Beginning Beyond The Horizon

The fight in the arena continued, the cheers from the crowd grew louder, and spikes continued to fall on the four Tanzanies and their friends, but without causing any harm.

Yul's eyes continued to search, although he had already looked at the people in the crowd very carefully twice. If Hajime was sitting in the crowd, he could easily spot Hajime, but unfortunately, he could not find Hajime in the crowd.

Yul know that now is not the time to lose focus. If Hajime was indeed among the crowd, after winning the fight, he had half an hour to meet his friends and family before entering Eternal Library. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and refocused on the problem at hand.

"They either bribed other teams to give up or threatened them with force," Fufu said, raising the left corner of her mouth angrily. "I know they never play fair."

"They probably already knew we were protecting U-ri," Yul said. "So, U-ri, just stay within the protection range of the bracelet."

Fufu said, "I want Wadi."

Yul said, "Among the seven, the one standing in the middle must be their leader."

Fufu said, "That's Anu. He is Malik's right-hand man and is very powerful."

Lixin said, "I'll take him and the rest of you take care of the others." He looked at the seven people inside the safety of the bracelet. "Here's the plan. If we want to beat them, we have to strike fast." He pushed himself forward. "Fufu, on the next spike attack, you rush out and knock as many of them to the ground as possible to create a gap for us. Monk, use your talismans wisely. Followed by Abrafo and Yul." He turned to U-ri. "Sir U-ri, because this can protect you. Just stay here."

U-ri said, "Everyone, you must be careful."

Bong said, "Don't worry about us, we are capable of taking care of ourselves."

Michio said, "Knowing you're safe, nothing can stop us."

Yul turned to looked at U-ri and said, "The only reason for you step out would be if we are all defeated."

Abrafo looked at Lixin and said annoyingly, "Who gives you the right to choose our opponents? I prefer U-ri's plan to yours."

Lixin turned to looked at Abrafo and said annoyingly, "Because I am planning a very useful strategy for you to get rid of the chess pieces."

Abrafo stepped forward to greet Lixin. "And you want to be the leader so you can win all the glory."

Bong grabbed Abrafo's arm and pulled him away from Lixin. "Are you crazy?" Bong said through gritted teeth. "Why are you fighting him at a time like this. The no-kill rule no longer applies. If Lixin decides to walk away, we're screwed, you understand? We need him now more than before because U-ri can't fight."

Michio looked at Abrafo and nodded said, "What Bong said is true."

U-ri said disappointedly, "We haven't won yet, but you two have started fighting over who can get the most credit. You know, your current behavior does not make our situation better but makes it worse. All credit between us is equally distribute among us because we all work together. We're not shooting targets, so winning or losing isn't based on who gets the most points. Now, winning or losing at this moment depends on our ability to work as a team. Losing now means death, which is not acceptable." He looked at Abrafo and Lixin, and then shook his head in disbelief. "The only way you six are going to survive and win this game is by working as a team."

Looking at the current situation, Yul knew that if he did not intervene, the differences between Abrafo and Lixin will escalate. He stepped forward and stood between Abrafo and Lixin. He squeezed Abrafo's right shoulder twice.

"Lixin's plan is better." Yul said.

"Yul!" Abrafo frowned.

Yul looked at Abrafo and shook his head at Abrafo. Yul said, "I'm the leader of this group, so you do what I say."

Abrafo never heard Yul call himself a leader in front of so many people. "Leader? When did you become a leader?" Abrafo asked angrily.

Bong stared at Abrafo and spoke with a firm tone, he said, "Right now."

Abrafo was stunned. "Now?" 

Yul said, "Yes, now you need to prepare a contingency plan for us in case Lixin's plan fails."

Fed up with the men's quarrels, Fufu frowned and said, "Men... what a bunch of darlings. If you can't decide who will dominate the final battle and continue this ridiculously embarrassing behavior, then we will Just give up, that's less embarrassing than going out and getting beaten or killed."

Bong grabbed Abrafo's arm and Abrafo quickly pulled his arm away from Bong's hand. Abrafo shouted in Bong's face, "You want to protect him instead of me?"

Bong was taken aback. "How dare you yell at me? You low life!" Bong shouted back at Abrafo.

Abrafo pushed Bong so hard that Bong was pushed several yards away from Abrafo. "Get your ugly face away from me. If you defend him, then stand by his side so we all know which side you are on." He pointed at Lixin.

Seeing Abrafo's ill attitude towards Bong, Lixin stepped forward angrily and clenched his fists. "Do you think I need you to win this battle?" Lixin gritted his teeth.

At this moment, everyone in the coliseum were confused about the situation inside the invisible protective wall.

Jin and others sitting on the bench of the first row were confused. Not only them, but everyone was speechless.

Shi said worriedly, "Something is not right."

Jin gritted his teeth and said, "This is the final battle. This shouldn't happen."

Ping said, "We were too far away to hear what was going on."

Xiang frustratedly said, "If we can't intervene, then what on earth are we going to do."

Shi said, "What if someone knows the identity of Lord Lixin? This will have a great impact on his status in the court."

Jin sighed and said, "We can only wait and see what Lord Lixin decides."

Bong quickly stood up and looked at Abrafo angrily. He said furiously, "Losing this fight will hurt you more than Lixin. You and your friends need to enter Eternal library and collect all the information about Kinigan Island. Lixin has nothing to lose, but you and your friends had everything to lose if you would to lose in this battle." He irritably stared at Abrafo. "If you dare to make Lixin angry and force him to quit and forfeit this fight or be defeated by those losers...then you are truly a lowlife and I'm cutting tie with you."

Hearing Bong defend Lixin instead of him, Abrafo angrily said, "Do you really want to sever ties with me because of him?" Abrafo scoffed. "Oh, yes, I come from a low life humble background, a nobody. Unlike your lover, who is your father's right-hand man. Why don't you go home with him when we get out of this arena."

Bong approached Abrafo and violently poked Abrafo's chest with his finger. "I dare you to say it again," Bong stared furiously at Abrafo.

Standing on the other side, although he could not hear clearly what the people inside the bracelet said, Anu had already noticed that there were differences between the people inside. He looked at the seven people with a smile.

Anu smiled and said, "I thought it would take longer. Looking at the current situation, maybe there is no need to fight at all." He turned to Wadi. "Let them kill each other, and then we'll kill the last survivor."

Abrafo looked at Bong bravely and said with an annoying smile, "When we get out of this arena, you can go home with your lover."

The next thing Abrafo saw was Bong's fierce fist hitting him in the face. Bong's attack was so fast that Abrafo had no time to react or dodge. Bong's fierce fist hit Abrafo's left eyes, causing Abrafo to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

"Ah..." Abrafo groaned in pain and shook his head to return to normal. "You hit me? Tsk..." He stood up slowly.

Bong said with gritted teeth, "I can do more than just one punch."

Abrafo jumped forward and grabbed Bong by the shoulders, pushing him out of the bracelet protection wall. Abrafo and Bong landed not far from Anu's team, causing Anu's team to start laughing. Abrafo and Bong soon grabbed each other's collars, but as they pushed, pulled, and turned, Abrafo grabbed the remaining darts tied to the side of his thigh and fired the darts directly at Anu and his team.

Michio rushed forward, jumping over Abrafo and Bong threw a handful of talismans at Anu and his teammates. Chia also used the talisman to block most of the incoming arrows, but he was still hit by some of the arrows.

Yul rushed forward, pulled out the sword from the scabbard on his back, and jumped out of the bracelet. He swung his Lightning Sword forward, creating a powerful bolt of lightning that passed through Anu and Wadi, splitting the arena in half. 

The side of the board where Anu and one of his teammates were standing dropped a few yards to the ground, while the side where Wadi and the rest of his teammates were standing remained in place.

Yul's actions caused everyone in the coliseum gasped and fall into silence.