Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 3006: Challenge

The muscular man standing outside Neo Terra’s walls was none other than Thrax, the Earth Immortal Gladiator.

Two years earlier, he had finally achieved the dream that had driven him across countless battlefields. After fighting his way through the greatest champions of the Magus Universe Infinity Arena, he had reached its summit and was ultimately claimed the title of Infinity Grand Champion.

That hard-earned glory had done more than cement his legend.

It had pushed him through the final bottleneck that had eluded him for decades, allowing him to step into the Grand Magus realm at last. Soon afterward, he had entered seclusion to consolidate his cultivation, disappearing from the public eye.

Now he had returned.

Confident in his newfound strength, Thrax stood before the towering gates of Neo Terra, his massive spear, Gaelbok, planted firmly beside him. The weapon’s broad blade gleamed beneath the afternoon sun, while the pressure radiating from both man and spear rolled outward in visible waves.

Lifting his head toward the city walls, he let his voice ring across the plains.

"I have come to challenge the lord of this city!"

The city reacted immediately.

Alarm bells echoed across the walls as defensive formations awakened one after another. Squads of warriors hurried into position, spirit weapons drawn.

An open challenge from a Grand Magus was no trivial matter.

Among those arriving first was the commander of the Twilight Units.

Beowulf.

The white wolf chief had broken through to the Grand Magus realm only recently, following the Earth faction’s rapid rise and its continuous support. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he stepped forward, clearly eager to accept the challenge himself.

Unfortunately...

He was a heartbeat too late.

A streak of golden light descended from the heavens.

Brilliant wings unfurled across the sky as a lone figure stopped gracefully in midair between the city and the challenger.

"Our lord has arrived!"

A wave of excitement swept through the defenders.

Although Emery spent most of his time in seclusion and rarely appeared before the public, every soldier of Neo Terra recognized the unmistakable figure hovering above them.

Emery stood calmly in the sky, his expression as composed as he looked down at Thrax.

"You have finally returned... Took you long enough."

Thrax glanced up at him before snorting dismissively.

Without another word, he lowered Gaelbok into a ready stance and pointed its blade directly at Emery.

"I wasn’t asking for you."

His eyes narrowed.

"Send me the real you!"

Indeed, the man floating above the battlefield was merely Emery’s light avatar.

The avatar remained perfectly calm.

"Unfortunately... I’m the only one available."

Without another word, thirty-two Willow Swords emerged one after another, circling their master in perfect formation until the sky shimmered beneath countless razor-sharp jade blades.

"If you can’t defeat me," the avatar said evenly, "you can forget about challenging the others."

Thrax’s grin slowly spread across his face.

It wasn’t anger. It was genuine excitement.

"All right, then." He lifted Gaelbok onto his shoulder. "I’ll beat you first."

His muscles coiled, and he swung the spear.

It was a simple motion—one clean sweep with no wasted movement—yet it carried the weight of the cosmos behind it. A blazing crescent of crimson fire erupted from Gaelbok’s edge and tore across the sky toward the light avatar, its passage setting the surrounding spirit energy ablaze as the air screamed in its wake.

The light avatar reacted instantly.

With a sharp gesture, the thirty-two Willow Swords shot forward in perfect formation. The leading blades collided head-on with the flaming crescent and shattered like glass beneath its overwhelming force.

But they had never been meant to stop it.

The formation shifted fluidly as the remaining swords rotated around the attack, each blade drawing upon the others to form a spinning vortex. The flaming crescent was caught within the formation, its momentum bleeding away layer by layer as dozens of intersecting sword paths continuously weakened its power.

Before the attack could be completely dispersed—

Thrax was already there.

He burst through the fading flames like a blazing comet, crossing the remaining distance in a single heartbeat. His tremendous physique exploded with terrifying speed as he smashed straight through the incomplete sword formation, scattering the Willow Swords in every direction before driving Gaelbok forward in a devastating thrust.

The light avatar was genuinely surprised. His sword formation was more than capable of restraining even a Two Cosmos expert, yet Thrax, despite having only recently broken through to the One Cosmos realm, had shattered it through sheer strength in a matter of moments.

He retreated immediately.

Golden wings flared behind his back as he flashed backward through the sky, desperately recalling the scattered Willow Swords while attempting to reform the array around the relentlessly advancing gladiator.

Thrax answered with nothing but overwhelming force.

"HA!"

His domineering aura erupted like a volcano.

The sheer pressure rolling from his body blasted the newly forming sword array apart before it could close. One blade after another was hurled away as though struck by an invisible giant, clearing a path for Gaelbok to continue its unstoppable advance.

The spear pierced through the collapsing formation.

The light avatar was driven from the sky.

He crashed onto the ground below, sliding dozens of meters before finally regaining his footing.

With no time to recover, he raised both hands.

Nature energy surged through the battlefield.

Elysian vines erupted from the earth in twisting spirals, thick as ancient trees, weaving together into a living fortress that surrounded him from every direction. Brilliant green runes blossomed across their bark as they lashed toward Thrax in endless succession.

At the same time, Excalibur materialized in his hand.

The legendary blade flashed in brilliant arcs, parrying one crushing spear strike after another while the living vines attempted to bind the gladiator’s movements.

"I am impressed," Emery admitted calmly. "A true Infinity Champion indeed."

Thrax only grinned.

The next instant, crimson flames erupted around Thrax.

They did not burn wildly like ordinary fire. Instead, they clung to his body like a living mantle, flowing over his armor and spear until his entire figure resembled a conquering warlord wreathed in scarlet glory.

The atmosphere changed.

Emery had seen this ability before.

Years ago, it had been an art born from the Law of Slaughter. Back then, the crimson aura had been savage and oppressive, feeding on wrath and killing intent until every strike existed for one purpose alone—to kill.

This...

...was different.

The same suffocating pressure remained, but it had been transformed into something far greater.

The aura no longer glorified slaughter.

It glorified victory.

Every flicker of crimson flame carried the weight of countless battles won, countless opponents overcome, and countless arenas conquered. It was no longer the aura of a butcher intoxicated by bloodshed, but of a champion standing triumphant above every rival who had ever challenged him.

This was the path Thrax had found after becoming the Infinity Champion.

The path of the undefeated gladiator.

[Undying Champion]

His spear moved.

Every thrust carried overwhelming authority. Every sweep of Gaelbok shook the battlefield with the certainty of inevitable victory. There was no hesitation—only absolute confidence forged through thousands of battles.

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