Chapter 325

Rumble!

As Raon and Garona’s powers intensified, the outrageous pressure weighing upon the arena only got stronger.

Five of the protective magics around the arena were destroyed, and the thick floor began to shred, but the two participants didn’t move a single inch. Their feet were rooted in the ground.

“You bastard...”

Garon glared at Raon with his eyes distorted in disbelief.

“What have you even done?”

“What have I done?”

Raon responded while smiling casually.

“You are fighting back right now with your physical strength instead of aura!”

“So what?”

“It’s impossible for your small body to stand against my strength!”

He stomped the ground while letting out an ear-splitting battle cry. He used his over two-meter-tall body to crush Raon from above.

“Hmm...”

Raon silently groaned and focused his strength on his lower body.

‘Indeed, I’ve never experienced such a powerful strength before.’

Although Garona was simply pushing him with sheer strength without even using any martial arts, Raon felt like his bones were getting crushed. It almost felt like he was fighting an ogre instead of a human being.

“You should give up already.”

Ferocity burst from Garona’s eyes, and he started pushing down even more powerfully.

The rumor about him tearing a drake’s head off with bare hands must’ve been true since the stage started to collapse and Raon’s feet started to sink into it.

“If you refuse to give up, you will be crushed before even having a chance to swing your stick.”

“Is this your full power?”

“What?”

“It would be rather disappointing if this is all you’ve got.”

Raon didn’t stop smiling even though his hand was trembling from Garona’s pressure.

“How dare you bluff when you are about to get crushed?!”

Garona’s eyes distorted fiercely.

“Is it because of those cheers?”

He rolled his lips into a smile while looking around the spectators shouting Raon’s name.

“I’ll give you advice as your senior. Fame and popularity are poisons that lead warriors to death.”

“Poison?”

“When you are too focused on cheers and praise, you become unable to understand your own limits and you can’t even discern between what you should do and what you shouldn’t. And that’s exactly how you are right now.”

Wisdom sparked from the ferociousness of Garona’s eyes.

“Unfortunately, this is going to be the end for you.”

The power emerging from his rough hands exploded once again. The impact made it feel like his skin was being torn apart and the bones all over the body were getting crushed.

Rumble!

Even though Raon looked like he was about to get crushed in everyone’s eyes, his eyes were as clear as the sunlight reflected on a spring water.

‘His strength is certainly exceptional.’

Garona’s strength was simply powerful. Even though he wasn’t using any technique and there were no distinct characteristics in the way he was pressing in on him, Raon felt like his body was about to burst. It wasn’t excessive to call him as strong as an ogre lord instead of a normal ogre.

‘However... This is not what I wanted to see.’

He wanted to see the utilization of that strength instead of simple pressure through tremendous strength.

‘Because I’m stronger than him in terms of sheer strength.’

Raon smiled coldly and strained the front part of his left foot. His leg muscles expanded explosively to crush the floor and five layers of protective spells were destroyed at the same time.

Rumble!

He straightened his spine while pushing with his right leg. Once the power surging from his lower body reached his upper body, Garona’s huge hands were pushed back for the first time. Raon noticed the panic in his ferocious eyes.

“Wh-what...?”

“There’s still a lot more to come.”

Raon mustered all of the strength and agility from his body that he’d been keeping sealed.

Rumble!

Heavenly Drive’s blade felt like it was being weighed down by a huge mountain as he crushed Garona.

“Kuh...”

Although Garona’s hand seemed at least twice as big as the average adult man’s hand, it was trembling violently. His knees lowered and were about to reach the floor.

“Th-this is impossible!”

Garona gritted his teeth in disbelief.

“How can you be so strong with those thin limbs?! This can’t be happening, no matter how good you are at controlling your aura!”

“Impossible, you say...”

It wasn’t impossible at all, since it was a natural result. His strength and agility were close to 300 and had transcended the human limits. Even though the Beast Union warriors were supposed to have the strongest bodies, there was no way they could compete against him.

“I said this before to someone, but...”

“Argh...”

Raon smiled coldly and took one of his hands off Heavenly Drive. Even though he was only using one hand to push him, Garona was still unable to push the sword back.

“My perfectly compact muscles are practical muscles, and yours are just for show because they have nothing but size going for them.”

“You bastard...”

Raon pointed at the respective arm muscles with his finger, and a crimson flame started burning from Garona’s eyes.

“In short, my muscles are compact and practical muscles, and yours are fashion muscles.”

“Shut up!”

Garona couldn’t suppress his anger anymore and raised his arms. Although his strength had only been applied in a straight line, it twisted into a spiral to create a powerful impact.

Whaaam!

Raon and Garona were pushed back to opposite sides of the arena from the huge explosion.

“I don’t know what kind of black magic you’ve used, but I admit that your body is stronger than mine.”

Garona bit his lip and lowered his posture with his left arm to the front and his right arm to the back.

“However, you aren’t good at using it. I’ll show you that strength isn’t everything.”

“Sure.”

Raon nodded with a smile.

‘Perfect.’

He was fighting him in order to see how the Beast Union used their stronger bodies, so he was simply glad that Garona was willing to show him without even being asked.

“I’ll erase that irritating smile from your face!”

Garona kicked the ground. His huge body multiplied into three like an illusion as he charged at Raon.

‘A footwork with the Illusion Sword’s principles? All of them look real.’

Raon didn’t have much time to think since Garona was charging forward at a tremendous speed.

“I didn’t know clashing with sheer strength would be so fun. I’m looking forward to finding out how long you are going to last.”

He smiled brightly while warming up his fingers. He seemed to believe that he would be the winner in the end.

Rumble!

Garona opened his arms and mustered all his aura. The endlessly burning energy was powerful enough to create a red heat haze on his shoulders.

“The real fight begins now!”

He charged at a tremendous speed and slammed his fist down.

Thud!

Raon stomped the ground and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at the maximum output. He followed Garona’s movement according to what he saw with the Ring of Fire and rotated his body, aura, and muscles at the same time.

Whaam!

Unlike Garona, who took three steps back, Raon took seven steps back and his hands were trembling.

‘I can’t do it immediately after all.’

It was difficult because he had to copy the body’s movement instead of an aura’s. It was actually even worse because it was muscle movement specifically.

‘However... I think I understand how.’

His first attempt was a failure, but he was starting to understand how Garona moved his muscles.

‘Aura.’

He was creating those detailed movements of muscles through his aura.

“We are just getting started!”

Garona charged at him once again. The ferocious power dwelling in his fist was rushing Raon’s body. The joints, muscles, and astral energy rotated in the same direction, and they created a huge shockwave as a result.

“Alright.”

Raon licked his lips and created a crimson flame on Heavenly Drive’s blade.

“Let’s fight until the end.”

* * *

The clash between Raon and Garona created fissures in the arena floor like rice paddies during a drought.

The magicians were continuously casting protection magic, but they kept getting destroyed in an instant and it was pretty much meaningless.

“Is this really a fight between human beings?”

“What is this match...?”

“Why is the Frostfire Sword of Valor even fighting him head-on?! He has those skills that can dodge his moves to target his openings!”

“I know, right? Why is he fighting with Garona’s specialty instead of using that to his advantage?!”

The spectators kept exclaiming in a panic because Raon was fighting Garona face-to-face.

“Isn’t he getting blackmailed or something?”

“Look at him, he’s smiling right now. That’s definitely not the case.”

“He’s crazy. I’ve never seen such a crazy match in my life...”

“My heart is throbbing so hard. This is the true men’s duel!”

“Raon! Hang on until the end!”

“Garona! You must not lose!”

People kept cheering their heads off for Raon and Garona, who were thrusting their sword and fist against each other.

“I wasn’t expecting this development.”

Chamber was sticking her head out to watch the arena below.

“Did anyone here expect this to be a brawl like this?”

She asked while turning her head, but no one responded.

“Who could’ve expected this?”

King Lecross shook his head as Raon blocked Garona’s punch.

“I thought he would target his opening just like when he defeated Borini Kitten, but he’s actually fighting against Garona head-on...”

He laughed bitterly. He looked like he still couldn’t believe his eyes.

“The Frostfire Sword of Valor’s physical abilities have far surpassed my expectations. I don’t even understand how he’s so strong despite the size and shape of his muscles.”

Derus Robert also seemed surprised by it as he watched the match with narrowed eyes. However, his eyes remained cold, unlike the other heads of the Six Kings.

“Kuhahaha!”

Ogram swept his hair up and started laughing like a madman.

“That kid, I’m liking him even more now!”

He pointed at Raon, who was charging ahead to unleash the Revolving Sky at Garona with a grin on his face.

“Muster all your strength to clash from the front! It’s a simple task, but not just anyone can do it. That guy is a true warrior!”

Ogram turned his head around to look at Glenn.

“He’s brimming with beastly blood, unlike you, geezer. I almost want to bring him to the Union.”

“The Beast Union will disappear from the world if you try.”

Glenn was glaring coldly at Ogram.

“You even got better at joking!”

Ogram started laughing even louder. He seemed to believe that Glenn was joking.

“Hmm...”

Sheryl shuddered upon noticing Glenn’s cold pressure.

‘I don’t think that was a joke...’

Ogram seemed to believe that it was a joke, but Glenn was being serious. If Ogram tried to take Raon away, the Beast Union really could end up disappearing.

“I’ll give him my applause for standing his ground while facing Garona with that small body of his. However, that’s the limit of his abilities.”

Ogram stared at Raon with his eyes turned serious. It was as if he hadn’t been laughing before.

“Garona’s true strength isn’t the destructive power, but his regeneration and durability. If they keep destroying each other from the inside, that kid will be the first to collapse.”

Ogram licked his lips and leaned his back in the chair.

“The winner was already decided the moment he decided on a head-on clash. He’s refusing to yield for now, but that won’t last long.”

“Your eyes are as useless as before.”

“What...?”

“Look at his sword.”

Glenn raised his long finger to point at Raon.

Whap!

Raon’s waist, arm, and wrist were rotating strangely. His flame used to simply burn like a saw blade, but it was getting concentrated around the tip of his sword to create a red sphere that looked like the sun.

“Th-that’s...”

Ogram’s chin was trembling in disbelief as he watched Raon’s move.

“The Black Beast Tribe’s...”

“That boy starts slowly, but...”

Glenn rolled his lips up into a satisfied smile.

“Victory always awaits at the end of his path.”