Read Novel Full Chapter 586: The Twist
Chapter 586: The Twist
A deathly silence settled over the Grand Arena.
The cheers that had filled the air only moments before had vanished.
In their place came horror.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Everyone could see the corruption spreading through Lucas’s body.
The black veins continued to branch across his chest and shoulders, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm as though something alive had entered his bloodstream.
Lucas dropped to one knee.
His breathing became ragged.
Every muscle in his body trembled as he struggled against the foreign energy invading him.
He clenched his fists so tightly that blood trickled from his palms.
The arena’s healers instinctively stepped forward.
“Sovereign!”
One of them looked desperately toward the Empress.
“Permission to intervene!”
Before the Empress could even answer, the chief judicial elder shook his head gravely.
“No.”
His voice echoed through the stunned arena.
“The Trial by Combat has not concluded.”
Another elder lowered his head.
“By the ancient laws of Lechia…”
“No one may interfere.”
“If anyone enters the battlefield before one combatant dies or yields a victory recognized by the laws, the duel is rendered invalid.”
The words landed like stones.
The Empress gripped the arms of her throne so tightly that the wood groaned beneath her fingers.
She hated the law in that moment.
But she was the one who had upheld it.
If she broke it now, before the eyes of three monarchs and hundreds of thousands of witnesses, the legitimacy of the duel—and of Lechia’s justice—would be thrown into question.
She remained frozen.
Forced to watch.
The crowd quickly understood as well.
Cries of outrage erupted throughout the arena.
“This is madness!”
“Help him!”
“Someone save Xavier!”
But no one moved.
No one could.
The sacred formations surrounding the battlefield shimmered faintly, reminding everyone that the duel belonged to the combatants alone.
Across the arena, Khan slowly stood up.
His movements were unsteady.
His body was battered beyond recognition.
One arm hung limply at his side.
His face was a swollen mask of blood.
Yet he was standing.
And then…
He laughed.
A harsh, broken, almost inhuman laugh.
It echoed throughout the silent arena.
The crowd erupted into furious boos.
“Monster!”
“Coward!”
“You couldn’t beat him fairly!”
The insults rained down from every direction.
Rotten fruit and scraps of food struck the barrier protecting the battlefield and fell harmlessly away.
Khan ignored every single voice.
His attention was fixed solely on Lucas.
Still laughing, he staggered forward.
One slow step.
Then another.
He finally stopped in front of the kneeling champion.
Lucas’s head remained lowered.
His entire body shook violently as he fought the corruption spreading through his veins.
His breathing came in painful, uneven gasps.
He was still conscious.
Still resisting.
But every passing second seemed to make the struggle worse.
Khan’s smile widened.
“So this…”
He chuckled.
“…is the great hero of Lechia?”
Without warning—
THUD!
His fist slammed into the side of Lucas’s head.
Lucas rocked sideways but remained on one knee.
Gasps swept through the arena.
Khan hit him again.
THUD!
Then again.
THUD!
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each blow echoed across the battlefield.
Lucas made no attempt to retaliate.
His body was locked in a desperate battle against the darkness consuming him.
Every strike forced his head to snap sideways before he steadied himself once more.
The crowd roared in outrage.
“STOP!”
“Fight him fairly!”
“He’s defenseless!”
Khan only laughed harder.
He continued raining punches onto Lucas’s head with what strength he had left, venting every ounce of hatred he possessed.
In the royal viewing area, Lira broke down completely.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
“Xavier…”
Her voice cracked.
“Please…”
Selene covered her mouth as sobs escaped her.
She couldn’t bear the sight.
Every blow made her flinch.
Princess Nyx’s eyes were red with tears.
She gripped the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“Get up…”
she whispered desperately.
“You have to get up…”
Even Henrietta, usually so fiery and fearless, stood frozen in shock, her fists trembling with helpless rage.
Beside them, the Ice Belle remained motionless.
Her icy blue eyes never left Lucas.
Though her face remained composed, her hands had quietly clenched into fists.
High above them, King Alden Highmoor watched with growing concern.
His expression, once calm throughout the duel, had become grim.
“Come on, Xavier…”
he muttered under his breath.
“This isn’t how your story ends.”
The Emperor of Rus remained silent, but even he leaned forward anxiously.
The King of Blackmare’s jaw tightened.
None of them could intervene.
None of them could break the ancient law.
And the realization infuriated them.
At the center of it all stood the Empress.
No longer composed.
No longer regal.
She had risen from her throne without realizing it.
Her breathing was uneven.
Her eyes never left Lucas.
Every instinct she possessed as a ruler told her to respect the law.
Every instinct she possessed as a mother to her people screamed at her to save him.
She looked completely lost.
Restless.
Helpless.
Her hands trembled.
Her lips parted as though she wanted to call out.
But no words came.
She could only watch as the champion she had entrusted with the fate of Lechia knelt beneath the weight of the corruption, enduring blow after blow while the entire empire looked on in helpless silence.
Lucas could hear almost nothing.
The roar of the crowd had become distant.
The cries of his companions sounded muffled, as though they were coming from another world.
Every heartbeat sent another surge of the corrupt energy racing through his body.
The dark veins continued to spread beneath his skin, branching across his chest, down his arms, and toward his neck. It felt as though molten poison had been poured directly into his meridians, corrupting every pathway through which his cultivation flowed.
His breathing became increasingly difficult.
Every attempt to circulate his Qi was met with agonizing resistance.
The corruption was suppressing him.
Not simply harming him.
Suppressing him.
It clung to his cultivation like chains, forcing his once-powerful Qi to a mere fraction of its normal strength.
Lucas gritted his teeth.
“No…”
he whispered to himself.
“I can’t…”
His thoughts immediately went to the people behind him.
The citizens.
The soldiers.
The Empress.
Lechia.
He had stood before the Empress the previous night and given her his word.
He had promised.
He would not let her down.
That promise echoed endlessly in his mind.
Get up.
His fingers dug into the broken stone beneath him.
The arena floor cracked under the pressure.
His arm trembled violently as he forced himself upward.
The effort was immense.
Every muscle screamed in protest.
The corruption answered by tightening its grip around his cultivation, sending another wave of unbearable pain throughout his body.
Dark blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Still…
He pushed.
His knees lifted slightly from the ground.
The spectators saw it.
Hope ignited once more.
“He’s getting up!”
“Come on, Xavier!”
“You can do it!”
Lira’s tear-filled eyes brightened.
“Xavier…”
Selene clasped her hands together.
“Please…”
Princess Nyx leaned so far over the railing that Henrietta instinctively grabbed her arm.
The Empress herself unconsciously took a step forward.
Lucas slowly raised his head.
His vision was blurred.
The entire arena appeared distorted.
Even standing became nearly impossible.
But he refused to remain on his knees.
He refused to surrender.
A faint flicker of flame appeared around his fist.
Small.
Weak.
Nothing compared to the inferno he had commanded only moments earlier.
Yet it was enough.
It meant he was still fighting.
Khan’s smile disappeared for an instant.
Then it returned with even greater malice.
“You still won’t stay down?”
Lucas tried to answer.
Only blood escaped his lips.
He forced one foot beneath himself.
His body rose another few inches.
The crowd erupted with encouragement.
“Stand!”
“Stand, Xavier!”
“You can do it!”
For a brief moment…
It looked as though he might actually succeed.
Then Khan struck.
CRACK!
His fist smashed into Lucas’s temple.
The weakened flame vanished instantly.
Lucas staggered sideways.
Before he could recover—
Another punch.
CRACK!
Then another.
CRACK!
Khan had abandoned all elegance.
All technique.
He simply battered Lucas relentlessly.
Punch after punch crashed into his face.
His jaw.
His cheek.
His forehead.
Each blow snapped his head violently to the side.
Lucas desperately tried to raise an arm.
The corruption made it feel as though it weighed a mountain.
His movements had become painfully slow.
He managed to lift his forearm only halfway before another punch smashed through his guard.
CRACK!
Blood sprayed onto the shattered arena floor.
His vision darkened further.
The world spun around him.
Khan continued without mercy.
Every strike fueled by hatred.
Every strike driven by the desire to see Lechia’s greatest champion broken before the eyes of the entire kingdom.
Lucas’s body swayed with every impact.
His thoughts became increasingly fragmented.
He could barely distinguish the faces in the stands.
The chants.
The cries.
The screams.
Everything merged into a dull ringing inside his ears.
Still…
One thought remained stubbornly alive.
Don’t let Lechia down.
He tried once more to summon his Qi.
The corruption answered immediately.
Agony exploded through every meridian in his body.
His cultivation, once vast and powerful, was now suppressed so severely that it barely responded to his will.
Another punch landed.
Then another.
Khan gave him no opportunity to recover.
No chance to breathe.
No chance to regain his footing.
Lucas could scarcely see anymore.
One eye had swollen nearly shut.
Blood blurred the vision of the other.
His legs buckled beneath him.
Yet somehow…
He still refused to collapse completely.
Even in that battered state, with his cultivation suppressed and his consciousness fading, he stubbornly fought to remain upright.
The sight silenced much of the arena.
The people watched with aching hearts.
Their champion was being pushed beyond his limits.
Not because he lacked the will to fight.
But because something inside him was dragging him down, relentlessly smothering the strength he was desperately trying to call upon.