Chapter 53: The Lunaris (15)
What the entire world felt after Marlon managed to knock out the brazen Lunaris youngling was relief, joy, and pride.
Families hugged one another and wept for joy, and those legends who had taken their phones to the restroom while taking their totally necessary dump stood up and gave a round of applause. Even those beating their... shed white tears in excitement.
At the now fairly lively living room, Stormis stood up and jumped, clenching his fists with joy as he turned to his parents, who now wore the same gleeful expression.
"Dad, he’s very strong... look how he beat the Lunaris! So cool," he said.
The raven-haired woman smiled, and the silver-haired man nodded in agreement, though a question was on his mind: How would the Lunaris react to their first loss?
"The fifth round is over... Marlon Ashleigh won!"
Gigaman’s voice spread across the entire arena. Unlike his previous announcements, which were always low, this time his voice was loud and filled with the same excitement as every other human present at the moment.
"He did it! He really did it!"
Ashton and Logan leapt to their feet and cheered loudly. Around them, the other trainees also rose up, clapping and shouting chants celebrating Marlon’s victory.
Even Selena, who was usually reserved, could be seen standing among her peers, clapping her hands with a beautiful smile on her face.
Lyra was not left out. Her usual dismissive nature was broken by Marlon’s victory, and even her worries were washed away the moment she saw him land the last attack on Govic. Relief filled her more than gleefulness at that moment.
The other high-ranking hunters on the scene were not left out.
Those from the four great nations who hadn’t witnessed Marlon’s prowess at the entrance exam—the same ones who had complained and berated him for challenging the Lunaris brazenly—were now standing and clapping while discussing amongst themselves how ignorant they had been to underestimate him earlier.
The Sterling siblings were the same. Norian was standing, clapping, while Crimson sat with a dumbfounded expression, observing Marlon closely.
But the loss was too big for the Lunaris.
The three noisy nobles now sat in silence, observing Govic, who lay unconscious on the ground in an undignified pose, covered in dirt.
Their faces shifted from disbelief to anger constantly.
As they were not used to losing and hadn’t prepared to witness Govic’s defeat, they were rendered speechless. The atmosphere around them was no longer thick with superiority but with embarrassment as after all their bragging, they had lost in such a humiliating manner.
And the center of attention, and the reason for all these emotions, Marlon, stood at the middle of the arena. His face held a proud smile as he gazed at the remaining nine Lunaris younglings, who stared back at him—not with their usual anger or hatred, but with surprise and a tiny hint of fear.
"I only used about sixty percent of my strength against Govic, and he was no match for me. If I hadn’t held back, he would’ve surely died," he murmured to himself, mentally reminding himself to hold back in the coming rounds.
While he would have loved to eliminate all ten of them and see just how many experience points he would get, he was also aware of the temperament and pride of the Lunaris. They might provoke a war as a result, and he didn’t want to be the reason this world went through the same dark fate it did twenty years ago.
Nonetheless, that wouldn’t stop him from beating the crap out of all of them.
Speaking of which, he was already bored from the first fight.
He turned to look at Govic, who was being carried away by a few Lunaris soldiers. They seemed different from the others, as they had red crosses on their armor. They took the unconscious Gravis away from the scene.
Marlon waited for them to leave and for the noise to settle before turning to the remaining nine Lunaris and requesting his second opponent.
This time it was Jex that stepped out, his slightly muscular frame visible under the late morning sun.
He has the ability to mirror the powers of his opponent and even peek into their future and use their strongest powers, Marlon thought to himself, recalling Drever’s words before he passed out.
Jex was a tricky opponent to contend with—well, for those who needed a lot of time to deal with him.
For Marlon, it was a different story.
He turned to look at Jex, who was now standing opposite him, wearing the most vengeful expression he had seen in a while. The morning breeze drifted around the two of them, carrying the intensity of the moment.
"I’ll make you eat dirt for what you did to my colleague," Jex declared, his rage evident.
"Likewise, Jex," Marlon responded with a smirk. "I’d also love to see how many of my powers you can mirror before I rough you up just like that talkative weakling."
Jex’s eyes shone with cold malice, his body tensed with anger as he could not wait to unleash them.
Fortunately, Gigaman announced the beginning of the battle at that moment, and Jex quickly sprang toward Marlon.
Marlon also blasted toward him. In terms of agility, both of them were almost on the same level, and as such, the distance between them was shortened in seconds.
Marlon flexed his fist, activating Steel Punch. Jex did the same instinctively.
But time seemed to slow as Jex noticed something immediately—he could not mirror Marlon’s powers.
He had activated his ability, and like the myriads of times he had used it, he expected to get an influx of data pertaining to his target’s abilities. But this time... he got nothing.
Unfortunately, Marlon was not the kind to give his opponent enough time to think. He landed the strike on the perplexed Jex and sent him flying like a ragdoll once more. He crashed and tumbled until he finally hit the tough wall of the spectator area, striking his head before losing consciousness.
Gigaman’s voice announced the results immediately.
The results of the competition quickly shifted, from Lunaris dominance to Marlon gradually catching up, commanding the attention of everyone present.
After Jex was taken off the arena, Marlon did not waste time and asked for his next opponent.
And just like Jex and Govic, he was beaten to a pulp.
He went for the next and did the same.
The results of the competition now stood at a tie and this time, the lunaris noble became worked up .
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