Chapter 108: Breaking Through to Bronze

In this duel, Zaha and Clinton had different feelings. Both used the iron swords provided by the guild for testing, executing simple swordsmen’s opening moves as their swords clashed together. In terms of physical strength, Clinton wasn’t much behind Zaha, a Bronze-level warrior; in fact, Clinton’s taller frame gave him an advantage. Yet Zaha had already mastered the basic use of ki, allowing him to surpass his physical limits in strength and speed at any time. Although there was only a narrow gap between Bronze Level 1 and Peak Black Iron, crossing that gap meant a dramatic increase in strength.

For the first strike, Zaha used his physical strength without going all out, leaving the two evenly matched. On the second strike, he employed sword ki, putting in three-quarters of his strength, and with a single blow, he blocked Clinton’s attack and pushed him back several steps. Waving his arm, which ached from the forceful impact, Clinton shouted fearlessly, “Again!” and charged forward with his sword once more.

This time, annoyed, Zaha stopped holding back and responded with at least eight-tenths of his strength. When it came to combat philosophy and technique, Zaha, who had received little formal training, was inferior to Clinton, who had the advantages granted by the Book of Truth. Yet Zaha, having forged his skills through unconventional methods, had his own unique strengths. His intricate techniques, different from traditional swordsmanship, could be executed suddenly under the influence of ki within his body, catching opponents of the same level off guard—let alone a warrior a whole rank lower like Clinton.

Still, Clinton was extraordinary as well. He managed to find a way out of the difficult situation created by Zaha and held his ground under the relentless attacks. Soon, over fifty moves had passed. Seeing that he had used eight-tenths of his strength yet still hadn’t defeated a Peak Black Iron opponent, Zaha couldn’t help but admire Clinton’s strength and perseverance. But as a Bronze-level warrior, his pride wouldn’t allow him to lose to an opponent below his own rank. So Zaha decided to stop delaying and unleashed his full ten-tenths of strength.

In fact, if Zaha had used his strongest strength from the start, Clinton wouldn’t have been able to hold out this long and would likely have lost after just a few moves. But at first, Zaha was dismissive and used only three-quarters of his strength. Then, angered at not having defeated his opponent, he raised his combat strength to eight-tenths. Finally, impressed by the opponent’s tenacity, he went all out.

This gradual escalation pushed Clinton to adapt to the pace of battle. By the end, his mental calculation ability, physical mobility, and sensitivity to the surrounding environment all reached peak levels never seen before. In this life-or-death struggle, Clinton brought out his absolute limits, approaching the threshold between the Black Iron rank and the Bronze rank. His entire body turned red as if submerged in a steamer, with steam rising from his head. Suddenly, Clinton let out a loud shout, ignored his opponent’s charging sword, closed his eyes, and stopped attacking on the spot. At that moment, Zaha didn’t expect his opponent to suddenly stop mid-battle. It was already too late to change the trajectory of the sword aimed at Clinton’s heart and lungs. If Clinton had been able to parry with his sword, that strike wouldn’t have been a fatal blow. But now that Clinton abruptly stopped, the sword was already in motion. Even though Zaha was an experienced Bronze-level warrior, he had no time to change his tactics and could only force the use of sword energy to alter the attack’s direction, shifting it from Clinton’s vital organs to his ribs. Although using sword energy to reverse the attack would cause some damage to his own body, after all, this man was a subordinate of the Lord of Dalaran. That young lord was not only a hereditary noble but also a powerful Bronze mage who had two strong Bronze-level warriors at his side, plus a master like the top mage of the Northlands—none of whom he could afford to offend. Moreover, there was a high-level Bronze warrior watching from the side. So in that instant, Zaha decided it was better to suffer minor injuries than to allow his opponent to be seriously hurt. At this critical moment, Uther, who had been observing the battle, suddenly intervened. A long sword, like a steel wall, appeared in front of Zaha’s sword tip. Zaha felt as though his sword had hit a mountain and stopped moving, his entire strength suppressed by Uther’s presence. Any slight movement would result in a fatal strike. “That’s enough, Mr. Zaha. Your strength test is complete. Please wait a moment; your class certificate will be given to you shortly,” said Uther before turning his gaze to Clinton, who remained standing motionless. Only then did Zaha break into a cold sweat, realizing for the first time the real gap between himself and this high-ranking knight. Although he had fought alongside Uther against the orcs before, back then Uther had only shown off his exceptional defense to assist everyone in battle. Now, with just one move, the difference in skill became obvious.

Zaha instinctively believed that Uther possessed a strength far beyond what the other bronze-level experts had speculated—he was at least at the peak of bronze, or even had the strength of a silver-level warrior. Even those two mercenary team leaders at the advanced bronze level couldn’t give him such an overwhelming sense of invincibility. Zaha had no idea that his guesses were already close to the truth. Unlike ordinary second-tier warriors like Clinton, those with hero templates like Uther, including Donald, had the powerful ability to challenge those above their rank. Each hero had their own path of growth; although Uther’s current rank was only advanced bronze, his strength was growing faster than even his master Donald’s. As a paladin who excelled in both offense and defense, his foundation was terrifyingly solid. Thus, he was the fastest-rising among the three heroes so far. Moreover, beyond his heroic skills and the power of holy light, Uther had already mastered the use of sword intent and aura, traits typically associated with silver-level warriors, even at the bronze rank. Paladins were naturally adept at comprehending the sacred, compassionate, tolerant, and kind will of holy light—they could even merge their own spiritual will with that force. It wasn’t surprising that Uther could grasp sword intent so quickly. Donald, his master, had already witnessed the power of the Abyssal Will before and felt the willpower of a being above gold level in the royal capital. Although Donald primarily used a magic-based profession, his understanding of willpower was no less than that of a warrior like Uther. In any world, demons were invaders and tumors that destroyed nature and the world. Naturally, the will of the natural world would shift from tolerance to fury toward such evil and chaotic entities. Demon hunters stole the power to purify demons and restore balance to the natural environment—a description aptly summed up by “acting on behalf of heaven.” The main world had suffered multiple invasions from the Abyssal plane, and for the will of that world, all Abyssal creatures were enemies. By eliminating these enemies and stealing Abyssal power, Donald naturally received the favor of the great natural will, which also allowed him to sense it. If it weren’t for the fact that mages below silver level had broad and dispersed wills, and concentrating their will too early would hinder their magical training, Donald could have mastered a similar sword intent long ago and reached a level where he was invincible even among those below bronze.

If not for laying a solid foundation, Donald could have surpassed Uther by suppressing his own advancement. After Kelthas was born, he intended to hold both positions like his master Donald, constantly studying the spells of the mages in this world. Thus, although his strength improved, his rank remained unchanged—still mid-bronze.

In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Clinton, who had kept his eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened them wide, let out a loud shout, and swung his iron sword at a black-iron pine target to the side. With a thud, the sword penetrated five inches into the wood—its attacking power already surpassing that of Zaha, a mid-bronze warrior. If Zaha fought Clinton again now, it was uncertain who would win!

A peak black-iron warrior breaking through right before his eyes to become a bronze warrior of the same status filled Zaha, a bronze adventurer, with a sense of loss. After the joy of his breakthrough, Clinton immediately bowed to Zaha and said, “I’ve been at the peak of black-iron for some time without finding an opportunity to advance. I owe my thanks to Mr. Zaha today!” Zaha replied with a forced smile, “Congratulations, Commander Clinton, on your promotion to bronze. It’s an honor to witness this!” After exchanging a few polite words, Zaha had no desire to stay any longer, so he took the certificates given to him by Uther and the others and left the testing ground.

The news that another bronze warrior had emerged in the territory of Dalaran quickly spread among adventurers, greatly strengthening people’s trust in the Dalaran Adventurers’ Guild.

Hearing the news of Clinton’s promotion, Donald was very pleased and immediately ordered Bush and George to go to the Adventurers’ Guild to assist, taking turns handling evaluations so that Clinton could have time to consolidate his newly acquired strength.

After learning from Zaha about Clinton’s path to becoming a new bronze warrior, many adventurers who had been stuck at the peak of black-iron took heart and began challenging warriors of the same rank and higher bronze warriors, much to the annoyance of several bronze warriors who simply refused to go out. However, since each person’s reason and method for advancing were different, after a few days of chaos, none of them managed to break through and become bronze warriors.

The various factions in the Northlands paid close attention to the series of changes in Dalaran’s territory, especially their governor, Viscount Macbeth, the lord of Stonehold.

In just one or two months, Donald’s strength had grown enough to rival that of his own family, leaving Macbeth completely without the confidence to handle his opponents on his own. Thus, Macbeth made up his mind, and the plan proposed by Bolton was put into action. Yet before delivering the final blow, he needed to take some steps to distract his opponent. As a result, various minor troubles arose across the lord’s properties in the Dalaran territory. Those causing trouble included ruffians and scoundrels, as well as foreign merchants and adventurers. With so many issues arising at once, even the entire guard force couldn’t handle them all. In the villages of Windchime and Ashwood, there were minor skirmishes, such as causing disruptions in inns and taverns, affecting their business. With the help of hunting party members temporarily assigned to maintain order, most situations were resolved, and the troublemakers were temporarily detained. However, there were many shops and workshops in Twilight Town, most of which belonged to merchants. If issues went unaddressed in time, it would inevitably lead to losses for the merchants, and in severe cases, they might even be forced to leave the Dalaran territory. It was obvious to everyone that someone was dissatisfied with the young lord and was deliberately harassing Dalaran. Donald remained completely calm. Twilight Town was within the range of the Tree of Life’s natural barrier, allowing him to be aware of any enemy movements immediately, sometimes even before they took action.