Hanso felt pain as a huge cut appeared on his back. He didn't even realize that his opponent was already behind him.
His body flew downward as it crashed on the ground like a meteorite. Dust shot up but quickly got blown away by lightning whips.
Bang! Bang!
The lightning repeatedly struck Hanso's position. From time to time, light and dark rays would erupt from the explosion causing the whole area to be covered in blinding light.
The [Element Drive] of three elements user was entirely in a different league.
"Argh!!!"
Hanso gritted his teeth as he endured the bombardment with his body. He raised his hand with great effort as he tried to condense cold energy to protect him, but it was useless. The three elements shattered his natural protective field and the energy he tried to condense.
"Ugh!"
He was smashed to the ground once again. Using his willpower, he activated the skill of his equipment. It was called [Protect Healing]. The effect of this skill was that some of his wounds would recover in just a short amount of time and he would gain a barrier around him that would last for three seconds.
The healing effect wasn't important to him as he had parasites. The one that he needed was the barrier to buy him some time to prepare himself.
"Argh!!"
Hanso roared as he burst through the bombardment. When he saw Amanda, he quickly thrust his sword with all of his might. The cold energy around the blade strengthened as it tried to fight the three elements in the atmosphere, causing a series of shockwaves in the air.
Swoosh!!
With the boost coming from the [Triple Element Drive], Amanda reacted before the sword could even approach her. She moved her body sideways before she charged at her opponent.
"I've put everything in my training in the past few months! I can't be defeated by someone at my level!"
Her daggers emitted a crimson light as she swung them down at her opponent.
[Witch Domain: Natural Dividing]!!
It was the skill of her soul weapon. A gigantic red slash appeared in the area as it covered the entire space inside the barrier. It was a skill infused with three elements making it abnormally powerful.
"Shit!"
Hanso stared at the red slash. He could only curse as it landed on his body, trashing him toward the barrier before it finally exploded.
Amanda really had the power to become a Clan Leader.
Boom!!
"It's finished," Souta said with a grin on his face.
Amanda's combat prowess exceeded his imagination. Utilizing her advantage of having three elements, she could defeat experts at the same level as her. Also, her soul weapon was synchronizing with her [Element Drive] during the battle.
"I really like it..."
It was unfortunate that he didn't get to watch all of the matches yesterday. The improvement of his men was a sight to see.
First, Eztein reaches the Shackled Realm, and then Alice. Yenxa also was a top contender. Unfortunately, her opponent was too much for her current level of strength. It was too early for her to fight someone at peak S-rank.
When Souta evolved into the third stage, he even used his release form to fight the ancestor of the Great Astley Empire who only had the power of peak A-rank. It was already great that Yenxa could last against a peak S-rank.
"It's my turn next," Alice said before she stood up and left.
Souta just looked at her back before he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't bothered since he already knew the outcome of the match before it even started.
Alice's opponent this time was a witch called Prima. Honestly, with Alice's current power level there were only two experts that could fight her in the entire Witch Clan. She defeated the first one yesterday and the other one was Elder Guan. The two elders of the clan were Shackled Realm so they were qualified to fight Alice.
As for Prima, she was a strong witch but her power level was still at Solidifying Realm. It wouldn't be easy to cross the gap and defeat someone at a higher level. It's not unprecedented as there were people that could pull it off but... The most shocking achievement in history was Bargan Hevifield. At the level of A-rank, he was already a dominant fighter that was feared for his unrivaled strength.
"Oh, it's starting..." Souta raised his eyebrows.
The two contestants entered the arena. Alice and Prima stared at each other and with Meina's signal, the battle had started.
Prima quickly dashed forward without hesitation. She knew the difference in their strength so she had to take the initiative to attack. She pulled out a long sword and slashed it in any direction.
Alice simply avoided her attacks without fighting back. She's giving her opponent a chance to showcase her skill before she makes a move. It was boring if she ended it easily and the audience wouldn't appreciate it.
Souta removed his eyes from the ongoing match. The battle was already decided so he didn't need to watch it at all. Instead, he stared at the city and wondered what would happen in Bland City, the central of the Mine Valley.
Also, the missions in the post tower didn't pique his interest. So once the portal was completed, he would visit the headquarters and pick a suitable mission for his level. It would be better if there were familiar missions.
He would use this opportunity to slowly improve his strength. It would be bad if his level only got higher but his skills got stuck at low levels. Since the events were moving according to his memories, he would be able to prepare.
Before the peace was shattered, he had to stay still. He didn't want to gather too much attention as of now, there would be a time for that in Solnes Theatre.
By the time he looked back at the arena, the match was already concluded. Alice won the match without sweating. It was easy for her to defeat someone below her current level.
Now, the fourth match. Franklin vs Ren.
Ren was a witch at peak S-rank. Honestly, there were more than fifty S-rank experts in the Witch Clan. Right now, there were only thirty-plus left as the chaos back in the sub-world killed the others. Still, thirty S-rank was a huge number. Also, they had two Shackled Realm experts. It wasn't called the largest faction in Astros for nothing.
"The winner of this battle will fight Alice tomorrow..." Souta didn't know what to feel. No matter what happened, it was impossible for them to defeat Alice in tomorrow's match.
Alice returned to her seat and glanced at him before she focused on the arena.
Franklin and Ren stood straight as they ignored the voices of the crowd. They were only waiting for Meina's signal to start this battle.
"I hope that you don't disappoint me," Franklin said with a faint smile. He tightened the leather armor and long coat on his body.
"You will find out soon," Ren replied plainly. He tightened his fist as a pair of silver-colored gloves materialized in his hands. It was his soul weapon, [Scorching Silver Gloves].
"The fourth match of the upper tournament!! Ready!! Let the battle begin!!" Meina swung her hand as she retreated to the side to watch the battle.
"Ehe~" Franklin chuckled as he quickly pounced on his opponent. Both of his hands turned into giant claws before he swung them down with overwhelming might.
Ren didn't avoid the attack. Instead, he received Franklin's attack head-on and kneed him in the stomach, then he grabbed him on the head.
In the blink of an eye, he smashed Franklin into the ground causing a huge crater.
Bang!!
Ren was about to attack again when several spikes burst through the smoke. With his confidence, he once again received the attack as he pulled out his fist. Then, flames burst out coating his soul weapon with intense heat.
The next moment, he threw his fist forward generating a powerful heat wave that boiled the atmosphere.
"Good!!" Franklin laughed looking at this scene. He crossed his arms as strings of flesh covered his body. He slightly bent his knees.
With a loud bang, he dashed forward and collided with the attack.
Boom!!
"One more time!"
Ren roared as he threw another punch in the air. Flames erupted from his fist like a tidal wave. It has a great momentum that could burn anything it touches.
[Unbind Slash]!!
A wave of energy flashed and the tide of flames was sliced into two. Red widened his eyes and he reacted quickly to avoid the attack.
The whole arena was cut in the blink of an eye. It was terrifying as the flash from before possessed an extremely dangerous aura.
Ren narrowed his eyes. He turned and looked at the arena, only to find Franklin staring at him with a huge grin.
"You're not bad. Now, let me treat you with everything I've got." Franklin said before his energy skyrocketed instantly.
