Earth's Greatest Magus

It had now been confirmed that Eeshoo Nephilim would be the opponent Emery would have to face tomorrow in the quarterfinals, and from what he had shown just now, it was apparent that the Nephilim genius had been training hard in the last six months.

Although he was a little nervous at the prospect of fighting against the Nephilim, Emery couldn't help but feel excited about tomorrow's fight. But for now, he and his group have another matter to focus on – the next match.

"Thrax versus Zach Talon!"

The Thracian was ready to fight. In fact, he was eager to step into the arena. However, there was something not right with him.

The weapon in his hand was indeed a Tier 5 spear, but the issue was that it wasn't a glaive. In addition, it was a little too short and much lighter compared to the one he used before.

"I'm sorry, Thrax," Chumo said as he lowered his head in guilt. It turned out that he didn't have enough time to find one similar to his glaives, hence the reason for the somewhat subpar weapon.

It was actually crucial for a warrior to bring a weapon familiar to him to a battle. Even so, Thrax knew that he couldn't just blame his friend. He just had to accept the situation he got in hand and rolled with it.

With a mindset that he would give more than his all, the Immortal Gladiator walked into the center of the arena with a confident gait. The moment he stepped onto the large stage, loud screams and shouts immediately rang out all over the place.

"Thrax! Thrax!! Thrax!!"

The crowds once again cheered for him. For the last Elite class acolyte who had been fighting since the very first day.

All of them were cheering with high expectations, but many for different reasons.

Some just wished to witness the feat of winning against impossible odds, some just simply hated his opponent who was a half-blood, while some just wished to see blood, the more, the merrier.

All in all, whether it was positive or negative, Thrax definitely seemed to have more support than Zach.

Hearing the cheers that welcomed his arrival, Thrax subconsciously cracked a slight smile on his face. He responded to the crowd of spectators by raising his hands in the air and tightly clenching his fists.

The crowd grew livelier when the audience saw Thrax's action. On the other hand, the gladiator's love for arena fights managed to give some amusement to the Dragon Prince Zach, who never found the meaning of such actions. For Zach, there was no honor other than a real fight on the battlefield.

Seeing Zach's cold gaze as he stood a few meters away with the huge sword in his hand piercing the arena floor, Thrax took up his fighting stance and prepared himself for the upcoming battle.

The two of them stared at each other, and the referee's voice rang out, announcing the start of the match.

Thrax claimed the initiative and kicked off the match by swinging his spear around, getting familiar with the new weight and reach, before he used [Immortal Gate] and slammed the blunt end to the ground.

Baaaammm!!!

What he discovered about his current weapon was a disappointing result overall, but as a true fighter and gladiator, Thrax could and would fight with anything he could get his hands on.

"Arrghhhh!!"

Brandishing the spear forward, Thrax kicked the ground and shot towards Zach, launching one of his battle arts that worked wonders with a spear like the one he was currently wielding.

[Vicious Barrage]

The spear in Thrax's hands blurred and suddenly multiplied. The air seemed to be pierced through as it was raining down a storm of thrusts upon the Dragon Prince.

Zach calmly unearthed his greatsword that was embedded in the ground. The next instant, it disappeared from sight as he made a powerful swing, one that seemed to be able to take one's breath away.

The airflow spun back and forth as if someone had turned back time, before a loud, eardrum-shaking sound boomed through the air.

BAAAAMMMMMM!!!!

With just one swing, Thrax's battle art was dealt with. Clashing with such terrifying power, Thrax felt his hand throb violently. A painful sensation radiated from both of his hands, causing him to almost let go of his spear.

Arrghhh!!

Thrax was irritated. Such a thing would not happen if he had a proper weapon. Alas, there was nothing he could do now. He just had to keep pushing until either he or his opponent couldn't continue.

Regaining his demeanor, Thrax prepared himself for a counterattack when he suddenly noticed an indescribable aura emerge from his opponent's figure. The frown on his face deepened when he saw it take form into something.

The translucent figure of a huge crimson dragon appeared behind the Dragon Prince. It emitted an overwhelming presence that exerted a formless intense pressure on the Thracian, causing the latter's legs to tremble violently as he fought against it.

[Draconic Aura]

What Zach had just done was far more than a mere spirit attack; it was an explosion of battle spirit that would make all of those unworthy instantly kneel before its presence.

"What the fuck?!!"

Being placed in such a situation, Thrax's irritation grew even greater. What stood in front of him now was arguably the strongest presence he had ever faced, and the fact that it came from Zach, who was the same age as him, exasperated him to no end.

Because of the pressure, the [Draconic Aura] exerted, Thrax was stunned, unable to move for a second, which was definitely an opportunity Zach would not let go of as he mercilessly slammed him with the side of his greatsword.

BAAAAMMMM!!!

The blow sent the Immortal Gladiator flying, hurtling several meters before crashing to the ground.

That one blow was strong enough to dislocate his shoulder, but the gladiator certainly would not stop from such little pain, he quickly fixed it himself and was ready for more.

When he was about to stand up, Zach once again exerted pressure on him. This time however, he didn't strike and instead said.

"Know you strength, just Surrender"

Despite facing this kind of situation, Thrax unexpectedly let out a chuckle. "Hahhaha, surrender?" He lifted his face and looked directly into the Dragon Prince's eyes. Fighting spirit was blazing fiercely in his eyes.

"Never!"

Despite the difficulties, Thrax still struggled to stand. As he fought against the pressure that continued to suppress him relentlessly, he forced his ability out in spite of the fact he had no warm-up yet.

[Blood Rage]

"Arrghhhhh!!!"

Zach was slightly surprised when he saw Thrax's skill allowed him to completely break free from his dragon aura.

With bloodshot eyes, the Thracian charged at his opponent and swung his spear once more.

[Mighty Swing]

Alas, the fact that he could resist Zach's [Draconic Aura] didn't mean that he has the strength to match Zach. The sweep of his spear which was strengthened by his battle art was parried casually.

But of course, Thrax would not let his failure stop him as he continued his aggression, he continue by performing [Mighty Swing] in rapid succession.

Clankk Clankk Clankkk

The crowd was bedazzled as they watched Zach perfectly handle each and every strike Thrax threw at him. As if that wasn't bad enough, Thrax could feel the stabbing pain in his palm getting stronger with each failure.

However, the bad news wasn't over yet for Thrax, as Zach finally decided to get serious and use his own battle art [Hellraiser].

Spllaatttt

The greatsword struck his spear with unmatched momentum, not only forcing Thrax to let go of the spear and sending it flying away, it also created a big wound on his chest. The gash was bloody red as blood gushed out.

Arrrghhh!!!

Yet still the wound and disarmament didn't stop the Immortal Gladiator, as he approached the Dragon Prince at close range, wanting to use his fists in combat.

All eyes gasped at the foolish move, they all waited for the sight of the Thracian being cut again. However, what they expected didn't happen. Instead, Zach was seen giving a little smile before laying down his sword and using his fist to counter Thrax's.

Baaaaammm!!

The fight suddenly turned into a brawl of fists, but once again Zach was victorious. He dodged and countered every blow Thrax sent over, yet the same couldn't be said for the latter. As time passed, the Thracian's movement became more sluggish.

It took a dozen punches to the body before the badly bruised and bloodied Thrax finally dropped one knee, still the gladiator fighting spirit got him to stand once again, but not enough to throw another punch.

Zach stopped his punches as he said, "I can sense the spirit of slaughter within you.. just like me… I hope to see you in the frontline after this."

After that, Zach gave another punch that knocked Thrax down, and the referee finally called the result.

"Zach Talon wins!"