Chapter 174: The Winner
"Someone’s coming out!"
No one knew who had shouted those words first, but the Central Arena, which had been so silent that it was almost suffocating, instantly erupted like a tranquil lake struck by a massive boulder.
Countless players seated throughout the stands instinctively straightened their backs, their eyes fixed upon the sea of white steam that continued to swirl across the battlefield. Even inside the viewing centers scattered throughout the real world, those who had been fiercely debating the outcome of the elemental clash immediately fell silent, holding their breath as they waited for the gradually emerging figure to step out of the dense mist.
As the white steam lingering in the center of the arena was gradually blown away by scorching heat and icy winds, the blurry silhouette finally became clearer little by little.
The first thing everyone saw was still that exquisite staff inlaid with crimson gold crystals. However, compared to before, the light radiating from it had become noticeably dimmer, and even the flames coiling around its tip had been reduced to only a faint flicker, as though they might be extinguished completely by the lingering frost at any moment.
The next moment, a slightly trembling hand slowly tightened around the staff.
Then Helen, dressed in her crimson mage robe, finally stepped out from the mist.
"Helen!"
"It’s Helen!"
"She’s still standing!"
The moment the audience recognized the pale face that had clearly been drained by excessive mana consumption, the entire Human section of the arena exploded into deafening cheers. Countless young players leaped to their feet in excitement, while many who had already prepared themselves for her possible defeat clenched their fists and shouted in joy, as though simply seeing her emerge from the steam already meant she had won this hard fought battle.
Even so, Helen’s condition was far from as good as they imagined.
The robe covering her right shoulder had been torn open by countless shards of ice, revealing skin still coated in a thin layer of frost that had yet to melt.
A faint trail of fresh blood stained the corner of her lips, while the hand gripping her staff trembled from mana exhaustion. Even each step she took caused her breathing to become heavier, making it obvious that the previous head on collision had pushed her to her absolute limit.
Helen paid no attention to the thunderous cheers surrounding her.
Instead, she stared unwaveringly toward the opposite side of the steam, where her opponent had yet to fully appear, because she could still clearly sense his aura. As long as the system had not officially announced the result, the battle was not truly over.
Sure enough, the very next second after she stopped walking, a deep, icy voice echoed from within the mist.
"Human..."
As the voice fell, a powerful gust of freezing wind burst out from the depths of the fog, instantly tearing apart the remaining steam. The tall Sorath youth once again appeared before everyone’s eyes.
His appearance was no longer nearly as composed as before.
The armor of ice that had once covered his grayish white skin had been completely shattered. His chest and arms were covered with extensive blackened burn marks, while the most severe wound stretched from his left shoulder all the way down to his abdomen. Crimson flames still clung to the edges of the injury, causing wisps of white smoke to rise every time he breathed.
"He’s still standing?"
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Even an explosion like that couldn’t defeat him?"
The cheers that had just erupted among the Human spectators quickly died down, replaced by anxious silence.
Both Helen and the Sorath youth had clearly reached their limits.
The next attack would very likely determine the final victor.
At the center of the arena, the Sorath youth lowered his head and glanced at the wound across his chest before lifting his gaze toward Helen once more. For the very first time, genuine acknowledgment appeared within his pale blue eyes, which had remained emotionless throughout the battle.
"You are stronger than I expected."
Helen slowly wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. Although less than twenty percent of her mana remained, her expression remained calm. Hearing his words, she gently raised her staff and replied firmly,
"The match isn’t over yet."
"It’s too early to say that."
The Sorath player offered no response.
He merely slowly opened his right hand.
As he did so, all of the ice throughout the arena that had yet to fully melt suddenly began to tremble once more. Countless tiny ice crystals rose from the ground, from the shattered stone pillars, and even from the edges of the energy barrier before gathering above his palm, eventually condensing into a gigantic spear of ice more than three meters long.
Unlike the overwhelming rain of ice spears from before, this time only a single spear appeared.
Yet the cold contained within it was infinitely more concentrated...
And infinitely more dangerous.
Merely floating there caused the temperature of the arena to plummet once again. Even the puddles beneath Helen’s feet rapidly froze solid.
"He can still unleash an attack like that?"
On the floating commentator platform, Mithrass’s expression had become incomparably serious as his eyes remained locked on the battlefield.
Dragon Count likewise frowned before speaking in a deep voice.
"He’s compressing every last bit of his remaining ice power into a single strike."
"He has no intention of dragging this battle out any longer."
"Whether this attack defeats Helen or not, he himself will lose every ounce of strength needed to continue fighting afterward."
Everyone immediately understood. This would be the final attack, the attack that would decide the victor.
Inside the VIP box high above the arena, Arthur remained seated in complete silence.
However, the hand that had unknowingly crushed the armrest through excessive force slowly relaxed, while his normally calm eyes became more focused than ever on Helen. It was as though the moment anything exceeded the competition’s safety limits, he would intervene personally without hesitation.
Inside the arena, Helen clenched her staff tightly.
She could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within the ice spear, and she also knew that her remaining mana was nowhere near enough to unleash another torrent of flames like before.
With a low shout, the Sorath youth swung his arm forward.
BOOM!
However, instead of the spear piercing through the air as he had expected, it suddenly shattered in midair.
Several fragments still sliced across Helen’s arm and cheek, leaving fresh crimson cuts upon her flawless skin.
The violent shockwave also hurled her entire body backward, sending her tumbling across the frozen ground for more than ten meters before she finally came to a stop.
Although both her legs trembled violently from complete mana exhaustion, she refused to kneel.
"My attack... my attack failed."
The Sorath youth’s eyes widened in horror.
Because the explosion had erupted beside his supporting leg, his already critically wounded body instantly lost its balance.
Having exhausted every last ounce of his ice power in his final attack, he no longer possessed enough strength to remain standing.
He could only crash heavily onto one knee before falling face first onto the frozen ground.
Thud!
....
Thanks to everyone who supports this book. I want to apologize for dragging this Chapter out. I was really heartbroken yesterday, which is why there wasn’t a Chapter. How I’m still writing is honestly a mystery. I sincerely apologize if the recent Chapters have been lacking. The next two Chapters will be released soon.
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