Chapter 177: A Bold Claim

Everyone watched as Leon pulled the trolley across the floor before stopping in front of the group of three.

"Who is that? And where’s Karen? Is he Elena’s new weaponsmith?" one of the weaponsmiths standing beside Sheila asked.

"Who knows?" Sheila replied with a faint smile, showing not the slightest hint of contempt. "But he’s saying he can forge D-Class weapons? That’s quite a bold claim. Let’s see what happens."

Meanwhile, the young man standing behind Marcus stepped closer and whispered into his ear. "Didn’t you say everything had been arranged? Then what’s going on? You know what will happen to you if we fail to obtain the Golden Heart, don’t you?" His voice was soft, devoid of any killing intent, yet it still sent a chill down Marcus’s spine.

"Please don’t worry, Young Master," Marcus replied respectfully. "Without one of Delvan’s top twelve weaponsmiths, forging a D-class magical weapon is simply impossible." He narrowed his eyes at Leon. "As for this fellow... I have no idea where he came from. But you can be certain of one thing. He’s making a desperate bluff to get Elena out of this situation. If he were truly capable of forging D-class weapons, wouldn’t we have heard of him by now?"

Marcus gestured toward the competition stage. "Look at the twenty weaponsmiths standing there. You know every single one of them. That’s because true weaponsmiths don’t remain unknown. They’re the cream of the crop."

Hearing that, the young man’s expression eased. The coldness in his eyes disappeared, replaced once again by amusement.

’He’s right. If he were really capable, I would’ve heard of him already.’

"Very well," the young man said. "Let’s see how long he can keep up this act." With that, he stepped back, completely convinced by Marcus’s explanation.

Leon, meanwhile, picked up the war hammer first. He casually tossed it into the air a few times before catching it again.

"Capable of withstanding at least B-class attacks while weighing less than twenty kilograms. Go ahead and test it."

He tossed the hammer toward Marcus casually. But those words.

They instantly shocked everyone present.

"Wait... wasn’t the contract for D-class weapons?" one hunter exclaimed. "What does he mean by withstanding B-class attacks? Wouldn’t that make it a B-class weapon?"

The same confusion was written across everyone else’s faces.

Marcus was equally stunned. He quickly lowered his gaze to the contract and reread the requirement.

’Capable of withstanding D-class attacks.’

It was written as it was supposed to. But why did Leon say something like that? Then, suddenly, a realization clicked in his mind. ’Did Karen deliberately relay her harder requirements so that when Elena would finally notice it, she would lose all hope, thinking she had to actually deliver B-Class weapons? What a clever move!’ A smile slowly spread across Marcus’s face. ’A thoughtful woman, indeed.’

Elena finally noticed the mistake as well. In her rush to sign the contract, she had never realized that the required performance according to Karen didn’t match the required grade.

A weapon capable of enduring B-class attacks should belong to the B-class itself, not D-class.

And its value...

It would easily be worth at least twice the agreed price. The veins on Elena’s forehead bulged with anger, but she held herself back.

Right now, delivering the weapons was all that mattered.

The contract only stated that the weapons had to be at least D-class. Even if handing over B-class weapons at the price of D-class ones meant taking a huge loss, it was still far better than losing everything she owned.

Marcus let out a mocking laugh. "So you’re saying this is a B-class weapon? You certainly know how to boast."

Leon shrugged. "I don’t know much about weapon grades. I simply forged it according to the requirements my boss gave me. If you don’t believe me, stop wasting everyone’s time and just test it already."

Marcus’s eye twitched slightly. "It seems you won’t stop pretending until your mask is torn off in front of everyone."

He turned toward the crowd.

"Is there a B-class hunter here? If so, please step forward. I don’t want this young man accusing me of cheating after he loses, so I’d rather have a neutral witness test the weapon."

The crowd exchanged glances.

"A B-class weapon? Is he serious?" someone muttered in disbelief. "Wouldn’t that put him on the same level as Julias and Sheila?"

Many people had already begun laughing quietly, convinced Leon was bluffing. Yet others remained uncertain. Leon’s expression didn’t look like someone making empty claims, and the aura radiating from the war hammer was anything but ordinary.

Marcus noticed it as well.

But he refused to believe it.

Perhaps Leon had simply used some trick to make the weapon appear extraordinary. After all, fraudulent weaponsmiths often relied on such methods to deceive customers.

But before genuine strength, no trick could remain hidden.

"I’ll do it."

A voice came from within the crowd.

A young female hunter wearing a tight red skirt stepped forward.

"I’m Madona Helousky of the Crimson Hawk Guild," she introduced herself. "A B-class fire mage. If no one objects, I’d like to take the shot."

"By all means," Marcus replied with a chuckle.

He tossed the warhammer back to Leon.

"It’s your weapon, so naturally you should be the one holding it. What if it’s nothing more than a piece of junk and the attack ends up hitting me instead? You wouldn’t want that, would you?"

"Whatever."

Leon caught the hammer with ease. With his free hand, he gently pushed Elena behind him to keep her out of the line of fire.

"Ready whenever you are," he said calmly.

Madona raised her hand.

"Fireball." Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the hall.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, countless crimson motes of light gathered before her palm, condensing into a blazing sphere that radiated an overwhelming heat.

A B-class hunter’s attack was no joke.

The next instant...

Whoosh!

The fireball tore through the air, racing straight toward Leon.

He slowly raised the war hammer, pointing its head directly at the incoming attack.

"He’s done for," someone muttered sympathetically.

"Yeah. It’s obvious Elena’s being set up, but he overestimated himself. He thought he could help her this way," another person replied.

Fwoooosh!

The fireball slammed into the hammer and exploded violently.

Yet the scene everyone expected never came.

Leon remained standing exactly where he was. The war hammer was still raised, its head calmly pointed toward Madona.

Neither Leon nor the weapon had moved even a fraction of an inch, let alone been blown away or destroyed.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Every pair of eyes widened in disbelief, and without anyone realizing it, the entire hall had stopped breathing.