Read Novel Full Chapter 582: Trial by combat 4
Chapter 582: Trial by combat 4
The arena remained silent.
Hundreds of thousands of eyes were fixed upon the opposite gate.
The anticipation was almost unbearable.
Even the rulers seated upon the Imperial Platform leaned forward slightly.
Everyone was waiting.
Then—
The massive gate slowly began to open.
A low rumble echoed throughout the arena.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then a figure emerged.
Lucas.
The reaction was instantaneous.
The silence shattered.
The entire arena erupted.
A thunderous roar exploded from the stands.
It was unlike anything Khan had received.
The cheers were overwhelming.
Deafening.
The very air seemed to vibrate beneath the force of hundreds of thousands of voices.
“XAVIER!”
“XAVIER!”
“XAVIER!”
His name spread throughout the arena like wildfire.
People rose to their feet.
Men shouted themselves hoarse.
Women waved banners bearing his name.
Children climbed onto their seats just to catch a better glimpse of him.
Even many nobles found themselves applauding.
The support was absolute.
The difference between the receptions of the two combatants could not have been more dramatic.
One had entered to hatred.
The other entered to admiration.
Lucas walked calmly onto the battlefield.
His expression remained relaxed.
As though he were merely taking a stroll through a garden.
And then people noticed something.
There was no armor.
No breastplate.
No gauntlets.
No protective equipment whatsoever.
The cheers briefly faltered.
Confusion spread through parts of the crowd.
Lucas was dressed simply.
A pair of ordinary robes.
Nothing more.
No legendary armor.
No divine equipment.
No protective treasures visible anywhere.
On the Imperial Platform, the Empress watched quietly.
Her expression remained unchanged.
Yet inwardly, she wasn’t surprised at all.
This was Lucas.
Doing things his own way, simple but effective.
As always.
Below, Khan’s eyes narrowed.
The prince carefully examined Lucas from head to toe.
His smile slowly disappeared.
Most people saw confidence.
Khan saw something else.
Disrespect.
Lucas wasn’t treating this like a life-or-death battle.
He wasn’t approaching him like a dangerous opponent.
The absence of armor and weapons sent a clear message.
Lucas did not believe he needed them.
The realization immediately irritated Khan.
Lucas continued walking until he reached the center of the arena.
The crowd continued chanting his name.
The sound became louder.
And louder.
And louder.
“XAVIER!”
“XAVIER!”
“XAVIER!”
The arena shook beneath the noise.
For many citizens, Lucas had become more than a powerful cultivator.
He had become a symbol.
A symbol of resistance.
A symbol of hope.
A symbol of justice.
The man standing between Lechia and disgrace.
Eventually, Lucas reached his designated position.
He stopped.
Then looked across the battlefield.
His eyes met Khan’s.
The crowd gradually quieted.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The excitement gave way to tension.
The reality of the situation settled over everyone.
This wasn’t a celebration.
This wasn’t a ceremony.
One of these men was going to die.
The distance between them wasn’t particularly large.
Yet it felt immense.
On one side stood the fallen prince.
On the other stood the Empire’s champion.
The traitor.
And the executioner.
The arena master stepped forward.
His voice boomed throughout the colossal structure.
“Combatants!”
The crowd fell silent.
Lucas remained relaxed.
Khan stared back with growing hostility.
The arena master continued.
“Under the ancient laws of Lechia, this Trial by Combat shall determine the judgment of the gods.”
Every person listened carefully.
“The conditions remain unchanged.”
His gaze shifted between the two men.
“The battle shall continue until death.”
Silence.
“If Prince Khan is victorious, he shall walk free.”
The crowd stirred uneasily.
The arena master then looked toward Lucas.
“If Xavier is victorious, the sentence of death shall be carried out immediately.”
The crowd roared in approval.
The arena master raised his hand.
Powerful formations around the battlefield began activating.
Golden light spread across the arena floor.
The duel was moments away.
Lucas casually adjusted his sleeves.
Still smiling faintly.
Still without armor.
Still without a weapon.
Across from him, Khan’s eyes burned with hatred.
The tension between them intensified.
The entire arena held its breath.
Waiting for the signal.
Waiting for the first move.
Waiting for justice to be decided before the eyes of the world.
High above the battlefield, the Empress slowly rose from her seat.
Every eye immediately turned toward her.
The rulers beside her remained silent.
King Highmoor watched intently.
The Emperor of Rus folded his arms.
The King of Blackmare narrowed his eyes.
The Empress surveyed the arena one final time.
Her gaze lingered briefly on Khan.
Then shifted to Lucas.
Neither combatant moved.
Neither broke eye contact.
The tension was palpable.
Finally, the Empress raised her hand.
The entire arena held its breath.
Then she brought it down.
“Begin.”
The single word echoed throughout the colossal arena.
The duel had begun.
BOOM!
The stone beneath Khan’s feet exploded.
The prince launched forward like a missile.
The crowd gasped.
Many had expected caution.
Many had expected him to test Lucas first.
Instead, Khan attacked with everything he had from the very first second.
The air around him erupted violently.
Wind Qi exploded outward.
The atmosphere itself seemed to scream.
Countless blades of compressed wind materialized around him.
Each one razor-sharp.
Each one capable of slicing through steel.
Each one deadly.
“Wind Severing Art!”
Khan roared.
SWISH!
SWISH!
SWISH!
Dozens of wind blades shot toward Lucas.
The attacks crossed the battlefield in an instant.
The spectators could barely follow them.
The front rows immediately felt the pressure generated by the technique despite the protective barriers.
Many cultivators widened their eyes.
The attack was impressive.
Extremely impressive.
Whatever else Khan might be—
He was undeniably talented.
The former heir of Lechia had not earned his reputation through status alone.
He was a genuine prodigy.
The wind blades arrived before Lucas almost instantly.
Yet Lucas remained calm.
His figure blurred.
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath him as he moved.
One blade narrowly missed his head.
Another passed by his shoulder.
A third sliced through the space his chest had occupied a fraction of a second earlier.
The spectators erupted.
Lucas wasn’t attacking.
He was dodging.
Completely dodging.
Khan pressed forward relentlessly.
His hands moved in rapid succession.
More wind blades appeared.
Then more.
Then even more.
The arena became filled with streaks of silver wind.
The attacks came from every direction.
Above.
Below.
Left.
Right.
Diagonal.
Every angle imaginable.
It looked less like a duel and more like an execution attempt.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions erupted throughout the battlefield as the blades struck the arena floor.
Massive gouges appeared in the stone.
Chunks of rock were launched into the air.
The sheer destructive power caused many spectators to become pale.
If those attacks landed directly, most cultivators would be sliced apart instantly.
Lucas continued moving.
His robes fluttered with every dodge.
His movements were smooth.
Efficient.
Precise.
Yet even he could not simply ignore the attacks.
Khan was too skilled for that.
The former prince possessed years of combat experience.
Years of elite training.
Years of battlefield experience.
This wasn’t some spoiled noble.
This was a dangerous warrior.
And everyone could see it.
The spectators who had expected an immediate victory for Lucas began looking more serious.
Khan wasn’t weak.
Far from it.
He was demonstrating exactly why he had once been considered worthy of inheriting an empire.
The prince’s expression became increasingly savage as he attacked.
His hands moved continuously.
His cultivation surged.
The air itself became violent.
Entire currents of wind swirled around him.
Then—
“Tempest Barrage!”
Hundreds of smaller wind blades suddenly appeared.
The crowd gasped.
The attack covered nearly the entire battlefield.
There was almost nowhere to evade.
The blades descended like a deadly storm.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed slightly.
For the first time since the duel began, he was forced to stop retreating.
BOOM!
His foot struck the ground.
The arena floor cracked beneath him.
Then his body blurred.
A series of afterimages appeared.
The countless blades struck.
Explosions erupted everywhere.
Dust filled the battlefield.
The crowd erupted into nervous shouting.
Many stood from their seats.
The visibility vanished entirely.
Even powerful cultivators struggled to see through the cloud.
Had Lucas been hit?
Nobody knew.
The tension became unbearable.
Then—
A figure emerged from the dust.
Lucas.
Completely unharmed.
The arena exploded into cheers.
Khan’s eyes narrowed further.
His attacks had achieved nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Yet despite that, Lucas still wasn’t attacking.
He remained entirely defensive.
Avoiding.
Evading.
Analyzing.
Watching.
King Highmoor smiled faintly.
The Emperor of Rus nodded.
The King of Blackmare folded his arms.
They understood exactly what was happening.
Lucas wasn’t struggling.
He was studying.
Meanwhile, the ordinary spectators interpreted things differently.
They saw Khan relentlessly pressing forward.
They saw Lucas constantly avoiding attacks.
Some even began looking nervous.
But those with true combat experience knew better.
A truly dangerous fighter didn’t rush.
A truly dangerous fighter observed.
And Lucas was observing everything.
Across the battlefield, Khan continued his assault without pause.
His cultivation surged higher and higher.
Deadly winds screamed throughout the arena.
More blades formed.
More techniques appeared.
More destruction followed.
He was fighting like a man possessed.
Like a man who understood that defeat meant death.
And yet despite the terrifying offensive pressure he was displaying, one fact remained unchanged.
Not a single attack had landed.
Not one.
The duel had only just begun.
And already the entire arena could feel that something enormous was building beneath the surface.