The Assessment Ends

BOOM!

With another deafening explosion, the ancient clock tower, which had stood for who knows how many years, shattered and collapsed completely.

Behind the dust, a frantic roar erupted from the Giant Bear Sano, and Noah's figure burst forth, the twin blades in his hands weaving a red and white reflection under the setting sun.

It was already dusk.

On the horizon, the evening glow was brilliant and dazzling, with fiery clouds unfurling and churning wantonly.

In the town, this battle, which had drawn the attention of countless people, finally showed a clear trend toward victory after a long and intense exchange.

"That mother bear won't last much longer."

On the balcony of a three-story building that was still relatively intact, littered with cigarette butts, Shiryu leaned against the railing, watching the two figures in the dust and giving his assessment.

"Looking at Noah, on the other hand, tsk, I really underestimated this guy's constitution. He's been fighting for a day and a night, and he's still so energetic..."

Over the past few hours in the afternoon, he had cleared out quite a few onlookers nearby, and his stamina was completely exhausted. With nothing left to do, he simply found a spot to silently watch his friend's battle.

In his view, Noah's victory was a foregone conclusion; the only thing left was a matter of time.

"This is a bit troublesome."

Shiryu stubbed out his cigarette and pondered silently.

This practical assessment began around six o'clock the night before last, and Aokiji had set a 48-hour limit when the warship departed.

Any results achieved after this time limit would not be counted toward the assessment ranking criteria.

In other words.

The time left for Noah on the field was running out.

In the center of the battlefield.

Noah, hovering in mid-air using Geppo, looked up at the dimming sky and realized the same problem at this moment.

"This isn't good, I need to speed things up."

Noah frowned, his heart sinking slightly.

In truth, his stamina was still abundant. He could have continued at the current pace, slowly wearing the giant bear down until he found the right opportunity to deliver the final, fatal blow.

However, time waited for no one. With only a few dozen minutes left in the assessment, he likely wouldn't have enough time to drag it out that long.

BOOM!

Another giant claw swiped fiercely at him. Noah skillfully dodged using his footwork, looked down at the black giant bear below, and after only a second or two of hesitation, he made a decisive choice and opened his attribute panel.

In such a dilemma, what was the best solution?

That would be—

Shenlan, add points!

Although the points required to add to his three basic physical attributes were staggering—especially stamina, which required 20,000 points—

His current points were only around 35,000, which he had planned to use to purchase random items that would refresh next week.

But as the saying goes, trees die if they are moved, but people live; at a critical moment involving the final ranking of the assessment, one must be decisive and flexible.

—He, Romanov Noah, was never a man to be constrained by rigid thinking!

Strength, Agility, Stamina...

Noah scanned the attribute list. In a flash, he made his choice and used his mind to tap the "+" symbol next to Strength.

After a long, grueling battle, the strength of the Giant Bear Sano was far from what it had been, and was only slightly higher than his own.

To end the battle as quickly as possible, the best way was naturally to overpower the opponent in strength, turning this advantage into the final straw that broke the camel's back!

Five thousand points were consumed in an instant, a blue light flashed, and the point addition took effect.

"Strength increased by about thirty percent, even more than I expected."

Feeling the surge of power within his body, Noah's eyes flashed. No longer intending to hold back, he raised both blades, and in the dim light, he became like a red and white whirlwind, charging toward the giant bear directly ahead.

HUM!

The gale stirred up by the blades sent sand and dust flying. The massive commotion not only failed to intimidate the black giant bear but instead incited her further ferocity.

ROAR!

The giant bear hammered her chest hard, then leaped into the air from the ground, her palms slamming together from both sides as if to crush Noah into meat paste.

However.

In the next moment, the whistling sword qi actually forced its way through the aggressive, clapping strike, and even sent the massive black giant bear flying backward.

What happened?

Sano, in her giant bear form, retreated dozens of meters, crashing through several buildings before she could barely stop her momentum. She looked up at Noah in mid-air, her eyes filled with disbelief.

How could this brat, who had only been dodging left and right and waiting for an opening to strike from behind, suddenly become stronger than her?

Was it because she had maintained her transformation for too long, and her stamina was failing, causing her strength to decline?

This was indeed a reason, but Sano could clearly perceive that, despite both of them going all out, Noah's strength was now a full tier higher than when they had first clashed!

How could this be...

If that were truly the case, why would this guy waste so much time here with him? Was it simply to toy with him by relying on his speed advantage?

The prolonged, frenzied rage had long since robbed Sano of his ability to make rational judgments.

After a brief moment of astonishment, he disregarded everything else and roared once more, charging forward with steps that shattered the ground beneath him, raising his claws to strike at Noah.

But regardless of what he was thinking at this moment, the facts were right in front of him; the subsequent series of attacks were all blocked head-on by Noah.

Noah naturally could not remain unscathed after such continuous hard clashes; his body was covered in bloody lacerations, and the web between his thumb and forefinger, where he gripped his swords, had gone nearly numb from the shock, blood trickling out incessantly.

However, Sano's state was even worse. Having reached his limit, his strength grew increasingly feeble as his stamina drained away, and his consciousness even began to blur.

Thud!

After another clash, as they passed each other, Sano's figure swayed slightly. He gritted his teeth, and when he struggled to look up to find Noah's trail, double images began to appear in his vision.

Now is the time!

Noah keenly sensed the vacancy in the giant bear's eyes. He instantly flickered, activating Soru to appear behind Sano. With a sharp gaze, he crossed Yone's Sword and the Wind Sword.

From bottom to top, with a terrifying speed invisible to the naked eye, he slashed upward toward the giant bear's waist and abdomen!

"This ends here, Sano!"

Accompanied by Noah's sharp shout, a brilliant sword radiance illuminated the entire street in that instant!

Puchi!

The blades tore through the thick layer of skin, and crimson blood gushed out from the giant bear's back like a fountain.

Sano let out a shrill, agonizing scream. He staggered for a few seconds, unwilling to give up as he tried to steady himself, but in the end, he could not hold on.

In the next instant, amidst the shocked gazes of countless onlookers, that terrifying black bear, standing over a dozen meters tall, finally tipped backward and crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom!

It's time to return to two updates a day after the New Year; this is the first, and there will be a second one later!