Chapter 161: The Final Magic Weapon

That icy tone and gaze gave off an uncomfortable feeling, just like a lion hungry for days staring at a gentle lamb before pouncing!
The words spoken also sent a shiver through one’s heart, as an indescribable sense spread—unclear, but certainly not a good sign.
As expected, the next moment, he let out a long howl, picked up the severely injured long snake lying in a pool of blood, and with a flash of movement, vanished from sight as if he had never been there at all.
An imperial-level warrior was indeed powerful—his astonishing speed was staggering, especially when combined with wind attribute combat energy. Rod could no longer discern the extent of that speed; it seemed his strength had reached the mid-imperial level, and his speed might even be in the range only achievable by a saint-level warrior.
Though the figure disappeared, his overwhelming aura filled the entire area, even penetrating the barrier to reach outside, allowing every student to feel it clearly.
“Not good!” Seeing the opponent’s changes, hearing his words, and even witnessing his actions, Rod couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly. With such speed and strength, he had virtually no chance to counterattack! A strong sense of crisis spread throughout his body, and under that oppressive aura, it seemed he was trapped in place, unable to move.
“Bastard, don’t think you’ll succeed!” With a roar of defiance, Rod’s gaze sharpened again. He gripped his Dark Dragon tightly, keeping a close watch around him, using his intuition to determine the opponent’s location.
Suddenly, his eye twitched, as if sensing something, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly turned to dodge.
With a muffled thud, Rod staggered, nearly falling to the ground. A gush of bright red blood flew past his eyes, splashing on the ground and forming a grotesque blood flower.
Just then, at that moment, a long wound appeared on his body—after piercing through his armor, it had sliced through his flesh.

The intense pain from the wound made Rod gasp. Wasn’t the place he was cut exactly his abdomen? Fortunately, he had managed to dodge; otherwise, he would likely be lying on the ground by now. Even with his best efforts to avoid it, he still couldn’t dodge this attack. “Not bad, quite lucky. What’s next? How will you react? Don’t worry, I won’t let you die, nor will this end so quickly!” At some point, Ciel’s figure reappeared before everyone’s eyes. After causing a huge shock, he appeared again with a sinister smile. Standing quietly, his pale face exuded a strange allure.

Before Rod could react, Ciel vanished once more, turning into a shadowy figure that launched a wave of attacks at him.

Thump… thump… Thump… Continuous dull sounds filled the air as Rod’s body trembled nonstop. More and more wounds appeared on his body, with bright streams of blood splashing out, glaring intensely under the sunlight. The occasional groans from him made those watching him worried. Everyone held their breath, afraid to breathe loudly—what was happening before their eyes was simply too shocking. Such a fight had never been seen before. Clearly, Ciel was tormenting Knight Rod.

The exciting match even attracted many people from other arenas to watch. At that moment, the junior-level fighting arena was packed with spectators, bustling with activity. The competition, which usually had the fewest viewers, had seen a complete turnaround today, with the number of spectators far exceeding everyone’s expectations.

“Damn it, if this continues, the captain will…” Watching the one-sided situation on the stage, Kenny and the others couldn’t hold back anymore. A few of them looked ready to rush onto the arena.

“Visky, what are you doing? Let go of me! Can’t you see the situation? That damned Ciel is clearly using forbidden moves—his strength has soared to the Imperial level! Can’t you see how the captain is? Hurry up and let us stop him! Just admit defeat, or else…” Someone grabbed his shoulder. John turned around and shouted at the person holding him.

It was Visky who had grabbed him, which made him even angrier.

“Wait, he won’t just give up like that. If you go up there, you won’t help at all—only cause more trouble!” Viski pulled John behind him, frowning coldly. No one was more anxious than he was, but he wouldn’t take any action because he had confidence in Knightrod and in his captain. He believed the captain wouldn’t give up so easily. Even if he failed, it wouldn’t happen. If they stepped in to stop him, it would only leave him with regret, even greater disappointment, and shame!
All they could do now was wait patiently and pray, waiting for the battle to end and praying that their captain wouldn’t be in danger of death.
“Rod…” On the other side, Lucia clutched her hands tightly against her chest, murmuring anxiously as she stared at the center of the arena. “Rod, don’t push yourself. Give up already. You’re no match for that man.”
“You scoundrel…” Alice also looked extremely serious, staring intently at the arena with a complex expression. At this moment, the shameless wretch she usually saw had disappeared. The seemingly invincible guy who could always bring surprises and shocks was gone, as was the one who often made her feel jealous. In place of them was a man who looked utterly exhausted and weak, which was heart-wrenching to watch.
Kiro and the others frowned deeply, watching the situation anxiously in silence. They all knew this match was truly over by now. Knightrod had lost. If he wasn’t in mortal danger, it would already be considered fortunate. They no longer dared hope for any miracle that could turn the situation around.
Contrary to the sorrow and worry of the other spectators, Rod’s teammates, and friends, the members of the Wind God Academy didn’t show any excitement or enthusiasm. Instead, their faces were filled with worry.
They were well aware of the harm that Thiel’s forbidden move would cause. He wasn’t trying to end the match quickly; instead, he was wasting time to torment his opponent, which would only make things worse. With every minute wasted, his life would be further drained. Under such circumstances, there was no reason for excitement. In fact, they even wished their captain would lose, as that would be better than him using that move.

“Go, get ready. It seems that little guy isn’t holding up. Don’t let anything happen to him. Stop the fight once it’s almost over!” On the podium, everyone’s gaze also turned in this direction. The clash between these two rare geniuses had exceeded their expectations. The situation was now one-sided, and it was time to end the fight before unnecessary losses occurred. Talents like these could be considered treasures, and any issue with them would be a loss for the continent.

“Wait, it seems this little guy still hasn’t unleashed his full strength!” Yet, just as the first old man finished speaking, another voice stunned everyone. They looked toward the arena, and what they saw filled them with confusion and surprise.

There, Rod, covered in wounds and almost turned into a bloody figure, had somehow stood up again. With his eyes tightly closed, he managed to withstand several attacks.

At that moment, Rod stood there with his eyes shut. Though he looked disheveled, as if even a breeze could knock him over, he remained upright in the center of the arena. The once deathly silence and occasional dull thuds were replaced by sporadic sounds of weapons clashing.

Rod stood there with his eyes tightly closed, swinging his black long sword. His seemingly casual and desperate movements brought hope to everyone. It seemed increasingly unlikely that his opponent could continue to harm him. Many attacks were blocked, sparks flying. Amid those sparks, Knight Rod slowly began to move, moving with agile steps as if walking on lotus flowers, always managing to block most of his opponent’s attacks.

“Captain, he… look, the captain has stood up! He’s standing up!”

“Rod, you… keep going! You must not get hurt!”

“Damn that rascal, how could he…”

“Good kid…”

This scene left many people utterly surprised and incredulous, even making them doubt their own eyes. After rubbing their eyes to confirm they weren’t mistaken, they were filled with growing excitement, followed by waves of cheers.

Everyone’s despair was once again replaced by new hope. Once hope arose, it grew uncontrollably. Hope replaced despair, and the relief after such suppression was unimaginable.

“No, this can’t go on. It seems that’s the only option!” While constantly blocking the opponent’s attacks, Rod was inwardly suffering; the damage he still endured from time to time was unbearable. Although he had given up using his eyes to observe and instead focused on using his heart to perceive, he could indeed see the opponent’s movements clearly, but their speed was too fast for him to keep up. Coupled with the opponent’s superior strength, he simply couldn’t defend himself fully. If things continued like this, the outcome would be failure alone, with no chance of turning the situation around. Thinking of this, Rod groaned inwardly—he knew it was time to bring it out. Perhaps only it could help him at this moment. “Fen Tian, I didn’t expect you to have to step in so soon!” With this thought, he sighed silently, murmuring to himself.