Chapter 166

Кhаn аlrеady hаd а рrеdiсtion of who wоuld win аs he watсhed Darеnvаlt аnd Вуutеk standing on thе arenа stаge.

‘Ноnеstlу, Dаrenvаlt is strong, but hе’s now a stер bеlоw Byutеk. A 16-lеvel differenсе is an insurmountable gар in skill. Moreover, if thе lеvel difference ехceеds 10 abоvе lеvеl 100, that’s an enormоus disparitу.’

Frоm lеvel 100 onwаrd, thе diffеrencе betweеn each levеl wаs immense.

Тhаt’s why Кhan held Вyutek’s talеnt in high regаrd.

‘Тhat Byutek guy’s lеvel kеерs rising evеn through this tournаmеnt. Тhere’s рlentу оf роtеntial.’

Кhаn bеgan wаtсhing their match intently, observing the level floating above Byutek’s head.

As soon as the match started, Darenvalt drew the massive greatsword slung on his back, gripping it with one hand, and shouted at Byutek standing opposite him.

“That armor you’re wearing isn’t something a greenhorn like you should be wearing!! I’ll defeat you in this match and reclaim my armor!”

In response, Byutek frowned, similarly drawing the massive greatsword from his back, gripping it with both hands, and shouted back.

“What kind of foolish talk is that!! This armor was a gift from the heaven-like Hyungnim! It’s armor given by Hyungnim, so it’s worthy of being coveted by a greenhorn like you, but it’s more precious to me than my own life, so I absolutely won’t give it to you! So I’m going to utterly crush you!”

From Byutek’s perspective, Darenvalt’s sudden demand to hand over the armor Khan gave him was incomprehensible.

Thus, Byutek was actually angrier than Darenvalt.

“Hahahaha! How absurd. For a greenhorn like you to dare speak so arrogantly. I’ll show you my power, which is called nearly the strongest among warriors who wield the greatswords of Arcana.”

Darenvalt laughed with an incredulous expression, then gradually ignited his Mana.

Darenvalt hadn’t wanted to reveal his full strength, so he had never used Mana even once in his matches until now.

‘Using Mana? Impressive. This might change the story a bit.’

The Mana emanating from Darenvalt was top-tier.

Adding Mana to his destructive and powerful offensive power would result in immense destructive force.

‘With this, he might be able to narrow the level gap… Does that Byutek guy have something hidden too?’

Khan watched Byutek with a subtle sense of anticipation.

But unfortunately, Byutek did not draw up his Mana or anything.

“Alright, come at me!”

Byutek simply held his greatsword with both hands and stared at Darenvalt.

Darenvalt, his entire body enveloped in blue Mana, charged at Byutek with lightning-fast movement.

Darenvalt, whose build was at least twice that of an average adult man, moved so fast it was impossible to properly follow with the eyes.

However, perhaps that only applied to Khan, as Byutek swung his massive greatsword toward Darenvalt charging at him.

Swoooooosh!!!

Kwaaaaaaang!!!

It was Darenvalt who swung his sword first.

Immense Mana was rising from Darenvalt’s sword.

Yet Byutek, who had swung his sword using only brute strength, actually pushed Darenvalt back.

‘Grrk! What kind of strength does this guy have…!’

Darenvalt gritted his teeth as he was pushed back by Byutek despite having drawn up his Mana, and began swinging his sword multiple times from his position.

Then, massive blue Mana Sword Auras flew toward Byutek in multiple streams.

Byutek looked at Darenvalt and smirked.

“Was that all you could do after drawing up your Mana? Just some petty tricks?”

As he said that, Byutek immediately took a stance.

Gripping the greatsword with both hands, massive muscles swelled on Byutek’s arms, veins bulging out.

In that state, he swung his greatsword toward the blue Mana Sword Auras flying at him.

With each swing of Byutek’s sword, a sound like something exploding could be heard.

When both speed and destructive power reached a high level, the sound of cutting through the wind sounded like explosions.

Byutek, having perfectly blocked the blue Mana Sword Auras flying at him, didn’t stop there. He took a stance once more, took a deep breath, and spoke.

“Inhale, exhale… Show me a real Sword Aura, not those fake ones.”

The method of wielding Sword Aura he learned from his Master, Dramos.

It wasn’t perfect yet.

Because he was using Sword Aura relying solely on strength.

But even with this still-imperfect Sword Aura, it seemed he could easily defeat someone of Darenvalt’s level.

‘Compared to Master, he’s nothing. In fact, he’s a step below me.’

Byutek swung his greatsword.

This time, a massive wind Sword Aura formed along the path of Byutek’s swing and flew toward Darenvalt at tremendous speed.

Byutek, having swung his sword, stood still and watched Darenvalt without preparing his next attack.

“With your level, you definitely won’t be able to block it.”

“You greenhorn dare…! Don’t make me laugh!!!”

Hearing Byutek’s words, Darenvalt drew up every last bit of Mana in his body without leaving any behind.

He could use Mana, but it was impossible for him to wield it freely like Mages.

So other than using Mana to enhance his physical strength or physical abilities, he couldn’t do anything else.

Darenvalt’s current physical strength and physical abilities, with all his Mana drawn up, were truly at an incredible level.

‘I’ll cut through the Sword Aura and simultaneously close in on him to cut him down!’

The wind Sword Aura flying to within reach.

Darenvalt accelerated his body by explosively releasing the Mana emanating from him.

At the same time, he swung the greatsword in his hand to strike down the Sword Aura flying at him.

A tremendous roar erupted as his greatsword, swung with all his might, met the wind Sword Aura launched by Byutek.

The wind Sword Aura showed no intention of disappearing even against Darenvalt’s all-out attack.

‘How can a Sword Aura be this solid and strong…?!’

Compared to the Sword Aura Darenvalt launched, it was truly several times more solid, sharp, and powerful.

‘I’m being pushed back…!!’

Gradually, Darenvalt’s arms were pushed inward, and a slight crack appeared on his greatsword.

Simultaneously, Darenvalt could sense his defeat.

Screetch—

Darenvalt’s greatsword was cleaved in two by the Sword Aura launched by Byutek.

At the same time, the wind Sword Aura continued straight toward Darenvalt.

“Damn…!”

In a situation where even his weapon was broken, there was nothing more Darenvalt could do.

It was an impossible situation to dodge with such a fast and destructive wind Sword Aura having come within reach.

The moment he sensed death and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a Mage revealed herself in the arena and created a Mana Shield in front of Darenvalt.

“Mana Shield!”

As Bellua chanted an incantation and shouted the name of the magic, a blue Mana curtain formed before Darenvalt’s eyes.

“Phew, thank goodness…!!”

Screetch—

However, the Mana Shield she created was cleaved in two in less than a second.

“Mana Shield!”

A flustered Bellua quickly created a Mana Shield again.

This time, she didn’t stop there and began layering Mana Shields one after another.

“Mana Shield! Mana Shield! Mana Shield! Mana Shield! Mana Shield!”

She had already shouted the name of Mana Shield over ten times in succession, but the sounds heard were continuously of Mana Shields being sliced apart.

“No, what kind of power is this…!!”

She muttered and shouted with a panicked expression, but there was no time to whine.

If this continued, she herself might get caught up in that wind Sword Aura.

Concluding that blocking that Sword Aura with just Mana Shields was impossible, she reluctantly used more of her Mana and cast a spell.

“Runguard Barrier!”

The magic she used was the Runguard Barrier, a 6th-grade Defensive Magic.

Since there had never been an attack the Runguard Barrier couldn’t block, she thought she was now absolutely safe.

But.

Kwaaaaang!!!

Craaackle…!!!

A strange sound flowed out as Byutek’s launched wind Sword Aura touched the Runguard Barrier.

‘Wait, could it possibly pierce this too? The Runguard Barrier that even blocks 7th-grade magic…?!’

Her eyes wide open, she was truly panicking, but fortunately, the misfortune of the Runguard Barrier breaking did not occur.

Byutek’s Sword Aura, which had been flying with the momentum to slice through the Runguard Barrier, gradually disappeared as it touched the barrier.

A moment later, the Sword Aura launched by Byutek finally vanished completely.

Darenvalt, having narrowly survived with death before his eyes, plopped down on the spot.

“My defeat. You, you’re an incredible guy. Reaching such an immense realm with only physical strength…. This match is my complete defeat. That armor… would suit you far better than me. I, Darenvalt, acknowledge it! You may use that armor, Byutek!”

“I don’t know why you’re saying whether I can use my armor or not, but I get it! Hahahaha!”

Byutek, being a person without grudges, laughed heartily and shouted, likely because he won the match.

“T-The match is victory for contestant Byutek!!! It was an incredible, brilliant match…!!”

With Rodion’s shout, the match completely ended, but the atmosphere among the spectators couldn’t be good.

Because most had bet their money on Darenvalt.

Moreover, since participants could also bet, most participants’ expressions weren’t good either.

Among the participants too, Darenvalt had been mentioned as a championship contender.

However, among those people, there was someone laughing.

“I bet just out of boredom… This is incredible.”

Khan, who succeeded in betting on the underdog, was checking the enormous sum of money that had come to him.