C618
"Why do you openly declare that you will kill? It seems you could do it."
It wasn't a bluff; Kaio truly had that kind of look. To the point that Jin trembled even if he deliberately made it sarcastic to anger Jin more.
Jin smiled outwardly, but his mouth was dry.
"I can't even play the villain. This one's scary."
Jin came to Lafrarosa to purify the chaos, regained all his strength, and was even more enlightened thanks to the God of Battle Fusion.
Jin never thought he would be so deeply and strongly pressured by Kaio's "fighting spirit."
Jin knew beforehand that Kaio is one of the highest-level Battle Kings of the tribe.
Even when the opening ceremony was held with the God of Battle Fusion, all the Battle Kings fought with Kaio's support.
Kaio attended to everyone with a single bow, and his arrows were the most elusive and threatening attacks even in the state of Battle God Fusion.
"The 22nd battle begins."
As Vahn's words ended, a storm of lightning energy gathered around Kaio's Great Bow, the 'GodSlayer.'
Energy also accumulated in Sigmund, but Jin was slightly slower than Kaio.
The difference was enough that it could only be recognized by those who were at least at the level of the Battle Kings.
The moment the sword and arrow collided, ordinary warriors perceived that both had attacked at the same time.
It was heavy.
The feeling was completely different from Teto, Garmund, Palem, and Dalpir, whom Jin had competed with before.
Especially in the previous two battles, although Jin lost, he thought the outcome might have been different if he had used the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends to the limit.
This time, Jin was sure from the first strike.
At this moment, there was no way to defeat Kaio in a 'normal battle.'
"If I keep training, there might be a chance."
At the current rate of growth, it won't take long.
The sense of the God of Battle Fusion was growing in Jin rapidly day by day.
Bang!
A resounding impact shook his body each time he stopped the arrows flying in a series of shots.
As if there was no need to check his opponent's movements, Kaio pushed Jin to the limit from the start.
Jin could barely keep up.
To the eyes of ordinary warriors, it seemed like a close fight, but the Battle Kings already judged that Kaio had won the match.
No wonder.
Even ordinary warriors, who thought both were fighting on equal terms, believed the outcome of the 22nd battle was decided.
"It's only a matter of time. At this rate, Brother Jin will soon tire."
"I hope the Brother Tenth Battle King doesn't hurt Brother Jin too much..."
Those who held that Jin, as the successor, had to undergo another test with other Battle Kings, and those who saw him as a confirmed successor, shared the same concern.
When Kaio said, "an accident could happen," Jin wasn't the only one who heard it.
"Didn't you say you could definitely defeat me? It's disappointing."
"Why don't you shoot another arrow while you have time to talk? I'm still holding... Kut!"
The arrow broke, and a bolt of lightning pierced Jin's left arm.
The shrapnel deeply embedded, almost touching the bone, was not a coincidence but Kaio's intention.
It wasn't that Jin broke the arrow, but it was 'Scattered Arrows,' a Battle King Technique.
Unlike the explosive-type bullets from the mana cannon, all dozens of fragments from Kaio's scattered arrows moved according to his will.
In the opening ceremony, Jin did not experience Kaio's scattered arrows.
At that time, to pierce through Jin's lightning energy, enhanced by the God of Battle Fusion, it was necessary to concentrate the destructive power at one point to the limit, so he didn't use this skill.
Also, during the three victories, he did not reveal it to the other brothers, so it was a completely unexpected attack for Jin.
A shrapnel embedded in his left arm came loose, causing severe bleeding.
In the second round, Jin had no choice but to take another hit in the wounded area.
"This is no joke."
To change the situation, a significant technique was needed.
However, Kaio didn't give Jin even the slightest time. He had fought countless opponents, but it seemed like Kaio was the first one who didn't even give him a chance to catch his breath.
He couldn't close the distance.
Kaio leaped like the wind, shooting arrows from all directions.
It seemed like not a single person, but about ten archers were indiscriminately firing.
"Compared to this, Yulian's Harmilla lightning is cute."
Rather, it seemed like an archer with the divine power of the Storm God.
Although Jin barely managed to defend himself, every time a vulnerability appeared, scattered arrows burst out, preventing him from moving away from his current position.
Jin changed his sword.
"Ultimate Shadow Sword Technique"? Ah, now that I think about it, you believe in that, Brother Jin. Yes, that sword is a bit dangerous."
Saying so, Kaio immediately increased his firepower even more.
Jin's Ultimate Shadow Sword Technique, which even blocked Lingling's senses, wasn't unleashed.
It was because the shadow force curtain he was trying to color the main hall with was being shattered by Kaio's lightning.
It wasn't entirely ineffective.
The bow's accuracy decreased due to the obstruction of vision, and a considerable amount of shadow energy was wasted in expelling the Shadow Energy.
"Brother Jin, you know very well that stalling for time like this is pointless."
Every time Jin thought Kaio would stop at this point, the firepower of the GodSlayer increased.
In the end, Jin couldn't fully use the Ultimate Shadow Sword Technique and had to substitute the Shadow Sword Technique for the Magic Sword Technique.
Even that wasn't perfect.
In a state where his entire body trembled from the impact like a ship caught in a storm, he couldn't properly execute any technique.
He couldn't even borrow Tess's most crucial power.
Even so, the flames displayed tremendous power.
He set fire to the arrow, pushed the lightning energy and scattered it, and even attacked Kaio.
The opponent that crossed Jin's mind at that moment was Hedo, the Guardian of the White Night Tower.
The fire that unfolded unstably had as much destructive power as the moment it struck Hedo in the Sota Desert.
And, just like Hedo at that time, Kaio showed his strength to easily shake off the blue flames.
If Tess's power had been added and fully utilized, not even Kaio could have dealt with him so easily.
However, in combat, assumptions were meaningless.
That's why Kaio didn't feel very threatened by Jin's flames.
Suaak-!
A dark sword energy emerged amidst the blue flames. Kaio elegantly dodged the sword energy and began closing the distance with Jin.
It wasn't because he underestimated Jin to the point of giving up the advantage of mastering the distance.
Rather, it was a deliberate choice to end Jin more decisively.
The closer he got, the more the destructive power of the GodSlayer multiplied.
The lightning energy enveloping the entire main hall converged towards Kaio as he drew closer.
It was like tightening the grip on him.
Although the area invaded by Kaio's lightning energy was shrinking, Jin couldn't extend his energy there.
A more powerful force continued to suppress Jin.
The curtain of Shadow Energy, which had spread out in front of him, had been pierced.
With the last line of defense crumbling, Jin had to endure the GodSlayer's lightning energy, which had begun to seep into him.
Maintaining an absurdly advantageous state while eroding the opponent's territory with lightning energy is one of the characteristics of the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends.
Kaio's technique resembled that.
Swoosh-! Tak!
While frantically blocking the arrows, the scattered arrows exploded again.
With the third burst, Jin felt his vision darken for a moment.
The eyes.
Two fragments had accurately pierced Jin's two eyes.
Thanks to the runes and Myulta's protective shield, he wasn't actually stabbed, but his head rang to the point of feeling dizzy.
"You won't be able to stop the next one, will you? Will it be okay? Brother Jin? It seems better to shout for mercy."
Ten steps, the distance between Jin and Kaio narrowed to that point.
As Kaio said, the Rune of Myulta was completely torn on the eye side.
A chill ran down Jin's spine, and cold sweat broke out.
The moment his eyes were damaged, they could never be restored, not even with Boras's healing power.
It was impossible to know exactly how the battle between them was unfolding due to the lightning energy and the shadow curtain.
Even if Jin lost both eyes, it would only be an "accident."
Jin's heart raced.
'If I retreat, I'll never achieve my goal.'
Great Battle Kings Tournament, a fight to determine the Successor of the God of Battle.
In that fight, all tribe members risked their lives. Losing his eyes was nothing compared to that.
It was even more so when he thought of it as a price to unite his brothers by becoming a villain.
"You're weak. If it were me, I'd take your eyes out right away without warning, Kaio."
"I also believe that."
Kaio released the bowstring he had drawn.
Then, along with the lightning energy hanging from the bow, all the arrows that were arranged like pillars everywhere rained down on Jin.
Even if they were covered by lightning energy and Shadow Energy, it was a move big enough for all the brothers outside to notice.
The Legends gasped.
"In the end, Brother Tenth Battle King...!"
"For God's sake, you didn't need to go that far! You could have incapacitated him for the fight!"
"This isn't right. Sister Goddess of Battle, we have to intervene!"
"It's too late... As the Brother Tenth Battle King said, Brother Jin should have declared surrender before it came to this. We could have stepped forward and prevented it."
Aaaah-!
Jin let out a scream with a broken voice.
Finally, the accident happened.
After about ten seconds, the immense forces that had shaken the entire temple were calming down as if it were all a lie.
After everything cleared, what the Legends saw was Jin with arrows stuck all over his body and blood flowing from his entire face, and Kaio looking at him while breathing heavily.
The Legends couldn't blame Kaio.
The Great Battle Kings Tournament was originally such a fight, and he only did what he could.
The constant use of Battle King Techniques was a huge burden for Kaio as well.
He barely held his trembling legs and aimed his GodSlayer at the fallen Jin.
"Whoa, whoa...."
If Vahn didn't announce the victory and he released the arrow, Jin would surely die.
Vahn watched him for a while.
"The 22nd match..."
But just as Vahn was about to announce the end of the match.
Suddenly, Jin, who had fallen, stood up and stabbed Bradamante into Kaio's chest.
With his sword in his mouth.
"What the hell is this!"
"Brother Jin?"
Jin moved incredibly fast like an arrow, but it wasn't at a speed Kaio couldn't react to.
But Kaio couldn't stop the Bradamante that pierced his chest. To avoid being stabbed, he had no choice but to release the bowstring that he had aimed at Jin's head.
"You bastard...!"
Although Kaio was stabbed in the chest, he didn't release the bowstring.
On the other hand, Jin turned his head and even rotated the sword in his chest as if he really was going to kill Kaio.
"I told you, Kaio... You'll never defeat me. Never."
Then, as Bradamante's energy exploded in his chest, the arrow grazed Jin's cheek and split the sky.
Kaio coughed up blood and collapsed, and Jin trembled for a few seconds, staring at him before losing consciousness.
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SYS (Novel)