As soon as Aurelion finished speaking, several other masters emerged from around the arena.
They each consciously sat down in their assigned seats.
Erica was among them.
Upon seeing these eight masters, countless viewers exclaimed with delight:
"That's Master Mosanna! Master Mosanna has returned!"
"Master Anru has also arrived. It is said that he possesses the power to summon spirit beasts and is one of the few summoners available today!"
"Master Gretham is here too! I've heard that many wealthy people hire him to assassinate their rivals, I didn't expect him to be here today!"
"My God, Master Erica is here too! Isn't she Viktor's suitor? Does this mean she's decided to stand against Viktor?"
The appearance of the Eight Masters instantly thrilled countless viewers, and their previous fear of Viktor vanished.
At this moment, some of them even felt a little guilty.
At first, they thought that, apart from the Goddess of Justice, all these masters had chosen to abandon them and withdraw from the competition.
Even the Empress of the Karencia Empire was not highly regarded by the public.
They believe she chose to abandon the final battle with the gods, wanting only to protect her people.
But now, the return of all these masters has rekindled their hope.
For some reason, apart from Master Erica and Queen Aurelion, the other four masters didn't look too good.
Why don't you smile? Are you unhappy?
Wait, why are there only four masters?
Realizing this, the excited smiles of the audience suddenly froze.
Many people have noticed this problem.
Including Aurelion, Erica, and the Goddess of Justice, plus the four masters on the field, there are only seven in total.
A master... ran away?
"It seems you're missing one person?"
Viktor's sarcastic remarks came from below the arena, clearly reaching the ears of all the spectators.
This sent chills down the spines of countless people present, and a sense of despair quickly spread through their hearts.
After all, this means that the probability of failure has increased again.
Aurelion continued to stare coldly at Viktor, speaking in a resolute, confrontational tone:
"No, he just hasn't arrived yet."
"Very well, Your Majesty."
Viktor smiled faintly at her and continued:
"Hopefully he can get there as soon as possible before our battle is over."
The moment the natural bird appeared in the sky, Victor knew that the Mage Council had begun to act according to his plan.
Similarly, the Mage Council is also on his side and is carrying out his plan in an orderly manner.
So, since the person Aurelion mentioned had not yet arrived, Victor didn't need to think too much to know who would be next to appear.
However, when the Archmage appeared, Victor realized that he could no longer place all his trust in the Mage Council.
He was unsure of the archmage's true intentions, and how he planned to carry out the project known as "Ragnarok."
But their operation must continue.
Victor sat calmly in his seat, his gaze shifting serenely from the Queen to the seven gods in the sky.
As if picking at random, he fixed his gaze on Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and spoke softly:
"Athena, you're the one."
Athena remained silent, but after being chosen, her eyes seemed to dim, and she nodded slightly.
She descended silently from the sky and landed on the arena not far away.
At the same time, Aurelion turned to the masters behind her and asked softly:
"Who is willing to fight?"
Although they were eager to explain why the Queen herself couldn't lead the battle.
But they also knew that the competition rules didn't allow it.
The competition format requires adherence to fair one-on-one competition.
Neither side can play consecutively, regardless of victory or defeat.
This means that if Queen Aurelion enters the fray earlier, there will be no one left to fight against other, more powerful gods.
And this deity is currently known as the 'Goddess of Wisdom'.
Given her reputation for wisdom, she probably... can't be that strong.
After much deliberation, Gretham slowly raised his hand, volunteering to fight:
"Then I'll do it."
Everyone knew that going into battle was tantamount to a duel to the death, and these masters all wanted to run away like that master who ran away.
But if they all run away, who will have the courage to step up?
Are we to place all our hopes on the empress and goddesses?
Even if humanity ultimately triumphs, those who choose to flee and survive will likely be utterly despised by the world.
If the outcome is failure, then none of them will survive.
Since that's the case, they might as well make a grand entrance.
This wasn't for posthumous fame, but because they had figured everything out in these past few days.
What if we win?
Since no one else is willing to step forward, then it's even more important for them to take the lead.
Even if they die in battle, they must fight with spirit and reveal the weaknesses of the gods to future generations.
Gretham left his seat and walked to the center of the arena.
A human and a god stood on the enormous arena, the atmosphere tense and frozen, ready to erupt at any moment.
The surrounding audience fell silent, holding their breath.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the battlefield or the projection screen above it.
Battle is imminent.
Looking at Athena, the goddess of wisdom, opposite him, Gretham adjusted his breathing and calmed his slightly timid heart.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
