Chapter 231: Ragnarök, Sixth Round—Draw!!!
That radiance also resembled the final light of this star approaching its end.
As if, in the moment of death, it released its most beautiful scene to bid itself farewell.
Creaks, cracks, hums, booms, and other abnormal sounds echoed through the arena, as it was rather close to this aurora.
This inevitably raised concerns that the arena might not withstand the impact of the light and would collapse or plummet.
However, unlike the panic during the fifth round, neither humans nor gods now cared whether the arena's destruction would affect them.
Everyone's attention was captivated by this dazzling light, unwilling to look away until it vanished.
Finally, the arena's tremors ceased, and it no longer emitted cries of distress.
As the aurora rapidly contracted and disappeared, countless people seemed to jolt awake from a dream.
In silence, all witnessed the utterly lifeless surface—the sea completely evaporated—gazing upon the colossal crater that occupied nearly one-fifth of the entire surface.
This crater didn't resemble one formed by a meteorite impact—with raised edges—nor did it look like a volcanic crater. Instead, it appeared as a smooth, hemispherical hollow, much like a scoop taken out of an ice cream.
Crack!
A massive fissure appeared in the circular pit, seemingly aligned with the scar torn open during the earlier clash between the two combatants.
Now, due to the recent impact, this scar had deepened further into the earth's surface, causing the enormous ring-shaped crater to collapse inward.
Its interior was pitch-black and deathly silent, devoid of any glimmer of starlight or signs of life.
Ultimately, it formed what seemed like a bottomless abyssal eye.
A peculiar detail: despite sunlight shining directly into this abyssal eye, no light reflected back, as if it were a black hole devouring all illumination.
So, who won?
Was it Zeus, the God of Gods?
Or Arthur, the King of Knights?
The camera attempted to locate any trace of them, but found nothing.
"Hurry up and find the old man, you bastard Heimdall!!!"
The roar came from Ares, whose eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Heimdall.
They needed to find the old man quickly to administer treatment.
But wouldn't that interfere with the duel?
No, the duel had already concluded—with the old man's victory—so now, they urgently needed to locate him for medical care.
"Ares, that's enough. Don't make such a disgraceful scene!"
Hermes, who had always been amiable, now cast an icy gaze at his brother, whom he deemed unworthy of the title God of War.
Under that stare, Ares—unwilling to accept the truth—broke down, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"How could this be? It shouldn't be like this. The old man should have won!"
Before the aurora faded, the outcome had already been determined. The Akashic System provided the information on who had triumphed and who had fallen.
No, there was no victor.
"What a pity~"
The sigh-like voice came from the four-armed God of Destruction.
For countless eons, he too had yearned for a life-or-death duel with Zeus. Now, that opportunity was forever lost.
A comrade-in-arms, a friend-like figure, was now one fewer.
"The final battle between humanity and gods, Round Six, result…"
The announcer Heimdall finally snapped to attention, his voice trembling.
As he spoke, his throat grew parched, and he attempted to swallow saliva to moisten it.
"The result is—a draw!!!"
Thus, the outcome of the sixth round was declared!
This was the first true draw since the beginning of the final battle between humanity and gods, Ragnarök.
A draw, in this case, didn't mean both sides lay incapacitated—it meant mutual annihilation!
Logically, such a result should be considered a victory for humanity, given that their opponent was Zeus, the God of Gods and chairman of the Divine Council.
Fighting such an opponent to a standstill was the greatest triumph.
So far, aside from the first round's Xiang Yu and the fourth round's Old Man of the Mountain, no one else had survived.
Thus, many on the human side harbored deep resentment—hatred toward their own weakness. If they could exchange their lives for the resurrection of the human representatives, almost no one would refuse.
Even if it required ten thousand, or ten million lives in exchange, they would not hesitate to die.
They had already vanished from history, and if their lingering souls could be offered as sacrifice to revive these beacons of hope for humanity, it would be utterly worthwhile.
"Why?"
The one murmuring in a daze was the witch from another world.
Because the core pillar of this world had fallen in battle, it meant this world was about to face an even more perilous situation.
The Primordial Gods would never let such a golden opportunity slip by.
As for the four individuals from the parallel world nearby, they too were at a loss for words and could only remain silent in response.
Each battle between humans and gods was equivalent to pushing this world one step closer to the abyss.
If this world were to meet its end, their own world would likely be in jeopardy as well.
Therefore, they could understand the shrine maiden's sense of powerlessness—they were equally helpless, forced to witness this scene unfold.
The grand divine hall fell into silence as well.
It was unclear how much time had passed before they snapped out of their stupor.
"Zeus is dead just like that?"
"What about the Spear of Victory?"
"It seems it wasn't found—did it get destroyed along with him?"
The Spear of Victory combined with Zeus had been their greatest obstacle, and now that obstacle was gone.
It felt like a dream, somewhat unreal.
Then, everyone suddenly grew quiet and turned their gaze toward the figure on the Supreme Divine Throne.
"Prepare yourselves—the time to reclaim our world has arrived!"
The great figure seated upon the Supreme Divine Throne issued this divine decree!
Thus, the march was finally about to begin.
Countless gods thirsted for blood, yearned for revenge, and longed to reclaim the victory and erase the shame of the past!!!