Vanguard of the Eternal Night

Chapter Ch126 - National Competition – Card Summoner

translator: xiin

editor: kara

Goddess had ‘died’ too early.

By the time he was standing on the court and saw Odin in person right in front of him, he wanted to die again.

Goddess: I originally hadn’t believed in the rumor that he had been an agent, but after seeing the real person’s aura... Motherf*cker, I’ll punch anyone who doesn’t believe it.

Speaking of which, this was quite an interesting thing; most e-sports players had a unique temperament––the temperament of a special type of character who could hole up in their rooms and eat nutrition meals every day, staying indoors all year without it turning into a problem. Their only physiological need was to have an internet connection, and their virtual training made them into proud killers, death warriors, and fighters.

However, for these players who could make it to the National Championships level, their temperament became closer to that of their virtual image. Their actions, mannerisms, behaviors, and thinking were all highly in line with the professional characteristics of the character they used all the time.

For example, Goddess was a professional ‘card summoner’, who was also an ‘Emperor of Europe’. He looked very ordinary, but he was very cheerful; it was obvious at a glance that he liked to laugh, and he had the rich second-generation temperament of one who lived a good life. In the words of fans: the boys who liked to laugh all had good luck––because those who had bad luck had already turned into bitter melons a long time ago. How could they laugh?

So this time, in this match between Goddess and Odin, he really couldn’t laugh.

Contestant Odin really didn’t like to laugh, but nobody evaluated his luck. First, he was so strong that there was no need to even think about luck. Secondly, he was so good-looking that nobody cared if he smiled or not.

As a matter of fact, when he stood there on the stage for the National Championships, there was no dead corner in the stage lighting. It showed off the delicate texture of his skin, the cold outlines, and elegant arcs of every inch of his face... The audience basically all lost their minds.

The audience: Where is this? Who am I?

At this time, the commentators for the match had turned on their mics. This pair of commentators was a more conventional pairing. A retired master focused on explaining the tactics, and his commentary was supplemented by another young man who had quick reactions.

It was no longer necessary for the commentary at the national level to explain the characteristics of the players. At this level, each player’s official website was directly posted up on both sides of the big screen. Looking at the official website, one could see their competition history and fighting characteristics, and more importantly, most of them didn’t even need to show their resume at all. As soon as they appeared on the stage, the entire audience was already familiar with their brilliant deeds.

At this time, the commentators were saying, “This match is Kiss of the Goddess vs Odin. It’s said that Odin had played against the Goddess in a singles game when he was on his honeymoon in the Third Star Province. At the time, the recording of that live broadcast had been very popular.”

The commentators were able to directly relate the history between the two players prior to the match, showing that they had really done their homework beforehand.

Sure enough, the other commentator followed up with, “The match result was that Odin had won. After the two of them dealt with the summoned creature together, Goddess lost his fighting spirit.”

“The two players are shaking hands on the stage. It can be seen that Goddess is very appreciative of Odin...”

This word ‘appreciation’ was used due to seniority. Goddess could be regarded as an old player, who’d played several rounds in the National Championships before. Giving the senior players more respect was one of the hidden rules in the circle.

However, what the commentators didn’t know was that Goddess had actually spoken with a sad face while shaking hands, “Can you be a little merciful?”

Tyron shook hands while looking him over.

The master assassin had the ability to always recognize a person. However, his entire impression of Goddess, who had once been an opponent of his, was: It had felt great fighting that fire demon...

––The map was ‘Roc’s back’.

Commentators: “Reality is always full of amazing coincidences. Last time the two contestants had fought each other, it had also been this randomly drawn map.”

“I wonder what the outcome of today’s National match will be: Will Odin continue to be an undefeated myth, or will Goddess turn things around?”

While they spoke, the two contestants were soon transferred to the map.

During the countdown, Goddess’s face turned pale. After hosting live streams for so long, he instinctively spoke what he was thinking out loud: “The feathers are mine, feathers are mine, feathers are mine...”

After the system amplified the sound, the audience and the commentators could roughly make out his words. The commentator said, “After getting the feathers, Contestant Odin really becomes invincible. Instead of thinking about how to resist a winged War God, it’s better to first eliminate this possibility. Goddess’s idea is very orthodox.”

After a casual conversation, the countdown was over.

At this moment, the first randomly dropped feather appeared on the Roc’s back.

Right at Goddess’s feet!

Goddess practically didn’t have to move to get it. He simply raised his foot and absorbed the feather!

The commentator: “... This is extremely good luck. Odin was unable to obtain the first feather!”

“Odin decisively went into stealth. At this time, Goddess is drawing his first set of cards––”

The first draw would give him four cards. A pair of illusory wings had just appeared behind Goddess when a gold hand flashed in the air. He threw out three of the cards he had held in his hand right away:

Summon the little devil (A demonic creature capable of detecting invisibility and fighting for him).

Ice shield.

Thief’s Wisdom! (Two additional cards can be drawn in the next draw.)

The public screen: “@#%! #%! me! The Emperor of Europe’s mysterious daily life! Is this game a sucker for voices?!!!”

“Ooh my! There’s a shield, a summoned creature, and a support card right from the start. What’s the point in playing anymore?!”

“Doesn’t anyone else find this scene familiar?”

.

Not just the audience who’d watched the scene, but even Goddess himself was shocked. Why?! Why had he drawn the same cards as their previous game?! Was God giving him a chance at revenge?!

His shock hadn’t passed yet when Odin’s dagger came stabbing directly from behind.

Goddess’s ice shield broke instantly, and the frost froze Odin in place––however, this time, Odin hadn’t obtained the feather, so he had no chance of breaking the ice.

At this time, Goddess didn’t hesitate to have the little devil rush up.

There was a sense of deja vu. Just as Odin had killed the weak little devil, Goddess threw out his last card––

A legendary card.

Sacrifice, Demonic Gate.

As the ‘strongest’ summoned creature on the field, the little devil was sacrificed with a scream. Then, a spectacular demonic gate landed where it had stood. Every two seconds, a demonic creature would appear randomly from the door and attack a player regardless of whether they were friend or foe. If the door was destroyed, it would eventually summon a demon lord who would follow the summoner’s command.

Everyone: dumbfounded.jpg

The commentators also found it difficult to speak, “An... another demonic gate card. Is this a repeat of the previous solo match between the two players??”

At this moment, everyone was going crazy. Even the master assassin was thinking: Was the player across from him the competition system’s illegitimate child?

Goddess’s heart also felt like it was filled with curses. He took the opportunity to draw a second time, pulled three gold cards, and instantly breathed a sigh of relief; Fortunately, it wasn’t the same as the last time.

Then, he fanned his wings out behind him and immediately rose up into the air.

At this moment, the ice effect was lifted. Odin, who had recovered his ability to move quickly, didn’t hesitate at all!

“Instant approach!” The commentator spoke quickly, “This series of combos can instantly take away at least 30% of Goddess’s health, but Goddess doesn’t have to take this abuse for nothing. This is a perfect chance––”

Before he had finished speaking, they saw Goddess, who was in mid-air, throw out a card: Rotting Hive.

In an instant, countless demonic bees gushed out from the abyss and stuck to Odin, who’d leapt up into the air.

Odin had nowhere to gain leverage from, but he continued to stick with his War God style, attacking when he should, making people’s blood boil with passion! He completely ignored these tiny summoned creatures and chased after Goddess to finish off the second half of his windmill combo.

Goddess’s reaction speed wasn’t slow, but even he had been unable to catch sight of Deep Silence––while Song of Triumph weaved a magnificent net, Deep Silence left its scabbard like a silent death knell, hidden and fatal!

The commentators hadn’t spoken wrongly. After the first round of combos, Goddess’s health immediately fell below 70%! This was all in less than three seconds!

A moment later, Goddess continued to fly up even higher with the help of his wings and finally got rid of Odin’s pursuit.

Odin landed on the ground like a nimble and incredibly light shadow. He started up a short two-second Shadow Dance on the spot, and two rounds of snow-white flashes killed all the demons surrounding him, leaving his health stable at 92%.

After he had landed, he looked up at his opponent, who was in the air. The wind in the sky suddenly pushed back his hood, revealing a pair of cold, inorganic, golden eyes that clearly reflected the figure of Goddess.

––Goddess raised his hand, and a support card flew out: Thief’s Wisdom.

He would draw three more cards in the next round!

On the public screen, the crowd was suddenly excited, “Damn, how can this match be played?! Tell me! How?!”

“I dare to guarantee that the card Goddess still has in his hand is definitely another trump card!”

At this time, the neither short nor long two seconds had passed, and the newly completed demonic gate flashed with a deep red light.

This light foreshadowed that something unexpected had occurred, and it immediately attracted the eyes of the contestants, the audience, and the commentators.

At this moment, Goddess was thinking out loud again, “Daddy! Please give me a great demon lord to hold Odin back!”

Commentators: “... Don’t be nervous, everyone. The probability of a demon lord arriving first is less than 0.01%...”

The audience roared, “We’re even more nervous now!!”

At this moment, the most indifferent one was the master assassin on the field. He even picked up a dart and sniped away a sliver of health off his opponent. Then, he began to move around chaotically, paving the way for the next fight.

Then, one second later, the figure that came out of the demonic gate made the audience look back at the Emperor of Europe in despair, and then, they all said the same thing, “......”

At this point, there was nothing but the sound of silence.

The summoned creature that had come out of the gate was once again a demon lord, one that came with its own elite boss panel.

No, its body wasn’t that of a fire demon though. It was another famous demon...