Destroyer of Ice and Fire

Upon seeing the thoroughly incapacitated golden metal puppet before Ayrin, the three of them were momentarily petrified.

One of the medical masters couldn't help but ask, "What's the status of the other academy teams?"

"Not a single person from the other teams has passed through this 'Dueling Arena' yet, this fellow is the first. What variant of golden metal puppet did he go against?"

"The Spirit Analysis Field in the previous chamber judged this fellow as the person with the most balanced abilities in this lot, so he went against the balanced puppet, the strongest of the bunch!"

"What? And he still managed to come out first?"

……

"Combinations are indeed effective!"

"A sharp offensive using a well-designed combination of skills can overwhelm opponents, limiting their ability to counterattack and allowing for a quick and decisive victory!"

Upon seeing the golden metal puppet stop working, Ayrin excitedly approached it as if he wished to continue attacking it.

He was completely unaware of the shock which he had inflicted on the observing arcane masters.

But upon arriving before the golden metal puppet, Ayrin abruptly stopped in his tracks as he thought to himself, "What if the Office of Special Affairs put a lot of energy and resources into restoring these golden metal puppets…"

"Let's just head out for now. I wonder if I will be able to see the others upon exiting."

Thoughts continued to pass through Ayrin's mind as he shot towards the exit before him.

"I'm only trying to pass through! Don't keep hindering me!" Stingham cried despairingly as the golden metal puppet facing him with two massive shields on its arms began quickly approaching him.

"Rip!"

The sound of air being torn abruptly interrupted Stingham's screams as the golden metal puppet arrived beside Stingham and chopped at Stingham's neck with the shield attached to its right arm.

"You are actually trying to kill me! You are so vicious!" Stingham continued to scream.

Upon nearing Stingham's neck, the shield abruptly stopped moving as Lover's Corpse activated, covering Stingham in a layer of dim yellow light.

At the same time, Stingham threw a punch at the golden metal puppet as his body slightly trembled in a strange manner, directing all the force contained within the shield strike into the ground beneath his feet.

"Bang!"

Before his punch could reach the golden metal puppet, a shield appeared before it.

"What should I do?!" Stingham shouted in frustration as he withdrew and threw his hands in the air.

Although the golden metal puppet posed no threat towards him, he similarly was unable to do anything towards it. Regardless of whether he used physical attacks or arcane skills, he was completely unable to deal any damage to it.

……

"Of the six members of Holy Dawn Academy's team, Chris and Rinloran should also have no trouble passing this challenge. But for the other three, it will be long and arduous."

A voice abruptly sounded from behind the observing referees and medical masters.

"Clancy?!"

The referees and medical masters jumped in surprise as they all turned around and asked, "Why have you come here?"

"Leonardo?"

But upon turning around, they were only more surprised.

Before them was not only the head referee of the national tournament, Clancy, but also "Cocktail Master" Leonardo.

Compared to before, Leonardo had not changed very much, but Clancy's right sleeve hung limply at his size. It was evident that he had lost his arm in the war.

Clancy's face was also extremely pale and thin.

"What? Am I not allowed to come and watch the competition anymore because I lost my arm and am recuperating?"

Seeing the shock on all of the faces before him, Clancy smiled as he said, "Even with an arm gone, I'm still alive, aren't I? So I must finish the task assigned to me."

One of the arcane masters smiled as they spoke, "It seems like you are hardier than we had thought. Well then, Leonardo, what have you come here for? Are you considering joining our team of referees?"

"It is possible that I will be the vice referee for the following championship match," Leonardo replied with a nod. Afterwards, he turned and looked Ayrin, who was running towards the exit and thought to himself, "But for now, I am purely here to watch this competition… at any rate, this fellow can be considered half my student."

"Anyway, as you were saying Clancy. You think Chris and Rinloran will be passing through without difficulty, but the other three will face some danger?" asked one of the referees as they turned back towards the chamber.

……

Rinloran's cold pupils gradually contracted as he stood motionless atop the arena-like chamber and observed the golden metal puppet before him.

Naturally, the golden metal puppet before him looked the same as the ones which the others were facing. However, an invisible force slowly emanated from this puppet's feet, causing it to float about a meter in the air.

At this moment, Rinloran seemed to abruptly disappear as he shot towards the golden metal puppet's left side at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Simultaneously, the golden metal puppet also moved, accurately appearing in Rinloran's path. As its hands moved slightly, a strong wind containing dozens of transparent revolving blades surged towards Rinloran.

Rinloran shot through the gaps between these blades with astonishing agility as his body began to release pulses of arcane energy.

Dark green patches of moss began to appear atop the cold metal floor from which crimson vines began crazily sprouting. These crimson vines shot towards the golden metal puppet and wrapped around its legs.

Although the vines were almost instantly severed by the golden metal puppet's transparent revolving blades, only more grew in their place, and at an increasing rate. As a result, the golden metal puppet's movement became increasingly hindered.

As for Rinloran, he only got nearer and nearer to the exit.

……

"What to do?!"

In another part of the chamber, a trembling, blood covered Moss screamed in exasperation as he stared at the golden metal puppet before him.

His body was covered with wounds caused by the puppet's sharp finger blades.

Although these wounds were rather light, Moss' inability to respond, the feeling of helplessness within his heart, caused him to feel increasingly pressured and on the verge of collapse.

He just could not think of a way to deal with the golden metal puppet before him.

Furthermore, unlike him, the golden metal puppet showed no signs of exhaustion.

If he continued to extend the fight, he would be the first to fall.

"There must be a way!"

"I will absolutely not fall here!"

"I absolutely will not be the sandbag dragging everyone down!"

"I will find a way!"

As the golden metal puppet approached once more, Moss abruptly yanked at his hair in stress, causing his face to deform.

"If I had mastered Berserk God's Returning Scorched Sun, I would definitely be able to surpass this golden metal puppet in speed. I would be able to break through its blockade and perhaps even smash it into the ground!"

"But… I haven't mastered it yet! I can't even sense the arcane energy required for the skill yet!"

Moss cursed his own ineptitude and lamented his inability to master Berserk God's Returning Scorched Sun, but there was nothing he could do about it at this moment.

"Rip!"

The air whistled, causing Moss to wake up from his thoughts as ten streaks of cold light shot towards him once more, causing goosebumps to appear over his body.

"Even if I have not mastered Berserk God's Returning Scorched Sun… even if I am so inept… I will absolutely not drag my team down!"

"Ayrin and the others might have passed through already. They might be watching me right now!"

"Remember how desperately Belo trained because he didn't want to fall behind the others… I absolutely won't give up here!"

Moss' eyes abruptly turned blood red.

"What is he about to do?!" exclaimed the referees and medical masters observing atop the wall.

As the golden metal puppet stabbed towards Moss with its finger blades, Moss didn't move or attempt to block, and instead released his transformations.

"Poof!"

As his skin and muscles loss their hardness, his body became skewered by the finger blades.

Blood erupted from Moss' chest, forming a mist.

"Come on!"

All the referees and medical masters felt their breaths catch in their throats as Moss ferociously stood up straight and his body abruptly began to expand rapidly!

He quickly doubled in size!

As Moss grew, his skin and muscles hardened once more, firmly trapping the golden metal puppet in place before him and causing it to dangle in midair!

"If your feet cannot touch the ground, you cannot exert any force! There's no way for you to stop me now!" Moss shouted in his mind as he grit his teeth and charged towards the exit, bringing the golden metal puppet with him.

The golden metal puppet squirmed and twisted with all its might, trying to pull free, but it was futile.

"This fellow actually used a method like this!"

All the referees and medical masters looked on in deep shock.

"I still can't see anything!" Ayrin mumbled frustratedly to himself outside of the chamber.

After exiting, he was still prevented from seeing or hearing anything by the layer of light.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake as a figure shot out from the exit.

"Someone's coming out!"

"Who is it? Is it Stingham, or Chris, or maybe even Rinloran?"

Ayrin's eyes widened in anticipation as three names passed through his mind. If everyone had faced off against the same opponent as him, these three were the ones he expected to come out first.

"Moss?!"

But much to his surprise, a rugged face emerged from the curtain of light!