Endless Leveling Done Right!

Chapter 490: Battle Of The Beasts [Part 1]

In order to dispel the tension, Alex announced the third battle of the day.

"Over two hundred participants had registered for the tournament and only eight remained after the battles royale," Alex said with a smile. "Among them, there is one very special young lady. Please give a round of applause to Melissa Lockridge!"

The moment the beautiful young lady with long dark blue hair entered the arena, the men cheered and whistled.

Melissa smiled sweetly and even waved her hand at the audience, enjoying the attention that she was receiving.

The people adored her because she was the only lady that managed to reach this stage in the tournament, and all the girls support her a hundred percent.

From afar, she looked like a delicate young lady. However, she was a very powerful warrior. Those who had bad intentions due to her appearance would find themselves facing the sharp edge of her axe!

Alex then spoke once more, preparing to introduce Renard to the audience.

"Some of you already know the reason why this tournament is being held," Alex stated. "Yes, this tournament is held because of one person and one person only—the young man who everyone believes is Lady Celestria’s secret lover.

"The one who everyone assumes has won the Saintess’s heart. However, whether the rumors are true or not, only they themselves know. Regardless, let us all welcome the young man who has made all of this possible. Please give him a warm welcome! Here comes Renard Vale!"

Renard confidently walked towards the arena, not minding the countless pairs of eyes that locked onto him.

The cheers that followed weren’t as strong as Melissa’s because only the First Years from Frieden Academy cheered for him.

But Renard didn’t care.

He hadn’t come to Solara to please anyone or win anyone’s approval.

He had simply come here to prove that no one could step on him as if he was a bug which had crawled out from under a rock.

The nobles might call him a country bumpkin.

They could call him delusional, a frog in the well, or even a gold digger.

However, he didn’t give a damn on what they thought.

He was a man of few words because he conveyed everything he needed to tell through his actions.

And right now, he would show everyone who Renard Vale was.

As he neared the centre of the arena, a solemn silence descended.

Even Alex felt this change, but he made no move to break the silence.

Suddenly, Melissa smirked and summoned her axe. She used it to support her body as she leaned forward.

"You might be a country bumpkin, but you are a looker," Melissa said boldly. "Hey, if you lose, how about you become my boyfriend? Instead of courting the Saintess, why don’t you court me instead?"

Lady Celestria frowned after hearing Melissa’s words. For some reason, she suddenly found the young lady quite annoying.

But a second later, her eyes widened in shock when she realized that she felt offended!

For her, Renard was a special friend whom she could show her true self. While she did entertain the possibility of romance, she didn’t consider it seriously because she was the Saintess of Solara.

Her life should be devoted to her Deity. Even if she married one day, it would only be to the person her Deity had chosen for her.

"The Sun" didn’t explicitly tell her that Renard was that person. It had only mentioned that she should go to Frieden Academy because a fateful encounter was waiting for her there.

"Wow! Did you hear that folks?!" Alex wouldn’t miss this opportunity to make fun of Renard. "Melissa is asking Renard out. Will this guy, who only knows how to fight, finally open his heart to the ladies around him?!"

Renard did his best to stop his lips from twitching. He stared at his opponent and gave her his answer.

He took a fighting stance, raising his fists in preparation for battle.

"Playing hard to get huh?" Melissa grinned. "Fine. I like strong-willed men. I hope you don’t disappoint me."

Alex didn’t need to be told that both fighters were ready to fight. The young man raised his hand and gave the signal to start the third round of battle.

"Battle Start!"

Melissa grabbed hold of the handle of her axe and roared mightily.

Her roar sounded like the roar of a bear that was ready to fight a rival that had appeared in its home turf.

The silhouette of a giant bear momentarily appeared behind the young lady’s back before vanishing completely.

At the same time, Renard closed the gap between them and the two opponents finally came to blows for the first time.

Melissa’s axe collided with Renard’s fist, which was coated with his aura. A powerful boom erupted from the point of impact, breaking the ground under their feet.

Both fighters held their ground, which surprised both of them as well.

The two fighters were confident in their own strength, so they were taken aback that their opponents were not the slightest bit shaken.

However, Melissa was the one who was more surprised.

Even though she had just broken through Rank 4, she was still physically stronger than Renard.

Melissa had expected that Renard would be pushed back after their exchange, especially since he was fighting barehanded!

After that surprise passed, both fighters started to seriously attack each other without holding back.

Melissa’s axe swings were very deadly, but Renard dealt with it by deflecting it to the side and unleashing his own counter-attack.

With deft, practiced moves, Melissa used her axe’s handle to block his blows. She was muscular, but she was also agile.

Both fighters weren’t backing down and were dishing out blows at point-blank-range.

Renard’s attacks were faster, but Melissa was able to block them just fine.

Nearly a minute later, the first one to be forced back was Renard.

Blood dripped from his knuckle because he had not managed to dodge Melissa’s continuous strikes completely.

However, the wound was shallow, so it didn’t concern him too much.

Knowing that he would be at a disadvantage if the fight continued to be close-range, Renard decided to improvise.

He stomped his foot on the ground, making a piece of the arena break apart and rise up.

Renard then grabbed hold of the fist sized stones and started throwing them at Melissa.

The young lady was surprised at first before she laughed out loud, blocking the stones with her axe.

"What’s this?" Melissa teased. "Are we playing throw the stones now? Two can play that game!"

Using her axe like a golf club, the young lady swung it against the ground, sending a meter-wide portion of the arena flying towards Renard.

Renard didn’t dodge this attack. Instead, he grabbed hold of the projectile and used brute strength to stop its momentum.

Although he was forced back a few meters, he succeeded in catching the massive slab of stone.

His arms trembled for a brief instant, but he held it firm, surprising the audience and Melissa.

The young man exhaled sharply and, with a twist of his body, hurled the stone back at his opponent with even greater force.

The young lady grinned fearlessly at the projectile that was returned to her. "That’s more like it!"

Melissa swung her axe in a horizontal arc, cleaving the projectile in half.

The stone split cleanly into two chunks that whistled past her shoulders before crashing against the arena wall like cannon fire.

Dust burst outward and the crowd thundered with excitement.

Renard didn’t waste the opening he had created.

The moment Melissa’s swing finished, he was already rushing in, aura swirling around his legs, boosting his speed.

Alex had taught him to be flexible and use any means that was necessary to win. Although he had relied on his fists to fight his battles, his new fighting style gave him the flexibility that he was starting to use for the first time since entering the tournament.

Fist and axe clashed once more, but Renard had other plans.

Without any warning, he kicked Melissa’s leg, making the young lady grunt in pain as she momentarily lost her balance.

But before Renard could follow up his attack, the young lady swung her axe upwards. He was forced to roll to his right and narrowly avoided being sliced in half by the crescent energy blade that erupted from her axe.