The fifth match of the tournament was about to begin. Mike entered the arena fully equipped.
Sun Shield, Force of Nature, Thunderclap Hammer…
Of course, all of these items were enchanted with illusions to conceal their true power from Joseph.
“So, you are Shadow Ten?” A handsome young man appeared opposite Mike, his body hovering in mid-air. “I am Joseph, and today I will show you all what I’m capable of.”
Joseph muttered to himself, “Years of collecting materials, combined with my own elemental powers, and forged by the most skilled masters…”
“I’ve been preparing for so long. It’s time to remind this world of the fear of being controlled by the wind.”
Joseph looked at Mike and smiled. “My apologies, just some personal thoughts. Don’t mind me.”
Mike asked in a deliberately hoarse voice, “Can we begin? What are you waiting for?”
Although Joseph was usually considered weaker, it was because he never went all out. Only on the battlefield could one truly feel his power.
This was also the first time Mike had faced a nine-star Lord alone.
The moment the battle began, a breeze swept through.
Joseph had already launched his attack!
The breeze couldn’t even inflict a single point of damage.
However, it had a crucial effect: it allowed Joseph to enter combat status!
Joseph’s SS-rank talent:
[Neverending: When fighting a single target, every 10 seconds in combat, damage dealt is increased by 10%…]
This talent was powerful, but it had an awkward drawback: switching targets would reset the damage bonus.
In other words, it was a talent perfectly suited for one-on-one battles.
Joseph had entered combat status early and activated his talent in advance. The longer the fight went on, the higher the stacked damage would become!
“As I expected.”
Mike sneered, “You’ve been hiding your true strength well!”
Mike immediately swung his hammer and charged at Joseph.
Facing his opponent’s attack, Joseph retreated. He was in no hurry to engage in close combat with Mike.
“Wind, take flight!”
In an instant, Joseph’s speed increased several times, leaving afterimages in his wake.
Mike was prepared for the highly mobile wind mage.
“Tear Wound!”
Mike’s attack easily dodged by Joseph.
“Star Pluck!”
“Wind’s Reach!”
“…”
Mike attacked several times in succession, but to no avail.
Joseph was an expert at evasion, he was in no rush.
On the one hand, the secret weapon Joseph had prepared was extremely draining on him. He needed to conserve his strength as much as possible so that his final blow would be at its most powerful!
On the other hand, he needed to stall for time to stack his talent’s damage bonus.
Once [Neverending] reached 100 stacks, the damage bonus every 10 seconds would increase to 20%. Beyond that, it could even inflict true damage.
In Joseph’s past battles, he either defeated his enemies before [Neverending] could fully stack, or his targets were forced to switch.
In short, situations like this, where Joseph could comfortably stack his talent, were rare!
He had to cherish this opportunity!
Mike also cherished this battle experience.
It was not every day that he encountered a nine-star Lord who only dodged and didn’t fight back…
One chased, the other ran. Fortunately, the tournament arena was not large, so Joseph couldn’t escape too far.
Whoosh!
A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky but missed its target.
Joseph, dressed in white, suddenly stopped.
“It’s about time.”
If he continued to stack his talent, the backlash from his final attack would be too much for
him to bear.
Now was the perfect moment!
Joseph looked at his opponent, the legendary ‘Shadow Ten’.
“This guy… he’s not Shadow Ten.”
Joseph clearly noticed something and even had a bold guess.
Could this guy be Thor? ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Even if it was Thor, challenging a nine-star Lord while being at level 300 himself was truly courageous! With a level difference of over 600, the gap in strength was significant.
However, it all ended here!
A smile appeared on Joseph’s lips. He felt as if he could see the goddess of victory smiling
upon him.
Victory always belonged to Joseph.
A longbow appeared in Joseph’s hand.
He nocked an arrow, drew the bowstring, and released!
His movements were fluid and seamless, without a moment’s hesitation.
The battlefield was ever-changing; there was no time for dramatic speeches or posing!
An incredibly terrifying wind arrow, carrying devastating power, tore through space, ignoring
all obstacles, and instantly arrived before Mike!
This was the strongest attack of Joseph’s life!
Joseph’s eyes were sharp as he suppressed the excitement in his heart and whispered, “This
arrow… can slay gods!”
Boom!
The earth-shattering arrow struck its mark!
Countless smoke and debris filled the air. Joseph stared intently ahead, waiting for the final
outcome.
“Cough, cough…”
A hoarse cough came from within the smoke.
Mike casually waved away the smoke and walked out completely unharmed.
The round shield in his left hand was undamaged.
On the shield, there was only a faint, incomplete shadow of a black bat.
Joseph’s attack had actually pierced through Dracula’s River of Blood.
In a moment of desperation, Dracula had sacrificed his own life force to block the arrow.
Of course, such a remarkable feat was the result of multiple factors stacking together. Firstly, Joseph had ample time to accumulate his talent’s damage bonus. Secondly, Dracula was not at his peak and didn’t even possess his own physical body. Completely negating ranged attacks was still somewhat difficult for him.
Lastly, the ultimate move that Joseph had been planning for so many years was indeed
something else.
In any case, after witnessing that arrow, Mike gained a newfound respect for Joseph’s
strength.
Joseph… seemed pretty strong too!
After firing his strongest arrow, Joseph was utterly spent.
That arrow had not only consumed materials, mana, and Sea of Truth but also a significant
portion of his spirit and mental energy.
Mike didn’t immediately press his advantage. Instead, he looked at Joseph with a thoughtful
expression.
“What’s this guy spacing out for?”
A notification popped up before Mike’s eyes.
[Is there a possibility that he’s having a breakthrough mid-battle and is about to level up?]
‘That makes sense.’
Mike stroked his chin, pondering, “If Joseph levels up, he’ll definitely gain a much higher
standing.”
Fortunately, Joseph’s sudden breakthrough didn’t keep Mike waiting for long.
Joseph’s level soared from 980 to 981 in one go!
“Alright!”
Joseph, having successfully leveled up, suddenly realized there were others present and
cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem…”
“The wind seems a bit restless today.”
Looking at Thor, the newly leveled-up Joseph Spread his hands.
“You win.” During his breakthrough, he had been completely defenseless. Thor could have defeated him
at any moment. Moreover, that arrow had drained Joseph’s strength, leaving him unable to continue fighting.
It was better to admit defeat gracefully.
Mike glanced at Joseph without saying much and took the lead in exiting the tournament
arena.
Outside the arena, Maxen had been waiting for quite some time.
“Why did it take you so long to beat Joseph?”
“You’re doing it wrong. Let me show you the correct way to deal with Joseph. One hit, and he’s
done…”
Joseph, who had just emerged from the arena, overheard their conversation and couldn’t help
but roll his eyes.
As Mike and Maxen were chatting, two loud explosions suddenly rang out from the second
tournament arena.
Boom!
Boom!
Mike and Maxen turned their heads simultaneously, only to see two massive plumes of
smoke.
Mike: ???
Soon, two figures emerged from the respawn point.
Violet was ecstatic, her eyes sparkling as she exclaimed, “Shadow One, I self-destructed
faster than you!” Shadow One sighed, patted Violet’s head, and didn’t say much.
Mike and Maxen exchanged puzzled glances. They never expected such an outcome.
Violet indeed couldn’t defeat Shadow One.
However, she had successfully dragged Shadow One down with her in a double self- destruction.
According to the rules, this was considered a draw.
Two wins, one loss, and one draw.
Shadow Three, who had been throwing the match, saw that the other four matches had
concluded and began calculating in his mind.
Hmm, he could win this.
He took a step forward.
Seeing Shadow Three’s movement, Shadow Four quickly stopped him.
“Shadow Three, you can stop now.”
Shadow Four put away his book and walked to the edge of the arena, admitting defeat.
He couldn’t win at all!
With that, the Lord tier tournament ended in a tie!
Mike wasn’t surprised by this result.
Maxen had defeated Shadow Ninety-Nine, Shadow Three had defeated Shadow Four, and
Thor had defeated Joseph. These were all legitimate victories.
Now, only the final tournament: the Ultimate Lord tier!