Shield shards fanned out, leaving Reyn exposed. Dris yanked back his sword, retreated two paces to widen the gap, then unleashed "Flaming Rush" without hesitation.
"Flaming Rush" was his strongest move—fast execution, long range. Its one flaw: needing precise distance to the target, ideally ten paces for max explosive power. Too much or too little reduced it. Though now only three paces separated them—too close, maybe half power—Dris had no choice.
Dris's longsword glowed like lava-forged and shot toward Reyn, mere paces away.
Whoosh!
The sword whistled piercingly through the air, instantly before Reyn. Its scorching breath seemed ready to ignite his clothes. Onlookers shuddered at the sight. They didn't know Dris and Reyn's grudge, but that strike clearly aimed to kill Reyn outright.
"Stop!..."
Davenlak and Pollock shouted together—neither wanted this. Pollock swiftly drew his spiritual rifle but was half a second late.
What happened next stunned everyone.
Reyn seemed caught off guard: he froze, made no dodge, letting the blazing sword plunge into his chest unhindered. Sensing victory, Dris gloated. Suddenly, the sword hit resistance, like striking steel plate, not flesh. A strange impact sound rang out.
"What the...?"
Before the thought formed, as Dris prepared to release the fire element in his sword, he glimpsed from the corner of his eye the war hammer rising from below, smashing into his blade with force.
Clang!
Monstrous power nearly bent the blade. Dris's hand skin split; he couldn't hold the sword anymore—it flew into the air. The "Flaming Rush"'s explosive power burst between them, superheated air shuddering violently. Reyn and Dris were forced back.
Dris was unarmed. Suddenly, he saw Reyn raise his left hand, pointing at him, lips moving silently in incantation.
"He's casting!"
Dris remembered Reyn called himself a mage. He didn't know Reyn's spells, but he couldn't let him cast successfully. Best way to counter a mage: close in for close combat. Even barehanded, he could interrupt. As for hand-to-hand with Reyn, Dris—as a magic swordsman from ranger roots—wasn't worried. From the prior clash, Reyn's speed was average, agility lacking. Survive close quarters a few seconds, grab the falling sword, and Reyn was done.
Dris halted his retreat and surged forward.
"You're asking for it," Reyn thought.
To everyone's shock, Reyn dropped his left hand. Swung his right. Leaned his whole body forward, channeling all power into his arm, and hurled the battered hammer. Charging Dris couldn't dodge—the gap was too small; it hit his chest dead-on.
A dull, teeth-grinding thud.
Dris flew back like cannonballed, crashing into the training ground wall with a boom and collapsing with the hammer. Stunned and enraged, he barely stood, leaning on the wall. Looking down, he saw his chest caved in—unknown broken ribs, breathing agony. His face paled instantly.
"Pff..."
Dris finally coughed blood, splattering the ground crimson. In just two or three seconds, the battlefield flipped. The thrown sword was only now falling. Reyn took two steps forward and kicked the hilt's pommel. The sword turned into a glowing streak, hurtling straight at Dris's head.
Reyn showed no mercy. Dris had just tried to kill him outright—time to return the favor. The sword flew at blinding speed. Badly wounded, Dris couldn't react; his body heavy, he just watched helplessly as his own blade sped to pierce his skull.
Most Demon Extermination Squad onlookers were too shocked to react.
"Captain!"
"Dodge!..." A few fighters cried in horror.
"Reyn, no!" Pollock bellowed. He gripped his spiritual rifle, ready to fire, but a second's hesitation cost him.
Dris squeezed his eyes shut in despair, awaiting death. Suddenly, a large hand appeared, grabbed the sword by the blade, and stopped it. The tip hovered less than a finger from Dris's nose. Tension drained from Dris; strength fled, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Supreme captain!" The Demon Extermination Squad fighters sighed in relief too. Davenlak had stopped the sword. He'd arrived at the last instant and saved Dris.
Davenlak glanced at the sword in his hand and saw his palm cut. Though shallow—just a scratch, no blood—he was mildly alarmed. Since becoming Steel Knight, he'd gained defenses like "Tempered Skin," "Dragon Bone," "Might," and "Unyielding Will." Few could harm him. He hadn't expected a cut from catching a sword barehanded.
"Reyn definitely has a power element, and not low-level."
"And blocking that Dris strike—he wasn't hurt at all."
Thoughts raced through Davenlak's mind. He grew intrigued by Reyn: a first-level beating a fourth, successfully challenging a higher rank—it went beyond just being a battle mage.
At that moment, Dris's comrades snapped to and glared furiously at Reyn. Three low-rank Superhumans grabbed weapons, surrounded Reyn, and yelled:
"You dared kill the captain!"
"You won't leave here alive today!"
Pollock rushed in to defuse:
"Everyone calm down! Weapons down."
Reyn, by contrast, didn't react. He didn't take these people seriously. Deep down, he regretted not killing Dris today—it'd mean trouble later. Of course, killing him might cause even more.
Tension mounted. Davenlak tossed the sword aside and commanded:
"Weapons down! What's this behavior!"
One of Dris's fighters protested indignantly:
"Supreme captain, he tried to kill our captain..."
Davenlak shot him a sharp look and said:
"I'm not defending anyone. Who crossed the line first in this duel—you should know."
Their eyes darted; they dared not meet Davenlak's gaze. Anyone could see Dris had ill intent from the start, and that final "Flaming Rush" was a clear kill shot. But the result stunned: despite three-level gap, Dris lost and nearly died in turn.
Battle mages are insanely strong!
Only now did it hit everyone how incredible Reyn's feat was. Challenging a higher-rank foe—a legendary exploit—had happened right before them. Those few fighters instantly lost their bravado and parted.
Davenlak ordered:
"Get Dris to a healer quick. His wounds are serious; he'll need time to recover."
"As you command, supreme captain." A few bustled to lift the unconscious Dris and carry him off.
"Everyone, disperse."
Davenlak felt a headache coming on. An ordinary duel had turned out like this. Dris would need at least three or four months to recover. The Demon Extermination Squad had lost an important fighter; the strength of the second squad had diminished significantly, making many missions impossible for them. Moreover, after this defeat, Dris's authority in the squad had plummeted sharply, greatly affecting his future prospects. Although Dris had brought these troubles on himself, part of the blame lay with Davenlak too. If he had stopped Dris's schemes earlier, without worrying about his reputation, many problems could have been avoided.
Returning to his office, Davenlak looked at Reyn, whose upper body clothing was almost completely burned off, and thought: since Dris is defeated and won't return anytime soon, I'll have to promote Reyn. I can't just kick Reyn out, wasting the Demon Extermination Squad's captain for nothing. It was all Dris's fault: he lacked endurance and was inferior in strength. Besides, this Reyn wasn't entirely without backing—behind him might be a legendary Demon Hunter, with whom he seemed to have good relations.
Davenlak made his decision and, smiling, said:
"Reyn, you truly surprised me today. Issuing a challenge to a higher-ranked opponent—I've never seen anything like it."
"The Supreme Captain is too kind to me," Reyn replied modestly.
In reality, his victory had been extremely risky. As a fellow magical swordsman, Dris had greater offensive power than that Wilt, a wind element specialist. Even with "Steel Body," Reyn wouldn't have dared to recklessly take Dris's sword strikes head-on. When he had just struck the hammer against the sword blade, "Steel Body" had held for only half a second. If the hammer had been even a little slower, he surely would have suffered severe injuries too.
Davenlak didn't know all the details and simply admired Reyn's combat mastery. He praised him a few more times to show his favor, then said:
"Reyn, with your strength, you can undoubtedly join the Demon Extermination Squad. You're even captain material. Welcome to us! In the future, you'll protect Longsand's residents and exterminate all filth."
"Yes, thank you, Supreme Captain." Excitement showed on Reyn's face. He stood and bowed.
Davenlak encouraged him a bit longer, almost directly hinting to Reyn that if he performed well, he'd be appointed captain at the first opportunity. Reyn feigned deep gratitude, though the captain position interested him little.
Pollock, meanwhile, felt mixed joy and worry. He was glad Reyn had joined his squad, making their strength surpass the other four; but he worried because the Supreme Captain valued Reyn highly, so he likely wouldn't stay in their squad long. Each of the three was lost in their own thoughts, but outwardly, everything looked very friendly.
Afterward, Reyn went to the Demon Extermination Squad's prayer room and, in the presence of several fighters, loudly offered a prayer affirming his faith in the Goddess, after which he was officially inducted into the squad.