346 Tell Me, Arrogant Weakling. Would You Like To Try Dying Once? [Part 1]
"I will guide you to the arena grounds," a pretty lady said after meeting Lux in the lobby of the Coliseum.
Lux nodded and followed the lady to the challenger's waiting room where he'd prepare for his battle.
Before going to the Arena Grounds, Lux had already told Cai and Keane what to do if something unexpected happened. He didn't know what the high-ranking nobles were planning, so the chances of him winning were very slim.
That was good in its own way, but the problem would be what might happen to him later. There was a chance that he would be taken somewhere without his approval, so he instructed Cai and Keane to leave the city as fast as they could and send the news to his step-father in Barbatos Academy.
Lux's two friends agreed to his request, so they made sure to secure seats near the exit of the arena. In case that Lux was right, they could leave in a moment's notice right after the duel ended. freewebnove(l).com
Today, there were three battles that would commence in the arena—and Lux's battle was the last. The first two were also taking the Trial of Leadership, which was always an event that most people wanted to see.
When the challenger, who was a Grade A Apostle, entered the scene, he was surprised to see that his opponent was a Ranker.
Even the audience, who had watched similar events in the past, didn't expect this kind of trial for the person who was about to take the Trial of Leadership.
"Don't worry, boy," the Ranker said to the challenger. "This trial will test how courageous you are in facing opponents far stronger than you. In order to pass this trial, you just need to break this bottle."
The Ranker placed the glass bottle in the center of the arena and smiled.
"You may use any method in order to break this bottle," the Ranker stated. "My goal is to prevent you from breaking it. Of course, I will also attack you, but rest assured, I will be holding back. Let us enjoy your trial, shall we?"
After that short introduction, the Trial started.
Contrary to what people expected, the battle was quite entertaining to watch. The Ranker used some flashy skills that didn't contain much power behind them. In the end, it looked like a Mentor teaching a student some lessons, making the crowd cheer and encourage the challenger to break the bottle.
Finally, after thirty minutes of an exciting exchange of abilities, the bottle broke, allowing the teenager to pass his trial.
The audience loved the spectacle because the Ranker knew how to entertain others with his performance.
A few minutes later, the second challenger came and another round of fighting began. He faced a different Ranker this time, but their exchange was just as exciting as the first. In fact, even Cai and Keane were moved by the battle, and before they knew it, both of them were cheering for the challenger.
High above the VIP seats, Emperor Andreas smiled.
"They sure know how to entertain the masses," Emperor Andreas said.
A man who stood behind him nodded his head in agreement. His name was Aron, and he was the strongest High-Ranker in the Vahan Empire. He served as Emperor Andreas' bodyguard and right-hand man, and had also come to watch the duel.
"They've put on this elaborate display in order to prepare for the main event," Aron commented. "Those nobles sure know how to put on a show. Unfortunately, the last one will be a farce."
Emperor Andreas laughed, knowing that this was indeed the case. Although he wasn't aware of what the nobles had planned for Lux, they had surprised him with the pretext of holding a Trial of Leadership against Rankers.
Since Rankers were simply too powerful for the members of the Young Generation, they needed to come up with a scheme to allow the challenger to win, but also entertain the masses that had come to watch the trial.
"Well, this is also a good opportunity to see the ability of the person that defeated Malcolm's team." Emperor Andreas leaned back on his chair. "I've only heard rumors about his strength, but rumors are just rumors. I'd like to see what he is really capable of with my own eyes."
Aron nodded in understanding and no longer said anything. He also wanted to see just how strong the rumored Half-Elf was, who managed to deter the Ranker who served the Prince of the Ashina Kingdom. freew ebnovel.com
Half an hour later, the second battle ended with the challenger breaking the bottle at the center of the arena.
Finally, it was Lux's turn to enter.
He didn't know what kind of challenge he was going to face because all the challengers weren't briefed on what was to come. The Half-Elf had already prepared for the worst, but he was shocked when he saw that he was going to fight against a Ranker.
"The first two challengers before you have cleared their trial," the Ranker that was facing Lux said with a smirk. "They have also faced Rankers, like me, and succeeded in their challenge. This trial is all about facing someone who is far stronger than you and overcoming them. Let me explain the rules, so you will not cry when you fail."
The audience laughed, but they, too, cheered for Lux. After seeing the previous two battles, all of them were hyped up for the main event.
This was the perfect plan that the nobles had come up with in order to trick the audience into thinking that Lux was just incapable of clearing the trial. Since the first two challengers succeeded, the audience were fooled to think that the Rankers wouldn't go all out, and were giving the challengers a handicap.
Doing it this way would not make it look like something underhanded was being done, which might give the nobles, who had organized the event, a bad reputation.
"The trial is really simple," the Ranker said as he placed a bottle at the center of the arena. "All you need to do is break this. You may use whatever method is available to you. The trial will end if you break the bottle or when you give up. Sounds simple enough?"
Lux nodded. "I understand."
The Ranker smirked as he placed the bottle down on the ground.
"Ready when you are," the Ranker stated with his arms crossed over his chest. "Give it your best shot."
The Half-Elf summoned Pazuzu and Ishtar and ordered them through telepathy.
Pazuzu flew high up in the air, while Ishtar turned into a black mist, disappearing from sight. The Ranker who was facing Lux still had a confident smile on his face, seemingly unbothered by whatever the Half-Elf was scheming.
A moment later, a surprised expression appeared on the Ranker's face when he felt his body move on its own.
'A taunt ability?!' The Ranker's expression immediately changed as he gathered his willpower to release his aura.
As someone who had stepped past the limits of Mortals, Rankers had the innate ability to resist certain skills that were impossible for those who still hadn't reached their current rank.
This was why after taking just four steps, the Ranker was able to completely break free from Pazuzu's Taunt Skill, which surprised the Half-Elf because it had never failed him in the past.
But those precious seconds when the Ranker had momentarily shifted his attention to Pazuzu weren't in vain.
Ishtar, who had disappeared earlier, reappeared from the Shadow of the Ranker and immediately kicked the bottle to destroy it.
The audience gasped because they thought that the battle had already ended. However, the bottle didn't break and was instead sent flying towards Lux, who had already anticipated that the bottle had been rigged from the start.
When Pazuzu had taunted the Ranker, the first thing he did was to charge towards the bottle standing beside his opponent.
When Ishtar kicked the bottle to break it, she just didn't kick it in any direction. She had kicked it towards Lux, which was part of their plan, just in case the bottle didn't break on their first attempt.
"Dragon Claw!" Lux roared as he transformed his right arm into that of a dragon and swung it towards the bottle with all the strength he could muster.
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