The crowd went wild.

For many, they had just seen the impossible. They had seen a man, whom almost all the spectators’ thought would be a bloody stain on the ground, turn on the assaulter and thoroughly thrash him.

“You… Bastard…”

Elder Ironskin cursed at Adriel through clenched teeth.

He was clearly not in a good position. Although he was not bleeding, his face was deeply pained and his breathing laboured. If the slashes, which had been delivered to his body, had been on a mortal human or even a lesser ascendant’s body they would surely pass out from the pain in mere moments.

Surprisingly, despite the other party being mortally wounded and incapacitated, Adriel had not made a single movement since he had cut down Elder Ironskin. He simply stared at the downed elder without a single lapse in concentration.

“Puh.” Elder Ironskin spat out some blood, which had been lightly tinted with a metallic silver. “I must admit that I underestimated you, old man. Who would have thought that the hermit living quietly on his own island, would still have some kick in him? Perhaps, that is for the better. Now, no one will be able to say that I kicked someone when they were down!”

Without any delay, Elder Ironskin brought out a small back of fabric from within his robes. Without bothering to conceal his actions, he took a small object from the bag and immediately swallowed it whole.

All eyes in the stands gathered upon the elder whom they all thought would surrender. Just what was he doing? How could he be so certain of his victory? None of them could answer those questions.

The answer, however, came soon after. Only mere moments after Elder Ironskin had downed the unseen object, the essence in the air in the duelling platform suddenly began to vibrate wildly. The difference between the moves they had used before and the phenomenon that appeared not could not even begin to be compared. The difference in power was simply too big.

Then, the essence that had been uncontrollable only a moment ago, suddenly became still as a placid lake. Afterwards, as if the individual specks of essence were hypnotized, they began to float towards Elder Ironskin. The moment they touched the ironlike skin of the elder, they were absorbed immediately.

“Holy shit.”

Someone in the stands could not help but mutter a curse word. He was not alone in wanting to exclaim their pure shock to the world. The sight before their eyes was simply too wild for them to believe if they had not seen it with their own two eyes.

On the field below, Elder Ironskin’s body crackled with power. His every move seemed to be deadly. Even his wounds that he had sustained had been healed in their entirety, leaving him much healthier and more durable than he had been before the fight started.

Even Sett, who was comparably a newcomer to the field, could see that the opposing elder had received a great power-up. Through his mind's eye, it almost hurt to look at him due to the obscene amount of essence that crowded him.

How exactly that was possible, he could not even begin to guess.

“Adina… What is happening?”

Having hit a brick wall, Sett could only turn to Adina for answers.

“This… I… If I am not wrong should have consumed something that we ascendants have coined an external essence amplifier. Their utilities differ greatly, but this one seems to work to inflate one’s strength greatly.”

“How could such a thing be allowed?”

“I do not think it is…”

Sett was clearly not the only one who held such beliefs. Elder Harriet, who had been standing on the edge of the duelling platform, immediately began to rush for the middle before the two combatants could exchange any more moves.

“Elder Ironskin! Do you not care for the dignity of an elder?!” Elder Harriet scolded Elder Ironskin greatly. “Under the laws of our order, external items are not permissible in duels!”

Elder Ironskin’s head slowly turned to Elder Harriet with a deathly glare.

“You speak too much, Elder Harriet.” Elder Ironskin harrumphed. “I stated the rules before we began the fight. There would be no restraint. Thus, I am clearly within my right to use any means I see fit to win this duel.”

“You…!” Elder Harriet seemed to be attempting to find words to refute the outrageous words of Elder Ironskin but paused all of a sudden. “Fine, but should you go too far, I will bring this matter to the grandmaster’s attention.”

“Good.” Elder Ironskin waved his hand as if attempting to force away a fly. “Now, remove yourself. This item only works for a limited time and you have already wasted enough time running your mouth as is.”

With narrowed eyes and a glare that could cause any lesser man to run away with fright, Elder Harriet returned to the outskirts of the platform.

Finally, the strength of Elder Ironskin, which had been continuously growing for almost an entire minute, peaked.

“Good gods, his strength seems to have reached the middle stage of the fourth tier. To have his power grow three steps in a single moment, just how powerful and costly is that amplifier?”

An elder, who sat in one of the adjacent rooms in the elder’s stands, could not help but comment on the strength of Elder.

Sett was not entirely certain what this random elder’s comment meant, but he was sure of one thing. The strength of Elder Ironskin had increased greatly.

“Ivis…”

“There is no need to worry, Sett. Master has weathered many storms and he will make it out of this one as well.”

Before Sett could even begin to ask his question, Ivis had already shot him down. He truly wanted to question the latter again but decided against it. In the end, Ivis knew Adriel better than anyone in the entire world. If he felt his master was threatened or in any kind of danger, he would surely be the first to move in his defence.

Knowing that he could not change a thing, Sett could only turn to look with dread at the fight in the duelling platform.

“To use an Illythian Bright Seed on me, you must place quite the emphasis on this fight.”

Adriel calmly analysed the situation, not showing a single shred of fear in the face of such a fearsome enemy.

“Your mind is as keen as they said, old man. It is indeed as you said. My master has granted me such a powerful item as a gift because of my loyal service. In fact, he is willing to reward all those that would loyally follow him!”

Elder Ironskin’s last words hung heavily in the air. The meaning of the words was clear for all to hear. Support him and those that stood behind him and they would be greatly rewarded for their work.

Hushed whispers broke out in the stands. There were two clear camps. One felt that the words of the elder were an affront to the order. To them, the words that he had just spoken were akin to betraying the order and all that it stood for.

There were others, however, that did not share this sentiment. Their eyes gleamed heavily at the words that spoke of great rewards. To those that had joined the order in order to grow, it was an enticing offer that was hard to turn away.

“Enough promotion of your treacherous faction, Elder Ironskin! Fight me and show me the power of this so-called reward!”

“It is your funeral, old man!”

Elder Ironskin once again shouted loudly and activated his method. Considering that he was still in his metallic form, some had thought that he would use something else, but they were proven wrong.

His already large body began to expand outwards, becoming almost fifty centimetres taller in the process, and his metallic skin became even more reflective, reminding one of a far purer metal. Even his halberd somehow grew with him.

Adriel, who had been slightly smaller than Elder Ironskin in the first place, looked like an ant before the huge metallic man.

“Take my strike!”

With a huge manic shout, Elder swung his weapon overhead, seemingly completely ignoring defence in favour of an extreme offence. The blade’s edge of the halberd cut through the air with a large woosh and ploughed down into the ground where Adriel stood.

The tiles beneath the platform shattered completely and dust rose to fill the air.

Most of those that spectated had not been able to see what had happened in the moment of impact. The strike had simply been too fast. They watched with eager eyes as they waited for the dust to dissipate.

*Woosh*

A sudden movement in the dust caught everyone’s eyes. With a bright flash, a glaive’s blade struck with an uncanny speed at Elder Ironskin’s shoulders, which were still above the layer of dust. Inadvertently, the strike also greatly dissipated the dust.

The scene was revealed and everyone was baffled by the result. Both of the two combatants still stood tall on the platform. Neither of them had been harmed by the exchange. No, that was only partially true. A small piece of cloth that originated from Adriel’s robe flew in the air and a faint shimmering cut had appeared on Elder Ironskin’s shoulder.

Although Adriel was the only one who had done any damage, it was negligible in the end.

Without saying any words, the two of them engaged in battle once again. Elder Ironskin would attack with great ferocity but would always narrowly miss his target by a hair’s breadth. Adriel, in turn, would counterattack the undefended body of Elder Ironskin. This strike, however, would never succeed and would only leave a superficial wound on the opposing elder’s body.

Neither of them could harm the other. Adriel could not be hit, while Elder Ironskin would not bleed.

This scene repeated itself countless time. It was clear for the spectators that either party intended to tire the other party out, but in the end, it seemed that neither of them could succeed.

“Hmph!”

Finally, Elder Ironskin stopped his flurry of attacks with a large grunt.

“Old man, this is getting us nowhere. What do you say to finishing this charade with a final exchange of abilities?”

Many people wanted to call bullshit. Sett was among them. Many minutes had passed since Elder Ironskin had ingested the seed to empower himself and he had clearly stated that he was on a timer. How could they not put two and two together and figure out that the elder was out of time?

“I agree. I will meet your strike.”

To everyone’s surprise, Adriel actually agreed to the insane proposition. Even Elder Ironskin seemed somewhat surprised at the other party’s all too eager acceptance.

That shock, however, did not last long before a cunning smile appeared on his lips. Without further ado, he shouted loudly for the last time and charged another method. This one was different from before in that it only affected his halberd. The halberd suddenly grew to double its size and a silver light suddenly enveloped its blade’s edge.

Looking at the enormous halberd, everyone felt overpowering helplessness, even if they were not the intended target of the weapon.

Curious how the other elder could withstand such pressure, many people collectively looked towards Adriel. They were once again surprised.

Adriel had not fallen to despair, as many people had predicted, but had instead chosen to close his eyes. Was he so fearful that he had chosen to close his eyes so that he did not have to look at the incarnation of death?

Elder Ironskin charged once again. Even while his strength grew, his method of attack was largely the same. Full of strength and overpowering to the extreme.

Once again, there were many who did not dare to look at the scene and turned their eyes away. Sett had the same inclination once again but decided against it.

Elder Ironskin rapidly closed the distance in a matter of seconds, with a speed that would leave any sprinter in awe. His arms were already raised and ready for a large overhead chop on the unsuspecting opponent.

10 meters.

5 meters.

3 meters.

2 meters.

1 meter.

“You have lost…”

Suddenly, a cold voice, without any emotion, sounded out from the duelling platform.

Following immediately afterwards, the scene on the platform changed greatly. An enormous beam of light descended from the sky, striking the still charging elder directly from above. Without any chance to fight back, he was pressed into the ground by the frightening light. Underneath this bright beam, only the pained screams of the elder could be heard.