Read Novel Full Chapter 583: Trial by Combat 5
Chapter 583: Trial by Combat 5
The battle continued to rage across the arena.
Wind howled violently.
The battlefield was littered with deep scars from Khan’s relentless attacks.
Stone pillars had been sliced apart.
Massive trenches crisscrossed the arena floor.
Dust swirled through the air.
For several minutes, Khan maintained complete offensive pressure.
His techniques flowed one after another without pause.
Every attack was aimed to kill.
Every movement carried deadly intent.
The spectators watched with growing tension.
Some were beginning to understand just how dangerous the former prince truly was.
Had he not betrayed Lechia, there was little doubt he would have become one of the kingdom’s greatest warriors.
But despite the ferocity of his assault, one thing remained unchanged.
Lucas had yet to suffer a single injury.
Not one cut.
Not one bruise.
Not one scratch.
His movements remained calm.
Controlled.
Patient.
Almost casual.
The contrast only made Khan increasingly frustrated.
Another barrage of wind blades erupted toward Lucas.
The attacks crossed the arena in an instant.
This time, however, something changed.
Lucas stopped retreating.
The crowd immediately noticed.
So did Khan.
For the first time since the duel began, Lucas moved forward.
His figure exploded into motion.
BOOM!
The arena floor shattered beneath his feet.
The speed shocked everyone.
Even the rulers seated above widened their eyes slightly.
Lucas became a blur.
One moment he was dozens of meters away.
The next—
He was right in front of Khan.
The prince’s eyes widened.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Instinct immediately screamed danger.
Khan reacted quickly.
A defensive wall of compressed wind instantly formed between them.
Yet Lucas never slowed.
CRASH!
The wind barrier exploded apart.
The entire arena gasped.
Khan immediately attempted to retreat.
But it was already too late.
Lucas had entered striking range.
For the first time in the battle, he attacked.
His fist shot forward.
Simple.
Direct.
No flashy technique.
No grand cultivation art.
Just a punch.
A single punch.
Yet the pressure generated by it caused the air itself to distort.
Khan’s eyes widened in horror.
He barely managed to raise his guard.
It wasn’t enough.
BOOM!
The punch connected directly with his face.
The sound echoed throughout the entire arena.
It sounded less like a punch and more like a boulder smashing into a wall.
Khan’s body violently twisted.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Several teeth flew from his mouth.
The force behind the strike launched him across the battlefield.
CRASH!
He bounced across the stone floor.
CRASH!
Then again.
CRASH!
Again.
Only after carving a deep trench through the arena did he finally stop.
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Complete silence.
The spectators stared in shock.
Then the realization hit.
Lucas had landed the first clean strike.
The arena exploded.
The roar was deafening.
Hundreds of thousands leapt to their feet.
“YES!”
“THAT’S IT!”
“XAVIER!”
“BREAK HIM!”
The cheering shook the entire structure.
Many citizens laughed openly.
Others pointed toward Khan and mocked him.
The soldiers were particularly pleased.
Years of discipline barely contained their excitement.
Even some nobles found themselves smiling.
On the Imperial Platform, the Empress remained composed.
Yet inwardly, relief washed over her.
King Highmoor chuckled softly.
“That looked painful.”
The Emperor of Rus nodded.
“Very.”
The King of Blackmare simply smiled.
Below them, Khan slowly pushed himself back to his feet.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
Several teeth were gone.
One side of his face had swollen visibly.
The damage was obvious.
The crowd immediately erupted into laughter and mockery.
“Where’s that confidence now?”
“Not laughing anymore, are you?”
“Traitor!”
Khan ignored them.
Though barely.
Because despite his composure, he had felt that punch.
Felt it deeply.
The force behind it had shocked him.
His jaw throbbed.
His vision had blurred for a moment.
The impact had nearly knocked him unconscious.
Yet somehow, he remained standing.
Slowly, he spat blood onto the arena floor.
Along with fragments of broken teeth.
The sight only made the crowd cheer louder.
Khan wiped his mouth.
Then looked toward Lucas.
The hatred in his eyes intensified.
But beneath that hatred was something else.
Something new.
Fear.
Not much.
Only a little.
But it was there.
Because for the first time in the battle, he had experienced Lucas’s strength firsthand.
And he now understood something the crowd had already begun to suspect.
Lucas had spent the first part of the duel studying him.
Learning him.
Measuring him.
And with a single punch, he had made his assessment.
Across the battlefield, Lucas casually lowered his fist.
His expression remained calm.
Relaxed.
As though he had merely tested the waters.
The sight infuriated Khan.
Because despite the damage he had suffered…
Lucas still didn’t seem to be taking him seriously.
The crowd continued roaring with approval.
Their champion had drawn first blood.
And everyone could feel it.
The momentum of the battle had begun to shift.
The momentum had shifted.
Everyone in the arena could feel it.
Just moments ago, Khan had controlled the pace of the battle, launching one deadly attack after another while Lucas remained on the defensive.
Now things were different.
Very different.
Khan wiped the blood from his mouth and stared across the battlefield.
His breathing had become heavier.
His face was swollen.
Several teeth were gone.
And for the first time since the duel began, uncertainty had entered his mind.
Meanwhile, Lucas remained standing exactly where he was.
Calm.
Relaxed.
Unbothered.
The crowd noticed it immediately.
Their confidence grew.
Their chants grew louder.
“LUCAS!”
“LUCAS!”
“LUCAS!”
The former prince’s expression twisted with rage.
“I’ll kill you!”
The words exploded from him.
Wind Qi erupted violently.
A powerful tornado formed around his body.
The arena floor cracked as the pressure intensified.
Several spectators gasped.
Khan was no longer holding back.
The air itself began screaming as enormous wind currents spiraled around him.
Then he attacked.
BOOM!
His figure shot forward.
This time faster than before.
Dozens of massive wind blades materialized around him.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
The sky above the battlefield darkened beneath the sheer density of the attack.
The spectators gasped.
Even experienced cultivators looked impressed.
The prince was pouring everything into this assault.
The attack descended toward Lucas.
A storm of death.
Yet Lucas simply sighed.
Then took a step forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground—
WHOOSH!
Golden-red flames erupted around his body.
The crowd immediately exploded into cheers.
Fire.
Pure fire.
The temperature throughout the arena rose noticeably.
The flames coiled around Lucas like living dragons.
Powerful.
Violent.
Majestic.
Even the rulers on the platform narrowed their eyes.
The intensity of the flames was remarkable.
Lucas finally decided to attack seriously.
The crowd sensed it immediately.
Khan’s wind blades arrived.
Lucas moved.
BOOM!
The arena floor shattered beneath him.
His body blurred.
The incoming blades missed entirely.
Before Khan could react—
Lucas appeared beside him.
Fast.
Far too fast.
His right fist ignited.
Flames wrapped around it.
Then—
BOOM!
The punch landed directly in Khan’s ribs.
The sound echoed throughout the arena.
A sickening crack followed.
Several ribs shattered instantly.
Khan’s eyes widened.
Blood burst from his mouth.
His body bent unnaturally from the force.
Before he could even be launched away—
Lucas moved again.
A trail of fire followed him.
BOOM!
A second punch struck Khan’s stomach.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs.
The former prince doubled over.
His feet left the ground.
The crowd erupted.
The arena shook from the cheering.
Khan desperately attempted to retaliate.
Wind exploded from his body.
Several blades shot toward Lucas at point-blank range.
Lucas simply tilted his head.
The attacks missed.
Then his knee rose.
CRACK!
It smashed into Khan’s chest.
More bones broke.
The prince screamed.
For the first time during the duel.
A genuine scream.
The crowd loved it.
Years of anger and betrayal fueled their reactions.
Many citizens stood and shouted insults.
Others cheered wildly.
The soldiers looked especially pleased.
Lucas wasn’t finished.
Flames surged around his arm.
The fire grew brighter.
Hotter.
More destructive.
Then he struck again.
BOOM!
A flaming backhand smashed across Khan’s face.
The prince spun through the air.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
His body crashed into the arena floor.
CRASH!
The stone shattered beneath him.
A crater formed.
The crowd exploded.
Some spectators had completely lost their voices from cheering.
Even the nobles looked impressed.
Khan groaned and attempted to stand.
His body trembled.
His face was covered in blood.
His armor was damaged.
Several burns marked his skin.
The difference between the two combatants was becoming increasingly obvious.
Lucas stood untouched.
Khan looked like he had survived a battlefield massacre.
The former prince staggered to his feet.
His breathing was ragged.
Yet his eyes remained hateful.
Insane.
Obsessed.
“You… you think you’ve won?”
Lucas simply stared at him.
The calm expression somehow made things worse.
Khan roared.
Every ounce of his cultivation exploded outward.
A massive storm formed around him.
The sky above the arena darkened.
The crowd gasped.
The attack was clearly dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Lucas looked upward.
Then smiled faintly.
The sight sent a chill through Khan.
Because Lucas wasn’t worried.
Not even slightly.
The flames around him intensified.
Golden-red fire began spreading across the battlefield itself.
The arena temperature continued rising.
The spectators could feel it from the stands.
The next clash would be even more violent than the last.
And judging from the look in Lucas’s eyes—
He was finally finished testing his opponent.
Now he was preparing to end the fight.