Chapter 964

Snap, snap, snap…

Three crisp snaps echoed in succession; the three Guozu brothers rose and walked toward the notary office, having also withdrawn from the match— their opponent this round was too strong: the Bug Clan’s Bank.

In an instant, eight competitors withdrew.

“What?! Eight competitors withdrew??”

Commentator Hack’s face was filled with disbelief; he hadn’t hosted a match at the Void Arena in a long time. In past events, at least forty competitors remained after the second round—but this time, only twenty-two remained.

This year’s Void Arena could be called the most brutal in a century, and the reason was the sheer number of spectators.

Being remembered by more people was undoubtedly a chance to gain fame; after gaining fame, major factions would take notice, and opportunities would multiply. This year, there were three million spectators. In the early stages, competitors, eager for fame, fought each other with near-deadly intensity, causing casualties to surge dramatically.

Now, in the later stages, competitors had gradually calmed down. Some with mediocre strength and existing injuries began to hesitate—wondering whether to continue competing.

Keep in mind that this year's competitors include many formidable figures: the renowned Prince of Wind, Bank of the Insect Clan, the Graystone from Solid Stone Planet, the Iron Titan Kroff, the Ear Hunter Ressa, and even more absurdly, the Lawbreaker has entered this competition.

[9] Keep in mind that this year's competitors include many formidable figures: the renowned Prince of Wind, Bank of the Insect Clan, the Graystone from Solid Stone Planet, the Iron Titan Kroff, the Ear Hunter Ressa, and even more absurdly, the Lawbreaker has entered this competition.

[9] This year’s competitors included many ruthless figures: the famed Wind Prince, Bug Clan’s Battle Clan Bank, the Graystone Clan from Solid Stone Star, the Iron Titan Kroff, the Ear Hunter Ressa—and even more absurdly, the Law Annihilator had entered this competition.

Faced with opponents who seemed impossible to defeat, some competitors with weak strength and injuries hesitated.

Crack. Crack.

Two more crisp snaps echoed; two severely injured competitors withdrew. Both paused, exchanged a glance, smiled, and walked toward the notary office.

“Shocking reversal! Only ten competitors remain!!”

Hack screamed hoarsely, leaning back.

Upon hearing only ten remained, the audience fell silent for a moment—then erupted into a deafening roar of cheers.

“What’s going to happen next?”

Hack was ecstatic. He raised his microphone toward the audience seats.

“Death Battle Free-for-All! Death Battle Free-for-All! Death Battle Free-for-All…”

The crowd’s shouts were ear-splitting. Su Xiao pinched his competitor card between thumb and forefinger, ready to withdraw—after all, the rewards for the top three were unknown, and he didn’t want to linger too long in the Void Arena; to him, the Void was too dangerous now.

But upon hearing “Death Battle Free-for-All,” Su Xiao had a thought: if his guess was correct, the Void Arena would likely end within an hour. He’d already competed for three days—if the remaining matches were short, joining in wouldn’t hurt, especially since the top three had rewards.

Oddly, Su Xiao still didn’t know what the top-three rewards were. The Void Arena seemed utterly confident in its prizes—and indeed, even without announcing them, countless competitors still entered.

“Please welcome the remaining ten competitors.”

Hearing Hack’s shout, Pi Pang raised an eyebrow, then suddenly understood. He’d been puzzled before: why did this seemingly ordinary competition draw such massive popularity?

Now he saw—the Void Arena’s matches were anything but ordinary; they were brilliantly unconventional.

The early rounds were indeed conventional, but when the number of competitors dropped to ten or fewer, the rules changed.

All ten would enter the arena simultaneously for a free-for-all. Rankings were determined by order of death or withdrawal. The last one standing would be the Void Arena’s victor.

In the ten-man free-for-all, withdrawal was allowed. If a competitor withdrew while six remained, their final rank was seventh—even if others died afterward, their rank wouldn’t rise.

If you didn’t survive to the end, timing your withdrawal became critical. Withdraw too early, and your rank would be low. Withdraw too late, and there’d be no “then”—withdrawal too late meant death.

The organizers didn’t care whether the ten-man free-for-all made sense. They wanted ratings. As for competitors forming alliances and making the match unfair? That was nonsense. The ability to cooperate with others was part of strength itself.

This was the Void Arena—a fighting ground with almost no rules, not a duel ring. Its style was: sand, blood, beauty, honor, life-or-death combat.

The strong take all. The weak are carried out. Simple. Direct.

Su Xiao stepped onto the sandy arena. The other nine stood at each corner.

The arena’s atmosphere reached its peak. Hack sensed the moment was right and quietly contacted the arena’s director. He didn’t know what Hack negotiated, but his lips curled upward.

“As per tradition, before the Death Battle Free-for-All begins, we will reveal the rewards for the top three.”

Hack waved his hand. Three scantily clad women carried trays onto the commentary podium. Each tray was covered with a black cloth. Simultaneously, a massive screen behind the audience lit up.

“First, the third-place prize: the Ainkeni Type-III Combat Assistance Device.”

Hack tore off the black cloth from one tray. It revealed a high-tech arm armor. The screen zoomed in on the “Ainkeni Type-III Combat Assistance Device.”

The audience fell momentarily silent. The third-place prize was valuable. The Ainkeni Combat Assistance Device was well-known in the Void; even a Type-I sold for astronomical prices, let alone a Type-III.

“Hahahaha! Are you regretting not entering? And you’ve got something even more regrettable coming.”

Hack tore off another black cloth. On the second tray lay a “document”—but it wasn’t a document. It was a permit.

“Gao Zhenggang Mine Permit. The mine is located on Nantis Star. With this permit, you may mine without any taxes.”

Hack swallowed hard. Even he was tempted—not to mention the audience. Gao Zhenggang was a top-tier metal material, extremely expensive. It was indispensable for alchemy, high-end mechs, weapon forging, and advanced tech. Sold by weight in “zhanke” units—a single hair weighed about 2.3 zhanke. The smaller the unit, the higher the price. This showed just how precious Gao Zhenggang was.

“Whoa～”

The audience erupted. Not only were spectators envious—even the major factions here to recruit talent were burning with desire. Whoever obtained that permit, no matter how weak their strength, would be aggressively courted by every faction and offered high status.

The fact that such prizes were offered revealed just how violent this business was. “One investment, a hundredfold return” didn’t even begin to describe it.

“And now—the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The first-place prize is…”

Hack fell silent. Even as a commentator, he struggled to suppress his greed.

The black cloth was pulled away. On the tray lay a fist-sized crystal, entirely emerald green. Where it touched the wooden tray, tender sprouts had already emerged—not a revival of withered wood, but the resurrection of dead wood.

Thick waves of life energy spread outward. Below, millions of spectators were momentarily confused; most didn’t recognize the object. But those who did rose abruptly, breathing heavily.