Chapter 180: [Castle Bonus Chapter]: Blocking the Nullborn’s Attack
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While the leaders of the various races silently weighed the impact this battle might bring, Alden and Ainos had already taken their positions at opposite ends of the arena. The pale blue protective barrier covering the battlefield slowly rose amid a deep humming sound, completely isolating the arena from all outside sound and energy fluctuations.
Alden slammed his enormous tower shield heavily into the ground before him.
Boom!
The instant the bottom of the shield struck the stone floor, several fine cracks spread across the hard arena tiles. As he fully locked his left arm into the shield’s internal metal restraints, a layer of pale golden light gradually began flowing across its surface, eventually forming dozens of intricate interconnected patterns resembling flowing rivers.
[Guidance Barrier]
This was Alden’s signature defensive skill and the true foundation that had allowed him to remain standing through countless direct assaults. Any force striking the shield would be redirected through those golden pathways, dispersing throughout the entire shield before flowing into the earth beneath his feet, preventing concentrated impact from piercing his defense at a single point.
Immediately afterward, he slowly drew the broadsword hanging at his waist. Rather than adopting an offensive stance, however, he concealed the blade behind the shield’s right side, allowing his entire body to almost completely disappear within the defensive coverage provided by the enormous tower shield.
"Very cautious."
Upon the commentary platform, Mithrash’s eyes lit up as his tone became noticeably more serious.
"Alden clearly has no intention of actively pursuing a Nullborn opponent whose speed remains completely unknown. Instead, he has maximized his own greatest advantage from the very beginning. As long as he maintains this defensive posture while continuously reducing the amount of his body exposed, Ainos will have no choice but to break through that tower shield head on if he wishes to defeat him."
Dragon Count, however, showed none of the same optimism.
He merely stared quietly at Ainos, who remained standing motionlessly in place.
After a moment, he slowly spoke.
"That is... assuming the Nullborn contestant actually needs to break through the shield."
The moment those words fell, the smile on Mithrash’s face froze ever so slightly.
At the same time, the countdown had begun.
[Three.]
Alden gradually slowed his breathing as his center of gravity steadily lowered. The tower shield covered in pale golden patterns remained firmly positioned before him without exposing the slightest opening.
[Two.]
Ainos remained completely motionless. His broad black cloak hung naturally around him, and he had not even drawn a weapon visible to the naked eye.
[One.]
The entire Central Arena rapidly fell silent. Countless spectators unconsciously held their breath. Even the lively discussions taking place in viewing centers throughout the real world gradually ceased.
"The match... begins!" Arthur’s voice echoed across the arena.
The next instant, the ground beneath Alden’s feet trembled violently.
Rather than advancing, the enormous tower shield erupted with pale golden light as a translucent arched barrier rapidly expanded outward, completely enveloping his body from the front and both sides. Meanwhile, he focused every ounce of his attention on his surroundings, attempting to detect even the slightest fluctuation in airflow or energy.
Ainos disappeared.
FWOOSH!
The instant the black robed figure vanished from where he had been standing, Alden’s pupils contracted sharply.
Unlike the previous Sorath contestant, he did not immediately unleash a wide area attack. Doing so would merely waste energy. Instead, he tightened his grip on the shield, making the surrounding Guidance Barrier even more solid.
Cling!
An incredibly faint metallic sound suddenly rang out from the shield’s left side.
Almost the instant the sound appeared, Alden reacted purely through years of battle instinct, violently twisting his body as the edge of his shield swept toward the left. Simultaneously, the sword hidden behind the shield thrust outward, attempting to cut off any possible retreat.
However, there was nothing. His sweeping shield struck nothing, and the sword failed to touch a single target.
The very next moment...
Cling!
A second metallic impact echoed from directly in front of the shield.
A moderate force landed upon its surface before rapidly dispersing along the golden Guidance patterns, failing even to force Alden backward a single step.
"He blocked it!"
Excited cheers instantly erupted from the Human spectators.
But Alden himself displayed no joy whatsoever because he could clearly sense that the strike had never been intended to break through his defense.
It had merely been testing the way the Guidance Barrier redirected force.
Cling!
The third strike landed upon the shield’s upper right.
Cling!
The fourth landed near its base.
Cling! Cling! Cling!
The metallic impacts rapidly became more frequent, endlessly surrounding the enormous tower shield.
Ainos himself never once appeared within anyone’s line of sight.
Every attack felt so light it resembled a casual tap, yet every impact point lacked any discernible pattern. One moment the strike landed upon the shield’s left side, the next it had somehow crossed the entire defensive range to appear behind its right side. His speed was so incomprehensible that no one could understand how such movement was even possible.
Standing firmly in place, Alden repeatedly adjusted the shield’s angle while attempting to force Ainos to reveal himself through counterattacks with his sword, but no matter how he reacted, every slash struck nothing more than faint traces of lingering black light in the air.
Meanwhile, those countless strikes landing upon the tower shield continued without pause, almost as though they were patiently searching for something.
Within the contestant area, Zich’s gaze was firmly fixed upon the battlefield.
Unlike the ordinary spectators, he was not paying attention to whether Alden could continue enduring the assault.
Instead, he was watching how the golden patterns upon the shield changed every time an attack landed.
Soon enough, he noticed the problem.
Although Ainos’ attacks appeared completely random, every strike landed precisely where the Guidance patterns intersected or changed direction. As the number of attacks steadily increased, the golden pathways that had originally distributed force evenly across the shield gradually began displaying incredibly subtle delays.
It was as though rivers that had once flowed freely were slowly being blocked.
"He’s not attacking the shield."
Zich muttered quietly.
Standing not far away, Lucien turned slightly after hearing those words. A moment later, he too seemed to notice something, and the smile upon his face gradually disappeared.
"He’s destroying the force redirection pathways."
Almost simultaneously with their realization, Alden himself finally understood what was happening.
Looking down at the shield’s surface, he discovered that the once stable flow of pale golden light had somehow become visibly chaotic. At the intersections that had repeatedly been struck, tiny dark marks had quietly begun to appear.
Alden’s expression instantly darkened.
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