Duality of Shadows-Chapter 921: Quick And Simple

The first legion’s camp was bustling with activity. Carod explained to the pair that all members of the Charming Eyes Race from the continent were gathering to meet the mighty Tarrasque. It would evaluate them and select a group to travel to the Crown Continent and participate in the sacred tournament.

This tournament took place once every generation. The rewards were countless, and the winners got to remain on that continent to serve directly under heroes and other powerful figures.

Everyone who participated in the tournament, even if they didn’t make it, ended up becoming major figures on their home continent. On top of that, they received benefits from the primordial beast overseeing the continent.

The only way for others to take part in the selection was by joining a legion. However, the nine legions didn’t bring all their warriors—only their best.

The Tarrasque was known for its bad temper. If it saw too many weaklings, it would get angry. There was a time when it conducted a bloody, deadly selection, where two-thirds of the participants died. Since then, it became an unspoken rule that all legions would bring, at most, a dozen of their best warriors.

After hearing this, the round golem didn’t seem to care much. He turned to Vice-Commander Jilina and ordered, "You’re in charge here. Look after the camp. Keep up the training—don’t go soft."

She quickly nodded, clenching her fists. Then, he turned to Carod, confused: "Just the three of us. We don’t need anyone else."

And so, the trio moved forward. Alm and Bruno had already made all the necessary preparations, knowing they’d be participating in a tournament. They intended to maximize their gains as much as possible. Standing out was key to easing their movements, but they had to be cautious not to overdo it... which, for them lately, had become the hardest part.

When they arrived at the imperial city, it was full of winged figures with golden eyes. All members of the Charming Eyes Race on the continent had gathered, eager for the selection.

Everyone born into the race was part of the empire. Those at lower levels ended up assigned to simple jobs, while Divine-level individuals were taken to the imperial castle for training.

Most of the continent’s resources were allocated to these Divine-level youths, all in preparation for the generational selection.

Having many powerful youths was critically important. The number of people from the continent who stood out in the tournament would bring endless benefits. The top performers of the generation received extra perks unavailable anywhere else, not to mention the influence of having people from the continent living in that central hub.

At this point, Alm and Bruno had the same thought and asked Carod, "Wait, the Tarrasque continent where we live... if there’s a power ranking, where do we stand?"

"Unfortunately, dead last. Actually, we’ve hardly ever moved up in history," Carod replied with a sigh.

Bruno sighed as well. ’Well... we could always play the card of being the continent’s last hope, a rare miracle falling from the heavens, born of destiny after so much mediocrity... or two, Ruri won’t last long pretending to be weak.’

He spoke through the array, and Ruri smiled brightly. Who was her master trying to fool? He never did anything without making a huge scene. She just found that side of them adorable.

The trio arrived at the designated area. Within two hours, nearly ninety people from the legions had already gathered. All the commanders had come, each bringing a dozen warriors.

Soon after, a group of nearly five hundred members of the Charming Eyes Race arrived. Carod explained that about one-third of them were King-level like him, while the rest were Fighter-level. They were standout workers within the empire. Carod himself had once been among them, but his talent had been recognized, and he became a commander.

A few minutes later, forty radiant figures approached the area together. Among them was Emppu—these were all Divine-level youths trained by the empire for this moment.

In total, around six hundred people were patiently waiting. But the gazes directed at the pair were intense.

Rumors of the sudden rise of the once-ninth legion to the top, and their audacious behavior during that judgment, had already spread everywhere. On top of that... everyone participating in this selection was at the peak of their cultivation.

Ruri was still at the first level of the Divine King Realm—two levels below everyone else. Meanwhile, the round figure was still at the peak of the Heavenly Saint Realm—the realm below hers. Everyone there was part of the most talented elite. Even if they were abnormal, they wouldn’t be facing cabbages; every level difference mattered a lot in battles of this scale.

That’s why even other continents only sent people at their absolute peak. Were they planning to join the tournament being this weak? Was this arrogance or stupidity? Everyone wondered.

But it didn’t take long for the primordial sunlight to suddenly disappear.

Everyone looked up at the sky, surprised. A colossal figure appeared, covering the skies of the imperial city. It was so massive that it completely blocked the view of the heavens. The terrifying Tarrasque had arrived.

Its appearance was both terrifying and unique. It had the imposing head of a lion, with a thick and wild mane. Its enormous body resembled the shell of a turtle, covered in reinforced scales and spikes that looked capable of piercing the toughest metal.

Six muscular limbs, similar to those of a bear, supported its massive weight. Each was armed with monstrous claws, made to tear apart anything in its path. Behind it, a massive tail swayed through the air, resembling that of a venomous scorpion.

Alm and Bruno were seeing this primordial beast for the first time. Looking at its appearance now, they were reminded of Earth’s tales about something similar. It looked remarkably similar, just like so many other stories from Earth about creatures and races.

The reason was simple: across all universes, the heavenly laws tended to create similar forms of life. Primitive races like the Chromaraics and others almost always appeared. Of course, there were variations and surprises, but they were rare.

Chromaraics didn’t always exist in every universe, nor were they always the origin of all known humanoid races. Similarly, not all primordial beasts were born. In the universe they destroyed, for instance, there had only been two Phoenixes and a single ’Primordial’ Dragon.

Alm and Bruno weren’t even sure about that information anymore. After all, those three creatures from that universe were infinitely weaker and hadn’t even reached the immortal level for some unknown reason. Maybe out of ignorance, they believed themselves to be primordial beasts, but they were likely just close descendants of the true ones. The real ones had either left or died—no way to know.

Thus, unique creatures like the Tarasque also ended up being born in similar ways across universes. Earth’s myths probably existed because, in that universe, there had been a Tarasque.

Why it had visited Earth, however, was a mystery hard to unravel. That small mortal planet, without any Qi, held hidden mysteries. Alm and Bruno were convinced of that—there was a lot of knowledge about various things buried there.

As they admired the wild and powerful creature, the Tarasque looked down at everyone on the ground for a few seconds with a cold gaze and snorted. In that instant, the space around the youths warped, and they were transported to another area.

It was a small world, left over from a past battle. The place was about a thousand meters wide, a barren desert with no obstacles. Everyone could see each other clearly; it felt like a massive arena.

A dry, guttural voice echoed: "This generation seems pretty average. What a pity. We’ll remain in the lower ranks. But at least everyone can gain some experience."

Its voice could instill fear and panic in anyone unprepared, but... strangely, its words didn’t match that tone. Its aura was also completely restrained, as if it were a calm and pure beast.

Alm and Bruno thought back to Earth’s myths and reflected on the reason for this. The Tarasque was known as a bloodthirsty and utterly insane beast, a force of nature that killed and destroyed indiscriminately. But one day, it was tamed by a saint, and it was as if its very nature had been reversed.

Currently, it was tamed—obviously, by the queen. However, when its true nature emerged, it would be like an apocalypse for its enemies. Naturally, it held no malice unless someone managed to put it in a bad mood. In that case, everything would change.

Bruno muttered, ’It’s like a sick person with two personalities. Someone so unstable isn’t trustworthy... better keep our distance... wait... crap, we found our long-lost brother.’

Everyone fell silent until the Tarasque in the sky spoke again: "Let’s get this over with. This will be quick and simple."

It gestured, and countless small stones, about the size of eggs, appeared in the sky, created by the primordial laws of the earth.

Although the beast’s mastery over these laws was high, it wasn’t specialized in them, unlike the Behemoth. In this aspect, Alm and Bruno, with their immortal-level knowledge, were probably superior.

The stones descended slowly, positioning themselves before each of the youths present.

The Tarasque spoke again: "The selection will last one hour. Each person will have one of these stones, and you’re not allowed to store it in rings or separate spaces. Each stone is worth one point. Just fight and steal stones from others. When the time’s up, the hundred with the most points will be selected, and we’ll leave immediately."

Everyone listened and grabbed their stones nervously, hiding them in their clothes as predatory gazes filled the area.

The Tarasque chuckled lightly and added, "The top hundred will be ranked based on their points. I’ll give prizes according to that ranking. A hundred is the maximum number we can take to the tournament, but we’re not required to fill all the spots. In the past, I’ve held selections where I only took seventy people. So…"

It cast a dark glance, and at that moment, Bruno was sure the Tarasque’s other personality had taken control.

"If fewer than a hundred people have points, the survivors will get greater rewards." It concluded slowly.

The final explanation made everyone understand the dynamics. Especially the forty Divine-level Charming Eyes Race members, who realized they needed to eliminate as many competitors as possible so fewer than a hundred remained, guaranteeing better rewards. Killing wasn’t necessary, just stealing points.

Alm, Bruno, and Ruri heard the explanation but reacted similarly... with a big difference in their intentions. ’Indeed, this will be quick and simple,’ Alm remarked through the array.

"BEGIN!" the Tarasque abruptly roared, giving no time for anyone to think much.

It vanished but continued watching the situation from hiding.

After receiving a message through the array, Ruri closed her eyes. Carod watched the competitors take off into the sky. Suddenly, the weakest ones became the first targets. Everyone ignored the First Legion.

The fifth-level legions and all Fighter-level youths from the empire became primary targets since they were easy points. Once they fell, the focus would shift to the main ones, leaving the trio temporarily ignored.

Carod looked at the couple, confused. They didn’t move, so he waited. Meanwhile, Alm and Bruno analyzed the entire battlefield.

Five minutes filled with roars and explosions passed. The mass of weaker cultivators was pushed to their limits and eliminated one by one.

Unfortunately, some fools couldn’t hold back and, when faced with resistance from the weaker ones, ended up killing to quickly secure points and move on to other targets.

They watched the leader of the eighth legion they had helped get eliminated, along with the people she brought. Carod sighed in relief; she lost but didn’t die.

Survivors who lost their stones were automatically teleported out of the area by the Tarasque. Having zero points meant complete elimination with no second chances.

Alm and Bruno soon noticed a figure in the distance, at the edge of the area. It was a young Charming Eyes Race girl at the Fighter level, clearly one of the weaker group, and she was under constant attack. But... she didn’t fall.

She was small like Ruri, slightly slimmer and less curvy. Despite her delicate appearance, her eyes were fierce. Her clothes and golden wings were stained red with her own blood.

Firmly holding a spear, she endured repeated injuries from various attacks but didn’t fall. Even as several opponents lost their patience and attacked to kill her, she seemed to dodge death by millimeters and, like a cornered lioness, struck back fiercely at her attackers.

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People began to fear her. Though she traded wounds for wounds, no one could land the final blow or steal her stone. Eventually, they started attacking her from a distance, worsening her injuries.

After a few blows, attackers shifted targets, and she survived. However, after the first five minutes, most of the weaker ones had already fallen. She wouldn’t last much longer.

Stepping back, she felt the spatial barrier behind her. She couldn’t retreat any further. Looking around, she realized she was alone at the edge. Many eyes turned toward her, seeing an easy target. Still, there was no trace of fear in her gaze.

It was at that moment that Ruri opened her eyes.

Simultaneously, the Tarasque, observing everything from hiding, widened its eyes and focused its attention on the small golem.