Chapter 443: The Battlefield Shatters!
Stella was getting stronger.
Not before this match.
Not merely because she had learned Dragon Spirit.
Every minute, every second, every action, every attack within this battle was making Stella stronger.
Within those crimson eyes burned fighting spirit so intense it almost seemed tangible.
Yet beneath those blazing flames was something even Luke found dazzling.
Respect.
It was genuinely unexpected.
Luke had never imagined that even after climbing to this level, Stella would still believe in him so unwaveringly.
She believed Luke was incomparably powerful.
She believed that no matter what unexpected attack she unleashed, Luke would find a way to overcome it.
One had to remember that Stella had trained under Nene and completely awakened the absolute confidence of a dragon.
She fully understood the need to embrace pride and greed in her own strength.
Yet even after that awakening, Stella still regarded Luke as someone standing above her.
That was exactly why, even after finding a way to make herself almost impossible to defeat, she was still willing to pursue a victory that might look unimpressive on the surface.
The current Stella possessed unquestionable arrogance in believing herself to be the strongest.
Yet at the same time, she firmly believed Luke was stronger than her.
Two completely contradictory beliefs—And somehow, they coexisted perfectly within her heart.
For Stella, this was the ideal mentality of both a knight and a fighter.
It could almost be called flawless.
Luke looked down at the girl he had smashed underground.
He saw the respect burning in her eyes.
He saw the faint smile curling at the corners of her lips.
"Tch…"
Luke's next movement shocked every spectator.
"L-Luke retreated?!"
"Unbelievable! The Sword Emperor who never took even half a step back against Twin-Wings has chosen to retreat!"
The commentator's scream immediately rang out.
He had voiced the thoughts of nearly everyone watching.
In the very next instant, Stella showed them exactly why Luke had done so.
"Dragon Breath!"
Boom—!
A colossal pillar of light erupted from beneath Stella and pierced the heavens!
It was brilliance so intense that no one could look directly at it!
It was fire so hot that it seemed capable of melting everything!
The earth itself appeared to split open, spewing endless crimson flames like blood!
Had Luke not retreated, taking that attack directly would have placed him at an overwhelming disadvantage.
His judgment had not been wrong.
But from Stella's perspective—The failure of that attack had already been expected.
As the possessor of the world's greatest mana capacity, Stella's specialty was not merely overwhelming firepower.
It was endlessly pursuing any opponent who chose to retreat!
Luke had been forced backward.
And the instant he retreated, he had entered the Crimson Princess's preferred battle rhythm.
Stella was normally the type who would not bother studying an opponent's abilities or tactics.
But when her opponent was Luke, even she would never be arrogant enough to challenge him completely unprepared.
She had poured everything into this.
Every ounce of effort.
Every idea she could think of.
In this match, Stella Vermillion was truly bringing out everything she possessed!
The flames created by her own power could not harm Stella.
The tremendous impact carried within the breath attack, however, was another matter.
Stella rose from within the crimson inferno and ignored the intense pain coursing through her entire body.
Every part that was damaged repaired itself almost instantly.
And while regenerating, her hands never stopped moving.
Laevateinn reformed and plunged directly into the ground.
Then—
Boom—!
Boom, boom, boom, boom—!
One breath attack after another tore through the earth and erupted toward the sky!
Rather than directly pursuing the retreating Luke, Stella chose another method.
Destroy the battlefield!
She melted the arena—Along with the earth beneath it!
Dragon Spirit had already transformed the battlefield into a molten inferno.
Even so, there had still been solid ground beneath the surface.
The lava had merely formed a layer over it.
With mana wrapped around one's feet, it was still possible to step through the molten surface and stand on solid ground.
But now—
Everything had changed.
Dragon Breath erupted from underground and destroyed most of the remaining footholds.
The entire battlefield became a genuine sea of fire.
Only shattered stone platforms remained, floating upon the lava.
The magma was not especially deep yet.
But the earth continued sinking with every passing moment.
The remaining stone platforms were also gradually melting away.
Within only a few minutes, there would be nowhere left to stand inside the combat zone.
At that point, simply remaining on the battlefield would require constantly expending mana to walk across the molten surface.
That was right.
Stella had used this opportunity to place a countdown on the match.
An overwhelmingly powerful state like Dragon Spirit undoubtedly had a time limit.
What Stella feared most was Luke using his speed to delay until it expired.
A brutal war of attrition clearly favored Stella.
But being endlessly kited by Luke did not.
Now, movement had become difficult.
Mana consumption would increase.
And Stella's only weakness had effectively disappeared!
She stared at Luke and allowed the endless fighting spirit within her to drive her body forward.
One long leg lifted slightly.
Then slammed down upon the floating platform beneath her!
Noble Art: Dragon Stomp!
Boom—!
The stone platform instantly shattered into fragments!
The enormous impact traveled downward and sent a massive wave of lava surging into the air.
But just as Stella prepared to use the recoil to launch herself forward—
A blue star tore straight through the towering wave of magma and slammed into her body!
Boom—!
Terrifying force erupted against Stella.
Yet protected by the conceptual defense of dragon scales, the star that had already broken through her mana armor and Dragon Princess's Raiment still failed to injure her.
However—
The sword light following immediately behind it pierced through those dragon scales with ease.
Slash—!
The blade passed completely through her body!
Flesh and bone were severed together!
The blood spraying outward boiled like burning flames.
Dragon blood splattered across Luke's clothes.
Its temperature was so extreme that even Luke's extraordinarily durable body was burned, leaving a charred patch across his skin.
"Huh?!"
Stella stared at Luke in disbelief.
He wore his usual smile.
But after abandoning defense entirely to charge through the magma and scorching dragon blood at maximum speed, that smile now looked almost ferocious.
Yet beneath it—Stella understood exactly what Luke was telling her.
"I never planned to win by stalling for time in the first place!"
…
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