Bab 11: Chapter11-Get out of My Way!

"Indeed, for Owen, a level 9 bronze-tier mage, to withstand a blow from Emily is already quite impressive."

"But what's the use of just withstanding Emily's attack? Without counterattacking, he'll never have a chance to win."

Many mages gathered around were discussing this.

Not far behind Owen, Benedict and his companions frowned slightly, feeling something was off.

They had witnessed Owen's previous duel with Madelyn firsthand.

He was decisive, ruthless, and had mysterious methods!

It was as if he could see through people's hearts.

Even the battle-hardened Madelyn was caught off guard and ultimately defeated.

But in this fight with Emily, Owen had taken a completely defensive stance, lacking the chilling insight that had once made others shudder.

"Captain, what should we do? Master Owen is the young lady's fiancé, and the Duke specifically instructed us that the Godslayer Staff must not be lost..."

The other wolf guards beside Benedict cautiously asked.

If Owen was truly struggling, they would have to disregard the challenge rules and forcibly take Owen away.

While this would affect Owen's reputation and the honor of House Ravenwood, it was nothing compared to the Duke's orders.

Benedict hesitated for a moment, seeing that Owen's expression remained calm and unflustered, as if everything was going according to his plan.

He shook his head and decided to wait and see.

After all, Owen wielded the Godslayer Staff.

If he were truly in danger, he would use it immediately, and there would be no need for them to intervene so soon.

Meanwhile, after Emily forced Owen back with a sword strike, she felt a bit disappointed. Owen's strength was far below her expectations.

She lost some interest in him and attacked more fiercely, intending to defeat him quickly and end this boring challenge.

As Emily swung her sword again, Owen's face revealed a faint smile.

Just now, a tiny black dot the size of a sesame seed appeared on Owen's chest where Emily had wounded him.

Under her powerful sword thrusts, the effects of practicing Obsidify were becoming quite apparent.

Although it was painful, he could finally start truly training in this body art. Enduring this hardship was undoubtedly worth it.

With renewed confidence, Owen continued to channel the mana inside and outside his body, following the circulation method of Obsidify, concentrating it on his skin.

Using Emily's powerful sword energy to continually temper his skin, even down to the cellular level.

"Are you a punching bag? Why are you only defending and not attacking? Or is your strength really that pathetic?" Emily's strikes grew more ruthless, and her words became increasingly cold and merciless.

As someone devoted to the sword, she had hoped to learn something from Owen.

But to her surprise, he didn't even bother to draw his sword!

Thud, thud, thud!

Owen withstood dozens of sword slashes, and his body was now covered with numerous wounds, looking rather battered.

It seemed as if he was barely surviving under Emily's relentless assault.

However, in Benedict's eyes, Owen's aura was rising.

The mana swirling around and within him was surging and even boiling!

Emily noticed this too, and her expression shifted from disdain and contempt to one of seriousness and astonishment.

Then, as if realizing something, her eyes burned with fury.

"You... you jerk! You're using me as your sparring partner!"

She realized that Owen's current state appeared to be him practicing a very powerful body art.

Her relentless attacks were merely hammering him like a tool, making it seem as though she had the upper hand when in reality, she was being used!

With this thought, Emily could no longer suppress her anger.

The mana around her flowed into her longsword like a stream, causing the blade to shine with a brilliant light, transforming into an extremely sharp sword energy that swept in all directions.

"Aqua Sword!"

Emily roared, and with this strike that concentrated most of her mana, she brought her sword down on Owen with the force of splitting a mountain.

The bright sword energy transformed into a tall, pale streak, creating a "swish" sound in the air as it approached Owen.

This fierce streak absorbed all the surrounding mana, like rivers converging into the sea, unstoppable!

The ground swept by the streak was deeply gouged, plants shattered, and dirt and stones were pulverized into dust by the sword energy.

"What a terrifying strike. Even a gold-tier mage would have to be very cautious facing this. Is this Emily's true strength?" Benedict and the others were slightly shocked.

"Where is your sword? Why aren't you drawing it!" Emily demanded loudly, staring intently at Owen after unleashing her strike.

Owen's refusal to draw his sword, instead using her as a tool, had deeply angered her.

"My sword, once drawn, must see blood," Owen sighed, shaking his head as he found himself locked onto by her strike.

It seemed Emily had realized his intentions, and given his current level of practicing Obsidify, he couldn't withstand this attack.

He had no choice but to activate the Godslayer Staff.

The Godslayer Staff transformed into the Godslayer Sword. Even without using the Supreme Sword skill, the passive, razor-sharp sword energy would be unavoidable and devastating for Emily.

Whoosh!

The sound of the sword slicing through the air echoed as a dark golden greatsword appeared in Owen's hand.

At that moment, those who had been amazed by Emily's explosive power couldn't help but focus on Owen.

There it was, the artifact believed to be the Godslayer Staff!

With the Godslayer Sword in hand, Owen no longer struggled as he had before.

It was clear that the Obsidify technique had effectively strengthened his body.

Owen narrowed his eyes, and as the overwhelming sword energy surged toward him, he finally moved.

"Watch closely at this!"

With a swift motion, the sword descended!

Once again, a slash forward.

The dark golden greatsword glimmered with flowing patterns, its sword aura like a strand of golden hair sweeping through the void.

Unlike the surging waves of sword energy before, his released sword aura was condensed to the extreme, slicing through the void and leaving a black sword mark that lingered for a long time.

The increasingly fierce waves of sword energy dissipated and evaporated the moment they touched the dark golden sword aura, as if they had never existed.

Immediately afterward, the dark golden sword aura continued its unstoppable momentum, heading straight for Emily.

From the moment Owen slashed out, Emily sensed an intense feeling of danger.

But the strike was too fast, giving her no time to react.

Her Aqua Sword aura shattered like an egg striking a rock, vanishing without a trace.

The dark golden sword aura seemed almost alive, locking onto her.

She tried to retreat but found no escape; her backward movement was nowhere near as fast as the approaching sword aura.

In fact, the sword aura moved with her, its speed increasing!

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out.

Emily's Aqua Sword was struck by the sword aura, trembling violently.

The terrifying impact sent her flying backward, crashing hard into the nearby rocky debris of the Gobi Desert, barely managing to stabilize herself.

All of this happened in an instant.

Almost as soon as Owen had swung his sword, Emily was defeated!

So quickly that the low-tier mages had not even had time to react.

Gulp~

The sound of continuous swallowing echoed.

Benedict and the others stared at Owen, who had just sheathed his sword, with extremely solemn expressions.

Although they had known Owen's strength was formidable, they had not expected that a single strike from him could be so overwhelmingly powerful.

What seemed like an ordinary slash had effortlessly torn through Emily's sword aura, which could threaten a gold-tier mage, and even defeated Emily herself.

One move to crush the enemy!

"What just happened? Why was Emily the one defeated? Shouldn't it have been Owen who was sent flying?"

"He must have been holding back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with that one decisive blow. Such restraint is truly terrifying."

"Emily's sword aura was so easily shattered. Just how powerful is Owen's combat strength?"

The many mages watching the battle all had a flicker of disbelief in their eyes.

When they looked at Owen again, there was a newfound respect and awe on their faces.