Chapter 163
The world was engulfed by scorching crimson flames.
The flames were made from Magma’s power. Everything in sight was swallowed by Magma’s fury, reducing the glorious coliseum of Reinhardt into ruins. Even the heat-resistant Gold River Stones were charred until they looked like charcoals.
It seemed that Magma’s power of annihilation truly lived up to its name.
“Cough!”
There was a middle-aged man kneeling on one knee in the middle of the pandemonium, and he was coughing blood. The bedraggled, torn, and scorched clothes of the middle-aged man proved the intensity of the battle.
In front of him stood the winner of this battle…
“It’s a pity,” said Ulabis before wiping the blood dripping out of his mouth.
“Haaah.” Akshuller groaned in pain.
They had exchanged hundreds of blows after that short break. The longer they went on, the more obvious it became to Akshuller. It became painfully clear to him that the wall between him and Ulabis was much higher than he initially thought.
‘Especially the swordsmanship His Highness displayed…’
Akshuller forced his shaky legs up and said, “You’re really amazing. You fought like we have no audience.”
“It’s all because I trust them.” Ulabis swept his gaze across the audience stands.
The Magic Tower sent mages who employed large-scale defensive spells to prevent collateral damage. The cool air in the stands proved that they were successful, although the mages themselves were sweating quite profusely from the effort as their mana was constantly drained from maintaining the spells.
“I’ve got nothing to say.” Akshuler smiled. He wore an expression of both pride and regret. He turned back to the expressionless Ulabis and asked, “May I ask why Your Highness wants to become the Champion of the Masters’ Battle?”
“Have you already forgotten what you told me earlier? You were right. The Reinhardt Masters’ Battle is the best place for me to recover Thran’s lost glory.”
“Is that really it?” asked Akshuller, seemingly in doubt.
“…” However, Ulabis kept his mouth shut and did not respond.
“It’s a bit shameless for a loser like me to ask you to let it out, but I hope you’ll answer me if you don’t mind.” Akshuller’s voice turned serious.
There was a particular reason why he asked Ulabis. He knew they were fighting for the same thing, but he wanted to hear the answer from Ulabis’ own mouth. Moreover, he was curious as well.
Ulabis looked at the audience stands.
The person he was looking for was also staring at him.
Upon sensing that gaze, Ulabis smiled softly and said, “Joshua Sanders.”
“What?" Akshuller was dumbfounded when Ulabis heard an unexpected name. He stared blankly at Ulabis, looking like he couldn’t believe even his own ears.
‘He wants to fight the boy? That’s absurd…’
Afraid that Akshuller might misunderstand, Ulabis was quick to add, “Can you still remember what he said to the Knight of Steel? What he said to the Knight of Steel is my answer to your question.”
“…” At that, Akshuller stopped talking. Of course, he could still remember Joshua’s words. After all, it was quite an impressive speech that made even the audience members’ hearts flutter.
“So you’re working hard for the people of Thran…" Akshuller muttered. Then, he burst into boisterous laughter. Ulabis reminded Akshuller of himself. Acquiring something meaningful wouldn’t change anything, but he was obsessed with the deed anyway.
Akshuller laughed bitterly. ‘I guess I really lost his match, then.’
“I admit defeat,” Akshuller finally said.
Before the crowd could even erupt into cheers, the host immediately shouted, “Priests!”
“Please take care of the participant!”
“Ah,?yes, yes!”
A group of priests rushed out.
“Let a chill descend upon the earth, Ice Fog!”
“Aqua Ball!”
“Ice Bolt!”
The mages began casting spells with cooling effects.
Sizzle
When ice and water-type spells made contact with the hot floor of the stage, it created steam that erupted into the air.
“Wooowww!”
The crowd finally erupted as well, and their cheers drowned the sizzling noise of steam.
“The Fourth Day of the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle has ended! The victor of the afternoon Group B match is the Knight of Red Flame, Ulabis!”
Ulabis walked away at the host’s announcement.
Thud!
Akshuller collapsed on his back, and he watched as Ulabis gradually disappeared from view.
“Haaah… It has been a long time since I went all out—” Akshuller flinched. He was forced to shut his mouth when excruciating pain finally assaulted him. His face distorted at the devastating pain.
“Th-The wound is quite severe.” The priest examining Akshuller looked horrified. “We will have to treat you immediately.”
Akshuller’s right shoulder took a direct hit from Ulabis’ flames, and the burn injury he suffered was so serious his bone could be seen.
At the sight of that, Iceline jumped out of her seat. “Oh, Mister!”
Recently, more and more emotions were breaking through Iceline’s cold demeanor.
She cast Levitate on herself and tried to make her way into the arena by floating.
However, a person blocked her path. “Please turn back.”
“Why? If it’s because of the battle, isn’t it over?”
Iceline was furious.
“There are people from all across the continent here. We have to prevent any unfortunate accidents, so we cannot allow you access until we have verified your identity.”
"That’s…” Iceline bit her lower lip. She was about to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. She just couldn’t come up with an identity she could use to introduce herself. After all, she was currently on the run since her family’s collapse.
She only managed to come here because of Akshuller’s help.
‘I’m… really useless.’
Upon realizing that she hadn’t been able to do anything by herself for a long time now, tears started welling in Iceline’s eyes as she stood there with a heartbroken look.
“She’s my friend.”
“… !” Iceline instantly turned to look at the owner of the voice next to her. “Joshua?”
“Joshua Sanders?” The official stared blankly at Joshua, who had just removed his robes to let himself be known.
“She’s my friend. Do you still have to verify her identity?”
“Well…” The official revealed a troubled look.
It was impossible to find someone who still had no idea about Joshua Sanders’ name, but the issue was that the official wasn’t sure about Joshua Sanders’ relationship with the participant lying on the stage and being treated by the priests.
Despite being a citizen of Avalon, Akshuller was a representative of the Mercenary Guild rather than a representative of Avalon.
“I’ll take it from here.”
“...!” A familiar voice startled the official, and they immediately looked away.
The one who spoke was a middle-aged man who looked like a lion with his mane of golden hair and bushy beard. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that the man would stand out wherever he was with his looks.
“M-mr. Ryan? When did you—” the official started.
However, the golden-haired man interrupted. “Our Reinhardt has recognized him as a Master, so there’s no reason to worry about him.”
"Are you…?” Joshua's eyes widened gradually as he stared at the man.
“Save your greetings for later, Master Sanders. You should take care of your friend first.”
“...” At that, Joshua nodded lightly. “Let’s go.”
“Y-yes…!” Iceline nodded and quickly followed behind Joshua.
The two soon found Akshuller surrounded by a group of priests clad in white.
“Mister!”
Akshuller’s eyes fluttered as Iceline's voice dug into his ears.
Akshuller noticed Joshua as well, and he smiled. “What’s with that face?”
“You fought well,” said Joshua with a stiff look. He couldn’t help but freeze when he saw Akshuller’s wounds. The priests were constantly pouring their divine power onto Akshuller’s wounds, but the latter’s wounds showed no signs of recovery.
“Heal!” A bright light burst from the priests’ hands, enveloping Akshuller. Dozens of priests cast Heal at once, so the light was extremely bright, capturing the audience’s attention.
“We’re gonna do it now!” Count Ford of the Hubalt Empire hurriedly whispered, “The audience members are focused on the priests right now, so this is our chance to strike!”
“Now?” Marquis Moreland stared at him, wide-eyed. “Are you sure about that?”
“He has already been acknowledged as a Master, so it won’t be strange if he left Reinhardt sooner or later. He still has no idea what we’re trying to do, so it would be better for us to deal with him now. Strike while the iron is hot!”
"But…” Marquis Moreland seemed concerned.
“Don’t worry, Marquis Moreland. Jealousy is more insidious than you think. Besides, didn’t I tell you? He’s suspicious.”
“Well…” Marquis Moreland was still hesitant.
At that, Count Ford continued.
“His skills, appearance, and personality are inappropriate for his age. Who would believe that someone so perfect is human? If we dress it up correctly, we can easily convince everyone that he’s a demon. Then, they’ll have no choice but to let us take the reins from here, and from there…” Count Ford trailed off. His eyes brightened when he saw holy knights gathering near the entrance of Reinhardt’s coliseum. “It’s over for him, Joshua Sanders.”
“Whew…” Marquis Moreland sighed. He was about to make a decision when a commotion on the stage interrupted him.
The commotion was around Akshuller.
“I heard that the efficacy of holy spells is entirely reliant on your divine power, unlike magic spells, where your understanding of the particular type of magic you want to cast will affect the effectiveness of the spell, you don’t have to thoroughly comprehend holy spells to cast them, am I right?”
“J-Joshua Sanders?”
The priests were bewildered to see Joshua Sanders interrupting them.
Joshua had been closely observing the priests’ gestures since he arrived here. He hesitantly extended one palm and cautiously followed the same gestures the priests had been doing before releasing one of the three energies in his body.
“Heal.”
“…!”
An enormous ray of light burst out of Joshua’s palm. The light was so bright that it completely overshadowed the light that the dozens of priests were emitting at the same time.
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