Chương 109: Week Four Day Two

Yanping Seidel looked up at the pouring rain from underneath a tree. The Lord of Light waited for a day for his friends to return, but after a few convincing strikes of lightning to the castle's walls, he gritted his teeth and escorted the shivering group of survivors with him. It has been a day since the fourth event began. The Lord of Light went through hell for the survivors. There were no healers in the group, so, like always, he took the place of the spearhead and made sure everyone survived.

Yanping Seidel considered Brighthaven's Lord to be both a Braveheart and a fool. In fact, Yanping Seidel also considered his fellow faction members fools simply because of their zeal. Sure, the saint of Brighthaven treated all people as his kin, regardless of origin, race, power, or belief. He may have been an ideal leader, capable on his own yet valuing others' expertise and delegating tasks accordingly, but he was still a fool.

Mainly because he was a man caught in a web of imposed responsibility while somehow having the power to tear said web apart. The Lord of Light was a man who had the power to seize control over groups of power with an iron fist. He had the opportunity to work others to death, use them as slaves, and have anything he wanted beyond what the gaudy Royal Faction considered standards. Even now, he took on all the burden of the survivors and risked both life and limb for them pointlessly.

Yanping Seidel also wondered if the Lord of Light was truly a saint or if he was accomplishing an equally astonishing feat of being a good person with the amount of power he held at his fingertips. He also wondered if the Lord of Light truly didn't know about his secret or if he was simply accepting his choice of not helping. In truth, there were more than 20 Dreamers in the Brighthaven faction, but only 19 actually identified themselves as Dreamers to Brighthaven.

Yanping Seidel was one of the many hidden Dreamers within Brighthaven, not because he hated violence or was better suited elsewhere. Even if Yanping Seidel decided to identify himself as a Dreamer, the Lord of Light had never forced anything onto anyone. He would request it politely, regardless of the person's status, or simply do the task himself. Yanping Seidel was someone who used to be part of the Royal Faction, not a man of low rank.

Nonetheless, he woke up to a new partner every couple of hours, had slaves and servants handle his every need, and didn't work a day other than whipping the occasional miscreant; it was the benefit of a royal and a boon he received after joining the Royal Faction. So, if his life was so good, why was Yanping Seidel with Brighthaven?

He didn't change for the better or learn the error of his ways, but simply because when the first revolution led by Samuel struck, he deserted his duties when threatened and escaped to Brighthaven under the guise of an escaped prisoner. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Yanping Seidel sneered at the memory of losing his comforts.

Now, he needed to try in order to bed someone; he didn't need to work the same as he had before, but without slaves and servants to tend to his every need, he found the new lifestyle incredibly straining and boring, and occasionally was tempted to let loose and have his way. His royal prince title may not mean much within the games, but he was still a dreamer. But, to his disappointment, the Lord of Light, his cohort, and his followers were infested with a disgusting righteousness.

Every time he considered taking what he wanted by force, he would remember others who attempted the same and shiver. The Lord of Light was a merciful man to his people, but when a person harshly transgresses against another, he no longer considers them one of his own. He remembered a case of someone who tried to throw themselves at someone they were infatuated with, someone who had previously denied their feelings; the Lord of Light happened to be in the area and tore the man's spine out and left him to bleed.

That alone provided the message that the Lord of Light has no problems enforcing peace himself if needed. Yanping Seidel looked at the thundering sky and felt goosebumps as the turn of the day arrived, accompanied by an annoying, disastrously loud voice.

"GOOD MORNING, GLADIATORS!!! HOW'S DAY 3!? BET YOU WERE MISSING MY VOICE, WEREN'T YOU!? … OF COURSE, YOU WERE! SO… TELL ME, HOW DID THE NUMBER OF SURVIVORS GO DOWN SO SO FAST ONCE A LITTLE RAIN STARTED POURING?" The announcer's voice boomed over the virtual realm.

"WELL, DEATH MAKES FOR A GOOD SHOW, DOESN'T IT?" The announcer paused to let the crowd roar, but within the virtual realm, only rain and thunder roared.

"NOW, AS YOU COULD TELL, THIS YEAR'S GAMES WERE A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM THE ONES LAST TIME, AND THE ONES 30 YEARS BACK! MAINLY BECAUSE OF OUR BELOVED GLADIATORS WHO PREFER DYING TO WATER RATHER THAN SWORDS ARE STILL KICKING TO THE UNPRECEDENTED FINAL WEEK/DAY OF THE GAMES, BUT… ALSO BECAUSE OF A MYSTERY EVENT! YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE HEARD RUMOURS OF A DEMON-CLASS… AND UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T HAVE ONE." The announcer paused once again to let the invisible crowd react again.

Yanping Seidel, nor anyone within the virtual realm, heard the reaction from the crowd, as the continuous storm was the only noise present.

"BUT, IN ITS PLACE WE BROUGHT IN A LIVING, BREATHING, NOBLE-CLASS NIGHTMARE WITH THE PROMISE OF HONOUR AND SLAUGHTER! HOLD YOUR WIVES AND SHIELD YOUR CHILDREN SINCE THIS RONIN DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE! NOW I DON'T WANT TO SPOIL THE FUN TOO MUCH! BUT, THIS TIME AROUND WE'RE CHANGING IT UP TO PUSH THE ENVELOPE OF OUR FUTURE GAMES, INSTEAD OF SIMPLY ENDING IT ONCE 300 REMAIN SINCE THAT NUMBER HAS ALREADY LONG PASSED, AND IT WOULD BE BORING TO END IT NOW, WOULDN'T IT?"

The announcer paused once again to let the invisible crowd react once more.

"THE CURRENT SURVIVOR COUNT IS 243. WHILE THE TOP 300 SURVIVORS LEFT HAVE QUALIFIED FOR ONE-ON-ONE DUALS, THE QUALIFIERS THIS YEAR WILL NOT END SIMPLY BECAUSE THE NUMBER IS MET… THE ONLY WAYS TO WIN THIS YEAR ARE TO EITHER SURVIVE THE WEEK OR KILL ONE OF TWO TARGETS, THE LORD OF LIGHT OR THE NOBLE-CLASS NIGHTMARE! YOUR PICK!

IF YOU MANAGE TO KILL THE NOBLE-CLASS WHO CALLS ITSELF ONI, EVERYONE ESCAPES, BUT IF YOU CHOOSE COWARDICE AND STRIKE THE MAN WHO SAVED YOU IN THE BACK, YOU ALONE WILL ESCAPE EARLY, WHILE THE GAMES GO ON FOR EVERYONE ELSE! BE A HERO OR ESCAPE HELL! THE CHOICE IS YOURS!" The announcer laughs manically and abruptly stops.

"OH AND SELF-SACRIFICE WON'T GIVE THE REST AN AUTO WIN! THAT'S ALL! HAPPY KILLING!" And with that, Yanping Seidel's frown had crept into a smile. A reason to kill the Lord of Light had presented itself.

'I might be able to usurp him!'