In the midst of the cheering and booing crowd, two Emperor realm experts hopped onto the center stage with a solemn expression on their faces.
This was the first big battle for the day!
They both nodded at each other and slightly bowed. No other introductions or words were exchanged.
It was very apparent that they already knew each other and hadn't quite expected to face each other this early in the contest.
The labyrinth exploration contest was being conducted in a modified Swiss tournament style.
This was so that the final war band could be selected based on the least possible number of battle fixtures.
Each contestant was pitted against another contestant with a similar record of victories and losses and thus allowing for the top and bottom contestants to be determined rapidly.
This system was extremely reliable, considering that it was very fast.
Even if one gets lucky and gets placed with a bunch of mediocre players at the beginning, they will then have the disadvantage of having to fight vastly superior opponents one after the other later on due to their better scores.
Apart from this, one also had to take into consideration the injuries suffered after each victory and loss.
Luckily each contestant only had five matches scheduled for the day.
So if they manage to get through this unscathed, then they might have a chance the next day.
Some people in the forefront even might drop out due to unexpected injuries.
So there was always a chance for the patient and the prudent contestant, who knew how to pick his battle strategically.
The two Emperor realm experts standing on the stage at the moment circled each other warily.
Both were commoner clan elves and both belonged to the same beast hunter's guild.
They were even somewhat familiar with each of their strengths and weaknesses.
A couple of seconds passed and the guy standing on the right, Danzel, materialized a huge blob of flame on his hand.
His other hand rested in a defensive stance, conjuring a protective mana barrier in front of him.
Almost simultaneously, Bula, the guy standing on the left, wielded his sword and materialized his flames as a part of his sword, coating the clearly visible brilliant metallic sheen of the high-grade sword.
"Hmph." Bula snorted loudly and lunged forward at full speed to directly tackle the mana barrier, which was separating him and Danzel.
There was a slight hesitation on Danzel's part, as his feet sturdily balanced him on the stage and his eyes gazed at the approaching warrior in vigilance.
The bastard had secretly upgraded his gear!
This was the first thought which entered the elf's mind.
He took a menacing deep breath and quickly doubled the mana concentration in his barrier, at the same time creating another layer of barrier behind this one.
Just as he did that, the flame on his right hand dwindled a little but it still posed a significant threat.
Danzel had luckily acted just in time and the very next second, a loud clanging sound resounded.
Bula's high-grade sword smashed against the thick defensive barrier creating a grating screeching noise.
The man was surprised slightly. He had expected his high-grade sword to cut through this defense, but that did not happen.
Nevertheless, he continued to push on forward, relying on his innate overwhelming strength and power, because the one thing that was different between him and Danzel was their body tempering.
Both the beast hunters were at different stages in body tempering, with Bula having a Diamond-tier Emperor body, and Danzel only having a Silver-tier Emperor body.
This alone could have given him the victory, but alas, unfortunately for him, Danzel was far more proficient in his sword art and flame serpent spell.
After clashing once, Bula started to repeatedly slash at the mana barrier, hammering on the thin defensive layer.
It was clearly only a matter of time before the entire defense shatters and all Bula needed was a single hit.
But how could Danzel allow this to happen so easily? Just as Bula was busy with breaking the barrier, Danzel snorted and used his other hand to dual cast the flame serpent spell.
A giant roaring serpent materialized on the center stage rearing its head like a powerful dragon.
Tang Yue's eyes widened as she witnessed this high-grade flame spell in action. What an astonishing strength!
The flame looked as if it was alive and roaring with a life of its own!
It swirled around Bula and started roasting the elf alive without any hesitation.
"Give up Bula!" Danzel shouted. His face was reddened and he was clearly out of breath.
Casting this high-grade spell had taken a lot out of him. He did not have much fuel left for the rest of the battle.
This was the drawback of using a powerful spell, the stronger the spell, the more mana it guzzled.
"Hmph. I will only give up after I fuck your sister." Bula snorted and continued ramming against the mana barrier.
He knew that the opponent's mana reserves were already low and this was his chance.
But the flame serpent did not wait for him. It mercilessly sizzled around him, having already burnt to a crisp most of his protective armor suit.
The gigantic flame was now feasting on Bula's skin and the flesh underneath, sending ripples of intense pain and shock through his body.
If not for his Emperor realm tempered body, he would have already long dissipated into mere ashes.
Bula grit his teeth and continued pushing forward, just barely withstanding the inhumane flame serpent.
It was now Danzel's turn to fret. The flame serpent would only last for a few more seconds.
After that, it would completely disappear. At the same time, his mana barrier also looked like it would shatter apart any time now.
At this rate, he would end up in a direct hand to hand combat with Bula who had a better tempered and stronger body compared to him.
This was not good! He would definitely lose!
Danzel narrowed his eyes and bit down on his lips. He couldn't waste any more time.
He had been saving an ultimate trump card and it looked like it was time for him to use that.