is isolated overseas, and we don't usually have much interaction with the other four empires."

The fact that the Central Empire and the Eastern Empire joined forces to set a trap for His Highness the Prince last time was a sign of this.

Greg's gaze shifted to Claire not far away, and he lowered his voice:
"Prime Minister, after you return home, I hope you can persuade my father again that we cannot wait any longer."

We must eliminate the influence of the merfolk and bring the entire South China Sea under the control of our Southern Empire.

As the former Sea Emperor's clan, only by seizing the resources and wealth remaining among the Merfolk can we have the confidence to face the combined forces of the other four empires in the great upheaval to come.

Prime Minister Winston pondered for a moment, then looked at Marquis June beside him.

Although Marquis Zhu En only held the nominal position of Minister of the Imperial Seal in the Southern Empire, most members of the Zhu En family served in the Imperial Royal Navy.

Marquis Jun's attitude had a significant impact on the Imperial Navy.

Marquis June's eyes flickered, and he did not give a definite answer:
"It depends on what His Majesty thinks about this matter."

As they were speaking, a resounding bell rang out, and the competition officially began.

The three ended their brief conversation and focused their attention on the ring.

Olivia June is slender with delicate features and a pretty face.

He wore a simple dark green robe adorned with silver-white star patterns and held a short crystal staff with swirling stardust at the top.

Her face was serene, and her deep green eyes seemed to reflect a sea of ​​stars.

Standing at the other end of the field, Kinlunga Cox formed a stark contrast to her.

Its towering body was covered by a layer of seemingly unmelting, extremely cold ice, forming a simple yet ferocious frost armor.

His face was sharply defined, as cold and austere as a glacier.

He carried a huge, undecorated, azure-blue two-handed greatsword on his back.

Just by standing there, a layer of stagnant frost began to spread along the edges.

Olivia bowed slightly to Kinlunga, her voice carrying a peculiar echo:
“The stars guided me to learn from Prince Jinlunjia.”

Druid etiquette is very elaborate, especially the "Society of the Stars," which has been passed down from ancient times and has a complete tradition.

Compared to the polite Olivia, Kinlunga seemed much less romantic.

He nodded slightly, without uttering a single word.

His icy blue eyes, like ancient ice, were fixed on Olivia, and the invisible pressure made the air seem to freeze.

Such performance naturally aroused dissatisfaction among the audience.

The cold, mechanical start signal from the bronze golem interrupted the crowd's discussion, and the competition officially began!
Olivia made the first move. As a spellcaster, she had to trap this invincible "Frost Warrior" in melee combat as soon as possible in order to have any chance of winning.

Olivia didn't hesitate for a moment. She slammed her Star Staff into the ground, and an ancient incantation erupted from her lips:

"Starlight shines brightly, and all things are the chess pieces!"

The stardust on the crystal staff exploded instantly, and countless tiny starlight spores, as small as fireflies, shot into the sky.

Then it fell like a drizzle onto the arena.

The area covered by starlight instantly emitted a soft yet dazzling light, transforming the region into a vast, flickering artificial constellation.

Jin Lunjia didn't even flinch. He didn't even adopt a defensive stance, but simply observed the starlight with great interest.

Olivia formed hand seals and chanted ancient and complex star language, her staff tracing mysterious paths in the air:
"The Scorpio's Sting, Astrological Reflection!"

After the incantation ended, starlight suddenly condensed on the ground in front of her, outlining a huge and ferocious constellation of Scorpio.

The star map twisted and writhed, and after a moment, a huge energy scorpion made entirely of flowing starlight and whose stinger flashed with a purplish-black venomous light appeared out of thin air.

With its massive pincers snapping open and closing, trailing a deadly tail stinger, it pounced on Kinlunga like a bolt of lightning, whistling through the air.

A gasp of surprise immediately erupted from the audience.

The druids of the "Society of Stars" are able to use the power of constellations in such a materialized way.

Jinlunga still did not draw his sword.

He simply raised his right hand, his five fingers spread, facing the onrushing starlight giant scorpion.

hum!
An invisible, frigid domain suddenly formed around him, not through deliberate spellcasting, but as a natural outflow of his own extreme frost power.

Almost at the same moment Olivia finished chanting and Star Scorpion pounced, a giant frost hand, even larger than Star Scorpion and almost covering half the arena, materialized in front of Kinlunga.

The raging Starscorpion, along with the highly venomous starlight particles it spewed, abruptly stopped a dozen meters in front of the giant hand.

The enormous starlight body struggled violently, emitting a piercing wail like shattering glass. Then, in less than a second, the flowing starlight transformed into starlight crystals as stiff as ice sculptures.

Jinlunjia slowly clenched his open hand.

The terrifying frost hand then made a closing motion.

Snap! Snap! Snap—!!!
The star-like Scorpio, frozen solid and lifeless, is like a fragile work of glass art.

The ear-piercing sound of shattering glass rang out continuously.

Starting with the enormous pincers, then the sturdy head, then the resilient body, and finally the stinger containing the deadly starlight, it crumbled and disintegrated inch by inch.

Olivia's pupils contracted slightly, but her hands continued to move quickly.

Originating from the ancient "Star Druids," pride and dignity are etched into their souls.

She raised her staff high, pointing it at the starry sky simulated by the twilight dome, and murmured:
"Lyra, whisper!"

In an instant, it was as if an invisible string had been touched, and invisible stellar energy surged toward Jinlunga like a tide.

This is not an attack, but interference; the true Lyre Whisper can disrupt the flow of magic in extraordinary beings.

At the same time, Olivia's figure became blurry.

Her body merged into the starlight above the arena, transforming into a streak of light so fast that it was difficult to catch a glimpse of her true form.

"Orion's gaze, binding!"

Olivia's cool voice came from all directions.

As she chanted, countless starlight coalesced into enormous, incredibly resilient vines.

And like a hunter sensing its prey, it flashed with sharp starlight, wrapping around Jinlunga's legs from all angles.

"Perseus's Illusory Veil!"

Another low shout rang out, and a silvery, starlight-like mist filled the air, thick and highly deceptive, instantly enveloping Jinlunjia.

Within the mist, countless dazzling starlight illusions shimmered, completely concealing Olivia's true form.

Stellar interference, star vine binding, star mist bewilderment!

The triple control technique is completed instantly.

Olivia demonstrated the powerful battlefield control capabilities of the "Star Druid".

Since a direct assault won't work, she'll try to trap and exhaust Jinlunjia before making her move.

Enveloped in starlight and entwined with star vines, Jinlunga seemed to be sealed by starlight.

"it's over?"

Some viewers who supported the Southern Region murmured to themselves.

However, a deep sound, like the friction of icebergs, suddenly came from the depths of the starlight mist.

Immediately afterwards, a burst of icy cold air, even purer, more domineering, and more ignoring of any rules than before, suddenly erupted.

Om-!
Centered on Jinlunjia, a layer of ice-blue light swept out like a shockwave. Wherever the light passed, the starlight vines that were wrapped around him broke into ice powder.

The viscous, mercury-like veil of mist, along with the illusions within it, was frozen into countless suspended solid ice crystals, and then vanished silently in the next instant.

The fog dissipated, and visibility returned to normal.

The impact of the aura's burst even coated the nearby bronze golems with a thick layer of ice.

Olivia's true form was forced out by the shockwave. She staggered back a step, her face slightly pale, and a look of shock appeared in her eyes.

Jinlunga remained standing in the same spot, his posture almost unchanged.

When he spoke for the first time, his voice was low and calm, like the cold wind blowing across an icy plain:
Your stars are beautiful.

Unfortunately... you chose the wrong opponent.

Before he finished speaking, Jinlunjia finally moved, taking a step forward with a surge of magic power emanating from his body.

boom!
Centered on the spot where Jinlunga landed, a layer of pale white, rapidly freezing energy spread wildly outwards like a plague.

Its speed far exceeded Olivia's reaction time.

The arena was instantly covered by this aura of absolute zero, leaving behind only a desolate frozen wasteland.

Olivia's expression changed drastically; she sensed a deadly threat.

Having almost exhausted all the stellar power within him, the staff pointed at Jinlunga, and the stardust at the top of the staff burst forth with dazzling light as if burning:

"Web of Fate, Orion Spear, throw!"

A massive surge of energy, enough to make even a Gold-tier Transcendent feel a chill, erupted forth! (End of Chapter)