The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Chapter 289 I owe you twice

Baal used only one strike, destroying the weapon but not harming the person, clearly showing mercy.

The two men, including Geoffrey, were well aware of this and naturally felt embarrassed to continue their persistent pursuit.

Barr could see that the two had lost their fighting spirit, so he simply ignored them and pushed off with his foot, swaying past them.

He saw that the person being protected at the back had reached the crucial moment of his chant, so he turned around and flung his battle axe out.

The battle axe spun to the right, while Baal strode to the left, launching a counterattack by forming a pincer movement against the opponent.

The only remaining student from the fighting academy wanted to step forward with the puppet beside him to restrain Baal, who was unarmed.

But puppets are not like humans. Before receiving specific instructions, they will only passively protect their master by following the underlying logic.

The student had only taken two steps when he realized he was alone. He quickly turned back and, together with the puppet, blocked the flying axe thrown by Baal.

But this momentary delay led to irreversible consequences.

The puppet, faithfully performing its duties, clearly overestimated its own toughness, bravely confronting the flying axe, only to be split in two.

At the same time, the student finally returned to the scene. He hurriedly swung his sword to defend, but was suddenly pulled away by the huge suction force from the flying axe.

Before he could react, Baal, who was only half a step behind the flying axe, had already closed in on him like a shadow and delivered a long-prepared crushing punch that sent him flying off the stage like a rag doll.

After all the cover in front of them was cleared away, the remaining students of the Magic Academy finally managed to unleash their multi-magic missile attack.

However, at that moment, the battle axe that Baal had thrown earlier had returned to his hand with perfect accuracy.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A series of crisp metallic clanging sounds rang out as Baal swung his battle axe with astonishing speed and accuracy, deflecting each incoming magical missile with a single blow.

With a steady retreat of seven steps, he finally neutralized the impact of the multiple missiles.

"Can you admit defeat now? Or do you want to try again?" Baal pulled the longsword that was attached to his battle axe and threw it in front of his opponent.

Seeing that their long-prepared spells were ineffective against Baal, the remaining students of the Magic Academy shrewdly raised their hands to abstain.

"Contestant number 200 advances with four points!"

-----------------

Barr's performance drew cheers from the audience once again.

"What a fine weapon!" Samif couldn't help but exclaim.

With her keen eye, she could naturally see that Bal was not on par with the other four, and breaking through was an inevitable outcome.

This battle axe, however, could help Baal win more decisively.

“This axe was forged by Vener,” Jessica reminded her.

"That's not surprising then, but how did you know?"

Compared to other weapons forged by Viner, this battle axe seemed to lack some personal characteristics; if Jessica hadn't pointed it out, Samif might not have noticed.

After all, there are other blacksmiths in the world besides Viner.

Those with connections will naturally find other ways to acquire superior equipment.

"Naturally, Anna told me. She and Vena came up with some kind of blind box, mixing a few B-rank weapons with a bunch of C-rank weapons to sell."

"This girl even asked me if I should just buy all the blind boxes, saying that one out of three B-rank weapons is guaranteed to be a sword. She's really obsessed with earning credits."

Jessica reached out and stroked her lion cub, which was resting on the table to get some fresh air, her eyes full of affection. "If I really wanted it, why go through all this trouble? I could just go and beat up that kid, Viner."

-----------------

"By the way, this axe was originally intended for Baal, so who got the other two?"

Seeing Bar's performance, Venere casually asked.

Among the weapons he gave Anna, there were more than three B-rank weapons.

Anna said that in order to keep the guests interested, she only released one hundred blind boxes.

The remaining ones will be released gradually after the Griffin battle ends.

"As for the gun, it fell into the hands of a second-year student who got ten guns in a row. You should have heard of his name; he's Sylvan, the president of the college newspaper."

Anna was able to remember the faces and names of all the guests, and naturally, she was deeply impressed by this guy who had spent three thousand credits.

“It’s him… It’s not so bad that he’s in my hands.” Viner nodded slightly in agreement.

"you know?"

"We have some kind of relationship."

"You should be familiar with the guy who drew the sword; his name is Doni."

"Who is that?"

A look of bewilderment crossed Viner's face.

"...You don't even recognize your own classmates from the fighting academy?"

“I really don’t remember,” Viner said helplessly, turning to Felix and asking, “Felix, do you remember someone in your class named Donnie?”

“I’m from the Alchemy Institute, and you’re asking me this kind of question?” Felix rolled his eyes at Venus.

"Then let me ask you, if you and ten other people from the Alchemy Institute were together, would you remember all their names?" Venere immediately retorted.

This hit Felix where it hurt.

“They…they recognize me, that’s enough!” Felix said, exasperated.

Given Felix's visibility within the academy, far more people actually know him than he knows himself.

Those who don't know him naturally won't come looking for Felix.

"You don't usually not greet people when you see them, do you?"

"Isn't it enough to just smile?"

"Good idea, let's copy it."

Wiener had a premonition that he would soon have to use Felix's greeting method.

......

"Congratulations on advancing."

After Bale left the field, Vina took the initiative to go up and greet him.

"I also have to thank you for helping me forge the weapon."

Barr also had a smile on his face.

Although he had owned it for some time, its performance in actual combat still surprised him greatly.

"Taking down four opponents so easily isn't just a matter of weapons."

“But with it, I have a chance to advance one or two more rounds.” Baal turned his head to look at the battle axe on his back. “You said you didn’t have time to make one to order, but you were just saying that because you were worried I wouldn’t dare accept such a generous gift, right?”

"Uh?"

“Still pretending.” Baal smiled helplessly. “I’ve used it myself, how could I not know? This axe is far superior to those so-called custom-made weapons.”

You're overthinking it.

What Venere meant by "tailor-made" was naturally the Spirit Awakening Weapon.

The battle axe given to Baal was an improvement on the Magnetic Shadow Battle Axe, so it was not included.

However, if one had to point out something, it would be that Venerer applied some of the experience and inspiration he gained from forging the Basara Axe to reforging the Magnetic Shadow Battle Axe, which naturally made it extraordinary.

Comparing all the B-rank weapons he gave to Anna, the Magnetic Shadow Battle Axe that Baal received is the strongest one.

“Then I’ll just say I was overthinking it,” Baal said, not pressing the issue when the other party was unwilling to admit it. “Considering the previous life-saving favor, I owe you twice now.”

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Chapter 290 Final Advice

With Sigurd's strong intervention, the matches on Ring Two ended much faster than those on the other three rings.

Moreover, apart from Viner, all the advancing contestants were from the Empire.

Both being favorites to win the championship, Lisette and Felix secured their spots in the next round almost without even touching the ground.

Sigurd, clad in armor, seemed to have just returned from the battlefield, his body shrouded in an indescribable aura of bloodlust, inspiring fear in all who beheld him.

When he arrived at the rest area, even the Imperial contestants who had been able to break through with his help were all silent and trembling, and no one dared to go up and greet this god of death.

"Hmph." Sigurd snorted coldly, not caring at all, and walked straight towards an empty seat.

"Sigurd".

But one person stepped forward and called out to Sigurd, who was all alone.

"..."

Sigurd clearly heard the voice, but he didn't turn around and continued to move towards the designated location.

"Do you know that the armor you're wearing is cursed equipment!" Vena didn't bother with further explanation and directly revealed her judgment.

These unvarnished words naturally reached the ears of the surrounding crowd.

"No wonder......"

"But don't cursed equipment always come at a huge price?"

"Maybe they just haven't seen it yet."

The students began to whisper among themselves, discussing the matter.

"so what?"

Sigurd finally turned around slowly, his gaze deep, and did not deny Wiener's assertion.

Even if he didn't notice it when he first put on the armor, now that the ominous aura on the armor has become so strong that it's almost tangible, how could he not have noticed?

He could clearly hear the whispers coming from the armor, a voice that tempted him to exchange victory for blood.

"It might not be too late to take it off now."

Although she knew the other party wouldn't give up easily, Wiener still made one last attempt.

"Are you trying to persuade me to admit defeat?" Sigurd retorted.

If cursed weapons were so easy to remove, they wouldn't be so feared.

Having fought continuously until now, the cursed armor has almost become one with him. Even if they were forcibly separated, its side effects would not be enough to support him in continuing to participate in the later matches.

“Personally, I’d be happy to see you crippled by this cursed equipment,” Viner said frankly. “But you can’t get hurt in the Griffin Battle arena.”

Jessica and a dedicated referee were on-site to monitor the situation and would immediately intervene to save a player's life if their life was in danger.

Of course, the referee's intervention also means that one side will be directly penalized with a loss.

But Sigurd's actions seem more like he's gaining power through overdraft and self-harm.

Who can save someone who desperately wants to die?

“You’re telling the truth. But unfortunately, I have reasons why I have to win,” Sigurd said, shaking his head.

If Alandri had informed him that the kingdom would offer Admira as the champion's prize, he might have been able to pull back from the brink.

But now that he knew the news, he couldn't just watch his family heirloom fall into his hands again.

He has tested all the contestants in this group and found them unsuitable for important tasks.

The Imperial team members from the other groups shouldn't be too far behind.

Rather than hoping these people will compete for the championship, it's better to make him believe that the kingdom will have mercy and return the sacred object unconditionally.

He was the empire's only hope, and if even he chose to forfeit, the championship would surely fall into the hands of River or Felix.

Both of them are from the Kingdom of Fagas.

"You can't win."

"Then let Felix kill me in the ring."

He knew he was no match for Felix in a normal sparring match.