On the human side, whether NPCs or players, after seeing the level difference between John and his opponent, everyone felt that John had no chance of winning.

They could not see John’s modified stats. What they could see was only the system panel that a level 100 player should have. Because of that, they believed John had absolutely no way of defeating that Moonfolk Elder!

After seeing this, the citizens of the various main cities of the Eaglecrest Empire all shook their heads.

"Alas, the Hero may be strong, but compared to this foreign race, he’s still far from enough."

"Why did it have to be the Hero who went up there? If even a level 150 city lord had gone instead, this fight wouldn’t be so difficult."

"Who knows? Maybe the other side specifically targeted us."

"Forget it. We should just prepare ourselves to accept a poor starting position in the Battlefield of All Races. No matter how strong the Hero is, there’s no way he can defeat that foreign creature."

...

In complete contrast to the human side, the Moonfolk had already begun celebrating.

The Moonfolk lived in a space located on a planet shaped almost exactly like the moon. However, its territory was far smaller than the lands of the human race.

At this moment, the Moonfolk had all gathered inside their council hall, watching the live broadcast.

The Moonfolk chieftain chuckled lightly.

"The human race truly has no one left. They even sent out a level 100 brat."

"Haha, our Moonfolk will definitely win this time."

"Destroy all the males on the human side. As for the women, leave them behind as breeding tools for our Moonfolk!"

"If I were that human brat, I would just surrender directly. Staying there is a complete waste of time."

"The Elder has always killed his opponents instantly whenever he acts. I reckon he’ll secure victory in a single round."

"Of course. The Elder has mastered the secret arts of our Moonfolk. How could some human brat possibly compare to him?"

... 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

In the arena, the Moonfolk Elder slowly rose to his feet.

He looked at John and spoke first.

"Next, I shall kill you with a single move.

I do not wish to kill a nameless nobody. State your name."

As his voice fell, an enormous Moon God blade appeared in his hand.

At the same time, John could clearly sense that he had already been locked onto.

A system prompt popped up.

[The Moonfolk side will attack first. Please prepare your defensive skill!]

This was how turn-based combat worked.

One side defended while the other attacked, and the two sides alternated roles in turns.

John looked at the arrogant expression of the other party and smiled faintly.

"My name is John. I’m just an ordinary person."

The Moonfolk Elder sneered.

"You humans are as detestable as ever. Allow me to introduce what comes next. I shall use the most ordinary attack to send you away from this place. Remember this well. This is an insult to your human race.

You humans are creatures that deserve to be trampled underfoot!"

Naturally, these words were not meant for John alone.

They were deliberately spoken for all the humans watching the live broadcast.

Clearly, he had already regarded victory as something firmly within his grasp.

A set of battle armor appeared around John, releasing a layer of defensive light.

He said indifferently, "I’ll return those words to you as well. After this round, I’ll use my most ordinary strike to finish you off."

"As for your Moonfolk race, if I get the chance, I’ll break through the rank barrier and kill every last one of them."

These words carried a far heavier threat than the Moonfolk Elder’s own provocation.

In an instant, they drew the fury of the entire Moonfolk race. Countless Moonfolk wished they could rush into the arena and tear John apart on the spot.

The Moonfolk Elder was so angry that he laughed.

"What an ignorant and foolish creature."

In the next moment, his figure flashed and transformed into a streak of moonlight, slashing heavily toward John.

[Moonfolk Elder has launched an attack!]

As the grand and magnificent moonlight descended, John’s figure was instantly swallowed up.

Among the human race, many people had already looked away in despair, unable to bear watching John’s death.

However, when the moonlight dispersed, everyone saw a line of white text slowly appear.

[Miss!]

John stood before everyone completely unharmed.

[Human contestant John has lost 0 HP this round!]

When they saw the result of the first exchange, everyone was so shocked that they could not speak.

This was especially true for the Moonfolk Elder. He staggered back several steps, his face filled with disbelief as he cried out involuntarily.

"Impossible! That strike of mine should have dealt at least 1.18 million damage! How could a mere level 100 human brat like you possibly have such high defense? You must have cheated!"

As soon as he said those words, before John could even act, the Moonfolk Elder was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning.

[-667!]

[You have arbitrarily slandered this arena. One warning punishment has been issued!]

After being struck by that lightning, much of the mist surrounding the Moonfolk Elder scattered, revealing a figure with no face and no solid body.

He looked as though he had been formed entirely from moonlight.

No wonder they were called the Moonfolk.

However, at this moment, the Elder had already fallen into madness.

"Impossible. I don’t believe it. Brat, if you have the ability, then use your strongest attack! You must have used some special item to achieve this!"

The Moonfolk Elder did not believe John’s defense could be that high at all.

He only believed that John had used some special item to cause this result.

But very soon, John slapped him in the face with his actions.

"Since you’re in such a hurry to die, I’ll show you what the limits of humanity look like!"

As his voice fell, John’s figure suddenly flashed.

When he appeared again, the scarlet dagger in his hand was already aimed straight at the Moonfolk Elder’s exposed chest.

At this moment, the Moonfolk Elder was still standing with his hands on his hips, preparing to display his toughness and invincible defense.

However, the instant that blade pierced into him, his expression changed drastically.

A large amount of moonlight sprayed from his mouth.

"Not good. This damage..."

Boom!

Before the Moonfolk Elder could finish speaking, his body suddenly exploded, transforming into countless motes of moonlight that vanished on the spot.

The announcement immediately rang out.

[John has launched an attack. Moonfolk Elder has suffered 12 million damage!]

[First round of the Arena: Human Race victory. Strategic advantage in the Battlefield of All Races has increased. A new main city, Moon God City, has descended upon human territory!]

Because everything had happened far too quickly, everyone only came back to their senses after the announcement finished.

On the human side, after seeing the terrifying damage number of 12 million, everyone felt dazed for a moment.

Was this truly damage that a human could deal?

Some residents of the Eaglecrest Empire had already been prepared to accept defeat.

But the moment the announcement rang out, their eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.

"Lord Hero actually killed that foreign creature!"

"12 million damage! What exactly did Lord Hero do?"

"No matter what, we humans won the first round. Even if Lord Hero loses later, it doesn’t matter. He has already done his best!"

"As expected of Lord Hero. Even in the Myriad Races Arena, he can still display such brilliance!"

In just a single round, John’s reputation among the NPCs was instantly reversed.

Because of John’s influence, this round had genuinely expanded the human race’s territory by adding another main city.

It had even allowed them to obtain a more advantageous strategic position in the future Battlefield of All Races!