The Savage Brawl [Round 5: Battletopia]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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"Alert! Alert! The battlers have arrived! I repeat, the battlers have arrived! The round has begun! All participants in the Savage Brawl are considered Class 1 offenders, and to be apprehended immediately. This is a state of full emergency. All squads, proceed to your designated arrival zones at once!"

Konka Rar barely had time to process the message before he found himself surrounded by at least a dozen armored troops, all aiming rifles at him. Nearby, a muscular old man dressed in a black uniform and a floating metal sphere about the size of a beachball appeared to be supervising the proceedings.

"I suggest you come along quietly," the old man said, holding up a shining sword. "We wouldn't want this to get ugly."

"Unfortunately for you, that isn't one of my concerns," the lich replied. He prepared to lift his cybernetic arm and fire on the bearded officer...

Only to discover that his arm would barely move, let alone fire. The aged man grinned and turned his head towards the floating sphere.

"Your cybernetics are currently being blocked by Sergeant Lucky VII here. And all our weapons have been blessed with holy energy. Any attempt to resist will be met with force..."

There was a pause, as a device on the man's wrist beeped. He glanced at it quickly, and then shouted.

"He's readying a spell! Everyone attack!"

Konka Rar screamed as the soldiers fired beams of blessed light from their rifles, and the old man sliced his arms off for good measure. The army lifted him up, and the sphere floated along behind them.

"Target neutralized," he said. He pressed a button on his wrist device. "Thanks for the warning, Sarika. We've got him now."

Konka was shocked at the swiftness of his capture. How had they been so prepared for him? It was as if they had known he was coming.

***

If Konka Rar had been surprised at the degree to which the locals were ready for his arrival, Hoss was positively shocked.

He had fled as soon as he heard the announcement, not to mention the gunshots, but soon found himself at the end of an alleyway, with a good three dozen soldiers standing between him and the only exit.

And standing in front of them was a man wearing a black uniform who appeared to be made of a strange green crystal.

"Hold fire for now," he said to his troops, before turning to their target. "You look different somehow in this iteration, Hand of Silver. Did you get a new haircut, perhaps?"