Chapter 333: Battlefield of Monsters
Two figures, equally wreathed in flames, clashed continuously in the air. The sparks from their crossing blades rained down like a midsummer meteor shower.
Every clash of weapons was accompanied by the tremors of the earth and thunderous sonic booms.
During an exchange, a stray slash randomly swung by the clone deviated from its trajectory. Carrying a howling, scorching aura, it cleaved straight toward Ais and the others on the periphery.
"Get back!"
Gareth roared, his thick legs settling into a firm stance. He raised the Grand Axe in his hands, bracing himself at the very front.
The crimson-gold sword aura slammed heavily against the broad face of the axe.
This Elgarm, renowned for his defense and strength, was actually pushed back dozens of meters by what was merely the aftershock of a strike, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the rocky ground.
High temperatures conducted madly through the metal, causing the indestructible battle axe to glow red-hot at a visible rate. A layer of skin was instantly seared off Gareth's rough palms gripping the hilt. The sizzling sound of burning flesh rose along with foul-smelling white smoke.
"Old man!" Tiona cried out.
"Don't worry about me, stay alert!" Gareth gritted his teeth, adamantly refusing to let go of the axe handle.
Seeing this scene, the two figures on the outer edge of the battlefield finally moved.
The usual gentleness faded from Finn's azure eyes. He raised his golden Fortia Spear. The searing pain in his thumb told him that this battle left no room for holding back.
Hedin pushed his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold light of pure reason. He gripped his Iluver halberd backhandedly by his side as magic power gathered frantically at the tip.
The supreme commanders of the two great Familias simultaneously stepped into this hellscape baked by the sun.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the twenty-eighth floor, another duel worthy of mythical reproduction was reaching its climax.
A spear wrapped in lightning was once again steadily blocked by a heavy greatsword.
A blade of rushing water capable of cutting through solid rock was seized by a thick, armored hand, and then—crushed.
Beneath his billowing starry cloak, Childe, clad in Foul Legacy: The Devouring Deep, summoned countless swirling spheres of lightning behind him. Like a devastating meteor shower, they crashed down with a deafening roar.
In response, Ottar merely tightened his grip on his greatsword and swung a golden arc of light from the ground up.
In the next instant, the sky full of lightning meteors was completely erased.
Defense, defense, and more defense.
Facing Childe's torrential, sky-rending onslaught, Ottar hadn't taken a single step forward, nor had he actively swung his sword a single time from the very beginning.
He had been on the defensive the entire time.
But even so, Childe, having entered his ultimate Foul Legacy form, still couldn't truly break through Ottar's defenses.
This finally brought a trace of unconcealable surprise to his face.
Yet, Ottar's expression remained as calm as an ancient well.
He simply dismantled the ever-changing, terrifying attacks in front of him in silence—attacks that could instantly kill any second-class adventurer.
Absolute Defense.
People always habitually focused on the Warlord's terrifying, all-crushing offensive power, but they forgot something. Defense was the true foundation of this strongest man in Orario.
His feet and core were rooted to the earth like a giant tree, immovable. His highly honed skills could counter any attack in the world. His eyes seemed capable of predicting the future and seeing through all of the opponent's strategies. Add to that his despair-inducingly high endurance stat...
All of this made him like a living, indestructible giant shield forged from a divine artifact.
He didn't need magical enhancement, nor did he need skill amplification. What he utilized was purely... "time itself."
It was the physical body tempered without pause. It was the ultimate crystallization of blindly sharpened skills and strategy.
This was the unique scenery that the Warlord had arrived at.
"Excellent, you are a pure martial artist."
Childe suddenly laughed heartily, his laughter full of genuine admiration and ecstasy. "To show my respect, I will burn everything to slaughter you... to the ends of the world."
Before his words even fell, the lightning around his body surged wildly. His entire person seemed to transform into an unlookable humanoid lightning bolt.
One was an unparalleled offense.
One was an unparalleled defense.
The greatsword, wreathed in the golden brilliance of enhancement magic, and the water blade, wrapped in violent lightning, collided once again—and this time, it was the most intense clash yet.
The world seemed to be cleaved in two at this moment.
One side represented the resplendent gold of beasts and kings.
The other side represented the ruinous violet lightning of the abyss and calamity.
The intense impact and soul-shattering soundwaves surged wildly in all directions.
Even Hermes and the others, separated by a vast distance, could clearly feel the violent airwaves crashing heavily against their bodies.
"I definitely made the right choice coming here, hahahaha! Otherwise, where else could I witness a scene that makes even the gods tremble with excitement!"
Hermes spread his arms, letting the fierce wind whip his robes. Taking in the two hellish battlefields simultaneously, he let out a maniacal laugh.
The entire twenty-eighth floor had now been thoroughly transformed into a colosseum for monsters.
Crimson arcs melted the earth, leveling mountains into rivers of magma. Golden arcs smashed through the rock walls, leaving bottomless, massive craters. Violet arcs tore the sky, carving trenches wreathed in violent lightning into the ground.
Such a grand, world-destroying spectacle made Lefiya swallow hard in the distance. Her azure eyes were filled with indescribable longing and shock.
Is this... the world of the strong?
Facing Aiden, the Warlord, and Childe at this moment... the strong figures in her heart whom she once thought were unreachable—like Captain Finn, like Miss Ais—seemed to be... lacking a step.
Compared to pure martial prowess, what Braver Finn was more widely known for was his wisdom and strategy. And the truth was indeed so. The Loki Familia really couldn't compare to the Freya Familia in terms of top-tier combat power.
And now, there was Aiden.
After activating that magic, the power displayed by the two Aidens was completely uninferior to Childe and the Warlord.
Another streak of crimson light roared past Ais's eyes, instantly flattening a small hill behind her into smooth ground.
The intense roar and shockwaves whipped her silky blonde hair into a frenzied dance.
Ais blankly watched the two figures constantly colliding like suns, their every clash making the space tremble. Slowly, her golden eyes were filled with an emotion called "unwillingness."