Imperial Crown.

Chapter 617 An Unsolvable Overt Scheme

"Pooh"

Spitting out the blood and gore, Eric straightened up, raised his head, and roared, "Surrender?" "Admit defeat?" "That's what you mercenaries do!" "As soldiers," "We'd rather die standing than live on our knees!" Eric's shouts echoed throughout the training ground, and his words were indeed stirring and inspiring! They were like a shot of adrenaline, making everyone's blood boil and their veins throb!
But in reality, Eric was constantly thanking one person—Raven. "Thanks to the patriarch for strengthening my physical body with a sixth-tier magic core, otherwise I would have immediately weakened when my martial spirit shattered just now," Eric thought to himself, feeling extremely lucky.

The destruction of his martial spirit naturally had a significant impact. However, for Eric's body, which was as strong as a fifth-tier magical beast, the effect wasn't that great. He still had the strength to fight!
"You!" "You still won't admit defeat?!"

Standing atop the Crimson Lion, Kimbak glared at the stubborn Eric, his teeth clenched in fury. His face was contorted with rage, yet he managed to suppress his overwhelming killing intent. He looked towards the stands, searching for Raven. He needed to know Raven's stance. If Raven acquiesced, he would show no mercy. He was determined to teach Eric a painful lesson, as long as Eric's life wasn't harmed.

Although he had agreed to duel for Novihou, he couldn't afford to offend Raven for Novihou's sake. He needed to leave himself a way out. Raven was now the king of all the nobles present! The master of the 62 people in Venice! The ruler of the North Sea Province! A single glance, a furrowed brow, a soft hum… would cause countless people around him to speculate on the reasons and meanings. Everyone's joys and sorrows, life and death, wealth and status… all depended on Raven's whim. A single word from him.

And this is the game of power! The allure of power! The essence of power!

Raven's mere presence is the symbol of power! The pinnacle of power!
A true man should be like this.

And Kimbak, willing to be a lackey of the third-rank Novihow for a mere knightly territory, willing to duel for Novihow, yet afraid to kill Eric… wasn't it all for the sake of gradually gaining greater and higher power? Fortunately, Raven was sitting in the center of the stands, and Kimbak turned his head and saw him. At this moment, Raven had his legs crossed, his hands resting on the armrests of his chair, his expression cold and stern, saying nothing. He had clearly acquiesced to the continuation of the duel.

This reassured Kimbak. He immediately leaped down from the Crimson Flame Lion's head with a thunderous roar. Clad in a ten-foot-tall armor of condensed battle aura, he slammed into the ground like a steel giant, the tremors felt even by those in the stands. "Hels, bite him to death!" Kimbak shouted, pointing a finger.

The fiery lion, which had been unable to contain itself any longer, received the order and immediately pounced on Eric!
"drink!"

Eric roared and raised his left arm, aiming it at the Crimson Flame Lion's lunging maw! He was covered in a protective aura armor, which, while making him appear tiny in the face of the massive martial spirit, wasn't actually that exaggerated in proportion. His arm was enough to block the Crimson Flame Lion's mouth. Clearly, in desperation, Eric had resorted to a folk dog-training method.

Traditional dog training involves wrapping your entire arm in a hard, thick glove and letting the dog bite it. Then, you use this opportunity to subdue the dog, instilling fear and submission in it.

"Hmph," Kimbak scoffed outwardly, but inwardly he was ecstatic. If he wanted to kill Eric, he would have had Hels breathe fire long ago. He wanted to see if this lump of "gold" was afraid of his "fire tempering." However, he had some reservations, fearing that Eric might be burned to death. That's why he had Hels pounce on Eric. He hadn't expected that this fool, in his panic, would resort to "feeding himself to the lion." Wasn't that a perfect opportunity? In this way, biting off Eric's arm would force Eric to admit defeat without killing him. The only downside would be a high-level healing potion afterwards.

"Ha ha"

In the stands, Novah was already carried away with his smugness. He couldn't help but laugh out loud. He already had a "wonderful" image in his mind: Eric's arm being bitten to pieces by Kimbak's spirit, followed by him kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly. Although he knew in his heart that this duel wouldn't kill Eric, it would certainly give Raven a good beating!

The other nobles from the North Sea also shook their heads. Anyone could see that Eric had already lost. He was only keeping on the field out of pride. "Sigh," someone sighed meaningfully. "Tsk," someone clicked their tongue meaningfully. "Heh," someone laughed cryptically. The myriad expressions of human nature were on full display. Their gloating almost leaped off the screen.

Kimbak was afraid of Raven's tyranny and didn't dare to kill him. Isn't that obvious? This Eric is really too ungrateful.

A loss is a loss; there's no point in arguing about it. In the end, you lose both face and substance.

Clang!

However, something truly astonishing happened!

The Crimson Lion bit Eric's arm, producing a tremendous metallic sound!
"Huh?!"

The single "an" was filled with both the astonishment of a second tone and the shock of a fourth tone, perfectly expressing the horror and disbelief in Jinbak's heart at that moment.

How is this possible? Eric's Martial Soul Greatsword was just shattered by Hels's bite. Now, he can't even bite through one of Eric's arms?! This doesn't make sense. Unless the opponent's arm is stronger than a magical beast's body! Harder than steel! But is that realistic?

But he clearly had no time to be surprised. The next moment, he saw Eric's eyes widen in fury, his peanut-sized right eye bursting with astonishing light. Eric roared and raised his stone-mill-sized right fist, slamming it hard into the Crimson Flame Lion's eye!

"Aww aww aww aww"

With a single punch, the majestic lion instantly transformed into a stray dog ​​by the roadside. It let out an inexplicable scream and howl, released its grip, and turned to flee.

"Beast!"

But Eric wasn't about to let it have its way. He flexed his left hand, becoming even more agile. Without a word, he leaped up and unleashed another flurry of punches! With a loud bang, this punch sent the Crimson Flame Lion sprawling to the ground.

"die!!"

Eric landed, straddling the Crimson Flame Lion's neck, and delivered another powerful punch to the giant lion's head. With a resounding "bang," the martial spirit lion beneath him, formed from condensed battle qi, dissipated into starlight, completely vanishing into nothingness!
"uh"

Kimbak, who was not far away, immediately screamed and fell backward.

"Damn it!" "Damn it!!!"

The destruction of his martial spirit also caused Kimbak to cough up a mouthful of warm, thick blood. He hurriedly rolled to his feet, cursing inwardly. Eric's three punches were increasingly urgent, faster, and more brutal than the last. In less than ten breaths, these three punches had "killed" his martial spirit!

"Eric!" "You've successfully enraged me!" "Kneel down and admit defeat immediately!"

Kimbak couldn't take it anymore. A flash of light appeared in his hand, and instantly an object appeared—a small, crimson dagger about the length of an arm. It was a dagger, not a sword, because it had a distinct curve. Its entire body radiated a ruby-red hue. It was exquisitely beautiful, incomparably gorgeous. No! That's not right! This was actually a dagger-shaped object crafted from irregularly shaped rhomboid red gemstones! It was no ordinary sword or blade! Sorry, I was too far away to see clearly just now. "Eric!" "Open your dog eyes wide!" "I have a sixth-order Law-created artifact in my hand!" "If you still don't admit defeat, this slash will surely kill you!" Kimbak roared hoarsely.

"stop!"

A thunderous boom suddenly echoed across the martial arts arena. In an instant, Kimbak felt an immense and terrifying suffocating pressure bearing down on him. It made his scalp tingle! It made his hair stand on end! It sent chills down his spine! Even as a fifth-tier expert, he dared not move. It seemed that any movement would be seen as a provocation, leading to his immediate and utter demise! Kimbak nervously swallowed, the overwhelming killing intent he had felt vanishing without a trace. "Raven is this terrifying?!" "If he wanted to kill me, it would be easier than a hot knife through butter!" Kimbak thought to himself. Fortunately, he had retained a sliver of reason. He hadn't directly swung his sword at Eric. He was now incredibly grateful for his decision. It seemed that Raven was ultimately concerned for Eric's life and was going to personally decide the outcome.

Raven's tongue thundered like a spring thunder, as if casting a spell to freeze people in place. Not only did Kimbak in the arena dare not move, but even the nobles of Beihai who had just been gloating all lowered their heads to look at their shoes, their faces serious, sitting upright like clay statues. The entire martial arts arena fell into an instant silence where you could hear a pin drop.

"A fifth-tier transcendent duel." "Creating an object using sixth-tier laws." "Isn't that against the rules?"

Raven's voice rang out again. "Therefore," "I declare," "from this moment forward," "the use of enchanted items exceeding one's own power level is prohibited in duels!"

"Why?!"

The first to object was naturally the anxious Novichau! He was about to win this life-or-death duel! He wouldn't agree to Raven's rule. "Just because you don't have it doesn't mean others can't use it?!" "Raven," "You're a transcendent cultivator," "Don't you know that luck is also part of strength?!" "Jinbak, as a mercenary, obtaining a sixth-tier enchanted artifact is entirely due to his personal strength!" "I!" "I strongly object!!!" He roared like a madman, completely convinced that Jinbak would win the duel!
Hu Bo's old eyes gleamed with a cunning glint. As a fellow nobleman of the North Sea, now was the perfect time to act. He immediately raised his hand and shouted, "I, Marquis Hu Bo, also object!"

"Yes!" "Luck is also part of strength! Why can't we use it?!" "Objection!" "Absolutely objection!!!" "I, Count Debord, also object!"...

As the only marquis in Beihai and also the governor of Beihai, Hu Bo's initiative caused an uproar in the stands of the martial arts training ground. Those nobles who had been punished that afternoon jumped up and down, raising their hands and shouting their opposition. As for the nobles who had benefited, with very few exceptions, most of them hurriedly lowered their hands when Raven looked over, only to quietly leave their hands half-raised in mid-air when Raven turned away. It was so damn pragmatic. This way, no matter who won afterward, they could cover it up.

"You..." "You guys..." "Are you sure?"

Seeing that most of the nobles raised their hands in opposition, Raven, seemingly under pressure, reluctantly asked. This scene filled Huber and the others with a sweet, honey-like feeling. They loved seeing Raven get frustrated. "Definitely," everyone said firmly in unison.

"Great!" Raven slapped his hand. "I also object!"

Um????????

Everyone was bewildered. Huber, Novichau, Dubois, and the others exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what Raven was up to. If he was going to object, why did he even bring it up in the first place?

That's completely unnecessary and pointless.

"The duel continues." Raven ignored these people. He was betting on the inherent evil in human nature. He was betting that these people would definitely turn against him.

"Jinbaker!" "You asked for this!"

At Raven's command, Eric's hand flashed with light, and an object appeared. It was the brass-shaped artifact of law—the Boundary Wedge Fang!—a seventh-tier world-suppressing divine weapon!
Besides this item, he also carried some magic rune stones. These were already pre-loaded with fourth-tier spells! Raven had specifically given them to him in the meeting hall before the duel. Therefore, Eric had absolutely no chance of losing this battle! He hadn't used them before simply to prevent these bastards from finding fault and reneging on their promise!

Now, however, Kimbak took out his Law Creation first, which struck the patriarch's hand.

"You really think you held back?" "You really think you didn't kill me?!" "If it weren't for your so-called 'fairness,'" "you would have been crushed to pieces from the very beginning of the duel!"

Eric roared, his body radiating a dense aura of battle energy.

"This...this..." "I admit it."

Upon seeing the legendary weapon that originally belonged to Ferdinand, Kimbak's expression changed drastically, and he cried out in a hoarse voice, completely bewildered.

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Eric throw a punch at him.

A gigantic fist materialized in the void, radiating a dark golden light, with sharp, pointed spikes on each of its four fingers! Wherever it passed, it emitted sonic booms!

"Madmen!" "They're all madmen!" Kimbak hurriedly swung his crimson blade! For two mere fifth-tier transcendents, using these law-created artifacts would definitely result in a backlash. He had already decided to concede defeat, but he hadn't expected Eric to be so insane, recklessly activating a seventh-tier divine artifact.

bang
The entire martial arts arena was split in two, one half a massive flaming blade of light, the other a gigantic dark gold fist. The two collided, unleashing a devastating force capable of shattering mountains and splitting the earth. In the stands, almost everyone except Raven instinctively protected their heads.

click
The blade's edge shattered upon contact, transforming into countless fireballs the size of meteorites, like a shower of blossoms from a celestial maiden. It was a breathtaking sight.

The next moment, the fist slammed solidly into Kimbak, sending him flying! Fortunately, the fiery blade absorbed most of the power and also consumed the spikes on the fist; otherwise, this punch would have instantly shattered Kimbak's body, separating his flesh and bones into pieces of minced meat.

However, after taking that punch, Kimbak was not far from death. He was barely breathing, his entire body covered in blood.

"puff"

Eric was also in bad shape, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood. Even when Ferdinand was a sixth-tier cultivator, using this item still resulted in a backlash, only able to suppress it for half an hour; how much more so for someone only at the fifth tier? The consequences were immediately apparent.

Thor rushed onto the field with his men and carried Eric off. With timely treatment, he should be able to recover in a few months.

"Jinbak is dead!"

On the training ground, the soldiers roared.

"what--"

As if jolted awake from a dream, Novichau let out a scream and collapsed to the ground. He never imagined the final outcome would be like this. "Useless!" "That piece of trash, Kimbak!" Novichau screamed in fury. He was clearly a fifth-tier, five-star cultivator, yet he was killed by Eric, who had just broken through to the fifth tier!

Whether one is a transcendent being or a magician, the path to the final realm inevitably becomes increasingly difficult. This means that the higher the level of a powerful individual, the greater the difference between even a minor realm. If the difference between the third and fourth realms is 100, then the difference between the fifth and sixth realms is 1 million. That's a difference of 10 per minor realm!
In other words, the difference between a fifth-tier first-star and a fifth-tier second-star is greater than the difference between a third-tier and a fourth-tier star!
Therefore, it gives people the impression that reversing a third-tier opponent's attack against a fourth-tier opponent is common and easy, but reversing a fifth-tier one-star opponent's attack against a fifth-tier two-star opponent is very difficult.

Isn't that precisely why everyone was so shocked by Raven's reverse kill of Ferdinand?
That battle was actually not easy for Raven.

"I regret it!"

"I regret it!!!"

Novichau collapsed to the ground, disheveled, a shrill roar escaping his throat. Like a blind mole, he crawled swiftly on his knees to Raven, clung to Raven's leg, weeping and wailing, begging for mercy.

"Humph!"

Raven snorted coldly and kicked him away. "Arrest all of Novichau's family members and take them to the martial arts arena to be beheaded in public!" He wasn't in a hurry to kill Novichau. He wanted Novichau to watch his loved ones die one by one before his eyes.

Only in this way can they truly feel extreme remorse.

At Raven's command, the Hyenas and the Eagle Army swarmed forward, dragging nearly 30 members of Novihow's family into the training ground. They all wailed and pleaded incessantly.

Puff puff

With swift, deadly blows, the families of Novihorn were beheaded one by one. The gruesome scene horrified many; in the stands, numerous women covered their children's eyes with one hand and their own mouths with the other. Tears streamed down their faces, yet they dared not utter a sound. A deep-seated fear of Raven was etched into their hearts, a fear they would likely never forget!
"Ah!" "Ah!!!"

In the stands, Novichau's throat was so hoarse he could no longer make a sound. He could only wail. With each death, he let out a meaningless wail. Those who had cried out for him "father," "husband," and so on—one by one, his vibrant loved ones—had all died before his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Novichau, lying on the ground, suddenly felt something wet beneath him. Was it sweat? He touched his pants and exclaimed, "Oh, it's urine." Of course, in this state, he wouldn't have any sweat left. "Urine?" Novichau touched his pants again incredulously. "How come even poop is coming out?"

If there were a way to undo mistakes, Nowhow would sew his mouth shut and never again publicly mock Raven.

The rumors are true. This person is petty and vindictive.

……

(End of this chapter)