Bens

The next day, at the Blood Battle Stage.

Inside a special waiting room were three people. From here, they could easily observe the battles in the arena, but those outside could not sense anything within.

The leader stood nearly two meters tall, with short teal-green hair. He wore soft armor, and the muscles on his bare arms were exceptionally pronounced. On top of that, he wore a green cloak.

The other two were not much different from him in build, both burly men.

"Elder, I've heard quite a few people say that Ailin is also an expert who cultivates the Water Law. He's very likely someone arranged by the Blood Battle Stage specifically to stop you."

One of the burly men cautiously transmitted his voice. "They may arrange for you to fight Ailin when you reach sixty consecutive victories."

"Mm."

The leading burly man merely nodded. "No matter. Before a hundred consecutive victories, no truly powerful experts should appear. For now, keep a closer eye on the City Lord's Mansion. Kengo is a coward. I don't want him to escape. If I have to wait another ten thousand years to become City Lord, that would be far too much of a waste."

"Rest assured, Elder."

The two responded in unison.

The leader let out a breath. "What a hassle. If I weren't worried that Kengo would flee outright, why would I need to conceal my identity and challenge them step by step like this?"

"By the way, how is the matter of the Blood Pattern Ice coming along? Has it been confirmed?"

The leader spoke directly, his tone growing more solemn.

"For now, we can only confirm that Blood Ghost Mountain truly contains mineral crystals. But whether they are Blood Pattern Ice still requires further investigation. However, further investigation may require going deep into Blood Ghost Mountain, and we have no way of entering without alerting anyone."

One of them transmitted his voice as well.

Blood Nether City had been built atop Blood Ghost Mountain. This was a city constructed by an Overgod, and the formations contained within were not something High-Gods could affect. Only by becoming the City Lord of Blood Nether City could one gain some authority over the city's formations.

"Mm."

The leader nodded. "As long as there is a mineral crystal vein, even if it isn't Blood Pattern Ice, becoming City Lord will not be a loss."

"Notify the family in advance. Once I become City Lord, I'll explore the mine vein here. If it is confirmed to be Blood Pattern Ice, we'll transport it back to Hell. The clan leader and the others will need to report this to Old Ancestor."

The leader narrowed his eyes.

If it had been an ordinary force, or even a mountain range controlled by another family, he would not have taken it so seriously. But Blood Nether City was, after all, a city built by an Overgod within Blood Phantom Prefecture. Excavating a mine vein beneath such a city might even damage a city built by an Overgod. He could not bear the Overgod's wrath.

Therefore, the family had to be informed. The family would need to provide the guarantee.

He believed that if the family learned Blood Ghost Mountain possessed a Blood Pattern Ice Mine, they would never abandon such wealth.

"Yes."

The two immediately answered.

At that moment, cheers erupted from the arena once more. A referee stepped onto the stage, his voice resounding throughout the entire Blood Battle Stage. "Next, I'm sure everyone has been waiting for our next expert. There is no need for further introduction. Let us welcome the expert who has achieved fifty-eight consecutive victories so far—Bens!!!"

"Bens!"

"Bens!"

"Bens!"

"..."

As the referee's voice fell, the atmosphere at the Blood Battle Stage instantly surged to a fever pitch. Countless cheers rang out. If not for the protection of the Magic Array, the sound would likely have spread throughout all of Blood Nether City.

"Wait here."

In the room, the cloaked leader rose to his feet and flew directly toward the arena platform.

As the cloaked man landed on the platform, the surrounding cheers rose to yet another level.

Seeing Bens take the stage, the referee did not waste any more time. The atmosphere no longer needed his prompting. He loudly announced, "The next challenger is Nom, a High-God who cultivates the Earth Law!"

"Nom!"

There were also cheers for Nom, but compared to Bens, they were far, far fewer.

As the announcement ended, a three-meter-tall burly man leaped out from another passage and landed on the platform with a boom. His entire body was covered in blue-gray rocklike skin, and his hands were enormous, like a pair of stone hammers.

"Go! Take down Bens!"

"Nom!"

With Nom's appearance, the cheers and support for him clearly increased.

The referee did not waste time. After repeating the rules once, he flew straight down from the stage.

Generally speaking, few dared to challenge Bens. Nom was also an expert arranged by the Blood Battle Stage. As for what price they had paid to bring Nom out, that was not something he was qualified to know.

Bens looked at the burly man before him and narrowed his eyes slightly. Though they had not yet exchanged blows, a single glance was enough for him to judge that Nom was considerably stronger than his previous challengers.

At the very least, none of those who had challenged him before possessed a special bloodline.

"Not bad. Someone with a bit of ability has finally appeared."

Bens looked at Nom and spoke calmly.

Nom stared at the man who was barely more than half his height. His breathing sounded like rocks grinding against one another. "Today will be your death day!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Nom attacked.

Nom suddenly stomped his right foot into the ground, making the entire platform tremble. Countless stone pillars resembling stalagmites then appeared from thin air around him, stabbing directly toward Bens.

Not only that, a powerful gravitational force abruptly descended along with Nom's stomp.

The Earth Law did not excel in speed, so Nom did not rush into close combat. Instead, he first used several techniques against Bens.

"The power of this Gravity Space is not bad."

A trace of surprise flashed through Bens's eyes. This man's use of Gravity Space had truly exceeded some of his expectations.

He had sparred with clansmen who cultivated the Earth Law and had some understanding of Gravity Space. To use it to this extent, even within the family, aside from the elders, was already quite impressive.

But that is all.

Bens gave a soft snort. A Long Whip covered in barbs appeared between his hands. Instantly, the whip turned into countless afterimages. As it swept about, large numbers of stone pillars were shattered into fragments.

Even when a few stone pillars remained and reached Bens, he made no attempt to defend himself. Instead, he allowed them to strike his body. Clearly, he had immense confidence in his own defense.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Without exception, every stone pillar that struck Bens was destroyed.

Almost at the same instant, Bens charged straight at Nom with the Long Whip in hand. As the whip lashed through the air, even space began to tremble.

Nom had clearly not expected Bens's defense to be so strong. Though this attack was not his strongest technique, Bens had taken it head-on without even having his defense broken? This man's defense was not weaker than his own in the slightest!

Bens had not been affected by his attack at all, leaving Nom no time to continue launching techniques proactively.

However, facing Bens's attack, Nom showed no fear whatsoever. With an angry roar, his body swelled another size, and a layer of armor covered in patterns emerged over his body.

Hmph. You are lucky. In a real fight, this move would have been enough to kill you. But for now... to avoid alerting the enemy, I'll spare you.

Seeing the giant before him use a defensive technique, Bens snorted inwardly.

Nom's natural defense was extremely powerful, and he had also used Gravity Space to restrict him. If he killed Nom in one go, anyone with discerning eyes would be able to tell that his true strength was far greater than this.

It would be troublesome if that made Kengo wary and caused him to flee early. After all, though Nom's strength was ordinary, his defense was not weak.

Boom~~~

Bens's Long Whip lashed across Nom's body. Though it failed to break through Nom's defense, the immense power of that strike sent Nom flying.

This also shattered the Gravity Space Nom had previously cast.

Nom was greatly shocked as he was sent flying. This man's attack was so unusual!

Normally, experts who cultivated the Water Law had limited offensive power when using a Long Whip. In his view, this man's attacks were not particularly lethal, but when that whip struck, it felt like a massive hammer, carrying an incomparably powerful force!

This man's body truly was as strong as he had heard!

Nom reached that conclusion in an instant. Only someone with an exceptionally powerful body could display such force when using techniques.

However, this also made him relax slightly. Though Bens was strong, and he could already conclude that he was no match for Bens, it would not be so easy for Bens to kill him.

Of course, outside the Blood Battle Stage, after a prolonged fight, he might be killed. But here at the Blood Battle Stage, given the gap in strength between himself and Bens, he had every chance to concede.

As long as he conceded, Bens would not dare kill him.

With that thought, Nom finally felt at ease and prepared to go all out. Even if he lost, he could not lose so quickly.