parentshiftbook Chapter 746: Reindeer! Reindeer!
Chapter 746: Reindeer! Reindeer!
The metal platform slowly descended, and the figure of the Earl of Blazing Flames vanished from the arena.Shortly after, a new metal platform rose between the edge of the venue and the audience seating—clearly, that was where he, the referee, would be staying when the match started.
Meanwhile, in the audience, Nicholas and Prisoner both stood up.
"Ho ho ho—here I go!"
Nicholas revealed a smile and greeted those around him.
He specifically glanced at High Mountain, who was not far away.
"I'll help you bring back that [Item]!"
High Mountain nodded. "Much obliged."
With that, Nicholas turned and walked toward the passage he had come from.
Not long after, he emerged from one of the two passages on either side of the arena below—while from the other passage, Old Zhou, clad in a black skintight suit, walked out as well.
The two of them approached the calm, windless arena at the same time, standing on opposite sides of the platform, sizing each other up.
The red-robed, white-bearded, chubby old man smiled cheerfully as he faced the muscular man in black spandex with the physique of an ape, a narrow waist, and an arrogant expression. Neither of them uttered a single word.
"Contestants, are both of you ready?"
The referee Earl's passionate voice rang out, flames bursting wildly from his body.
"Ready as can be! Ho ho!"
Nicholas laughed loudly in response.
Old Zhou, on the other hand, raised a single hand above his head and gave a thumbs-up, signaling that he was also prepared.
"Then... begin!"
Earl roared with fervor, and the flames on his body exploded with a loud "BOOM!"
That explosive sound was like a starter pistol. The venue instantly began to change.
Metal plates rose, floorboards flipped open, storms surged!
The arena quickly transformed into the appearance of the "Storm" theme from just now.
And Nicholas and Old Zhou charged straight at each other!
"Whoosh!"
Old Zhou shot toward Nicholas like a cannonball—there were already several tornadoes separating the two, but Old Zhou’s form twisted and turned with rapid movements, dodging all of them as he advanced.
At the same time, two electrified tonfas appeared in his hands, like twin bolts of lightning clasped in his grip, while arcs of electricity swirled around his body!
As for Nicholas, after he started running, he summoned a sleigh packed with gifts and pulled by reindeer, charging straight in Old Zhou’s direction, seemingly planning to ram him directly!
"Lightning Art-enhanced tonfas as his weapons, combined with an ancestral totem carved from lightning-struck wood to activate his potential and unleash Thunderbolt Combat Arts," Grandmaster in the audience spoke calmly, identifying the core [Items] Old Zhou was currently using. "Weapons from Prison Mountain paired with combat techniques from Black Marsh—what a capable fellow."
On the other side, Diviner narrowed his eyes as he sized up Nicholas. "This guy’s [Exclusive Item] actually consists of three parts... Reindeer, sleigh, and gift sack."
"The inspector from the Central China region really isn’t simple."
And just as both sides revealed what cards they were playing, Nicholas and Prisoner had already collided in the center of the arena!
Both sides had opened with overwhelmingly powerful frontal assault moves!
The reindeer-drawn sleigh and the lightning-clad tonfas smashed together...
"BOOM!"
It was like two overloaded heavy trucks flooring it in a head-on collision. The shockwave alone scattered two of the nearby tornadoes.
Then, both sides tumbled sideways, rolling away!
Nicholas’s sleigh flipped onto its side, and the reindeer fell to the ground along with it.
The chubby, red-robed old man and his round gift sack rolled three full times before coming to a stop, looking quite miserable.
On the other side, Old Zhou appeared much more composed. Though he had been sent flying sideways, he adjusted his posture mid-air, executing a gymnast-like spin before landing steadily on the ground.
Cheers erupted from the Free Alliance side.
"Nice one! Brother Zhou! Beautifully done!"
"Keep hitting him head-on!"
"Take it! Take it!"
Li Nian jumped up and shouted happily.
Standing up and yelling alongside her were Mountaineer and Comedian.
Phantom, meanwhile, was even more over the top, magically producing two party poppers and setting them off with a bang.
Xiaoyun and Chef God, on the other hand, were relatively calm.
"Wow, he hasn’t won yet. Chill out, guys."
Still, the two of them clearly had full confidence in Old Zhou’s performance.
The only one in the entire Free Alliance who wasn’t optimistic... was Old Zhou himself, standing on the arena floor!
He steadied himself, looking through the storm at Nicholas, who was climbing back to his feet after rolling on the ground, his expression grave.
"Tough reindeer!"
In that flash of lightning-fast exchange, only Old Zhou and Nicholas truly understood what had happened.
Originally, he had planned to use his [Thunder Demon-Suppressing Cross Tonfas] to bypass the reindeer and attack Nicholas directly.
But unexpectedly, Nicholas seemed to have anticipated his move. At the last moment, he urgently pulled upward, using the eight reindeer to block Old Zhou’s path of advance!
Old Zhou didn’t back down either. Though it deviated from the plan, as he saw it, this just meant he had to knock aside and ram through eight extra reindeer!
If going around wouldn’t work, he’d just smash his way through!
But...
Old Zhou hadn’t expected that he couldn’t send the two lead reindeer flying with a single charge.
Those reindeer were as heavy as mountain boulders and sea reefs, as hard as if cast from bronze and iron!
And Old Zhou didn’t simply lose his momentum from that impact either. Feeling something was off, he immediately lashed out at the two reindeer with his tonfas.
He delivered a full ten strikes within a single second. If they had been ordinary reindeer, they would’ve been turned into meatballs by now!
Even powerful demons from the Prison Mountain Realm and savage beasts from the Black Marsh Realm would have been beaten to the brink of death—or outright killed!
But... those two reindeer, after taking the full ten blows, merely lost their balance.
That was precisely why, even though Nicholas was lying on the ground rolling, Old Zhou didn’t pursue.
Because the eight large-antlered reindeer, jingling with bells, were now standing between the two of them, staring at Old Zhou with belligerent eyes.
Old Zhou let out a long breath.
"Damn it. Didn’t expect these deer to be this tough!"
Nicholas finally managed to scramble back to his feet as well.
"Ho ho ho, you young man really pack a punch. Looks like I can’t keep this form and let the reindeer do their thing."
Nicholas stood up, raised a hand, and the reins tying the reindeer to the sleigh came loose.
"Go, my reindeer, my good partners—go teach this disobedient bad child a lesson!"
Nicholas shouted.
Then...
Beneath the stunned gazes of everyone in the audience, the eight reindeer... stood up on two legs!
Those reindeer were already extremely large, their physiques almost rivaling the largest moose in the natural world.
Now that they were standing upright, they revealed compact, terrifying muscles and massive skeletal frames, coupled with those enormous antlers...
Eight terrifying, deer-like muscular giants now loomed on the arena floor!
Compared to them, even the originally sturdy and imposing Old Zhou now looked as small and frail as a kindergartener facing a robust adult!