Chapter 191: Chapter 191 – Humiliation’s Seed

“OHOHO! WHAT ARE WE WITNESSING NOW?!” The Host shrieked, almost falling off his hoverboard from excessive glee. “NOT JUST INTERNAL STRIFE IN NINE STARS! LOOK AT THE OTHER SCREENS!”

Camera feeds quickly split the four giant screens into a dozen smaller sections, each displaying increasingly heated battle scenes.

“IN THE DARK FOREST SECTOR, ISABEL MERCEDES OF NINE STARS HAS ENCOUNTERED SERAPHINA GRIMGEAR OF GOTE ACADEMY!”

The first screen showed Isabel standing gracefully on a high tree branch, her silver rapier gleaming in the simulator’s dim light. Below her, the nearly two-meter-tall Seraphina laughed heartily, twirling her giant war hammer like a toy.

“TWO POWERFUL WOMEN! ONE WITH HIGH AGILITY AND PRECISION, THE OTHER WITH ASTOUNDING PURE STRENGTH! WHO WILL WIN?!”

Inside the Simulator.

Isabel leaped from the branch, her body spinning in the air like a dancer. Her rapier thrust swiftly towards Seraphina. But the giantess just laughed, raising her hammer with one hand.

CLANG!

A hard metallic clash. Isabel was knocked back, landing lightly on the ground. Her hand trembled—Seraphina’s strength was truly on another level.

“Whoa! Pretty fast!” Seraphina exclaimed enthusiastically. “But you’re lacking in power, graceful lady!”

Isabel pressed her lips together, her face cold. She knew she couldn’t face this raw strength head-on. But she had other ways. She immediately retreated swiftly and shouldered her bow.

Back to the Host.

“AND IN THE FACTORY RUINS SECTOR—LEONHARDT HALSTROM OF ARCLIGHT HAS ENCOUNTERED ISAAC MOONFALL OF DRAKEFIELD!”

The second screen showed Leonhardt standing with perfect posture, his longsword held elegantly. Before him, the short Isaac was almost invisible—just a shadow moving rapidly among the debris.

“THE ELEGANT NOBLEMAN VS THE PHANTOM HUNTER! THIS IS A CLASH OF STYLES PERFECTED!”

Inside the Simulator.

Leonhardt wasn’t rushing. His sharp blue eyes followed Isaac’s every movement, even as the shadow moved with a speed that would dizzy normal eyes.

“You’re fast,” Leonhardt said, his voice still calm. “But speed without precision is meaningless.”

Suddenly, his sword swung towards a pile of pipes beside him. The pipes collapsed, blocking Isaac’s movement path for a moment.

It was enough. Leonhardt was already in position, his sword thrusting precisely towards where Isaac would emerge.

Shing!

Isaac managed to dodge, but the tip of the sword still sliced through his sleeve. For the first time, his flat expression changed—slightly startled.

“NOT JUST THAT! LOOK! MORE AND MORE SCREENS ARE SHOWING BATTLES BETWEEN CONTESTANTS!” The Host Goes Wild Again.

It was true. On the other screens, battle after battle was erupting.

Two contestants from smaller academies faced off on a rooftop, firing energy arrows at each other.

A fire elemental specialist fought a water elemental specialist by a simulated lake’s edge, creating thick steam mist.

Three contestants from the same academy cooperated to surround a strong contestant from a top academy, trying to take him down with superior numbers.

“THE MONSTERS IN THIS DUNGEON SIMULATOR ARE ACTUALLY LIMITED IN NUMBER!” the Host yelled. “AFTER BEING SLAUGHTERED, THEY DON’T RESPAWN! AND NOW, WITH FEWER AND FEWER MONSTERS REMAINING…”

He paused for dramatic effect.

“…THESE CONTESTANTS ARE FINALLY TURNING ON EACH OTHER! IT’S THE LAW OF NATURE ON THE BATTLEFIELD! WHEN PREY DIMINISHES, THE PREDATORS START PREYING ON EACH OTHER!”

The audience roared. This was what they wanted—not just fights against monsters, but human against human, academy against academy, with all the strategy, betrayal, and coalitions that emerged.

“BUT REMEMBER! ONLY THE SIXTEEN ACADEMIES WITH THE HIGHEST TOTAL POINTS WILL ADVANCE! SO EVERY CONTESTANT ELIMINATED, WHETHER BY MONSTER OR BY ANOTHER CONTESTANT, REDUCES THEIR ACADEMY’S CHANCES!”

On the main screen, scenes continued to switch rapidly. Battles everywhere. Makeshift alliances formed and shattered within minutes. Contestants who had just been cooperating suddenly stabbed each other in the back after the last monster fell.

While chaos erupted everywhere, the battle between Adam and Maximus continued with increasing intensity. Without [Mindrender], Adam now relied entirely on his physical abilities and hand-to-hand combat strategy against Maximus, whose hands and legs were like living iron.

Every punch, every parry, every kick—all of it vibrated the air and cracked the ground beneath their feet. And out there, hundreds of thousands of spectators watched with bated breath.

.

.

.

My breath was like a steam train, roughly entering and exiting my burning lungs. My legs felt heavy, every retreating step leaving a mark on the cracked asphalt. Maximus kept pushing, giving me no room to breathe.

His attacks were relentless—a right fist to the face that I dodged by tilting my head, a low kick to the knee that I blocked by raising my leg, then a sudden elbow to the ribs that nearly cracked a bone. I retreated again, two steps, three steps. Dust flew with every backward step.

“Heh, where’s your arrogance now, Socheron?” Maximus mocked, a wide smile of superiority spreading across his face. His iron-like hands clenched again, ready to strike.

“You thought you could defeat me bare-handed? You overestimate yourself too much!”

I didn’t answer. I just kept retreating, regulating my breath, gathering the last remnants of my energy. My body was truly exhausted—more than I’d realized. The fight with the Rabid Rooster horde, the duel with Raven, and now this.

The stamina that had been almost depleted from the start of the tournament due to the ’activities’ the previous night with Ophelia and Charlotte was now truly demanding its payment.

“LOOK! ADAM SOCHERON IS ON THE BACKFOOT!” the Host yelled, his voice shrill with excitement. “AFTER BOASTING THAT HE WOULD DEFEAT MAXIMUS BARE-HANDED, HE’S NOW BEING PUSHED BACK! MAXIMUS TREYBERN IS SHOWING WHY HE’S ONE OF NINE STARS’ TOP REPRESENTATIVES!”

The camera zoomed in on Adam’s sweaty face, his heavy breathing, then to Maximus’s face full of triumph.

“IS THIS THE END OF ADAM’S ARROGANCE? WILL HE BE ELIMINATED BY HIS OWN TEAMMATE? THIS WOULD BE A VERY SHAMEFUL LESSON!”

The audience cheered, some supporting Adam, more supporting Maximus. The atmosphere in the colosseum was heating up.

Maximus grew more confident seeing me continually retreat.

“You’ve always just hidden behind your parents’ names!” he taunted, launching another attack—a left fist to the stomach, a right to the chin. “You think being the son of the Sword Saint and Star Witch makes you special? You’re just lucky trash!”

I blocked the stomach punch with my forearm—pain shot to the bone. But I didn’t react. Just kept retreating, eyes still focused on him.

In my heart, I was counting. He was getting careless. More confident. Closer.

I retreated again until my back almost touched the wall of a collapsed building. Maximus saw this, his eyes shining—he thought I was cornered.

“This is the end, Socheron,” he growled, raising his right fist high, ready for the final blow that would send me out of the simulator.

Exactly at that moment, when his attention was fully on his finishing blow, when he was most confident, most careless…

I activated [Mind Control].

Maximus froze.

His fist, already poised to swing, suddenly stopped mid-air. His eyes went blank for a moment, his body rigid. His face, which had been full of triumph, was now blank, like a robot switched off.

It lasted less than a second.

I shot forward—not retreating anymore. I gathered all the remaining energy in my body into my right fist. Knees bent, waist twisted, shoulder swung. The strongest punch I could still muster in this exhausted state.

THWACK!

My fist landed right on Maximus’s solar plexus. Not on his chin, not his nose—but the solar plexus, the most vulnerable point in the human body.

His blank eyes suddenly widened, filled with unimaginable pain and shock. His body bent forward, his clenched hand going limp.

But I wasn’t finished. As he bent over, I already raised my knee—smashing it into his chin from below.

CRACK!

His head snapped back. He fell to the ground, his back hitting the asphalt hard. Dust flew.

And just before he fully regained awareness from the [Mind Control] effect, I bent down, whispering softly into his still-ringing ear:

“Snap back!”

Maximus jolted. His eyes, which had been empty, were now filled with pure confusion, incomprehension. He looked around—himself lying on the ground, me standing over him, my breath still heavy but now with a thin smile on my face.

“What… what…” he mumbled, his voice hoarse. He tried to get up, but his body was still numb from my strike. “How… I just…”

He didn’t understand. Seconds ago, he was at the peak of victory, ready to finish me off. Now he was lying on the ground.

Outside the simulator.

“IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE!” the Host screamed, nearly falling off his hoverboard. “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! MAXIMUS TREYBERN, WHO HAD THE UPPER HAND, READY TO FINISH ADAM… BUT SUDDENLY THE SITUATION REVERSED! ADAM SEIZED DELIVERED A DEADLY COUNTERATTACK!”

The camera zoomed in on Maximus’s confused face, then to Adam’s now slightly smiling face.

The audience roared. Some clapped, some cheered, some just gaped in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

Maximus finally managed to rise, though his body still swayed. His face, which had been briefly confused, now returned to boiling anger—but behind that anger was something else: fear. Fear of not understanding what had just happened.

“You… you did something…” he hissed, his voice trembling with anger and confusion.

“I just waited for the right moment,” I cut him off, preventing his explanation. “And you gave it to me.”

It wasn’t an answer, but it was enough to make him angrier. With a roar like an animal, Maximus charged again. But this time, his attacks were disordered, not strategic. He attacked with pure emotion, with all his hatred and humiliation.

And that just made him easier to predict.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep