Chapter 76: The Iron Wall!

Increasing his grip, Lucian was ready to snap Kenjiro’s neck right then and there.

Unfortunately, before he could do so, a choked voice sounded in his ears:

Cough! Cough!

"I... surrender..."

His voice was hoarse, barely able to make a sound. Luckily, a sound was all he needed.

Boom!

Along with Kenjiro’s callout, an ice spear descended from the top of the arena, landing right between him and Lucian and forcefully separating them.

"Enough!"

"That’s enough, Lucian. You won this battle, and your opponent has surrendered."

"If you continue to act this way, don’t blame me for personally stepping in!"

Looking down on him from above, Ethan glared at him, his eyes filled with absolute killing intent.

The look seemed to declare that if Lucian dared to move, Ethan would wipe him out on the spot.

’Damn it! I forgot about that damn Patriarch!’

’Even though he looks so young compared to these old men, how is he so absurdly strong?!’

Cursing inwardly, Lucian was furious.

Unfortunately, no matter how unwilling he was, the reality was that he wasn’t going to be able to complete his goal of executing this old swordsman.

"Fine! Bring out the next person! I just have to win two more matches, right?!"

"Hopefully we never meet again after this!"

Bang!

Saying this, accompanied by a loud thud, he threw Kenjiro away to his right.

If he couldn’t kill anyone, he might as well end this quickly and find a way to regenerate his flesh.

With his bones exposed, his overall combat strength had been weakened by several percent.

"Alright then. Darius, I’m leaving it to you. Also, someone pick up Kenjiro and give him basic first aid."

"We’ll give him proper treatment when we get back to the base," said Ethan, motioning to Darius and the others beside him.

And Darius, already raring to go, stepped forward, used Air Walk, and jumped down into the arena.

After watching from the sidelines for so long, it was finally his time to fight.

........

Darius Kane, the Iron Wall.

After mastering the unique energy called mana, his strength had undergone a qualitative leap, so much so that even he had a hard time quantifying just how powerful he had become.

When he activated his Body Strengthening technique, both his raw physical power and his defensive capabilities multiplied.

In this state, he was immune to all kinds of conventional gunfire, blades, and explosives.

Not only that, but his strength scaling was unique!

Where other mages using the same technique might only increase their strength and speed by fifty or one hundred percent, Darius was different.

Perhaps because of his innate affinity for the spell, not only could he increase his strength by the standard percentage, but as long as he had enough mana, he could push the state of his body to its absolute limits and keep stacking that multiplier.

It was a technique he called the Body-Limiting Technique, where by consuming continuous streams of mana, he continuously raised his physical limits.

"Hello, monster. I hope you don’t mind fighting another battle so soon. However, just like that other old man, Kenjiro..."

"I, too, have been itching for a real fight."

Throwing away his heavy metal shield, he coated his steel fists in dense mana, forming thick, glowing gauntlets.

"Now then... try not to die too fast!"

’Limiting Technique: Fifty Percent!’

Not waiting for Lucian to reply, Darius sprang into action.

His short silver hair blew against the wind as he rushed Lucian with a high-speed strike, directly targeting the beast’s exposed skeletal arm.

"Don’t break too easily, monster! We have a long way to go!"

Boom!

Landing a direct hit on his shoulder bone, Darius’s blow forced Lucian’s massive monster body back two full steps.

But that was all it was, just two full steps.

"Hey! I’m getting sick and tired of you old people! Can’t you all just go to a retirement home and stop bothering me?!"

Flying up into the sky, Lucian was incandescent with rage.

What the hell was this? Was this some kind of sick joke?! What kind of elite combat squad was composed entirely of senior citizens?!

’That damn Patriarch bastard... he’s using me as a sandbag to let them test their techniques, isn’t he?!’

’He probably never intended to let me kill anyone. In fact, he might not even have plans to let me leave this place alive!’

Looking upward, he saw Ethan looking down at him with a calm smile, as if confirming his exact thoughts.

’Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’

’And worse yet, this stupid System of mine has been dead silent ever since that guy showed up!’

’Am I really going to die here?! I, who am supposed to be the protagonist?!’

Unwilling to accept his fate, Lucian’s eyes narrowed into slits.

If he wasn’t going to be allowed to escape peacefully, and if he wasn’t going to be allowed to kill anyone within the rules... then it was up to him to carve his own way out.

"Fine! I’ll just kill this old man before anyone can react, and then smash my way out of this arena!"

"Although I don’t know where this illusory space is, it’s at least better than waiting here to die!"

Muttering under his breath, not realising he was in an illusory world, Lucian made his decision.

"Get ready, old man! Get ready to receive my wrath!"

Scraaaww!

Shrieking loudly, Lucian swooped down beak-first like a black tornado, descending from the sky at speeds that were nearly impossible for the naked eye to track.

Down on the ground, seeing this monstrous missile hurtling toward him, Darius didn’t panic in the slightest. He didn’t even bother picking up his shield.

Instead, strengthening the mana gauntlets on his hands, he once again activated his technique.

Only this time, it was One Hundred Fifty Percent!

"Hahaha! Now this is what I was waiting for!"

"What greater way to battle than to put your life on the line?!"

"Come at me, monster boy! Let’s see which is harder, your beak or my fists!"

"Hahaha!"

Squatting slightly to anchor his legs, Darius leaned back.

Feeling his mana churn and rapidly drain, pure excitement fueled his every movement as his punching stance locked into place.

His right hand wound back like a loaded spring for the punch, while his left hand provided balance and stability.

His eyes remained locked onto the incoming target.

With this punch, he was determined to claim absolute victory.

"Hahaha! This is for all the innocent people you killed!"

"Die and repent, you damn monster!" Laughed Darius

"Die, you old man!" Roared Lucian

Crossing paths in the center of the ring, both combatants launched their ultimate attacks simultaneously!

Boom!