Chapter 390: The Lord of Radiance vs. The Dwarf Father God!

Seven tribes, seven teams for the selection of a king.

Five candidates for battle.

Formed in a circle.

Outside the smaller circle, six teams, totaling 37 people, formed a larger circle, standing behind their respective candidates. The reason there were only six teams and 37 people was that one team had only arrived this morning, losing their qualification to join the final battle, and had to step back with their candidate.

What? A total of seven candidates for the king selection ceremony?

The last team, having started the latest and returned the latest, was probably still making its way through the mountain paths at this moment...

Garrett stood in front of Bernard, sizing up the candidates one by one. The bright morning sun shone diagonally over the mountains, illuminating the five dwarves from five tribes, each glowing brightly. At a cursory glance, it was a bright field, but on closer inspection, the areas varied:

Prince Rothgar and Kai from the Black Rock tribe each wore a full set of armor. Helmets, shoulder armor, breastplates, arm guards, wrist guards, skirt armor, leg armor, and war boots – they were covered from head to toe, resembling two canned iron.

Ingvar from the Steel Hammer tribe, in terms of reflective area, wasn’t much different. But upon closer inspection, he only had helmets, shoulder armor, breastplates, and leg armor, missing various small pieces.

Max from the Silver Beard tribe had even simpler equipment. A helmet, a breastplate, and that was it. As for the one from the Iron Bone tribe, well, he was in cloth from head to toe, with only the battle axe in his hand reflecting the cold light...

The technological level of each king-selecting team was plainly displayed in front of all the tribes and guests. Leaving the quality of craftsmanship aside, the weapons would have a chance to collide with each other soon enough, clearly showing the speed of their making.

"Following the ancient traditions, walking the path of the ancient kings." In the silence, the Dwarf Kingdom cleared its throat and began to speak. His voice was slow and soft, obviously lacking in vigor, but with the help of divine amplification magic, it was clear enough for everyone present:

"Under the watchful eyes of the Father God, this king selection ceremony has five candidates who have passed the earlier trials. Now, you five, in front of all our people, must prove your strength on behalf of your tribes. Before the battle begins, let me ask once more—"

He took a deep breath. This four-hundred-year-old king, even with eyes sharper than the young, glanced at each candidate, and Garrett could clearly see Prince Rothgar shrinking back:

"Any of you five, or the tribes you represent, wish to withdraw?"

Withdraw?

Of course, they should withdraw!

In his past life, Garrett was a doctor, and in this life, a mage, with physical combat ability close to zero. Even he understood one thing:

In a PK between two warriors, full armor versus half armor, and half armor versus no armor, given equal basic combat strength, the difference is not just a little.

The one in cloth and the one with just a helmet and breastplate, could you two please withdraw?

Don’t waste everyone else’s energy!

But things did not go as wished. Under the king’s gaze, the warrior from the Iron Bone tribe in cloth armor stepped forward, raising his voice:

"There are dwarves who fight to their last and lose, but no dwarf who retreats without a fight. I will not withdraw from this battle!"

Well, if you won’t, the other two with better equipment certainly won’t. Garrett rolled his eyes silently, his fingers moving slightly, tracing a thin, almost transparent phantom behind Rothgar:

I’m just the same!

Just happy to play along^_^

The drawing of lots and the battles, the confrontations between warriors, proceeded quickly. Dwarves used either battle axes or war hammers, and when these heavy weapons collided, it sounded no different from forging iron.

The first battle had just begun, and Garrett frowned, stepping back step by step...

"Why are you running?" A delicate hand unceremoniously grabbed him, pushing forward: "With me here, even if an axe flies out, it won’t hit you!"

Bernard glanced sideways. Why? I’m also by the boss’s side, can’t I keep the boss safe?

Ah... Although it’s true I’m no match for the Silver Dragon Miss, even in arm-wrestling...

"It’s not... they’re too noisy... the sound is making my chest buzz..."

Garrett held his forehead. Covering his ears was useless, just like in a movie theater or dance hall, with the bass speakers at full volume, does covering your ears work?

"Sigh..." Seraila sighed helplessly. Her slender fingers moved slightly, and

a breeze arose around her body. Instantly, Garrett felt a sense of relief, as if his blood pressure had dropped by two degrees:

Emma, this wind barrier is just too good!

Conversely, Bernard looked aggrieved, squeezing out two places to the side: Can’t hear anything, have to pinch the sound to watch the battle, too uncomfortable!

You guys do as you please, I’m leaving!

Frankly speaking, this duel, for a level-one warrior (already degraded to level zero), a level-four priest, and a level-four mage like Garrett, had no entertainment value. It was also of no value for the Silver Dragon girl.

They were standing here, just to wait for the finals, then for a result—

Oh, and to wait for the drawing of lots.

Five people drew lots, one got a bye.

Prince Rothgar against Ingvar from the Hammer tribe won, Max from the Silver Beard tribe, against Jason from the Iron Bone tribe, won.

Then the second round began, Prince Rothgar got a bye, Max from the Silver Beard tribe, against Kai from the Black Rock tribe, unfortunately lost—

"Finally, the finals." Garrett dragged a floating disc, raising it half an inch, and sat back down:

"Why bother? Why suffer? If we knew it would end like this, why not just let the two fully armored warriors fight it out?"

Just boring... not a battle axe smashing a war hammer, then a war hammer smashing a battle axe, especially boring...

"The next match, Rothgar from the Fire Hammer tribe, against Kai from the Black Rock tribe!"

The ceremonial guards shouted. The next moment, two dwarves in full armor, one holding a battle axe and the other carrying a war hammer, stepped into the circle facing each other.

"Rothgar! Rothgar! Hammer of Glory!"

"Kai! Kai!"

Cheers soared to the skies. Ninety percent for Prince Rothgar, ten percent for Kai. As for the nickname "God’s Tongue," no one shouted it, seemingly because it wasn’t loud enough...

In the midst of the cheering, the battle axe and war hammer collided heavily.

"Hey, who do you think will win?"

Garrett was a bit nervous. With his eyesight, he really couldn’t tell which of the two dwarves had stronger combat power. The extent to which the heavy weapons rebounded was exactly the same for both, and the distance they backed away was also the same. After backing away, they charged forward at the same time...

And the last time they clashed, Prince Rothgar didn’t fall behind at the start, only losing due to lack of stamina later on. This time, his lung capacity had improved, but what about the rest? The speed of heart pumping blood? Muscle strength?

He calculated back and forth, with no confidence. Beside him, Seraila’s beautiful nostrils flared slightly, suddenly "hmphing":

"Annoying!"

"What’s wrong?"

"That annoying smell! It’s gotten stronger! Much stronger!"

Her fingers clenched and unclenched, the tips of her fingers sparkling. Garrett caught sight and quickly pressed down in the air:

"Hey, don’t act rashly! Disrupting the selection battle, the entire Dwarf Kingdom will attack you! They have quite a few people above level 15!"

"Hmph! —— If that guy loses, I won’t act!"

So who will win in the end? On the Black Rock tribe’s side, or rather, what tricks has the Church of the Lord of Radiance played?

Garrett strained his eyes. Looking, he couldn’t tell; smelling, he couldn’t tell even more; quietly casting a [Detect Magic]...

Uh, both people, both sets of full armor, were urgently made ordinary armor, not enchanted, magical X-rays showed nothing...

Looking at their faces, sorry, the helmets had face guards, and under the face guards were beards. With Garrett’s knowledge of dwarves, he really couldn’t tell under all this cover, which dwarf was more confident, who was closer to victory.

Kai felt better than ever before. Warm strength continuously emerged from his chest, back, and limbs. The force of the rebound on the battle axe was almost immediately absorbed by his muscles, causing no pain at all. Humph, that prince couldn’t beat me before, and now, it’s even less likely!

"Hi!"

He shouted loudly, gripping the axe handle tightly and swinging with all his might. Across from him, Prince Rothgar forcefully lifted the hammer to block, his arms shaking violently, and he involuntarily slid back two steps.

——Damn!

This opponent has gotten stronger!

Is it because of wearing full armor? Heavier hits, more recklessness, harder to deal with... If it weren’t for the breath being slightly longer, if it were a month ago, I wouldn’t have been able to hold on!

But I can’t admit defeat! The explosives have been used, the steam engine

has been turned over, the mountain has been climbed, even lung washing has been done! After all this effort, it’s not to admit defeat now!

If I admit defeat, how can I tell all my fellow tribesmen that lung washing treatment is really safe and really effective!

"Hi — Father God above!" Taking advantage of another rebound, Prince Rothgar stomped hard, leaving a deep footprint on the martial arts field with his iron boots. Gripping the war hammer tightly, he raised it above his head, and at that moment, Garrett seemed to see a mix of red and black light shining from the top of the hammer—

"Boom!"

The war hammer smashed down with a whistling sound. The rhythm of the duel between the two, in an instant, changed from a series of eighth notes to quarter notes.

The Dwarf King, the elders, the mages seated in the guest stands, and the priests of the Lord of Radiance on the other side, all held their breath. Anyone could see that the moment to decide the winner was about to arrive!

The clash between the two weapons sparked fiercely. The two warriors had given up on dodging and feints, blocking each other’s attacks in a straightforward manner. Suddenly, with a loud noise, the battle axe and war hammer locked together, the two warriors bending at the waist, heads lowered, heels firmly on the ground, arms straining, neither yielding—

A pure white light and a mix of red and black flames rose fiercely from each of them!

---------------

• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.

• If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay