Your secret game is absolutely poisonous!

Secret Hall.

Discussions arose.

Everyone exclaimed that it was an eye-opening experience.

Pig King: "That attack from the sky was so cool!"

Black Hammer King: "The moves are extremely fierce and the power is ridiculously exaggerated. Old thief Qi really knows how to use his tricks!"

Lone Wolf: "General Ratahn is so huge, yet he can fly above the clouds in an instant!"

Sleeping in the Wind: "The power of a single strike can cause widespread damage; the power of this move has definitely reached the level of a fifth-tier skill!"

The grumpy chick declared, "Ratahn's moves are so awesome! I love them! I'm determined to get my hands on his spirit!"

Bright Moon Shines on Snow: "It's quite remarkable that Valkyrie Malenia could fight General Shattered Star to a near draw when he was at his peak!"

"..."

The challenger was defeated without any doubt.

Thus, everyone witnessed the terror of the strongest demigod in the border region!
Ratahn didn't have a single line of dialogue.

Yet this character left a deep impression on the adventurers.

First of all, this Shattered Star General is portrayed as the "strongest demigod," and all those who can be called the strongest have their own charismatic aura.

Secondly, it has legendary and narrative qualities.

General Shattered Star traveled to the magic town of Seria to learn gravity magic in order to take care of the frail old horse.

The border region has often been plagued by malicious attacks from the stars. Since ancient times, there have been many monsters from the universe, such as fallen star beasts or alien gods who descended on this land by means of meteors, bringing various disasters.

After mastering gravity magic, Ratan sealed the sky of the border region with his own power.

Even though Ratahn is now insane, he still maintains the operation of gravity magic, preventing stars from flowing and falling on this land. The title of Shattered Star General is well-deserved!

The battle between General Shatterstar and the Valkyrie is also noteworthy. Rataen not only severed his own legs and exiled himself to the deepest part of the Weeping Dunes, but also ordered his Red Lion Legion to garrison in Gelid and create a wall of fire to stop the spread of the plague.

This person's various actions.

An epic celebration filled with glory, where many face one opponent.

All of these characters evoke a powerful yet tender and tragic figure.

Meng Bai was not discouraged.

I wasn't very skilled at it the first time.

She re-entered the secret realm to take on the challenge once more.

After Mengbai re-entered the border area, she appeared in Red Lion City Square, returning to the place before the start of the battle celebration.

"very good!"

Meng Bai was relieved.

This place truly offers endless challenges.

Otherwise, who knows when the next battle celebration will be held?

More than ten powerful individuals, along with a hundred Faded Ones whose strength was close to that of ordinary knights, once again entered the Weeping Dune during the celebration.

The sky and earth were as red as blood, and the wind howled and sand flew.

A tragic and inevitably brutal battle has begun once again.

Having learned his lesson, Meng Bai immediately shouted to those around him upon entering the Weeping Dunes:
"spread!"

"Everyone spread out!"

"Ratan is to the north!"

"He's discovered us!"

"Watch out overhead! Ratahn's arrow barrage is about to hit! Everyone, be prepared to defend and dodge!"

No sooner had Meng Bai finished speaking than a sharp whooshing sound rang in everyone's ears, and Rataen's rain of arrows arrived as expected.

With Meng Bai's reminder, everyone took precautions in advance, so they immediately spread out in all directions and set up their defenses.

Although the two waves of arrows still caused a certain number of casualties, it was much better than the last time!

Mengbai led the group deeper into the sand dunes where Rataen was located, and as they approached a certain distance...

Ratan stopped firing arrows and instead nocked an arrow and began to gather power, with purple gravitational energy rapidly condensing at the arrowhead.

Meng Bai quickly shouted, "Don't stand in a straight line! Don't try to block Rataen's gravity arrows! With our strength, we can't block this attack with just shields and magic."

The group immediately adjusted their formation.

Ratan fired three powerful gravity arrows in succession, each leaving a trail of darkness in the air as it traveled thousands of meters.

Bang bang bang!
Almost every arrow hit its mark!

Each arrow killed at least one or two Faded Ones, but the dozen or so skilled Tier 3 Faded Ones were not lost.

The status of this battle force preservation.

But it's much better than last time!
As the challengers from all directions closed in, Ratan decisively abandoned his bow and drew his sword, plunging the two rough, rock-like blades into the sand dunes beneath his feet.

A burst of purple gravity energy.

Countless grains of sand flew into the air.

These sand and stones were compressed into hundreds of gravity spheres by the purple energy, which then swirled around the area like hundreds of cannonballs. Several faded individuals were hit by the gravity spheres as soon as they got close to Ratan, their armor shattered and bones broken on the spot. Even if they survived, they would have little fighting power.

Bang bang bang!
Screams sounded one after another.

Meng Bai's expression grew even more serious upon seeing this.

General Shattered Star is indeed a man of profound skill; this is a skill I've never seen before.

After summoning the rock spheres, Ratahn released gravitational energy once more, summoning dozens of black hole-like spheres of gravitational energy.

Immediately.

His movements were as swift as the wind.

Despite its enormous and heavy size, it moved as lightly as a piece of paper, seemingly unaffected by gravity or inertia, and rampaged wildly through the crowd, hacking and slashing.

Each strike carries immense power.

Each strike that lands is enough to cause a small-scale gravitational energy field explosion.

Although there are many challengers this time, few can be approached in close combat; attacks can only be launched using magic or bows and arrows.

Although attacks continued to land on Ratahn, his thick skin and high defense meant they were not fatal.

After seven entries and seven exits.

Although Ratahn was hit by dozens of attacks, he still managed to kill the challenger to pieces.

next moment.

It suddenly shot straight into the sky.

It struck as a meteor once again.

Although Meng Bai promptly warned everyone to scatter, Rataen's meteor struck the ground at a small angle, instantly creating a straight shockwave that easily killed several powerful individuals once again.

Although Meng Bai survived the horrific attack, her vision was severely impaired.

At this time.

From the gray sand.

A huge figure suddenly approached.

Meng Bai's expression changed drastically. He tried to dodge, but it was too late. A gravitational field descended from the sky and enveloped his body. Then, a pair of huge blades wrapped in purple energy slashed down on him.

too fast!
I didn't have time to grab the shield.

Enveloped in violent energy.

She could clearly feel the omnipresent gravity amplified a thousandfold, and Ratahn's twin blades pressed down on her like a mountain.

dead!
Failed again!

Exit the secret realm again.

Even Higanbana couldn't help but comment, "This battle is indeed extremely difficult!"

The White Crane Hermit advised: "Rataen is tough and durable, so ordinary skills are unlikely to deal effective damage. You must use a sufficiently powerful move!"

Sanzhu: "I think that although there are many participants in this battle, the others lack the means to directly threaten Rataen. In other words, the key to outputting damage still lies with us adventurers."

"Makes sense!"

"From this perspective, the role of the others in this battle is mainly to hold others back, while the only ones who can truly deliver the fatal blow are ourselves!"

"if it is like this."

"We need to change our strategy and tactics!"

"..."

Everyone was talking about it.

Meng Bai studied some strategies.

She began her third, fourth, and fifth attempts, each ending in failure.

Despite losing five games in a row.

But as the number of battles increased.

Mengbai not only understands Rataen's moves, but also has a good understanding of the skills and methods of her other companions.

This is crucial!

Among these witches, faders, or powerful figures from the borderlands, there are many who excel in support and control skills.

The key to winning this battle will be to make good use of everyone's skills, and the prerequisite for doing so is to understand them!
The sixth challenge has begun!

Having gained experience from previous battles, Mengbai began to deploy targeted commands to counter Rataen's various moves.

Although Ratahn is extremely powerful, he is, after all, an opponent without intelligence who fights purely on instinct. As long as the patterns of his attacks are fully understood, one can gain the ability to anticipate his moves.

After several rounds of fighting.

Ratahn was covered in wounds and had become sluggish due to the effects of multiple layers of frost and poison.

At this point, there were still more than half of the challengers remaining, making the situation much better than in any previous instance.

"careful!"

"Everyone scatter!"

"He's about to launch a meteor attack!"

Mengbai once again accurately predicted Rataen's move, while the others searched for cover and dodged the attack.

Meng Bai took the initiative to go to an open and conspicuous place to attract fire, just as the fire meteor illuminated the clouds above.

Holding her staff, she unleashed the strongest night magic she possessed, "Lenara's Full Moon," which she had learned after defeating the Full Moon Queen, Renara.

This skill allows the user to transform their body into the moon.

For a very brief moment when it transforms into the moon, it is invincible.

This extremely brief avatar state grants immunity to physical and most elemental attacks for an instant.

Boom! Ratahn's meteor crashed violently into the Weeping Sand Dunes, instantly unleashing a massive burst of fire and shockwave!

however.

Missed the target.

Ratahn, however, was hit by a dazzling, slowly moving full moon the instant he revealed himself, due to the brief aftercast delay and stun of his ultimate ability.

A loud bang!
The full moon radiated silvery-white energy, engulfing Rataen's robust and muscular body; the damage from this attack was clearly substantial.

"it is good!"

"Good job!"

"Did you kill him?"

"..."

Whether they are audience members or comrades-in-arms.

Everyone praised Meng Bai's reaction and response.

Rena La's Full Moon is a top-tier fourth-order night magic with impeccable power!

However, this spell has a major weakness: it takes too long to cast and is easily interrupted. Even if it is successfully cast, the full moon's movement speed is too slow and it is relatively easy to dodge.

This move is only suitable for opponents who are slow to move, slow to react, or simply cannot move. Ratahn is a highly mobile enemy, so it should be difficult to hit him.

However, Mengbai used the skill's characteristics to dodge Rataen's meteors and then used Rataen's recovery animation to complete a close-range attack.

Unfortunately.

This one trick alone is not enough.

Despite suffering severe injuries and having his armor extensively torn, Ratahn still retained his fighting ability. "For General Ratahn!" Lord Jellian was the first to jump out, followed by the half-wolf Blazer, the finger witch, the old man, and others, who all unleashed their strongest skills, bombarding Ratahn one after another.

Even with the strength to rival ten thousand men and an incomparably powerful physique, he was inevitably subject to temporary suppression in the face of the frenzied attack.

"Make your move now!"

"This is our only chance to take him down!"

"Otherwise, once he recovers, all our previous efforts will be in vain!"

"..."

Meng Bai was aware of this, and she immediately switched her equipment and began to develop new skills.

And at this time.

Ratahn was surrounded by dozens of people.

He suddenly let out an angry roar, and purple gravitational energy erupted, instantly blasting away everyone nearby.

He brandished his twin swords.

Countless spheres of gravity energy were released.

Several challengers who used magic or arrows from a distance were brutally killed.

Just as everyone was about to suffer another crushing defeat, a red light suddenly appeared in their field of vision.

Meng Bai appeared before Rataen, his body enveloped in ancient dragon red lightning. As he leaped up, countless bolts of lightning gathered in his palms, eventually condensing into two powerful lightning spears.

One left and one right.

He held two blood-red lightning spears in his hands.

His body was filled with red lightning.

At this moment, Meng Bai was like a god. She raised her left hand and thrust her spear at Rataen, but the latter blocked it with his twin swords.

boom!
The lightning spear exploded!

The resulting red electric current.

It covers an area of ​​about ten meters around it.

Although Ratan blocked the attack, he was also affected by the lightning and other arrow spells, resulting in a brief stalemate.

With a loud shout, Meng Bai gripped the lightning spear in his right hand with both hands and thrust it into Rataen's body with unstoppable momentum.

next moment.

The lightning spear pierced his body.

Then a violent explosion occurred.

The attack was clearly powerful enough to destroy the last vestige of life in this battered and ravaged body.

General Ratahn took a few steps back, the ferocity in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a hint of appreciation.

The enormous body slowly collapsed.

This battle has finally come to an end.

The survivors inside the secret realm and the spectators outside burst into cheers.

"Wonderful!"

"fantastic!"

"Ratahn is a real man!"

"Wow, Mengbai is amazing! He actually defeated Rataen just like that!"

"..."

Meng Bai was also extremely surprised at this moment, because the process of defeating Rataen was faster than expected.

This is a powerful warrior, a respected hero, and the sheer pleasure and sense of accomplishment of personally defeating such an opponent is immense.

And at the same time.

The crowd outside cheered and applauded.

This amplifies the feeling of pleasure.

Just as Meng Bai was about to give her victory speech, she suddenly noticed that the dark red sky above her had turned completely black.

The clouds disappeared.

It was replaced by the night.

Several dim moons, along with countless stars, appeared in the sky as the first shooting star streaked across the horizon.

The second, the third... the hundredth, the thousandth... thousands and even tens of thousands of meteors appeared in the sky, eventually forming a breathtaking meteor shower!

"This is……"

"The stars that General Ratahn sealed away over the years disappeared with Ratahn's fall."

"The number is astonishing!"

"How on earth did he do that?!"

"What a nice view!"

"This scene is so romantic!"

"It's simply a visual feast!"

"..."

As countless brilliant meteors streaked across the blood-red, weeping dunes that filled the sky, one particularly bright meteor suddenly flew low overhead, illuminating the entire field of vision like a beam of light.

boom!
A loud bang!
The meteor clearly crashed somewhere on the border, instantly releasing a bright light, and the earth could be felt shaking even from a distance.

When the light disappears.

The spectacular meteor shower has ended.

This also marks the complete end of this epic battle celebration.

City Lord Jellian exclaimed joyfully, "We have completed the celebration and brought General Rataen his final glory!"

Half-Wolf Blaze was also impressed with Meng Bai: "Well done, this battle was very exciting, and the glory of this festival definitely belongs to Rataen and you!"

Speaking of which.

He couldn't help laughing.

"Haha, you just saw it too, the stars fell right before our eyes, and now the path forward has appeared... You've done a great service for Lady Lani!"

Although Mengbai didn't know exactly what Wolf Brother was referring to, she realized that this battle was not only about Rataen, but also about the plot related to Lani.

She then spoke with the other people present.

For example, the Warrior Pot "Iron Fist Pressure Mountain" has a very strange appearance; it's a large pot with arms.

This is a unique creature found in the border region. It contains the remains of many warriors, and the richer and more powerful the contents, the stronger the creature.

Although its appearance is somewhat unusual.

However, Alexander is a very individualistic and generous character in the story, and he is quite popular among adventurers in the borderlands.

Meng Bai was very relieved that he survived the battle.

Alexander, while stuffing the corpse into his body, praised, "Ah, what a beautiful battle! You are a true hero. In comparison, I am a useless pot, which cracked after just one blow and leaked a lot of its contents."

Meng Bai then said, "To survive a single blow from General Rataen is a truly remarkable experience."

Alexander laughed heartily: "That's true. After all, not everyone is qualified to fight Rataen. I will not give up on becoming stronger... Fortunately, there are many warrior corpses here. Collecting them will allow me to recover and become stronger."

After this battle ended.

He obtained the Rataen rune.

Mengbai already has three large runes.

He could be said to have exceeded expectations in fulfilling the task of the faded one.

And after this battle.

Their strength will also be further enhanced.

Mengbai felt it was time to continue exploring the royal city of Rodel and complete the epic quest to meet the Elden Ring.

End of Red Lion City tour.

First, they returned to the Round Table Hall through a blessing.

She plans to return to collect her spoils and also to find her good friend Vic, who played a crucial role in her victory over Rataen.

This move, "Folsanks' Thunder Spear," was indeed incredibly powerful, with an astonishing range and destructive force; it could even pierce through General Ratahn's body.

Without this move, Meng Bai doesn't know if he could defeat General Shattered Star. Even if he could win, he would inevitably have to endure ten or eight more rounds of suffering.

"Hehe, I can't wait to tell Vic the news of defeating Ratahn, and let that arrogant and conceited guy know how powerful I am!"

Meng Bai said this to the audience outside, but just then she noticed that the round table hall was no longer as lively as it used to be.

"Huh, what's going on? The atmosphere in the round table hall is a bit strange today."

At this moment, Sir Bai Zhi slowly walked out, leaning on his cane. When he saw Meng Bai, he immediately said, "Congratulations! I've heard about your feat. Defeating General Rataen is a remarkable achievement!"

They're incredibly well-informed.

He truly lives up to his reputation as Sir Hundred Wisdom.

Meng Bai thoroughly enjoyed the admiring and astonished gazes of others, but she was even more curious about the changes here.

"The atmosphere is off today. Could something bad have happened?"

“There’s no point in hiding it…” Sir Hundred-Minded sighed, “Vic is in trouble.”

"what?!"

Mengbai's eyes widened immediately.

Sir Hundred Wisdom said, "Vic was corrupted by the power of the forbidden mad fire. Her witch tried to take him to the Church of Tranquility, but she still couldn't suppress the endless madness."

"What? This is impossible!"

Meng Bai's eyes widened. Her first thought was disbelief. "Vic's power is already strong enough. He has no reason to pursue any kind of Mad Fire."

Sir Hundred Wisdom said, "I don't know the details of what happened, but what is certain is that Vic has gone completely astray and gone mad... Several of the Faded Ones sent by our Round Table Hall have died at his hands."

Mengbai couldn't help but think of Vic's state when they last parted ways; she had sensed something was off about him back then.

Based on her understanding of Vic.

This guy could never be blinded by power, much less go astray for the sake of power; there must be a huge hidden story behind this!
Sir Hundred Wisdom said, "The power of Mad Fire, which brings misfortune and madness, is extremely dangerous once it spreads. We cannot let Vic do nothing. I am prepared to take action myself..."

Meng Bai suddenly interrupted, "Bai Zhi, tell me, where is the Church of Tranquility?"

Sir Hundred-Minded looked surprised, but quickly understood: "Vic and you have a good relationship. If you're willing to help him out and give him some face, that would be the best thing..."

Done.

Sir Hundred revealed the location.

"Be careful, after all, Vic was already very strong, and now he also possesses the power of the Mad Fire. This battle is no less dangerous for you than the Rataen Celebration!"

He sighed deeply, filled with regret and sadness.

“Vic and Bernal were the only two in the Round Table Hall who were born with the qualities of a king but had faded, and Vic was the one I had the best chance of becoming king. Who could have imagined that it would end up like this…”

Mengbai defeated Rataen.

This is a milestone achievement.

Therefore, both she and everyone else in Miracle City were initially very happy and excited.

nowadays.

The appearance of this terrible news.

It casts a shadow over everyone.

Although Vic is only a character from the secret realm, this optimistic, confident, powerful, and generous knight is full of personal charm.

All the adventurers who came into contact with him liked him very much and received a lot of benefits and help from him.

Meng Bai and the others had considered this possibility.

Ultimately, a battle with Vic was inevitable.

But everyone felt that the final showdown with Vic would be at the peak and end of the road to becoming king.

Their duel will undoubtedly be a highly anticipated and glorious event, and will ultimately be a great battle that will be sung for generations to come.

Let's bring this great friendship and dream to a perfect and regretless conclusion.

No one thought of it.

This will be the final result.

The adventurers and spectators of Miracle City were both heartbroken and bewildered by Vic's plight, yet also filled with anticipation and curiosity for the upcoming battle between these close friends. (End of Chapter)