Chapter 163: Victory

Everyone below the arena held their breath at this moment. They all knew that the decisive moment had finally arrived—the most exciting scene of this battle was about to unfold, and the outcome would be decided soon.

At this moment, Fen Tian had also returned to Rod’s side. As that black light soared into the sky, Fen Tian let out a long howl. His entire body wrapped around Rod, enclosing him completely. Under Fen Tian’s protection, Rod stood there like a mighty warrior from the heavens, majestic and awe-inspiring.

“Hurry! Strengthen the barrier! Quick!” Seeing what was happening below, several elders on the stage shouted in unison. Both of them were already exerting their full strength, and their powers were extraordinary. The barrier they maintained was likely to collapse under such intense fighting. To be on the safe side, they had to enhance its defenses as quickly as possible.

As the shouts rang out, a middle-aged man with flowing long hair suddenly appeared by the edge of the arena. No one could see exactly how he appeared, but his deep purple combat energy was extremely dazzling. His expression darkened as he stretched out his hands and touched the barrier. Instantly, a large amount of elemental energy poured into it, causing the barrier’s color to change rapidly, becoming darker and darker. With his enhancement, the barrier’s defensive strength doubled.

“Kill!” A solemn roar came from his mouth. Immediately afterward, he transformed into a beam of white light and vanished from his original position, rushing toward Ciel at incredible speed. Meanwhile, Fen Tian turned into a red light, tightly surrounding Rod like a serpent, swiftly moving through the air. His sinuous body was incredibly agile at this moment.

“Break!” Seeing Knight Rod charging toward him, Ciel’s expression turned cold, and he roared in anger.

“Boom…” In an instant, the two figures met at the center of the arena. Along with Fen Tian’s howl, a violent explosion erupted, the sharp sound seemingly trying to pierce everyone’s eardrums, causing pain in their ears. Many people couldn’t help but cover their ears to avoid further exposure to that deafening noise.

Boom… Another piercing sound rang out, soaring into the sky and shaking the top of the upper barrier, putting the entire barrier in danger of collapsing. It took a while for it to slowly stabilize after several tremors.

Intangible waves of energy and combat qi filled the entire barrier at that moment. The fighting platform began to collapse, with chaotic streams of combat qi and sword energy spilling out from where the two fighters met, acting like sharp blades that attacked everything in their path. Wherever they passed, the platform, made of hard materials, was cut apart effortlessly like tofu and scattered everywhere.

Those watching from the viewing area were also affected, forced to rely on their own strength to barely withstand these indiscriminate attacks.

If the escaping combat qi and sword energy were already so terrifying, people couldn’t imagine the kind of threat the two fighters at the center were facing. Everyone’s expression turned grave.

It felt as though their internal organs were being torn apart constantly, at any moment they might be shattered into pieces. The pain in their bodies was unbearable, and those invisible energies and sword attacks were also causing physical injuries, with more wounds appearing.

A sweet taste filled their throats as blood spilled out. They swallowed it hard—there was no time to show even the slightest sign of weakness. That would only boost their opponent’s morale.

Even so, Rod inwardly groaned in frustration. This guy’s move was far too powerful; it was completely beyond his ability to block. Rod knew that if things continued like this, his only outcome would be failure, possibly even death, or at the very least, severe injuries.

“Argh…” A long howl sounded, seemingly reminding everyone of his presence. After that howl, Fen Tian rushed downward toward Ciel, braving the onslaught.

It was truly the case that when two fight, a third benefits. Fen Tian, who had been overlooked, seized this perfect opportunity.

“Captain…” Seeing this,Hill couldn’t help but call out. That red creature made them feel a sense of despair.

“Break!” In a split second, just as everything seemed lost, a loud roar erupted from Ciel’s mouth. Immediately afterward, the red sword in his hand emitted intense light once again, like a flame that nearly engulfed both fighters!

At that moment, Knight Rod felt a tremendous force hitting him, almost sending him flying. Blood began to seep from his knuckles, causing him to grunt in pain. Yet, Fen Tian’s appearance brought him secret joy. It seemed bringing him out had been the right decision. Although he had suffered another blow, he could sense that his opponent was now distracted. If they didn’t focus on Fen Tian’s movements, victory would be his.

Creaking… A sharp friction sound came through, with flames flickering constantly. At that moment, the Dark Dragon and the opponent’s long sword both began to groan, as if telling people of their suffering.
Whoosh… Finally, in this clash, Rod, after spitting out a mouthful of blood, was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing toward the ground in the distance.
Ding… Unable to bear such pressure any longer, before Fen Tian could attack, Cael exerted one last force, sending Rod flying again. His long sword shattered into three pieces with a crisp sound and scattered on the ground.
“Monster…” With a weak voice, as Fen Tian approached, Cael roared in anger. Relying on his last bit of strength, he stretched out his hands, clenched his fists, and struck at Fen Tian.
Bang… A dull sound came as his fist made direct contact with Fen Tian.
“Ahh…” A scream was heard, along with Cael’s groans. Pale purple blood rained down from the sky like fine rain, mixed with the blood spewing from Cael’s mouth.
Everyone was stunned. They had thought that Knight Rod’s strange-looking magical beast would surely die after being attacked head-on by Cael, but they couldn’t believe that the bizarre beast had actually injured Cael and forced him to retreat several steps. Meanwhile, the beast only swayed slightly in the air and immediately chased after him again without retreating.
Clearly, the powerful warriors present realized that this little guy was only at the silver level in strength. Yet, with just that strength, he had managed to repel a royal-level warrior using his own power.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Rod also managed to recover somewhat. His potential had been unleashed, and his body underwent another transformation—his muscles began to contract and slowly swell. However, it was much less noticeable than before; it would be hard to detect without close observation.
After the transformation, Rod felt his entire body filled with strength once again. He gripped the Dark Dragon tightly in his hand, leaped forward, and charged. Although Fen Tian was still entangling Cael, he was already severely injured from Cael’s fierce counterattacks, his body trembling. A silver-level magical beast was utterly no match for a royal-level warrior. Without the dragon race’s extraordinary strength and defense, it would likely have already died.

With Knightrod’s defeat, two fronts of attack emerged, catching Thayer off guard. Coupled with his final desperate strike, defeat began to loom. As the battle continued, it was clear he was at a severe disadvantage.

Seeing this, the crowd erupted in excitement. Most of those present were students from the Holy Light Academy. How could they not be thrilled to see their peers gain the upper hand and move closer to victory? Especially in such a high-stakes, volatile battle, they, who had already given up hope, now saw renewed hope—and were naturally more excited and energetic than ever.

Cheers, shouts, and applause filled the entire arena, drawing attention from many. In contrast, the students from the Wind God Academy and the competing teams looked utterly disheartened. They never expected such an outcome. Looking at Knightrod on the field, their expressions were complex—they didn’t know how to describe him! He had actually defeated Thayer! Unthinkable.

Finally, the burning of combat energy began to fade, rapidly at that. Thayer’s deep red combat energy gradually dimmed, returning to golden yellow in no time before fading even further. By then, Thayer no longer had any strength to fight back. Eventually, after Rod’s combined attack with “Burn Heaven,” Thayer was sent flying with a single swish of Rod’s tail, followed by Rod closing in and pressing a dark dragon against his throat.

“You lost!” Rod said calmly, looking down at Thayer, who lay on the ground, gasping for breath, pale, and unwilling to accept defeat.

“Lost… lost…” Rod’s words and the situation before him forced Thayer to admit defeat. His face turned ashen, his eyes growing vacant. Staring at the sky, he repeated those words, seemingly struck by some profound blow and unable to recover.

Seeing this, the referee also breathed a sigh of relief—no serious consequences had occurred. Quickly declaring the match over, he watched as the players from both sides rushed onto the stage to help the two men walk off.

“Captain, we won! We won…” Compared to the deathly silence at Wind God Academy, the cheers in the rest area of Holy Light Academy were unbearably loud. Everyone, including Viski, was overjoyed; even Viski showed a rare childlike excitement on his face. As Furnish Heaven returned to Rod’s body, everyone gathered around Rod at the center to celebrate.
“Pain… pain…” Being squeezed in the middle, Rod couldn’t help but let out a pained groan. His injuries made it impossible for him to move; not to mention being hugged by others, even moving slightly caused him to gasp in pain. His injuries were so severe that he felt like his whole body was falling apart.