Chapter 215 215: Oliver's Stage



The Poisonous Toad King was a level 42 monster, comparable to an intermediate-stage bloodline user. It was three times taller than an average human. Its width was also impressive. It was 3 meters wide, fatter than most cows.

At the moment, the Poisonous Toad King that the spectators in the spectator area saw had a green body adorned with yellow spots.

Variations of this beast existed, with the spots on its body determining its type.

A Poisonous Toad King with black spots possessed an extra set of poison sacks and could breathe out an extremely toxic fog; any intermediate-level bloodline user confronted with this would surely meet their end.

To put it into perspective, its toxic breath was no less terrifying than the ink released by the gigantic Squid Val faced in the Forest of Dread.

In contrast, the yellow-spotted variant didn't have a deep reserve of poison. However, its tongue was covered in needle-like barbs. If these needle-like barbs sink into flesh, they inject a highly toxic poison capable of killing any bloodline user below the advanced level.

Facing this beast was like playing a game in hell mode. One mistake and you're out. If its tongue strikes you, you're dead.

However, it was incomparably better than facing a black-spotted Toad King. At least, you still had a fighting chance.

Currently, a young man was facing the yellow-spotted Poisonous Toad King in the arena of the lower city's Coliseum. The previous fight had ended a short while ago. It ended with Rowan's victory just as Val had expected. The current fight was between Oliver and the poisonous toad king and it had just begun.

The Yellow-spotted Poisonous Toad King wasted no time, lunging into action. With its mouth gaping wide, its tongue shot out with incredible speed, slicing through the air and heading straight for Oliver. But Oliver, with lightning-fast reflexes, narrowly dodged the beast's assault.

However, the toad wasn't going to be put off that easily. After Oliver's initial dodge, it quickly retracted its tongue and lashed out repeatedly. The tongue moved with such ferocity and speed that it was hard to track with the naked eye. Oliver hopped, dodged, and twisted, evading each strike by the skin of his teeth. Throughout the relentless barrage, he ensured that the toad's toxic tongue and the thin but short needles protruding out of it wouldn't graze him.

From the spectator stands, Clea sneered, "Does he only know how to dodge? He's as persistent and annoying as a cockroach. Why doesn't he just drop dead and die already?"

A man beside Clea, with eyeglasses resting on his nose, remarked, "A human's stamina isn't as good as a beast's. He'll get tired eventually and fall prey to the toad's tongue."

"I hope that happens." Clea smirked, "Then I won't have to dirty my hands."

Grr!

The Yellow-spotted Poisonous Toad King, sensing its inability to tag Oliver with its tongue, let out a low, frustrated roar. Its eyes burned with rage. And then, gathering all its strength, it pounced fiercely towards Oliver!

Anyone who has ever fought a wizard before would know assaulting them with such a straightforward method was bound to backfire.

In the wizard community, it was general knowledge that assaulting a wizard head-on was a foolhardy tactic. They possessed ranged attacks that could decimate opponents before they could even get close. Pouncing towards them was essentially like willingly walking into a trap.

'It is akin to begging to be slapped.'

Oliver's thoughts mirrored this sentiment.

'Since it's asking for it, I will gladly fulfill its wish.'

Meeting the toad's reckless charge, Oliver did what any seasoned wizard would do if they were in his shoes.

Standing tall and unwavering, he extended his right hand.

Pa!

From his palm, a surge of soul power erupted, striking the toad with such force it sounded like a mighty slap.

The impact was so powerful that the mammoth toad was lifted off its feet and hurled back, crashing into the arena's wall with a thunderous sound.

The effect of the crash was devastating. Dust and debris filled the air, and cracks spider-webbed out from the point of impact. The wall, made of reinforced magic-resistant material, now bore a deep imprint of the toad's massive body. The arena echoed with the sound of settling debris and the audience's gasps.

"Wow, I didn't see that coming."

"Oliver didn't make a move until now, but when he did, it was decisive, shocking the entire crowd. Hehe." Lucious laughed so eerily that Marshall felt a shiver run down his spine.

'Lord Lucious's laugh is really terrifying. But I can tell he is genuinely happy to see how far his one and only disciple has come,' Marshall thought.

Tsk!

Clea clicked his tongue in annoyance. This little bastard is struggling in vain.

Just then, a cheer erupted from the side.

"Good job!"

It was Val cheering for Oliver.

'I've seen through it. I've deciphered every detail of its attacking pattern,' Oliver thought confidently. 'If it dares to attack me with its tongue again, it will learn the price of such folly.'

The toad primarily had two means of attack.

It could lash out with its toxic tongue for long-range assaults or use its massive body to pounce and crush its opponent under its weight.

Having already experienced the repercussions of the latter, the toad opted for the former, hoping to exhaust Oliver with its long-ranged attacks before finally killing him.

Oliver saw through what it was up to and merely smiled.

'The prey has taken the bait.'

The toad was doing exactly what he wanted by attacking him with its tongue!

The attack was straightforward. He was easily able to discern its trajectory and place his trap.

His unique innate technique was gravity control. While manipulating the gravity acting on an entire body might have negligible effects on massive creatures like the toad, focusing on a specific part intensified the effects manifold. In essence, the smaller the targeted area, the greater the influence of his gravitational manipulation.

As the toad's tongue darted towards him, Oliver concentrated, targeting just the front portion of the tongue.

Suddenly, an immense gravitational force descended on that specific spot.

Thud!

The sheer intensity of the gravity halted the tongue's advance mid-air, causing it to plummet towards the ground under its own weight with a dull thud.

Seizing the moment, Oliver drew his sword and with a swift, precise slash, severed a considerable portion of the toad's tongue.

Kuagh!

A heart-wrenching cry of agony erupted from the toad. It rapidly retracted its now mutilated tongue, but not before leaving a gruesome trail of blood on the area floor. It served as a stark reminder of the mistake it made by underestimating Oliver.

A younger spectator shouted, "Did you see that? He cut the toad's tongue!"

The chief historian of the lower city stroked his beard, as he pondered aloud, "This young wizard... he has more tricks up his sleeve than we thought."

It was impressive to see a 20-something-year-old using his innate technique with such proficiency. It was not an everyday sight, considered as rare as a phoenix's feather.

Of course, compared to Val's feat of discovering and proficiently using his innate technique in a single day, it was nothing.

If others knew what he had done, they would be so shocked that they would be forced to question their life.

Meanwhile, seeing Oliver overwhelm the toad king, a hint of irritation flashed in Clea's eyes. With gritted teeth, he muttered under his breath, "This little bastard is proving to be more formidable than I initially believed."

The man with the eyeglasses, who was previously so confident in the toad's victory, felt humiliated as he was proven wrong.

"The fight is far from over," he grumbled, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger. "The Poisonous Toad King is thoroughly pissed from Oliver's provocations. It won't cease its assault until its enemy breathes his last. He may not endure the onslaught that looms."

That better be the case," Clea said with disdain. "I don't want to waste my precious time disposing of a piece of trash when I can use it to discover treasures in the lesser dimension."

He had utmost disregard for the lives of the weak and unworthy, especially Oliver's.

Whoosh!

The Poisonous Toad King lunged at Oliver once more, seemingly repeating the same error as before.

One might wonder: why would it commit such a blunder again?

Was it genuinely seeking another thrashing?

For starters, the toad found the prospect of occasional slaps less daunting than the horrifying thought of losing its tongue bit by bit at Oliver's hand.

Moreover, deep down, it held the belief that Oliver couldn't perpetually harness that trick, which he used to blow it away. After all, how could such a tiny body hold such a powerful force in large quantity?

The yellow-spotted Toad King believed it was inevitable that he would deplete his reserves of soul power, rendering him vulnerable and entirely at its mercy.

It didn't know this move would be its last, that it would cost it everything, including its life!

Oliver, sensing the incoming assault, shot into the air. By the time the toad landed where he once stood with a thud, Oliver had already taken to the sky.

It took a brief moment for the toad to register Oliver's rapid ascent past it. Raising its eyes skywards, the toad was met with the sight of Oliver descending at an alarming speed. The blade of the sword in his hand shimmered brilliantly under the sun's rays.

Propelled by the sheer momentum of his plunge, Oliver was armed with sufficient force to pierce the thick hide of the beast with his sword. As his blade found its mark, the curse latent within the cursed weapon was activated.

Curse skill: Internal Shredding!

From the embedded sword erupted a barrage of wind blades, each sharper and more lethal than the last. As the blades rampaged inside its body, the formidable Poisonous Toad King was reduced to a weeping and wriggling mess.

Oliver pulled out his sword, his actions resulting in the wind blades seeking a path that led outside its body.

As the wind blades forced their way out of its body simultaneously, the Poisonous Toad King exploded, resulting in a grisly downpour of flesh and blood.

Then, there was pin-drop silence.

The onlookers stared at Oliver speechlessly. They knew he was good with swords. But this... this was on an entirely different level. When did he improve by so much?

Amidst the silence that followed the gruesome spectacle, Marshall's voice rang out, "Victor, Oliver!"