“And remember,” the Emperor said, lifting himself from the globe as he hovered backward ominously, “Veni, vidi, vici.”

  At his signal, all ten bases around the globe flared neutral white at once, beams shooting upward to mark the beginning. Karl’s armband—and the others—heated slightly as their feet magnetically locked to the platform, which began folding in on itself from the outer edge inward. Gladiators surged forward, leaping from the collapsing platform onto the metal world.

  All except Karl and his companions.

  Each of them instinctively turned toward him, and Karl Elf Leaped them toward the Chinese base, where a Great Wall of interlocking gears curved across the globe.

  It was a good thing he did.

  Barely a second into the match, screams erupted behind them. Someone unleashed a divine blessing that blasted a dozen gladiators—red team—off the platform and into the waters below. One managed to grapple the underside of the globe, but the rest were swallowed by metallic sharks that burst from the sea, tearing them apart with steel teeth.

  The white flame marking the China region burned at the center of the base.

  As they sprinted along the gear-wrought wall plated in bronze scales, the surface suddenly slipped beneath their feet, fast enough to break their magnetic adhesion. They fell only along a shallow curve, their boots snapping back onto the metal floor just in time.

  A massive dragon rose from the ground.

  Its body was built of rotating gears and plated steel, and it exhaled a blast of pressurized water that slammed into Björn’s rainbow shield, nearly shattering it. The creature screamed, saw-toothed mandibles spreading wide as it surged over the barrier.

  Karl and Sporus peppered its jaws with Resonant Pullhead Arrows, dragging the beast low enough for Björn to cleave into its neck with his battleaxe. Kara followed with a Valkyrie Rune Leap, soaring upward and smashing her Sólbrandr sword into the dragon’s face.

  It still didn’t fall.

  “Use the Greek firebomb!” Mýra shouted, hurling it to the Trickster before switching to her bow to fire off an arrow at the monster.

  He snatched it midair, grappled onto the dragon’s head, and jammed the bomb into its screaming mouth before it could release another blast. Laughing wildly, he kicked off and landed on Karl’s shoulder with practiced ease.

  The dragon’s head erupted in green fire. It careened away and crashed into a cluster of Chinese cloudwalkers sprinting through the air toward their base. They were the blue team, and they looked furious as the Chinese base flame flickered red.

  Karl expected to see the Blue Team’s glory start its countdown, but he saw a more depressing update instead.

  Red Bases: 1/10

  Blue Bases: 2/10

  With the Blue Team in the lead, the doomsday clock for the Red Team began.

  Red Glory: 999

  Björn cursed as they looked across the globe for the source of the Blue Team’s surprise victory. Rome’s base and Africa’s base had already fallen to the Blue Team through overwhelming force, red gladiators beaten back in moments. Karl stared in disbelief at the shattered brass-and-marble titan of Jupiter, broken across the ground.

  Nearby, the African Black Iron Smith God lay flooded and immobile, his furnace chest drowned in water from a group of thirty Blue Team gladiators, now moving to Karl and his friends.

  Kara reacted first, firing a beam of light at one of the Chinese warriors. The man twisted aside with impossible speed.

  If they left this base to try to gain an advantage elsewhere, the Chinese base would surely fall to the Blue Team.

  “Let’s take them out,” Karl said, gritting his teeth as he drew Venomcore Fanghead Arrows, Sporus doing the same. Together, they began launching the poison-tipped shots with ruthless accuracy at the thirty cloud jumpers.

  Karl ensured their arrows found their marks by summoning a blizzard for twenty seconds, forcing the Chinese warriors to smash into one another midair. He hated using it so early, especially with its fifteen-minute cooldown, but he knew he could reset it instantly with his Punch-Clock Heart if needed. The Trickster exploited the chaos, grappling the nearest Chinese gladiator and clawing out his eyes with brutal efficiency.

  Karl and Sporus dropped ten of them between the two of them—Karl taking six, Sporus four.

  Strength (+60): lvl 14 (70/150)

  Wealth (+20): 11,330 Gold

  Glory (+180): 3,115

  Level (+1): 47 (10/480)

  Skill Points (+1): 1

  They weren’t alone for long.

  Red Team reinforcements surged in, five blessed by a lightning god—likely Jupiter—hurling bolts at the remaining Chinese warriors, whose crossbow bolts were no match. Three more, blessed by an archery goddess, probably Diana, loosed glowing holy arrows that cut down several Blue Team fighters. It was fortunate they arrived, as the Chinese gladiators stayed airborne, wielding glowing staves that put Björn, Kara, and Mýra at a disadvantage.

  Together, they finished them off.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Karl said, wincing as the Blue Team pulled ahead.

  Blue Bases: 3/10

  Red Bases: 2/10

  Red Glory: 979

  With the disadvantage, their Glory continued draining at one unit per second. They needed to move fast to prevent that rate from doubling, or worse. His friends grabbed onto him again as Karl prepared to Elf Leap them to the next base.

  But the earth had other ideas.

  The globe rotated a full one hundred eighty degrees, sending them into a stomach-lurching inversion towards the bottom. Blood rushed to their heads as sharks snapped their jaws only meters away. Karl nearly vomited, but clenched his core as his gravity armband kept them anchored to the rotating planet.

  Not everyone was so lucky.

  Several gladiators—knocked loose in the fighting—plunged into the ocean and were ripped apart in seconds. Their blood splattered onto Karl’s helmet, leaving behind a mouth-watering, rusty smell.

  “Get us out of here!” Björn shouted, his voice strained by the crushing pull of gravity. Ahead of them, dozens of what looked like spirit animals being controlled by Native Americans on the Blue Team rushed towards them to knock them off.

  Karl happily obliged.

  He fired an arrow and activated Arrow Will Guidance to conserve Stamina, steering it past the chaos of battling gladiators and wheeling it toward the Atlantic Sea. The arrow plunged deep, surging into the heart of the globe—toward Atlantis.

  37

  CAPTURE THE GLOBE!

  The “Atlantic Sea” proved to be a lot deeper than Karl would have imagined. As he mentally guided the arrow through the rather clear depths, he must have passed through two Olympic swimming pool lengths.

  Thankfully, he and his friends didn’t have to swim to reach the glass, underwater base, which was really two colonnades connected to a glass Greek temple. The temple had no roof, but it did contain a huge, metal Poseidon, who wielded an intimidating copper trident and was in the middle of skewering a team of Blue and Red gladiators battling to achieve dominance of the base.

  Seeing as how they lost another base to the Blue Team, time was even more of the essence, as the eight seconds that had passed should have only been 8 Glory lost; but now, units were doubling, losing them 10.

  Blue Bases: 4/10

  Red Bases: 2/10

  Red Glory: 969

  Karl Elf Leaped everyone to the top of the temple, just before the Indian spirit animals swooshed past them.

  Now underwater, Karl activated his Abyss Pearl to grant him breathing and a doubled swim speed for 15 minutes. He quickly handed it to everyone else to use—starting, of course, with Kara—as he began firing Resonant Pullhead Arrows at the Blue Team gladiators.

  The twenty or so members of the Blue Team were too enthralled in battling the Red Team and avoiding Poseidon’s copper trident that sent crushing, rippling waves to avoid Karl’s arrows. He was able to snag four of them in rapid succession, yanking them up towards him and away from their friends. Now, without a shield wall, they were vulnerable.

  The Trickster saw to it to “help” them.

  The Trickster fired explosive acorns and plasma balls from his tail straight into the backs of four gladiators’ heads. The sudden disturbance drew the attention of the Poseidon robot god, whose blazing blue eyes swiveled toward the helpless men. Poseidon roared and hurled his trident, which detonated with steam pressure and shot forward like a bullet train, skewering all four in a single motion.

  Karl was about to thank Ratatoskr when Poseidon recalled his trident, the weapon swooshing back into his grip as if recalled by some magnet. In the same motion, the god raised it again and hurled it at Karl and his friends. Björn and Kara summoned their shields, the Bifrost barrier flaring outward with the Baldr light shield layered closest to the group.

  Even that wasn’t enough.

  The trident punched through both shields, and the explosive force hurled them backward into the open water, out of Poseidon’s direct sight.

  Health: 140/160

  The world spun as Karl fought to steady himself. It took him and his friends precious seconds to recover.

  “He is weakest to ice,” Björn said as they regrouped near the underwater temple, his eyes glowing with the Allfather’s wisdom.

  “So maybe a Glacial Arrow?” Kara asked.

  “Whatever you choose, do it fast,” Mýra said, as she and the others scarfed down honeyed, griddled flatbread, now moist in the water. The food restored thirty Health, thirty-five Stamina, increased movement speed, Stamina regeneration, physical damage, and granted a zero percent chance of friendly fire.

  Karl checked the System notifications again and understood Mýra’s urgency.

  Blue Bases: 5/10

  Red Bases: 2/10

  Red Glory: 919

  They were now losing three Glory per second.

  “Your team is kicking our butt,” the Trickster said to Sporus.

  The shadowy archer ignored him. “Do you need help getting in close?” Sporus asked Karl.

  “No. I can take a long shot,” Karl said, thinking of True Sight Dominion. He didn’t mention his concern that Sporus might sabotage him to secure a Blue Team victory.

  “Get to it,” Kara said, raising her flaming Sólbrandr sword to cut down an incoming crocodile summoned by descending Egyptians. The rest of Karl’s friends turned to engage the Egyptians; they were soon joined by Greeks conjuring ghostly green magic beneath the waves.

  Karl didn’t hesitate.

  He activated multiple abilities at once, starting with Glacial Arrow, freezing his Venomcore Fanghead Arrow solid and chilling the surrounding water. He followed with Hungering Freeze Rune, locking Poseidon in ice for five seconds, then fired while triggering True Sight Dominion.

  Glory (-210): 2,905

  Time slowed by half.

  Karl guided the deadly arrow with precise control as it arced over the glass temple walls, bent at an unnatural angle, and slid straight down Poseidon’s throat while the god skewered five Red gladiators. The ice arrow detonated inside him, freezing and shattering the mechanical god from within before Karl snapped back into his body.

  A satisfying ka-ching sound followed its destruction, along with some epic ingots.

  Strength (+10): lvl 14 (80/150)

  Glory (+30): 2,935

  Level: 47 (40/480)

  Item: Olympian Currentsteel Ingot (Epic) — A bright cerulean alloy ingot etched with flowing Greek glyphs that slowly rearrange themselves. When submerged, the metal grows faintly luminous. Attacks release a violent burst of superheated steam and compressed water in a 3-meter radius, dealing 50 damage and violently knocking enemies backward 6 meters. Armor increases Swim Speed by 50%, doubles underwater Stamina regeneration, and reduces ability cooldowns by 10% while submerged.

  “Got him!” Karl said, pivoting to help finish off two Egyptians with Dual Shot. Both arrows struck critical hits, bloody explosions bursting from their arteries.

  Strength (+20): lvl 14 (100/150)

  Wealth (+7): 11,337

  Glory (+60): 2,995

  Level: 47 (100/480)

  Karl drew another arrow, his Stamina running low, but his friends had already overwhelmed the remaining Egyptians. Mýra had seized control of the summoned crocodiles, twisting their magical threads and turning them on their masters, blood clouding the water.

  For the first time since the battle began, an encouraging message appeared.

  Blue Bases: 5/10.

  Red Bases: 4/10.

  Red Glory: 889

  They looked back to see the white flames beside Poseidon’s frozen, shattered body now glowing red. The Red Team had claimed the base, slowing the Glory drain to one unit per second—still dangerous, but far better than before.

  “There’s only one left,” Sporus said, as everyone took another bite of their honeyed flatbreads. Karl and Kara ate two more than the others, their werewolf hunger burning hot.

  As they ate, Karl was grateful that his Hearth-Bound Skyr Bowl reduced nearly fifty percent of agitation, panic, and emotional volatility. It helped them think clearly in the chaos of the arena.

  Before Karl could ask where the next base was, Björn’s eyes lit again with the Allfather’s wisdom. He looked up toward the continents above and chuckled, his gaze fixing on something unseen. “The last is Sweden,” he said, gripping his Bifrost battleaxe to prepare for a fight. “How fitting.”

  “We’ll still need to take another after that to gain the advantage and hold the lead,” Kara reminded him.

  “I hope it’s a big monster,” the Trickster exclaimed as everyone grabbed onto Karl again.

  Karl absolutely disagreed as he Elf Leaped them back toward the surface. They emerged on what had to be the outskirts of Africa, which was in ruins from the forge god who had once hurled molten chain hooks across the continent. The metal god now lay shattered into hundreds of pieces, while Red gladiators fought desperately to defend the base from the Blue Team.

  The rest of the globe was just as chaotic.

  Most of the metal gods had already been destroyed, leaving Red and Blue gladiators to clash freely at the remaining bases. Sweden’s base, however, proved unmanageable.

  An iron serpent burst from the metal ground, snatching several gladiators at once in its devouring jaws. It arched its massive body and vanished back beneath the surface, sometimes plunging into the water instead. It was the largest monster of them all.

  “Ah, Jörmungandr,” the Trickster said, amused. “The World Devourer looks more handsome in metal form. I’ll have to tell him next time I see him.”

  “No time,” Karl said as Blue Team Africans wielding lightning chains rushed to reclaim their base. They hurled their weapons, which Mýra and Kara blocked with their shields, though not for long.

  Everyone grabbed onto Karl again, and he teleported them to Sweden.

  The moment they appeared near the southern edge, Jörmungandr erupted from the water beside a miniature Visby and devoured a Native American Red Team fighter wielding obsidian spears glowing with starlight. The man died in a sickening crunch as metallic scales thundered past Karl and his friends, less than a meter from their faces.

  Everyone struck at once.

  Björn howled, burying his battleaxe into the serpent’s armor, while Kara drove her Sólbrandr sword into its side. Karl and Sporus fired two shots each as Mýra hurled an acid potion and the Trickster launched an explosive acorn.

  Despite the combined assault, the monster vanished into the Baltic Sea, very much alive. Through his Lunar Sight, Karl felt it circling, seconds away from surfacing again.

  “Best not let it do that,” Karl said. “I don’t think we damaged it.”

  He Elf Leaped them toward the center of Sweden, where white flame burned within a replica of the Uppsala Temple. Somehow it still stood, battered and missing most of its walls from the World Devourer’s attacks.

  “You may need to strike its core,” the Trickster suggested.

  Blue Team fighters surged in—Chinese Cloudwalkers and Romans whose eyes and weapons glowed red as they channeled Mars. Karl kept one eye on Jörmungandr as it crushed more Red Team fighters near the base, while he and his friends held the line.

  Karl shot down Cloudwalkers trying to leap over Björn’s Bifrost shield, dropping four as Sporus took down two.

  Strength (+40): lvl 14 (140/150)

  Wealth (+13): 11,350 Gold

  Glory (+120): 3,115

  Level: 47 (220/480)

  A lightning bolt slammed into Karl from behind, chaining through Kara, Björn, and the others. The lightning damage was cut in half thanks to his Stormbreaker of Gotland Title. Karl cursed from the sudden pain, though as he spun and fired, planting an arrow into the heart of a Viking on the Red Team.

  The man staggered; his Health must have been enormous, as he was still alive, though blood splattered from his quivering lips, which began to burn green as the venom spread. “Why did you attack us, friend?” he gasped.

  “I was aiming for him!” the Viking shouted, pointing at Sporus.

  The Roman archer didn’t hesitate.

  He turned invisible and, a second later, slit the man’s throat. Karl’s hair prickled as he feared Sporus might turn on him next, but the archer simply resumed firing shadowy and Resonant Pullhead Arrows, throwing enemies off balance for Björn, Mýra, and Kara to finish.

  “I’ll stay invisible from here on,” Sporus shouted to Karl.