A Silver Grade noble was going to fight a Golden-grade Barbarian Chieftain.
The crowd erupted at once.
The portly steward nearly lost his mind. His fat jiggled as he roared for more than a hundred guards to be sent over.
He had originally planned to call in even more, but after Fiana let the aura of a Platinum-grade powerhouse spill from her, he finally felt a little reassured.
After failing repeatedly to dissuade Loren, he could only grit his teeth and order the soldiers to open the cage.
At the same time, he had the people around them ready their crossbows. If the Barbarian Chieftain dared to make a move, they would shoot him dead immediately.
A Golden-grade warrior was powerful, but even he couldn't cause too much trouble against an army armed with crossbows. The only thing that worried the steward was what would happen to Loren, who would be fighting the man head-on.
Under the crowd's contemptuous, mocking, or indifferent stares, the Barbarian Chieftain, built like a calf, strode out of the iron cage.
The people around the cages had scattered, leaving a wide-open space for the two of them.
As soon as the Barbarian Chieftain emerged, everyone grew more alert.
They were afraid the brute might go berserk.
The Barbarian Chieftain's powerful, beastlike muscles stood in stark contrast to Loren's rather slender frame.
It made Loren, who was already tall, look somewhat small. The difference in their builds was simply too great.
A noble young master who had grown up surrounded by comforts was going to duel a Barbarian Chieftain who had fought Magic Beasts amid snow and ice.
It was a sight one might not see once in a hundred years.
And even more absurdly, the noble young master was only a Silver Beginner, while his opponent was a Golden Beginner.
The gap between their strength was almost impossible to describe.
The young noble descendants around them were all flushed with excitement.
"Interesting, very interesting!"
"Hahaha, I wonder how many attacks that noble can withstand?"
"This is the first time I've seen someone so eager to get himself killed!"
No one doubted how the fight would end. Since someone was volunteering to get himself killed, they were more than happy to watch.
Fiana stared coldly at the two men, her slender fingers gripping the hilt of her sword. Her Platinum-grade aura flowed around her, and her body was taut with tension.
The moment anything went wrong, she would strike like a bolt of lightning.
She didn't know why she had inexplicably agreed to a fight that was practically the same as asking Loren to get himself killed.
Those calm, confident eyes had given her a strange sense of strength, and she had softened in an instant, despite having firmly opposed him before.
"Human noble, your courage has earned my respect.
"You have the right to know my name—Yas Frost."
The Barbarian Chieftain's deep voice rang out, immediately making the atmosphere even more tense.
A Silver-grade human dared to challenge him. It was a foolish act of certain death, but the man's courage deserved his praise.
Loren narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Loren Grant.
"Yas, remember that name. From this day onward, the name Loren will be the greatest honor of your life."
The crowd of more than two hundred spectators burst into an uproar.
The young nobles stared at Loren in disbelief.
Grant! He was a Grant!
The curly-haired noble and the blond noble exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.
There was only one noble family in the Silver Moon Kingdom with the surname Grant—the Orchid Family!
That illustrious family had existed since the founding of the Silver Moon Kingdom.
Who would have thought a descendant of that legendary family would show up in Decker City?
And now he was about to challenge a Golden Beginner Highland Barbarian as a Silver Beginner!
The steward felt his blood run cold.
He stared at Loren, dazed and close to tears.
How could he be a descendant of the Orchid Family?!
He couldn't imagine what kind of punishment he would face if Loren died at the hands of the Barbarian.
No. He absolutely could not let anything happen to him!
He whipped around and roared at the soldiers beside him.
"If that damned barbarian makes a move against Lord Loren, shoot him dead immediately! Don't hold back—not for a second!"
"Also, report this to the higher-ups at once and have them send someone over! Hurry!"
Loren paid no attention to what was happening outside the arena.
After introducing himself, he didn't waste another word. He removed the noble ornaments hanging from his waist and casually tossed them aside. Then he planted his feet apart and bent his body like a drawn crossbow.
His gaze fixed on the burly Barbarian Chieftain opposite him.
At the same time, the S+-grade Archdemon Bloodline and the A+-grade Orchid Family descendant bloodline within him awakened together.
Power flooded through his veins like a dam bursting.
But it still wasn't enough.
A hint of wild abandon flashed in Loren's eyes. Let's go completely wild!
Demon Frenzy (S-grade) greatly increased his physical abilities, but carried the risk of losing control.
Activate.
In the next moment, a force like towering waves surged out of his bloodline, raging through him like molten lava.
When the power within him finally reached a certain threshold, Loren's eyes blazed with dazzling light!
Now!
With a bang, he charged toward the Barbarian Chieftain in a ferocious burst of speed.
At the same instant, the burly figure opposite him, solid as a rock, charged at him with perfect timing.
The Barbarian Chieftain was like a rampaging rhino, his savage aura terrifying. It seemed he could smash through a city wall if one stood in his way.
Every step the brute took cracked the bluestone ground like a spiderweb, sending chips of stone flying. The sight was utterly outrageous.
The Barbarian Chieftain's eyes brimmed with absolute confidence. This Silver-grade human wouldn't survive another second!
He could already picture himself returning in triumph, with his opponent reduced to a bloody pulp.
By comparison,
though Loren was wreathed in dense, silver-white Bloodline Power, his slender frame looked so fragile next to the Barbarian Chieftain.
The Barbarian Chieftain was strong enough to tear a bull apart with his bare hands!
This wasn't even a contest between equals. To the onlookers, the outcome had already been decided.
But facing the charging Barbarian Chieftain, Loren didn't dodge in the slightest. He charged at the rhino with the same brute force.
The Archdemon Bloodline drove his fighting spirit to its absolute peak!
Steel Breaker Slash (S-grade) could gather all his mental power and unleash the full strength of his body in a single blow.
His final trump card!
Fight!!!
Under everyone's gaze, the two men collided like a pair of raging rhinos.
With a bang,
the instant they passed each other, it was as if time itself had stopped.
The Barbarian Chieftain's savage grin suddenly froze. Then he felt an unimaginable, terrifying force erupt from Loren's slender frame.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones rang out, followed by a surge of unbearable pain from his chest that stabbed straight into his mind.
The Barbarian Chieftain's towerlike body hung suspended in midair, then flew backward more than ten meters, faster than he had charged, before slamming into the ground.
He skidded five or six meters, smashing a stone stool to pieces before finally coming to a stop.
When they looked again, a bloodied trail lay behind him.
A closer look revealed that the brute's back was a mess of blood and his chest had caved in completely.
He tried to get up several times, but couldn't.
The Highland Barbarian Chieftain.
A Golden-grade warrior.
Defeated.
And defeated so cleanly, so shockingly, that it stunned everyone.
The fat steward had covered his eyes at the moment the two men collided, unable to bear watching.
That damned, idiotic noble must have been crushed into mincemeat!
He would die, and the Merchant Guild would beat him to death for it. Why had he been so stupid as to keep that damned barbarian?!
But then the earth trembled. The crowd let out a disbelieving cry, as if the victor had already been decided.
The steward lowered his hands in utter despair. He had expected to see Loren smashed into a bloody pulp, but instead, the Barbarian Chieftain was sprawled on the ground, coughing up blood.
And Loren, whom he had thought was as good as dead, stood there unharmed.
The portly steward's vision swam. His face was full of disbelief.
He had actually won?!!!
H-How was that possible!!!
That was a Golden-grade Highland Barbarian!!!
A warrior who had stained his hands with the blood of Golden-grade warriors!
How could he lose to a human who was only seventeen or eighteen?!
The crowd around them was even more stunned.
A Silver-grade fighter had gone toe-to-toe with a Golden-grade warrior, and the result was a devastating defeat for the Golden-grade Barbarian Chieftain!
What kind of joke was this?!
How powerful was a Golden-grade warrior who could take on a hundred men?
How could a Silver-grade fighter defeat him?
And in such a crushing fashion, knocking him out in a single blow!
The enormous reversal left them almost frantic.
The curly-haired noble and the blond noble stood frozen, their eyes full of shock and disbelief.
But no matter how unwilling they were to believe it, the image of the Barbarian Chieftain lying on the ground and coughing blood kept assaulting their senses.
"If that guy can conquer the barbarians, I'll eat my own socks!"
"I'd sooner believe I could conquer a dragon than believe this outsider could conquer the barbarians!"
The curly-haired noble in particular remembered how he had looked down on Loren just moments ago. It felt as if he'd been slapped across the face again and again. Even more humiliating, he'd been the one slapping himself!
The blond noble's face turned pale, then flushed. His lips trembled as he struggled to say something, but he didn't know how to begin. He wanted to leave, but couldn't think of an excuse.
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