Emery calmly stood in the middle of the arena, while tens of thousands of people watched from all directions, shouting and cheering.
The stage was nothing compared to that of the Magus Academy, as there were probably only thirty to forty thousand people in the audience. But what surprised and impressed him the most was the fact that this arena was apparently prepared only for this duel.
Emery only agreed to this duel less than 3 hours ago. To make tens of thousands of people come within such short notice showed how influential this man named Vizla really was. Therefore, Emery could only assume he was really what he claimed to be.
"Vizla! Vizla! Vizla!"
These people continued chanting his name, even if he hadn't appeared yet, so imagine how louder they became when Vizla finally came out from his corner. If that wasn't enough to tick Emery off, the man came out surrounded by a dozen of beautiful women in unbecoming outfits.
Thanks to that, the so-called duel did not have any resemblance to that of a duel, but more like a show for the entertainment of the masses.
By this time, seeing these women surrounding Vizla, touching the man in an erotic manner, made Emery dumbfounded rather than annoyed. In the end, he couldn't help but think such actions might be a normal occurrence for the Serpent Clan and maybe he should not judge their culture with prejudice.
Unaware of the thoughts swirling in Emery's mind, Vizla nonchalantly walked towards the center of the arena, approaching him, while raising and waving his hand to the audience which was welcomed with more ear-deafening shouts.
"Can't you give them a little smile? …A little wave maybe?"
Unfortunately for the man, Emery didn't feel like humoring this farce Vilza tried to pull.
"Let's just start and get this over with," Emery said in a calm tone.
"Why are you so serious?" Vizla groaned as he said those words. Then, his gaze turned sharp.
"Well, so be it then. Let's start the duel. Remember, if you lose, get the fuck away from my fiance!"
Emery was unfazed by the glare the man gave him. "You better keep your end of the bargain if I win."
"I certainly will, Can't you see? I have a reputation to uphold here." Vizta said, while giving another wave to the audience.
Moments later, a middle-aged man, who gave off the same level of energy as a magus, walked into the arena. Seeing how he was dressed, Emery guessed the unknown person was the referee for the duel. His guess was proved correct when the man proceeded to announce the rules of the match.
"These are the rules of the duel: killing is prohibited, no using weapons or artifacts beyond those given, going out of bounds is deemed to have lost the duel, and lastly, you must immediately cease all action when the opponent announces their surrender."
The announced rules were basically the standard rules, which Emery had no problem with. After both of them nodded to show their agreement, they were told to walk to their respective corners.
At this moment, Emery took the chance to once again sweep the area with his spirit reading and discovered that, even though there were dozens of magus figures around, none that of grand magus caliber was present.
Actually, he was hoping to find Silva among the masses, but reality seemingly decided to say no to his face, as he couldn't sense her energy signature on the audience.
"Are both of you ready?"
Emery returns his attention to the oncoming duel and when the signal was called upon, he immediately employed his buffs.
[Immortal Gate - stage 5], [Fey Transformation - stage 1] and [Battle Howl] were activated in rapid succession, exponentially increasing his battle power and overall strength.
[Battle power 152 (204)]
Currently, Emery did not need his second, nor his third transformation to reach a level of battle power that surpassed the average magus' standard. This showed how far he had come in his journey.
As his body was brimming with seemingly unstoppable power, Emery swiftly brandished the two tier 4 swords given to him earlier and took his usual fighting stance. Gone was the usual atmosphere around him, replaced by a serious demeanor.
Meanwhile, Vizla who was standing a few dozen meters away also adjusted his attitude, when he saw how Emery's expression had changed. The wide smirk that had previously appeared on his face gradually faded as he said, "Privileged class, huh... Not bad... But sadly, you won't beat me."
Vizla's body violently shook as gradually his skin turned to scales, his muscles retracted and contracted as his body grew larger in size. After that was the increase in the aura that the man gave off.
Emery could clearly feel how his opponent's power was increasing to such a high volume, as his green scales turned crystal-like and covered his entire body like armor except for his face.
Another thing that surprised Emery was the choice of weapons that Vizla chose, which was the same as him - two swords. The man wielded two short broad swords seventy centimeters long. Looking at the demeanor the other party boasted, Vizla was definitely a peak stage rank 9 combat specialist acolyte.
"Fight begins!"
Swish!
The moment the duel began, Vizla's body immediately disappeared from its location, as he shot towards Emery at a speed worthy of a peak rank 9 combat acolyte.
In response, Emery quickly cast [Blink] and also disappeared from where it was. His figure then appeared right in Vizla's running trajectory, his swords swinging downwards to strike the latter.
Vizla dash was stopped halfway, but still able to fend off the surprise attack that Emery tried to pull over him.
CLANK!
A loud metallic sound resounded in the air, as the swords clashed against each other. Emery was forced to take a few steps back from this exchange, showing that he was actually a level behind in terms of strength.
Before Emery could be surprised by the strength Vizla displayed though, the latter had come charging at him, while swinging both swords in circular motion. Feeling the strong gusts of wind that blew over his face, Emery knew Vizla was currently using a battle art technique.
[Whirlwind Slash]
Clank! Clank!! Clank!
Emery welcomed the attack with multiple [Heroic Slash] and dodged away some with [Weeping Phantom], within just a dozen strikes his hand started to tremble from all that powerful clash.
It turned out that the man wasn't just all talk.
Evidently, to be such a figure on this rich planet must have its own privileges and it was clearly shown now.
Vizta had better strength and even better technique than him. Emery quickly found himself being overwhelmed by the former, so when he saw an opportunity his figure immediately disappeared again and tried to attack from a different side.
[Hidden Blade]
Using the battle art with a sword wasn't as effective as when it was used with a dagger, but it still has its merit for a sudden attack. Combined with the [Blink] spell that made it possible to position himself behind Vizta, Emery managed to find an opening and unhesitatingly thrusted his sword forward.
Clank!
Instead of the sound of flesh being torn apart, what Emery received was the sound of his sword crashing into something extremely hard. He didn't expect the green scales that covered Vizta's entire body to be that hard, more than he thought before.
As a result, his sword enhanced by [Hidden Blade] only managed to create a dent.
If that wasn't bad enough, Emery didn't realize Vizla had another limb following his transformation - a tail, able to strike his chest, sending him flying half a dozen feet away.
His chest would definitely have been pierced through, if it wasn't for the tier 3 protective suit he wore. Even so, an excruciating pain throbbed in the affected area and made it difficult to breathe for a while.
Emery's eyes narrowed and his face turned grim when he saw the remaining energy of his tier 3 protective armor.
[Protective energy 210/300]
That one strike managed to immediately consume 30% of the armor's energy and even penetrated through the armor's defenses to leave Emery in pain. The man was definitely frightening.
Vizla, who didn't chase Emery after successfully counterattacking, looked at him and said with a smile.
"Come on, privileged class acolyte. Stand up."
"Don't let me down so soon."