Martial Online.

Chapter 442 Sudden Encounter

?Moriarty's community was abuzz after the reveal of all the qualified teams.

They were excited to see their streamer as having been qualified, but his teammate raised curious eyebrows.

[Keko: Who is Ambrose?]

[Alas: I think I've watched his video before. He is fairly popular, but he hasn't been uploading lately]

[Kare21: Why would Lord Moriarty team up with him? He doesn't sound very powerful]

[KnowledgeableMan: I wouldn't be too sure about that. Ambrose is actually the player with the highest total bounty. It's true that the bounty doesn't always reflect strength, but he cannot be weak]

[Kyoko-san: Does anyone have a picture of him?

At that moment, one community member posted the newest bounty of Ambrose.

[Kyoko-san: Wow, he is handsome! T-that bounty is insane; isn't he worth over 200 thousand crowns?!]

[Rei-Kun: Is anyone watching the broadcast? Graham is about to announce the next round!]

[Kamne: Ah, right! Anyway, even if Ambrose is not that strong, Moriarty alone can qualify for the finals! Let's have faith in him as his loyal servants!]

…

In the meeting hall, all the players had quieted down as they anticipated the Game Master's new words.

"Congratulations; you've successfully qualified from the first round." Graham slowly clapped his hands and then said.

"However, the tournament is far from over."

Snap—he snapped his fingers, and a countdown appeared on the wall behind him.

[Countdown: 2 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]

"The next round starts approximately in three days."

Some players whispered with each other, as that was quite a long time. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelenglish.net . Fire(.)nᴇt

"This is where you can rest, if you wish to do so." Graham pointed at the door behind him. "This door leads deeper to this facility, and there, you can train, improve your skills, and eat to your heart's consent.

"You are not forced to stay inside the game either. Your spawn point is now inside the room you spawned in, but you must log back inside before the start of the next round."

The players sighed in relief and smiled excitedly as some planned to go celebrate with their families for their success, while a few planned to stay inside the game to increase their strength.

"In this facility, you can also find clues to what the next round will be and strategize beforehand." Graham said. "So, keep your eyes open and gather as much information as possible."

After hearing that, some players who planned to spend the next few days in the real world quickly changed their minds. Knowledge was power, and if they knew what the next round was about, it would help them plenty.

"Well then, that's all from me." Graham snapped his fingers, and the door behind him swung wide open. "Good luck out there."

After those words, he vanished into thin air, leaving the players in a state of bewilderment and uncertainty. They were thinking about what they should do next.

Ambrose elbowed Moriarty and whispered. "Shall we go check out the rest of the facility?"

"Mm." Moriarty nodded and stood up with him, making their way towards the door.

After seeing some of the players stand up and head over to the door, the uncertain players did the same while a few hundred teams outright logged out.

After stepping through the door, they came across a vast, mall-like structure filled with shops and restaurants.

The ceiling was high, and there were numerous floors above them, each looking complex and having their own unique layout.

There seemed to be an endless maze of hallways and corridors to explore, and it also had some relaxing seating areas scattered throughout with comfortable chairs and tables for players to rest and enjoy their meals or drinks.

Moriarty and Ambrose entered an arcade-looking room filled with different types of pinball machines and air hockey tables.

"So, one can have fun if they desire to." Moriarty grabbed the nearest air hockey paddle and shot the puck towards the goal with a skillful flick of his wrist.

"Very distracting, don't you think so?" He asked while looking over his shoulder at Ambrose, who was gazing at the pinball machine.

"You don't like these, or what?" Ambrose asked.

"Sure, I do." Moriarty said. "However, this tournament shouldn't be a vacation, but a serious competition."

"Oh, little Mori Mori!" At that moment, a cheerful voice came from the door. "You're way too serious!"

"Ugh." Moriarty looked like he ate something bad and turned to the door. "Cleo, so you made through, huh?"

"Hehe, yeah." Cleo dragged her brother, Leo, inside the arcade and grinned. "We were 33rd; what about you?"

"…" Moriarty scoffed and didn't answer.

"Hehe." Cleo's eyes sparkled mischievously as she realized that Moriarty's silence meant that they had outperformed him in the first round.

Leo looked around the room with his arms crossed and then glanced at Ambrose for a split second before moving his gaze away.

Ambrose tapped his finger against his well-defined arm, but then, the window behind him shattered and glass shards flew everywhere.

A round-looking object flew towards the back of Ambrose's head. It looked to be a baseball.

Ambrose quickly turned around and caught the baseball with his bare hand, narrowly avoiding being struck.

"Oh?" Cleo turned and looked surprised. "He is… another famous one."

Moriarty narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze between his teammate and the person who threw the baseball.

"Hmph." Ambrose threw the baseball with incredible accuracy and strength, straight through the window.

Cerberus caught the baseball with ease, as if it were nothing.

His expression looked cold and distant.

"A friend of yours?" Cleo turned to Ambrose with a silly smile.

"More like a cockroach who won't stop following me." Ambrose stepped through the door and looked at Cebrerus with a mixture of annoyance and disdain.

At that moment, a red-haired woman jumped from his blind spot and rushed at him with a knife in hand.

Ambrose quickly grabbed her by the throat and slammed her to the ground with a terrifying force.

"How was the prison, bitch?" Ambrose snarled, as he tightened his grip.

"Fucker!" Redheart saw red and kicked Ambrose in the face, causing him to release his hold.

"Ngh…" Ambrose shook his head to clear the dizziness and lunged back at Redheart, slamming his fist into Redheart's jaw with a terrifying force.

Redheart sprawled down to the ground, blood trickling from her mouth.

"You've changed." Cerberus said coldly. "I could barely recognize you, but you are definitely him."

"You haven't changed." Ambrose said with a nonchalant expression. "Still the same. Mind leaving me alone?"

"Hehe, that's no fun, though." Cerberus grinned. "Our little game is not over yet."

"Cerberus from Zahhak." Moriarty stepped through the door with a knife in his hand. "An infamous group for their sadistic chases."

"…" Cerberus looked at him with a frown. "And you are?"

"Name's Moriarty." Moriarty said with a smile. "Ambrose's teammate. If you have business with him, then you have business with me."

"Piss off." Cerberus said coldly. "I have no interest in dealing with his lackeys."

"Lackey, hah." Moriarty grinned with a malicious glint in his eyes. "I ain't scared of Zahhak."

"You should be." Cerberus replied, his smile fading.

"Hehe." Cleo looked at the scene with an amused smile. "This looks pretty fun. I guess the time in this so-called resting place won't be as eventless as I thought.

"However, it's too early for this fight if it already ends here!" Cleo looked at her brother and smiled. "Brother, can you stop the fight?"

"…" Leo nodded and stepped through the door with a towering presence.

Cerberus looked at the newcomer with a sudden sense of unease.

'I don't think I can defeat him without my skills.' He scoffed and looked at Ambrose. "Count yourself lucky. However, we will end this game in this tournament."

"Sounds good to me." Ambrose watched as Cebrerus turned and walked away with a confident swagger.

And then he saw Redheart staring daggers at him before also leaving.

'Troublesome.' Ambrose sighed and closed his eyes.