Grand Olympia: Further Horizon - Chapter 4: Start

  At the beginning, some of them thought only of themselves—selfish, determio survive alohers sidered the possibility of alliances, but even they failed to truly grasp the situation.

  None of them questiohe deeper reason they were here.

  None of them asked the most important question—

  What are we really here for?

  Miyamoto Musashi cursed inwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “Damn it… how could I be so careless? Not fully thinking about the situation I’m in? Am I getting rusty ‘cause I’m getting old? F*ck me.”

  Unbeknownst to him, the same thought echoed in everyone’s mind.

  The Watcher’s form flickered faintly.

  “Any other questions?”

  Suddenly, Lapupu, standing tall and unwavering, spoke. His deep voice carried a charisma that dematention.

  “In all my life, I have never bowed down to anyone… and I never will.”

  His gaze, sharp as a bde, locked onto the Watcher.

  “I do not accept this for you, but for myself. I don’t need your reminder.”

  His words, filled with pride and defiance, echoed through the void.

  The group felt a sudden surge of motivation.

  If even this man—this legend—refused to submit, how could they allow themselves to falter?

  Gee Washington, ever posed, raised his hand slightly.

  “Once we ehe battlefield, will we be provided with ons?”

  His tohough respectful, carried the precision of a seasorategist addressing a higher and.

  In response, a s materialized in front of each partit, glowing faintly.

  “Here,” the Watcher’s voice expined, “you may request any on or resource you so desire before entering the battlefield. Certain limitations apply, and if necessary, I will address you individually.”

  Without another word, the Watcher’s form split into six smaller orbs of light, eae h silently beside a partit, them privacy for their requests.

  Gee Washington's sharp mind quickly processed the gesture.

  “So, this is to ensure none of us knows the strengths or armaments of the others. Clever.”

  Then, ahought struck him.

  “Now that I think of it. We uand each other, despite ing from different times and pces. Is this aool to ence teamwork?”

  Gee Washington nodded slightly, already calg his steps. As the others began their preparations, he posed another question. Privately towards the Watcher

  “Why did you choose us specifically?”

  The Watcher’s response was immediate, its tone remaining cold and robotic, yet somehow tinged with a faint echo of curiosity.

  “The main criterion was the impaade on history—whether rge or small. A bonus ced on those who knew how to fight and survive. While not all of you are equal, each of you is strohan the rest of humanity, even across history.”

  Gee Washington blinked, momentarily taken aback.

  “So, to the Watcher… this is the battlefield they deserve.”

  Time passed as they made their preparations. Most had already finished, but—

  Request denied. Certain limitations have already been reached. Number of attempts: 100. Any more will resort to all requests being denied.”

  Billy the Kid grinned, unfazed. “Heh, heh… just testing the waters, o be stiff.”

  Miyamoto Musashi’s eyes narrowed.

  “This dumbass… testing the Watcher? Does he fear death at all?”

  Fu Hao let out an impatient sigh, tapping her foot against the smooth floor.

  “Ugh! How long is this going to take? If I khere’d be this much waiting, I would’ve had a drink! I swear, if we don’t start soon, I’m going to puneone… again.” She shot a gre at Billy the Kid, who smirked knowingly.

  Gee Washington, standing with arms crossed, gazed ily at the proje s, his mind calg every possibility.

  “Rushing in without preparation would be reckless. We o anticipate the terrain, the enemies, and each other. Victory belongs to those who pn, not those who panic.”

  Jeanne d'Arc csped her hands together, her eyes closed as she whispered a quiet prayer.

  “Lrarength not just to survive, but to stay true to my faith. Let this trial be a path, not a punishment but salvation. I will not falter.”

  “…” Lapupu with a deadpan expression.

  Billy the Kid, hearing all this, chuckled from the er. “Geez, you lot are so serious. Rex! We’ll either win big or die trying, right?”

  Fu Hao rolled her eyes. “You’re the first one I’m feeding to a monster.”

  “Love you too, Queenie.” Billy grinned.

  Fu Hao ptes pung Billy the Kid to the ground.

  “Now that everyone is ready, we will begin in—”

  “Wait!” Miyamoto Musashi interrupted.

  “Didn’t you say there are others?”

  The Watcher pulsed once.

  “As you have seen, I split myself. The other partits have already prepared and will meet you otlefield.”

  Fu Hao chuckled under her breath.

  “The surprise factor, huh?”

  Each of them, lost in thought, recalled their past lives—their triumphs, their regrets, and the path that led them to this moment. Now, they stood at the threshold of a new beginning.

  Miyamoto Musashi closed his eyes, the weight of tless battles fshing through his mind. His calloused hands remembered the feel of every sword he had ever wielded, every duel that pushed him further toerfe.

  “I lived by the sword, and I mastered it. Each swing, each cut, brought me closer to something… but what?” His lips curled into a faint smirk. “Death ook me, no matter how much I sought it. Perhaps now… I y own ending.”

  Billy the Kid leaned back with a cocky grin, but his eyes betrayed a rare moment of refle.

  “Lawmen, outws, bullets flying past my head… that was my life. I didn’t give a damn about rules, and I never let anyone cage me in.” He chuckled softly to himself.

  “Freedom… that’s all I ever wanted. Even now, I don’t care about sed ces or redemption. I just want to live on my own terms, ns attached.”

  Fu Hao ran her hand over her face, her expression softening for ohe battlefield was where she thrived, but her memories drifted to the quiet nights after each battle—sharing wiogether with, Wu Ding her husband, and other two primary queens, Fu Jing and Fu Shi, ughter eg through the pace halls.

  “The thrill of battle… and the warmth of those nights. I would fight a thousand wars just to live those moments again.” Her eyes gleamed with determination. “I’ll carve my way all the through, just to taste that happiness once more.”

  Gee Washington stood with a thoughtful gaze, his shoulders unsciously straightening as if still bearing the weight of a nation.

  “A leader, a symbol, a man burdened by responsibility. I carried the hopes of millions, a weight should be never be carried by a human.” He let out a quiet sigh.

  “If I get a sed ce… maybe this time, I y down my guhese weary shoulders of my, and find peace. A quiet life… a simple one.”

  Jeanne d’Arc csped her hands together tightly, her mind drifting back to the battlefields of France. She could still hear the g swords, feel the weight of her armor, and sehe burning fmes that almost took her life.

  “God seo lead my people… but did I do enough? And now… do I deserve this sed ce?” She opened her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper. “If this is a test from You… let me prove myself once more.”

  Lapupu remaiill, his white eyes refleg memories of his homend—lush shores, proud warriors, and aors whose whispers guided him through every battle.

  “I stood against those who sought to take what was ours. I defended my people, my home. But the world will to take what we cherish.” His fist ched.

  “Even here, even now… I will fight. Not for myself, but for my homend. For those who came before me, and those who will e after.”

  In that moment, their silent refles revealed their true desires—not just for a sed ce, but for the opportunity to shape their own fate. The battlefield awaited, but their hearts and minds were already fighting for what they held dear.

  “Attention to all partits, we will now begin in—”

  5

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  Suddenly, Miyamoto Musashi felt his body pulled through space, weightless and formless for a brief moment before—

  He nded in the middle of a vast forest, the air thick with the st of pine and salt carried from the nearby sea. A soft breeze whispered through the t trees, their arunks stretg high, as if reag for something unseen above.

  The forest stretched endlessly, a sea of green and shadow, the dense opy above allowing only fractured beams of sunlight to pierce through. Each ray illumihe forest floor in scattered golden patches, trasting starkly with the darker, more foreboding areas untouched by light.

  Yet, as Miyamoto Musashi’s sharp eyes sed his surroundings, he couldn’t ighe unnatural stillhat hung in the air.

  Leaves rustled faintly, but it wasn’t from the wind. It was something more… deliberate. As though the forest itself was breathing—watg him.

  Above the treetops, where the sky should have been, there was instead a haunting sight—the stage of the battlefield, floating high above. The middle yer, and above it the awaiti stage, hovered ominously, casting faint shadows over the forest below.

  It was an uling remihis pce was no ordinary forest, and this battle was no ordinary challenge.

  Miyamoto Musashi felt the weight of the situation pressing down on him, but instead of fear, a slow, familiar grin formed on his lips.

  “The unknown… the unseen… a battlefield that tests more than just skill with a sword.”

  The distant call of a bird echoed eerily, but even that sound seemed out of pce—almost too perfect, too orchestrated.

  The grouh Miyamoto Musashi's feet was soft but firm, each step he took muffled by the thick yer of fallen leaves and moss. Shadows twisted and flickered as the breeze dahrough the branches above, giving the illusion of movement all around him.

  Unease crept through him, but so did something else—

  A thrill.

  The thrill of the unknown. Of danger. Of challenge.

  “Heh… from a cave, to a white void, and now back to a forest. I seriously o rethink my life choices,” Musashi mused with a smirk.

  “If this forest wants to devour me, it’ll have to try harder than that.”

  The air felt charged, like the moment before a storm, and Musashi weled it with open arms.

  Then—

  A sudden rustling.

  Before Miyamoto Musashi could react, a monstrous beast lunged from the shadows.

  A valospater-like creature, covered in thick, matted fur, with razor-sharp cws and gleaming yellow eyes, charged straight at him with a guttural roar.

  Miyamoto Musashi’s instincts kicked in immediately. His hand shot to his side, drawing a wooden wakizashi—a on that looked fragile pared to the monstrous beast, but in Musashi’s hands, it was deadly.

  “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  The creature lunged, swiping with its massive cws. Musashi dodged effortlessly, pivoting to the side, his every movement fluid and precise.

  With a quick step, he sshed at its fnk, the woodeting through fur and flesh like steel. The creature howled in pain, spinning around to attack again.

  Miyamoto Musashi ducked under another swipe, his sharp eyes analyzing its movements.

  “Clumsy… too much strength, not enough trol.”

  He leapt forward, pnting his feet on the beast’s bad driving the wooden bde deep into its spine.

  The creature let out a final, pained cry before colpsing.

  Miyamoto Musashi jumped off, nding softly on the forest floor.

  He smirked, wiping the bde on his sleeve.

  “That was easy… disgusting-looking thing, though.”

  Suddenly—

  Gunshots.

  Rapid and sharp, eg through the forest, growing closer.

  Before Miyamoto Musashi could react, a T-Rex-like monster covered in fur burst through the trees, barreling toward him.

  And in front of it—

  Billy the Kid, firing his revolvers as he sprinted backward, ughing.

  “Oh hey! o see ya!”

  Miyamoto Musashi’s eye twitched. “Oi! Don’t bring that thing here! Lure it away!”

  Billy the Kid grinned, not listening at all, still running straight toward Miyamoto Musashi.

  “What the hell?! I’m going to kill that bastard,” Musashi muttered, drawing his sed woodehe katana and charging forward, ready to face both the monster and the infuriating outw.