"Indeed, for Owen, a level 9 bronze-tier mage, to withstand a blow from Emily is already quite impressive."
"But what's the use of merely enduring Emily's attack? Without counterattacking, he'll never have a chance to win."
Many mages gathered around were discussing this topic.
Not far behind Owen, Benedict and his companions frowned slightly, sensing something was off.
They had witnessed Owen's previous duel with Madelyn firsthand. He was decisive, ruthless, and employed mysterious methods! It was as if he could see through people's hearts. Even the battle-hardened Madelyn had been caught off guard and ultimately defeated.
However, in this fight with Emily, Owen had taken a completely defensive stance, lacking the chilling insight that had once made others shudder.
"Captain, what should we do? Master Owen is the young lady's fiancé, and the Duke specifically instructed us that the Godslayer Staff must not be lost..." another wolf guard beside Benedict asked cautiously.
If Owen was genuinely struggling, they would have to disregard the challenge rules and forcibly take Owen away. While this would impact Owen's reputation and the honor of House Ravenwood, it was minor compared to the Duke's orders.
Benedict hesitated for a moment, observing that Owen's expression remained calm and unruffled, as if everything was going according to his plan. He shook his head and decided to wait and see.
After all, Owen wielded the Godslayer Staff. If he were truly in danger, he would use it immediately, and there would be no need for them to intervene so soon.
Meanwhile, after Emily forced Owen back with a sword strike, she felt a bit disappointed; Owen's strength was far below her expectations. She lost interest in him and attacked more fiercely, intending to defeat him quickly and end this boring challenge.
As Emily swung her sword again, a faint smile appeared on Owen's face. Just then, a tiny black dot the size of a sesame seed appeared on Owen's chest where Emily had wounded him.
Under her powerful sword thrusts, the effects of practicing Obsidify were becoming quite apparent. Although it was painful, he could finally start truly training in this body art. Enduring this hardship was undoubtedly worth it.
With renewed confidence, Owen continued to channel the mana inside and outside of his body, following the circulation method of Obsidify, concentrating it on his skin. He was using Emily's powerful sword energy to continually temper his skin, even down to the cellular level.
"Are you a punching bag? Why are you only defending and not attacking? Or is your strength really that pathetic?" Emily's strikes grew more ruthless, and her words became increasingly cold and merciless.
As someone devoted to the sword, she had hoped to learn something from Owen. But to her surprise, he didn't even bother to draw his sword!
Thud, thud, thud!
Owen withstood dozens of sword slashes, and his body was now covered in numerous wounds, looking rather battered. It seemed as if he was barely surviving under Emily's relentless assault.
However, in Benedict's eyes, Owen's aura was rising. The mana swirling around and within him was surging and even boiling!
Emily noticed this too, and her expression shifted from disdain and contempt to one of seriousness and astonishment. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes burned with fury.
"You... you jerk! You're using me to train your body!"
She realized that Owen was practicing a very powerful body art, and her relentless attacks were merely hammering him like a tool. It seemed as though she had the upper hand, when in reality, she was being used!
With this thought, Emily could no longer suppress her anger. The mana around her flowed into her longsword like a stream, causing the blade to shine with brilliant light, transforming it into an extremely sharp sword energy that swept in all directions.
"Aqua Sword!" Emily roared, and with this strike, concentrating most of her mana, she brought her sword down on Owen with the force of splitting a mountain.
The bright sword energy transformed into a tall, pale streak, creating a "swish" sound in the air as it rushed toward Owen.
This fierce streak absorbed all the surrounding mana, like rivers converging into the sea, making it unstoppable!
The ground swept by the streak was deeply gouged, plants shattered, and dirt and stones were pulverized into dust by the sword energy.
"What a terrifying strike! Even a gold-tier mage would have to be very cautious when facing this. Is this Emily's true strength?" Benedict and the others remarked in shock.
"Where is your sword? Why aren't you drawing it?" Emily demanded loudly, glaring at Owen after unleashing her strike.
Owen's refusal to draw his sword and instead use her as a tool had deeply angered her.
"My sword, once drawn, must see blood," Owen sighed, shaking his head as he found himself targeted by her strike.
It seemed Emily had realized his intentions, and given his current proficiency with Obsidify, he couldn't withstand this attack.
He had no choice but to activate the Godslayer Staff.
The staff transformed into the Godslayer Sword. Even without using the Supreme Sword skill, the passive, razor-sharp sword energy would be unavoidable and devastating for Emily.
Whoosh!
The sound of the sword slicing through the air echoed as a dark golden greatsword appeared in Owen's hand.
At that moment, those who had been amazed by Emily's explosive power couldn't help but focus on Owen.
There it was—the artifact believed to be the Godslayer Staff!
With the Godslayer Sword in hand, Owen no longer struggled as he had before. It was clear that the Obsidify technique had effectively strengthened his body.
Owen narrowed his eyes, and as the overwhelming sword energy surged toward him, he finally moved.
"Watch closely!" he shouted.
With a swift motion, the sword descended!
Once again, he unleashed a forward slash.
The dark golden greatsword glimmered with flowing patterns, its sword aura akin to a strand of golden hair sweeping through the void.
Unlike the surging waves of sword energy from before, his released sword aura was condensed to the extreme, slicing through the void and leaving a lingering black sword mark.
The increasingly fierce waves of sword energy dissipated and vanished the moment they came into contact with the dark golden sword aura, as if they had never existed.
Immediately afterward, the dark golden sword aura continued its unstoppable momentum, heading straight for Emily.
From the moment Owen swung his sword, Emily felt an intense sense of danger.
However, the strike was too fast, leaving her no time to react.
Her Aqua Sword aura shattered like an egg striking a rock, disappearing without a trace.
The dark golden sword aura seemed almost alive, locking onto her.
She tried to retreat but found no escape; her backward movement was nowhere near as fast as the approaching sword aura.
In fact, the sword aura moved with her, gaining speed!
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing resonated throughout the area.
Emily's Aqua Sword was struck by the sword aura, trembling violently.
The terrifying impact sent her flying backward, crashing hard into the rocky debris of the Gobi Desert, barely managing to stabilize herself.
All of this happened in an instant.
Almost as soon as Owen had swung his sword, Emily had been defeated!
So quickly that the low-tier mages had not even had time to react.
Gulp.
The sound of continuous swallowing echoed in the air.
Benedict and the others stared at Owen, who had just sheathed his sword, with solemn expressions.
Although they had known of Owen's formidable strength, they had not expected that a single strike could be so overwhelmingly powerful.
What had seemed like an ordinary slash had effortlessly torn through Emily's sword aura, viable against a gold-tier mage, and even defeated Emily herself.
One move to crush the enemy!
"What just happened? How did Emily end up defeated? Shouldn't it have been Owen who was sent flying?"
"He must have been holding back, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with that decisive blow. Such restraint is truly terrifying."
"Emily's sword aura was so easily shattered. Just how powerful is Owen's combat strength?"
The many mages watching the battle were filled with disbelief. When they looked at Owen again, they saw a newfound respect and awe on their faces.