Chapter 322: Thunder and Steel

Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Thunder and Steel

Grand Marshal Vane’s voice echoed through the Great Solaris Arena.

"Match 13: Thunder Fortress versus Beast Fang Mountain. Fighters to the stage."

The crowd roared as two groups emerged.

Thunder Fortress marched onto the arena floor like siege towers.

Each cultivator stood over two meters tall, bodies thick with muscle and lightning scars, wearing minimal armor as crackling electricity protected them.

Damon’s golden eyes narrowed.

Each carried an iron pillar etched with runic patterns that pulsed with lightning, arcs jumping between carriers.

Damon leaned forward in his seat.

Those aren’t normal weapons. They’re cultivation tools designed to channel lightning directly into the wielder’s body.

Beside him, Ariel gasped.

"They’re carrying those pillars like they’re nothing."

Mio’s voice was impressed.

"Each one must weigh as much as a carriage."

Mia nodded.

"And they’re swinging them around like clubs."

Damon watched the Thunder Fortress captain plant his pillar on the ground, the impact sending a crack through the stone.

Heavy hitters. Slow but devastating.

Then the Beast Fang Mountain cultivators entered.

They were leaner, more agile, their bodies covered in furs and bone ornaments. But they weren’t alone.

Spiritual beasts materialized around them.

Massive dire-wolves with fur that rippled like liquid shadow. Armored bears with stone plates fused to their hides.

Saber-toothed cats with eyes that glowed emerald green.

The beasts snarled and paced, their hunger barely contained.

Damon’s Incubus Celestial Eyes activated automatically, scanning the combatants.

Beast Fang Mountain cultivators have bonded with their summons. The connection is deep, almost symbiotic. They fight as one unit.

He turned to Selene.

"What do you think?"

Selene’s frosty eyes studied the arena.

"Thunder Fortress has raw power. Beast Fang Mountain has numbers and mobility. It depends on who breaks first."

Damon nodded.

"Exactly."

Grand Marshal Vane raised his hand.

"Begin."

The Thunder Fortress captain didn’t wait.

He swung his iron pillar in a wide arc, lightning trailing behind it like a comet’s tail.

The pillar connected with a dire-wolf’s skull, sending the beast tumbling across the arena floor.

But the Beast Fang Mountain cultivators were already moving.

Three armored bears charged forward, their massive frames slamming into the Thunder Fortress line. The impact sent lightning crackling across their hides, but the bears didn’t stop.

They pushed through.

The arena floor shattered under the weight of the collision, chunks of stone flying into the air.

Damon watched as a Thunder Fortress fighter was tackled by two dire-wolves, their fangs sinking into his shoulder.

But the cultivator just laughed, grabbed both wolves by the scruff, and slammed them together with enough force to crack their ribs.

Lightning erupted from his body.

The wolves yelped and released him, their fur smoking.

But the Beast Fang Mountain cultivators were already summoning more.

The battle was brutal.

Clashes shattered the arena floor.

A fighter drove his pillar into the ground, trapping three dire-wolves in a lightning web.

They collapsed, smoking. An armored bear slammed into him, cracking his barrier.

He flew across the arena, his pillar skidding across broken stone.

The Beast Fang Mountain cultivators pressed their advantage.

More beasts poured into the arena, their roars shaking the air.

The Thunder Fortress line buckled.

But it didn’t break.

The Thunder Fortress captain stepped forward, his eyes blazing with electricity.

He raised his pillar above his head, and lightning struck down from the sky, arcing through the arena’s barrier.

The pillar absorbed the strike.

Then the captain swung.

The lightning exploded outward, a wave of electricity that swept across the entire arena floor. The Beast Fang Mountain cultivators threw up barriers, but the lightning punched through, sending them flying.

Their beasts howled in pain.

But they didn’t retreat.

The Beast Fang Mountain captain, a scarred man with a dire-wolf at his side, charged forward. His wolf leaped, fangs bared, but the Thunder Fortress captain met it head-on.

His pillar connected with the wolf’s skull.

The beast went down.

The Beast Fang Mountain captain screamed in rage and slammed his fist into the Thunder Fortress captain’s chest. The impact sent cracks through the cultivator’s lightning armor.

But the Thunder Fortress captain didn’t fall.

He grabbed the Beast Fang Mountain captain by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

"Yield."

The Beast Fang Mountain captain struggled, his fists pounding against the Thunder Fortress captain’s arm.

But the grip was unbreakable.

"I yield."

The words were barely audible.

The Thunder Fortress captain released him.

The Beast Fang Mountain captain fell to his knees, gasping for air.

Grand Marshal Vane’s voice boomed through the arena.

"Thunder Fortress advances to the Top 16! Final score: 7-6!"

The crowd erupted.

The Thunder Fortress captain raised his pillar, lightning arcing across its surface.

But Damon noticed something.

The barrier around the arena was flickering.

Cracks had formed in the defensive arrays, the result of the sheer kinetic force of the battle.

Grand Marshal Vane noticed too.

He descended from his platform, his halberd in hand. He planted the weapon’s butt into the stone floor, and a wave of energy pulsed outward.

The barrier stabilized.

The cracks sealed.

Vane looked at the Thunder Fortress captain, his expression unreadable.

"Your sect fights with impressive force. But remember—the tournament is not a war. There are limits."

The Thunder Fortress captain bowed his head.

"Understood, Grand Marshal."

Vane nodded and returned to his platform.

Damon watched the exchange, his golden eyes thoughtful.

’Vane is powerful. But even he has to reinforce the arrays manually. That means the barrier has limits.’

He filed that information away for later.

The Thunder Fortress cultivators filed out of the arena, their pillars resting on their shoulders.

The Beast Fang Mountain cultivators followed, their beasts limping beside them.

The arena announcer’s voice echoed through the coliseum.

"Match 14 will begin in thirty minutes. The next pairing will be announced shortly."

Damon leaned back in his seat, his mind already calculating.

Thunder Fortress is strong. But they’re slow. Their lightning techniques are powerful, but they rely on brute force.

He turned to his women.

"Thoughts?"

Ariel spoke first.

"Their captain is impressive. But their formation is rigid. If you can break their rhythm, they’ll fall apart."

Mio nodded.

"They’re used to being the aggressors. If you force them on the defensive, they won’t know how to adapt."

Mia’s voice was soft.

"Shadow techniques would work well against them. They can’t hit what they can’t see."

Damon smiled.

"Good."

He turned back to the arena, his golden eyes scanning the crowd.

The tournament was progressing.

And Damon Arcknight was ready for whatever came next.