Chapter 452: Battle For The Crown ( Final )

The young Vorhelm fell from above at that exact moment.

Giant’s Momentum.

The real weight of the World-Devourer Bastion gathered behind his fall and his fist went toward Rodrick’s head, he raised both forearms to protect himself from the attack.

[ King’s Reprisal ]

BOOOOOOM!

The ground under his feet sank, but he did not fall. Streams of mana moved from his forearms to his shoulders and chest again.

He took the force of the attack, stored it, and returned it together with his borrowed power.

His fist hit Lian directly in the stomach.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

This time, the young Vorhelm was smashed into the ground like a cannonball, the stone exploded and a crater several meters wide formed in the platform.

Dust rose dozens of meters into the air.

If it were not for the World-Devourer Bastion on his body, that attack could have crushed part of his chest.

Even with the armor, terrible pain spread through his entire stomach and Lian stayed among the broken stones for several seconds.

Then his black armored hand came out through the dust, grabbed the edge of the crater, and pulled himself up.

Clang.

One of the armor’s chest plates had a deep crack.

[Structural Memory activated.]

Silver lines started to move, he spat the blood that had gathered in his mouth onto the ground, then looked at Rodrick.

He was also breathing heavily, Tyrant’s Tribute had given him great power, but it was not free, his mana was being used up at a terrible speed.

"Why are you still standing?" Then a proud smile appeared on his lips.

"Wouldn’t it be better if you surrendered right now, Vorhelm?"

"All you have to do is admit that I am stronger than you... better than you... more handsome than you... and most importantly, I am the King."

His smile became deeper.

"If you kneel right now and accept this King’s mercy, maybe when you leave this place, you will still have a few bones left unbroken."

"So think carefully, Vorhelm."

"Will you choose your pride... or your King’s mercy?"

"Pride?" Lian’s smile became a little deeper.

"I think the fact that I was able to make you reveal your trump card despite the sixteen-Level difference between us... that alone counts as a victory."

His eyes became sharper and he stared directly at Rodrick.

"And besides... I’m still not done with you... and now you’re asking me to surrender? Don’t you think it’s a little too early to call yourself the winner?"

Something changed in Rodrick’s eyes.

Level 23.

Only this number kept repeating in his mind again and again.

Level 23.

This man had defeated two Royal Seal Guardians before reaching this place.

After that, he had fought him, and now even after Rodrick activated the first innate trait of his class and borrowed the power of several subordinates, he was still standing.

Worse, he was still smiling, this was something that had gotten stuck in the corner of his mind, he had tried to ignore it but it was really bothering him.

Even with a sixteen-Level difference, he still could not defeat this Vorhelm and the professors were watching this.

If he could not give this battle a glorious ending, it would be no different from a defeat for him.

Down the mountain, Rodrick’s faction was also starting to fall apart.

Not because they had suddenly become weaker, but because the same power that their King had borrowed from them was now being taken from their bodies at the worst possible time.

Several notifications appeared one after another.

[One participant eliminated.]

[One participant eliminated.]

[One participant eliminated.]

Then a fourth one.

Rindo’s group’s pressure no longer stopped, the enemy group’s last line of defense had been broken and now there was no one left who could reach the peak and stand between the two of them.

Rodrick was truly alone, though not completely, the power of his subordinates was still flowing through his body, but they were no longer beside him.

Lian thought about this contradiction, the person whose entire path to power was about building a territory and gathering people had, at the most important moment of the test, been forced to take their power and stand alone.

It was not a bad irony.

[Time Remaining: 00:38.]

Thirty-eight seconds.

Both of them looked at the timer at the same time.

Rodrick no longer needed to defeat the young Vorhelm, he only needed to survive.

Thirty-eight seconds.

If the Crown stayed in his hand, it would be over and he would get first place, but this was another kind of humiliation for him.

He could not defeat someone who was sixteen Levels below him, even after using an innate trait ... so how was he any different from a loser?

He slowly breathed in and then all his remaining mana started to move and flowed toward his right fist.

Tyrant’s Advance activated.

One step.

Second step.

Third step.

All the force from his previous steps gathered inside his body.

The borrowed power of his subordinates, the stored force of King’s Reprisal, his remaining mana, and the Tyrant Body all gathered at one point.

A fist.

[Tyrant’s Final Decree.]

Even before Rodrick moved, the stone around his feet started to crack.

Lian understood too, this was no longer an attack he could simply move away from, if he retreated, Rodrick would only buy more time.

So he moved forward.

[ Mountain Anchor ]

The feet of the World-Devourer Bastion locked into the ground.

[ Thunder Calamity ]

KRRRRRRAAAACK!

Blue and purple lightning covered his entire right arm.

[ Giant’s Momentum. ]

The true weight of the armor went behind his movement and right before the collision ...

[ Cataclysm Pulse ]

But this time he did not release it, he kept the destructive wave inside his fist, compressed, tightly packed, and waiting for one single point and their eyes met.

Rodrick roared and Lian smiled, then both of them moved.

Fist against fist.

Clang.

For a fraction of a second, there was no sound and then it was as if the world exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The shockwave came out from the peak and hundreds of meters around the mountain shook, the rocks at the edge of the platform broke off and fell into the sea of clouds.

All the remaining ice turned into white powder in an instant and even the students standing lower down had to raise their arms in front of their faces.

At the center of the collision, Thunder Calamity mixed with Rodrick’s golden mana.

And at that exact moment, Cataclysm Pulse was released.

BOOOOM!

A second explosion happened and dust covered the entire peak, for several seconds no one could see anything and then the wind pushed the dust away.

Two shadows appeared, both of them were still standing.

The young Vorhelm was one step behind the place of the collision, parts of the forearm and shoulder plate of the World-Devourer Bastion were broken and deep cracks could be seen on the chest of the armor, though they were already returning to their original form.

His breathing was heavy and blood was running from the corner of his mouth.

In front of him, Rodrick’s right hand was shaking, his knuckles were torn open and blood was dripping from between his fingers onto the stone.

Part of his sleeve was completely destroyed and his breathing was even heavier than Lian’s, but no Protective Seal had activated.

Not for Lian.

Not for Rodrick.

Neither of them had managed to eliminate the other, the direct and final clash had ended in a draw.

[Time Remaining: 00:12.]

Rodrick looked at the timer and a tired smile appeared on his face.

"It’s over." He said while breathing heavily.

Lian also looked at the time and then put his eyes back on Rodrick.

"The fight? Yeah."

Rodrick’s eyebrows came together and the Vorhelm stepped forward.

"If we only count our fists... we’re tied."

For a moment, Rodrick almost felt that this was Lian admitting defeat.

Because a draw was not enough, he had the Crown, he was the final winner and he was going to get first place.

Only twelve seconds remained but Lian’s next sentence broke that feeling.

"But you’re Level 39."

Rodrick’s smile disappeared.

"You completed your First Evolution, unlocked the first innate trait of your class, used your own power, and when that was not enough, you also borrowed the power of your subordinates."

[00:09]

The young Ashen said nothing.

And Vorhelm looked directly into his eyes.

"And in the end... you could only draw with a Level 23."

Something broke on Rodrick’s face, very small but clear, all the cold calmness he had kept since the beginning of the test cracked.

Anger.

Humiliation.

And something worse than both.

Disbelief.

Because he could not deny Lian’s words.

If Rodrick had defeated him, it would not matter what power he had used.

The winner was the winner, but he had failed, he had put everything on the table and had only managed a draw.

[00:07]

Then something suddenly came to his mind, why was Lian still this calm?

His eyes narrowed.

That’s right .... this bastard had not been forced to use any trump card, he had not been forced to show his full power.

And yet he had put everything he had on the table and they had only gotten a draw ....?

This was not a draw ... this was a defeat, in the eyes of the professors and all the Guild representatives ... even in the eyes of all the students, this was a complete defeat for him.

This was a defeat for a King.

The Tyrant King could not defeat a lone Peasant even with the help of his subordinates.