Chapter 41: Cohen's Challenge!

An ambush!

At the same time, Raymond on the podium saw through the opponent's trick. A powerful Warlock had cast a Soul-Binding Curse on this Bard!

Raymond had already reviewed the Bard's profile: peak Tier 3, having already attempted to break through to the Silver tier—he was virtually at the half-step Silver level.

For anyone to control such an entity with a Soul-Binding Curse, that hidden Warlock's supernatural sequence had to be well above the Gold tier!

A mysterious Gold-tier Warlock secretly controlling a Bard to sneak him among the contestants—the purpose was self-evident.

Someone was trying to assassinate the "Lord of Shadows"!

A sudden cold sweat broke out on Raymond's back, and immediately his chest was filled with boiling rage. His powerful aura erupted violently, and he roared at the top of his lungs:

"A Warlock! He's been controlled by a Warlock! Run!"

The deafening voice startled the audience present.

Raymond's words instantly stirred up a monstrous storm in the arena.

A Warlock capable of controlling a Tier 3 supernatural being—everyone understood what that meant!

At least the Gold tier!

Let alone the fact that the two of them were already standing this close; even if they were far apart, a Gold-tier expert could easily kill a Tier 1 with a flick of a finger!

A ferocious smile suddenly appeared on the gray-robed man's face. Following that, a hair-raising scene unfolded before Cohen's eyes.

At first, a small patch of skin at the corner of his eye twitched slightly, as if being gently pulled by an invisible hand. Then, the twitching area expanded rapidly, and his skin began to peel off piece by piece like decaying plaster on a wall.

His facial features gradually blurred, losing human contours and leaving behind only a terrifying, bloody mess of flesh, resembling a demon crawling up from the depths of hell.

Only then did Cohen see clearly that those tentacles bursting out from the earth were actually growing directly out of this person's body!

Everything happened in the flash of a spark. By the time Raymond's roar reached him, dense tentacles had already swarmed in from all directions toward Cohen, trapping him in place like a giant cage.

In an instant, at least three Legendary-tier auras erupted violently within the arena.

Right after, a deafening explosion echoed from the fighting platform, and countless tentacles detonated simultaneously.

In an instant, as if tearing the vault of heaven apart, a massive shockwave took the epicenter of the explosion as its center and swept outward in a fierce, circular ring.

The air was compressed instantly, creating a violent hurricane. The entire stage was shrouded in green smoke and thick dust, blocking the sky and hiding the scene within from view.

However, feeling this astonishing energy storm, a thought flashed through everyone's mind: let alone Cohen being a Tier 1, even Silver and Gold-tier experts would find it hard to survive an explosion of this magnitude.

In a split second, Raymond's Legendary-tier aura suppressed the entire venue, and with a wave of his massive hand, the stage was instantly cleared.

Yet both men who had been standing on the stage just a moment ago had completely vanished.

Could they have been blown to smithereens?

Before Raymond could speak, the furious emotions of two Legendary-tier figures were clearly transmitted to everyone present.

Mr. Mordo instantly levitated into the air, his icy gaze sweeping across the crowd.

Cohen's safety was tied to the upcoming ambush against the "Black Tomb"; he could not be allowed to die here for no reason.

The other enraged Legendary-tier figure was none other than Prince Hogg.

A giant holy emblem materialized beside him, and several green vines extended from within it. The formidable magical fluctuation terrified everyone present.

The Oath-spell of a Paladin who believed in the [Oath of the Ancient Sages]: Wrath of Nature!

Had he not known that Cohen possessed the "Eternal Heart" given to him by the Queen—capable of blocking Legendary-tier attacks—he would have already struck the box of the Grand Duke of the South and the DuPont family.

Regardless of who the culprit was, eliminating these two families that had clashed with Cohen over the past two days would certainly not be a mistake!

Just as a Legendary battle was about to break out, at the critical juncture, a tall figure slowly appeared on the stage.

Gazing at Cohen, who hadn't even lost a corner of his clothing, the arena fell into a dead silence.

Stepping into the Shadows!

Cohen appeared on the stage completely unscathed.

Prince Hogg let out a breath of relief. To avoid arousing suspicion about his relationship with Cohen, he walked up to the door of the cabinet box, declaring that he was merely there to protect the cabinet.

He addressed the crowd:

"Daring to cause trouble in the Royal Capital—don't let this Prince get hold of your evidence!"

Raymond also settled his mind, his icy gaze sweeping across the stands, lingering particularly on several private boxes.

Mordo also withdrew his aura and returned to the box. Looking at Isabella, whose delicate face was as cold as frost, he whispered:

"It was done very cleanly. At the very least, an Eighth-Tier Warlock made a move, and that person should have been under the 'Soul-Binding Curse'.

"To be able to command an Eighth-Tier Warlock, the backing force cannot be small. Currently, the most suspicious ones are the Southern Territory and the DuPont family, both of whom previously clashed with him.

"Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility of someone framing them behind the scenes, trying to pin the hatred on these two families."

Isabella completely calmed her emotions. Just a moment ago, she too had felt an inexplicable pang of anxiety.

Perhaps it was simply because she did not wish to see such an interesting young man perish in this manner.

She shook her head and said indifferently:

"Pass down my order: from this day forward, the 'Pale Wings' will sever all cooperative relations with the Southern Territory of Efyne and the DuPont family."

Mr. Mordo was deeply shocked. Putting everything else aside, just a few days ago he had negotiated a massive deal worth one million gold coins with the eldest son of the Grand Duke of the South, Clevis Gunt.

Clevis had even incurred the suspicion of the Queen of Efyne because of it and lost an arm.

However, the orders of the Daughter of the Golden Wings could not be disobeyed.

He could only offer a silent prayer in his heart for those two families. Of all people to provoke, why did they have to provoke the person valued by the Young Mistress?

On the stage, Cohen gently flicked his cloak. Beneath his mask, his handsome face already carried a hint of killing intent.

He swept an indifferent gaze across the private boxes, the corners of his mouth suddenly curling up slightly as his voice echoed softly through the arena:

"The last contestant blew himself up, so that shouldn't count as my win. I'm still one match short of thirty victories.

"How about this? I'll pick another opponent. We can't let everyone's ticket money go to waste, right!"

Everyone was utterly surprised. They had anticipated that Cohen would be furious, terrified, or pointing fingers.

They never expected Cohen to utter such remarks.

Hearing Cohen's statement, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances for a moment, having no clue what he was plotting.

He had almost been blown to pieces by a sneak attack, and his very first words after surviving were that he wanted to keep fighting in the arena?

Could this kid's brain have been fried by the explosion just now?

However, Cohen's next sentence left everyone with no time to ponder that question:

"If I pick an opponent who is too weak, I'm afraid the arena won't honor the record. How about this—I heard that the eldest young master of the DuPont family just advanced to Silver. Why doesn't he come down and play?"

As soon as these words were spoken, an invisible wave of shock swept across the spectator stands of the entire arena. Silence enveloped the crowded seating area.

Everyone felt as though their hearing had momentarily malfunctioned.

What did they just hear?

A Tier 1 supernatural being was challenging a Tier 4 Silver-tier expert?

What the hell!

They had heard of fighting across tiers, but this was the first time they had ever heard of fighting across an entire major rank!

Bronze and Silver.

Those were two completely different levels of existence.

Although Cohen defeating Tier 2 and Tier 3 opponents consecutively with Tier 1 strength was astonishing, it was not without precedent.

After all, they were both within the Bronze tier, where rich combat experience and superior fighting techniques could bridge the gap.

Silver, however, was completely different!

Not to mention that a Silver-tier's mastery of magic already transcended a level, just sheer physical strength alone—

The "Silver Body" was almost immune to all attacks originating from the Bronze tier.

For a moment, everyone felt that this was utterly absurd!