Chapter 516 – Bartos

“Haha! Our little girl has gone mad!”

Seeing Audreylinda charging toward him at an even faster speed, Kane ceased his relentless assault and shifted into a defensive stance.

There was no other choice—the Female Knight, now appearing utterly frenzied, had clearly activated some secret technique that pushed her limits. Her originally black hair had turned fiery crimson, creating a stark contrast with the glowing blue blade in her hands. Accompanied by the explosive sounds of shattering space, her attack speed had nearly doubled in this short period, transforming her into a blur of red and blue light. Even Kane was unwilling to engage in a head-on clash with Audreylinda, who was now clearly fighting with her life on the line.

It had to be admitted that no powerhouse who reached the Master-Level and lived for over a thousand years was simple. Various life-risking trump cards were practically standard equipment for every expert. It would be an embarrassing joke if a Master-Level enemy lacked such formidable hidden cards—only an eccentric like Ben Lajie would carry nothing but a Storage Ring full of delicacies.

Thus, as the saying goes, fortunes change. Now that Female Knight Audreylinda had begun her desperate assault, it was Kane’s turn to dodge and weave. In fact, when facing such clearly unsustainable “burst potential” methods like Audreylinda’s, the most common and correct response was exactly what Kane was doing: prioritizing evasion and engaging in a war of attrition.

As for other methods… such as activating his own life-risking techniques to charge forward and see who would die first? Kane would definitely not take that approach. Unless forced into a corner, this cunning knight would never entertain the concept of “fighting desperately”—a trait evident from how he had surrendered all spoils to Punk back in the Raging Wave Desert.

However, a war of attrition meant defeating Audreylinda quickly was impossible. While doing his best to evade the Female Knight’s attacks that traded injury for injury and life for life, the ever-cautious and unprincipled Kane openly called for Punk’s assistance:

“Hey hey hey, Cyan, hurry up and hit this madwoman with a Kinetic Cone! This is the perfect finishing opportunity—I’m even magnanimously letting you have the kill shot.”

Setting aside the meaningless chatter, Kane’s request for help was quite reasonable. The combination of a spellcaster and a combat class professional could achieve far greater than the sum of its parts. If Punk were to strike again, the Female Knight—who now seemed completely focused on taking Kane down with her while neglecting defense against the distant mage—would likely be unable to dodge Punk’s next spell.

However, Punk’s response to Kane remained as merciless as ever:

“You useless fool, why haven’t you dealt with the enemy yet? Finishing blow? I’ve got troubles of my own breathing down my neck!”

Indeed, Punk had no time to help Kane with his opponent. Ten seconds had quietly passed, and the enemy Punk faced—the Master-Level powerhouse Bartos, whom Audreylinda had mentioned—had arrived.

“Daring to cause trouble in my country? Taste my hammer!”Before anyone could be seen, an ear-shattering roar had already swept across the battlefield. Accompanied by the terrifying sonic boom of breaking the sound barrier, a crimson fireball resembling a meteor—yet far faster—plummeted from the sky directly toward Punk’s position.

Ignoring Kane’s plea for assistance, Punk watched the colossal fireball descend like a meteor. Sensing the twenty to thirty Formal-Level professionals outside the arena working in unison with Bartos to breach the rock barrier, Punk’s brow furrowed faintly beneath the shadow of his hood.

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell—Kinetic Barrier”!

Metamagic – Mana Compression!

Metamagic – Dualcast

“Master-Level Conjuration Spell—Energy Reinforcement”!

Uncertain of Bartos’s exact power level, and to ensure the safety of “Smile” and the Second Godchild beside him, Punk had no choice but to immediately deploy a sufficiently powerful area defense spell. Particularly since Bartos’s meteor-like assault originated from the sky—a purely offensive strike designed to kill—any failure to intercept it completely would likely result in Smile and the Second Godchild’s instant demise.

Bartos’s attack was extraordinarily swift. No sooner had Punk’s spells taken effect than the “flaming meteor,” led by a massive hammer, arrived.

“BOOM!!”

Crimson flames violently collided with the deep violet energy barrier. For a moment, the very earth crumbled under the horrific impact. The sturdy granite floor was instantly pulverized into dust by the overwhelming pressure. A deep fissure tore through the fragile space at the point of collision, while rising debris formed a small mushroom cloud above the arena. The once Level Ground now resembled a jagged, cratered landscape.

“Damn, how is it so sturdy?!”

The first to leap out of the crater was a visibly unsettled Bartos, who landed directly in front of his group of Formal-Level subordinates who had just stormed into the arena. The muscular Strongman, hefting a large iron hammer, grimaced as he rubbed his wrist—apparently having come out slightly worse in the first exchange despite being the aggressor.

“So just a Level 17 warrior, then. Though this accelerated hammer strike is somewhat noteworthy.”

Following closely, Punk emerged from the crater alongside Smile and the Second Godchild. In that initial clash, Punk had already gauged his opponent’s strength. Without a doubt, Bartos wasn’t particularly powerful, and the hammer in his hand was merely an unremarkable Formal-Level magical item.

“It seems the situation isn’t irredeemable. If Bartos’s power is only at this level… then this mission hasn’t failed yet!”

Quietly observing Bartos, who was now surrounded by his many Formal-Level followers like stars encircling the moon, the magical light in Punk’s pupils began to swirl with renewed intensity.The current situation shows that Kane can still continue his entangled battle with the righteous female knight over there. Although Kane is holding back due to concerns for “Smile” and the Second Godchild, while the enraged Audreylinda instinctively worries about the few surviving professional-class Nobles—preventing both from employing high-destructive attacks—the female knight’s reckless behavior of closing the distance at all costs, even at the risk of injury, suggests she might have some terrifying trump card. As a result, the fight has turned into a prolonged evasion, with Kane persistently dodging left and right, unwilling to get close to the female knight. For the time being, it seems unlikely that Kane will be able to free himself to deal with Bartos and his “guard team.”

So… now, the task of perfectly eliminating Bartos and his loyal Formal-Level “guards” while ensuring “Smile’s” safety falls to Punk!

(End of Chapter)