Chapter 6: The Decisive Battle
Emperor Joan and the War God’s personal disciple, Mr. Kenyon, immediately stood up and greeted Hadeson with smiles. Hadeson was very amiable and also greeted Emperor Joan and Mr. Kenyon in return.
Then the three judges all sat down.
Behind the judges’ seats, there was a large row of seats where a large group of people sat. This group mainly consisted of the imperial family’s princes, princesses, empress, and concubines, among others.
“Nina.” Warden saw Nina among that group.
Nina also saw Warden. During this period, the Emperor had forbidden Nina from leaving the palace, so she and Warden had not seen each other for over a month. Given the feelings between Warden and Nina, three days apart felt like three years, and this separation of over a month was indeed a great torment for them.
Warden and Nina looked at each other, both sensing deep concern and love in the other’s gaze.
“Hmph.” Bloomer saw this and couldn’t help but snort coldly. If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn’t be able to see clearly from several hundred meters away. But Bloomer’s eyesight was too good; he could see their gazes clearly.
Sometimes, having too good eyesight is not a good thing.
The silver-haired old man looked at Emperor Joan on the judges’ seat. Emperor Joan nodded at him, and the silver-haired old man smiled and said in a loud voice, “Everyone, please be quiet. The decisive battle between the two geniuses of our O’Brien Empire is about to begin. First to take the stage is the challenger, the War God’s personal disciple, Bloomer!”
The challenger goes first, and the challenged goes later—that was the rule.
Bloomer carried a longsword on his back and wore a blue warrior outfit. With a movement of his feet, he leaped dozens of meters directly onto the battle platform.
“Bloomer!”
“Bloomer!”
Many among the eighty thousand spectators shouted loudly. Clearly, there were many supporters of Bloomer. In the hearts of many, the brothers Olivia and Bloomer were the pride of the O’Brien Empire.
“Quiet,” the silver-haired old man said with a smile. “Next, taking the stage is Warden from the Dragonblood Warrior family.”
“Rip—” Warden tore off his shirt in one motion, baring his upper body, revealing his powerful physique. This scene immediately excited the watching spectators, who shouted and screamed wildly.
“Hmph.” Bloomer, standing on the battle platform, saw this and just snorted coldly with disdain.
Then Warden, holding the battle blade Massacre, leaped directly onto the battle platform. With Warden’s strong, two-meter-two physique, wielding the blade Massacre, and especially with his upper body bare—
Warden exuded a sense of ferocity.
Ferocity!
This ferocity caused countless people to cheer and scream, “Warden!” “Warden!” The cheers rose and fell, and Warden’s supporters were no fewer than Bloomer’s.
“What is so astonishing about Bloomer being accepted as a disciple by the War God? Today, everyone will see,” the silver-haired old man said loudly. “And as for why the legendary Dragonblood Warrior is called the ultimate warrior, today everyone will see that too.”
“Now, I declare—”
The silver-haired old man’s voice rose, “This great battle, begin!”
In an instant, Warden’s body surface was covered with emerald-green dragon scales all over. Dragon horns emerged from his forehead, and his green dragon tail swung, causing the entire battle platform to tremble. Under the sunlight, the emerald-green dragon scales reflected dazzling light.
“Ooh~~”
A wave of gasps swept across the entire stands. None of the spectators present had ever seen a Dragonblood Warrior transform. Warden’s first transformation completely shocked everyone.
But after a moment of shock, even more frenzied cheers erupted.
“Dragonblood Warrior?” The three people on the judges’ seat all brightened. Hadeson looked at Warden with great interest: “If only he reached the Saint Domain.”
The legendary Saint Domain Dragonblood Warrior was the strongest in the Saint Domain.
And he, the Rock Sword Saint ‘Hadeson,’ was the number one expert in the Saint Domain. Hadeson hadn’t tasted defeat in many years. Indeed… if he fought a God-level expert, he would definitely lose. But that kind of helpless defeat, Hadeson couldn’t do anything about.
He hoped that a Saint Domain expert could defeat him.
Perhaps then he could also comprehend and break through the final barrier to reach the God level.
“Is this the Dragonblood Warrior?” A boy of eleven or twelve next to Nina held her hand and asked. Nina looked at the figure on the battle platform and nodded, “Yes, this is the legendary strongest ultimate warrior.”
Given the relationship between Nina and Warden, Warden had long demonstrated his transformation in front of Nina.
…
“Haha, Dragonblood Warrior, not bad.” Bloomer looked at Warden and laughed instead. “But my Achillean family has never believed that the four ultimate warriors are the strongest.”
Bloomer coldly stared at Warden, then flipped his hand and drew the longsword from his back.
The blade of the longsword was like ice, appearing semi-transparent. Under the sunlight, it reflected dreamlike, multicolored light. Bloomer looked at Warden confidently and said loudly, “This is the sword ‘Ice Dream’ gifted to me by my elder brother.”
Warden held the battle blade Massacre and said coldly, “The battle blade Massacre, the heirloom of my Baruch family, the personal weapon of the first Dragonblood Warrior.”
“Oh?” Bloomer sneered coldly.
The entire battle platform fell completely silent. Everyone’s eyes were wide open, carefully watching this battle of geniuses, afraid of missing a single detail.
“Whoosh!”
In the blink of an eye, Bloomer disappeared from his spot, and a strong wind suddenly arose on the entire battle platform. This was the gust caused by Bloomer’s extreme speed.
The wind brushed against Warden’s face, but Warden stood still.
“Huh?” Warden suddenly noticed Bloomer’s figure appearing on his left. Just as Warden turned to charge and attack, he felt a strong wind rushing in from his right.
Indeed.
On his right was Bloomer’s true body.
Bloomer sneered as he looked at Warden, the Ice Dream sword in his hand mercilessly slashing toward Warden. But Warden, with his back to him, swung his dragon tail like a steel whip, striking fiercely.
“Crack!” The dragon tail struck hard against the sword. The tip of the tail even hit Bloomer’s body.
“Boom!”
Bloomer, like a sandbag, was sent flying by the fierce strike. In midair, he performed a graceful somersault and finally landed on one knee at the edge of the battle platform.
All the spectators held their breath, not daring to shout.
“Ptoo.” Bloomer spat out a trace of blood from his mouth and looked at the spot on his chest where the dragon tail had struck. His clothes were torn open, and even with his battle aura protecting his chest, the protective shield had been cracked. A very noticeable wound appeared, with blood slowly oozing out.
Warden turned around at that moment, his black eyes coldly fixed on Bloomer, a glint of gold flashing in his gaze.
“Such strong power,” Bloomer muttered softly.
Without a doubt, warriors of the same level were no match for a Dragonblood Warrior in terms of strength and attack. Even a single swing of Warden’s dragon tail was enough to seriously injure Bloomer.
Bloomer fully understood.
Fighting Warden, he couldn’t afford to be hit. Just now, only the tip of the dragon tail had struck him. If he had been hit squarely, it wouldn’t have been so simple.
“Thump!”
Warden’s powerful legs stomped hard on the ground. Even the battle platform, protected by a magic array, trembled. Warden, leaving a faint afterimage, crossed a hundred meters in an instant and charged directly in front of Bloomer.
“Hah!”
The battle blade Massacre came down with immense force. Bloomer didn’t hesitate and immediately dodged to the side. While slashing, Warden also spun around, his legs rotating like a windmill, fiercely kicking toward Bloomer.
Bloomer didn’t dare to block head-on and continued to retreat at high speed.
“Smack!” Even though he retreated quickly, the lightning-fast dragon tail still came. Bloomer hurriedly used the Ice Dream sword to block.
“Boom!” Even though it struck the Ice Dream sword, the terrifying impact still sent Bloomer flying toward the distant stands. The spectators there immediately scattered, and Bloomer crashed heavily into the stands.
“Boom!” The stone stands shattered, sending debris flying and raising a cloud of dust.
The watching spectators gasped. The Dragonblood Warrior was too terrifying. Because of their formidable scale armor, they dared to clash their legs, hands, and dragon tail directly against an opponent’s weapon.
They held an absolute advantage.
“Ahhh~~” A roar came from the dust cloud as Bloomer charged out, but not toward Warden. Instead, he rushed to the other side of the battle platform.
With just three touches on the ground, Bloomer reached the other side.
“Bloomer, you’re definitely going to lose,” Warden said coldly.
Bloomer had bloodstains on him, but he still stood straight. He didn’t look at Warden but at the sword in his hand: “I originally wanted to defeat you with the swordsmanship I comprehended myself, but it seems I have to use the swordsmanship my elder brother taught me.”
“Elder brother’s swordsmanship?”
Hadeson on the stands heard this clearly. “Is it Olivia’s Light and Shadow Sword? I wonder how much of Olivia’s skill he has learned.”
Linley below also frowned.
Olivia’s swordsmanship?
“Remember, the one who defeats you is the Light and Shadow Sword!” Bloomer said coldly. Suddenly, the Ice Dream sword in his hand was covered with a layer of golden sword light.
“Buzz~~”
Strangely, Bloomer’s single figure on the battle platform split into two, and the sword also became two. Then the figures split again—
One became two, two became four, four became eight.
This scene was too eerie.
“Such astonishing speed.” Linley, with his current level of understanding, could tell that Bloomer was achieving this through an incredible speed.
“This speed is even faster than my fastest in human form,” Linley thought with alarm.
Warden watched this scene seriously. He felt that Bloomer’s figures were all around him. Bloomer’s speed was far greater than he had estimated, even faster than his elder brother in human form.
“You’re finished.”
The cold voice seemed to come from all the illusions at once. Just as Warden was on high alert, the light and shadow shifted, and Bloomer appeared right in front of him.
“Pfft!”
Warden didn’t have time to block with his blade and could only bend his arm to use his shoulder to stop the sword.
“Clang!” Like metal striking metal, the Ice Dream sword only left a white mark on Warden’s body. Warden’s dragon tail whipped out with a “Swish!” sound, striking fiercely.
But Bloomer had already vanished again.
If he didn’t hit, he immediately retreated.
“What’s going on?” Warden was startled. “How did he suddenly get in front of me?”
Linley below understood: “Using the illusion of light and shadow to distract attention from his true body, then relying on astonishing speed to appear in front of the opponent before they can react.”
To counter this move, Linley could rely on his perception of the wind to easily determine the opponent’s true body.
But Warden had no understanding of the wind.
“Why are there so many figures?” The eighty thousand spectators were dumbfounded. On the battle platform, there were now sixteen figures of Bloomer. Often, a dazzling golden light would flash, and Bloomer’s figure would appear in another position.
The number of figures always remained at sixteen.
One figure would disappear, and another would appear elsewhere. Each change was accompanied by a flash of golden light.
Eerie.
Warden was on high alert. Another golden light flashed, and Warden only felt his eyes blur. Bloomer’s sword was already right in front of him. This time, Bloomer didn’t attack elsewhere but aimed at Warden’s eyes.
The sword tip, shimmering with golden light, was already at his eyes.