A stir erupted throughout the arena.

Each god’s magic, or at least their signature or major spells, carries a unique brilliance. Just like the invasion by the Church of the Radiant Lord that Garrett witnessed on the battlefield:

The Church of the Radiant Lord’s magic was like mountains pressing down, connected from earth to sky, enveloped in white light;

The Spring Goddess’s Church shimmered in a gentle, water-blue radiance;

The Church of the God of Nature glowed with a vibrant green light;

And the Temple of the War God glowed with a solid, condensed black-red brilliance. Dark as steel, red as blood—compared to that, the light flaring from Prince Rothgar was also black-red but shone with the golden red of magma and flame, much brighter than the War God’s magic.

The black-red flame surging around Prince Rothgar was expected; but what was happening with Kai?!

"What’s going on with Kai?" Archbishop Jeroni, at a location directly opposite Garrett and his group, asked his subordinate in a low voice:

"Didn’t you oversee the tattooing? Did it go wrong? Or was the potion mixed incorrectly?"

The 【Mark of the Faithful】’s power was deeply embedded within the body, hardly leaking out. If it were so easily detectable, the church would not have chosen such a method, risking nearly half the life of a bishop.

"No, not at all!" The priest beside him replied with a wronged expression: "You know me, I tattoo so many people a year, how could I possibly mess up! Besides, the 【Mark of the Faithful】 potion, it’s impossible to mix incorrectly! There’s nothing simpler than it!"

Across the field, the Silver Dragon Maiden chuckled and withdrew her finger, concealing her identity and power.

However, whether it was a mistake in the concoction or someone tampering with it, the pure, brilliant white light had already illuminated everyone’s eyes.

If it were just an aura visible in meditation, visible only to the caster, there might have been room for excuses. But with one pure white and one black-red flame rising against each other, even dwarves without any extraordinary powers could see it clearly!

"That guy doesn’t believe in the Father God!"

After a moment of silence, an angry shout erupted from the back of the crowd. Soon, more and louder shouts joined in:

"He believes in the Radiant Lord!"

"He betrayed the Father God!"

"Those who do not believe in the Father God, have no right to be king!"

"Get out!"

"Get out—"

Clang clang bang bang—

Garrett hastily erected a shield spell. What a joke, if you’re going to throw shoes, at least aim properly! It almost hit me!

And they stink—ugh...

More shoes, of course, landed on Kai, and Prince Rothgar also took quite a few stray hits. Thankfully, both dwarves were clad in full armor, so as long as they weren’t iron boots, a hit was just a hit, no serious harm done. ȒΆꞐỒBĘs

The fight continued, the only issue being that the ground had become much more pitted and uneven, so the two warriors had to watch their step...

Yet, their movements were not the least bit disordered, and their momentum did not wane. Kai’s eyes were blood-red with rage, his shouts thunderous as he swung his battle-ax with fierce force:

What if I’m cursed, what if shoes are thrown at me, the ceremony of choosing a king is a tradition of thousands of years, a covenant under the gaze of the gods, as long as I win this battle, I don’t believe you’ll have the guts to overturn it!

And opposite him, Prince Rothgar crouched low, gripping his war hammer, his feet staggered. A sense of responsibility like never before burned throughout his body, providing him with endless strength:

The Dwarf Kingdom must not fall into the hands of someone who has betrayed the Father God!

Accepting their help, using their priests, that can be understood; but you’ve completely turned to them, believed in them—

"You betrayed the Father God!"

A hammer strike!

"Get out of the royal court!"

A hammer strike!

"You’re not fit to lead the kingdom!"

A hammer strike!

"Get out!"

A hammer strike!

"Get out!"

A hammer strike!

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Kai roared like a fierce beast. He suddenly stepped diagonally, not blocking the war hammer but instead turning sideways, raising his left arm to take the blow directly. The shoulder armor shattered, the arm armor deformed, and amidst the horrific sound of bone cracking, a surging white light brightened—

Followed by a fiercely sharp ax light!

"Ah!"

Garrett exclaimed in shock. Even he could tell, the guy from the Black Rock tribe exchanged injuries for a particularly dangerous strike. Moreover,

the power on the battle-ax didn’t seem to have diminished much!

"Damn it!"

The Silver Dragon Maiden huffed angrily. "That guy, healing himself! Cheating!"

Prince Rothgar hammered down, hitting Kai’s left arm, too late to retract for a block. The battle-ax slashed down diagonally, and he could only dive to the ground, rolling outwards with all his might to avoid this earth-shattering strike—

Swipe!

Swipe!

Swipe!

White light flickered continuously. Large masses of bright light condensed on Kai’s left arm, making each of his ax strikes faster and more powerful than the last. Prince Rothgar was forced to roll around the ground, tumbling from the center of the arena all the way to its edge.

With a dwarf’s stature and waist circumference, this rolling motion resembled a lion’s head meatball covered in silver foil. Under normal circumstances, Garrett would have burst out laughing. But at this moment, not a smile could be found, his fists clenched tightly, full of worry:

What to do?

What to do?

Is there any way to help him?

Never mind winning or losing, if this ax hits, it could mean a broken arm or leg at best, death at worst!

Can magic be used? Can divine magic be used? It seems like interference from the outside is not allowed, otherwise, it would be considered cheating, is there any way to do it without being noticed?

His mind flashed through the spells he had learned like the end credits of a movie, one by one, in rows, searching for any magic he knew. At the edge of the arena, two dwarf elders stood opposite each other, their hands flickering with light, divine magic ready to unleash; two high-ranking warriors clenched their war hammers, ready to rush into the arena at any moment to block a fatal blow—

Although being saved meant losing, if Prince Rothgar lost, it meant that the traitor to the Father God would become king. But faith could be argued about later, they couldn’t watch the prince die!

Dong!

Prince Rothgar finally hit the edge of the arena. He paused in his motion, and Kai seized the opportunity to deliver another ax strike directly atop. Prince Rothgar struggled to raise his arms, blocking upwards with his war hammer, but was pressed down hard. The ax pressed on the helmet, creating a thunderous noise—

"Ah!"

Garrett jumped up from his floating disk. The Silver Dragon Maiden held down his arm with one hand, pressing him back into his seat, while her other hand already glowed with light. Just then, at the edge of the arena, an unprecedented roar erupted:

"Ahhhhhhhhhh—"

Light ascended!

Golden-red, like magma, the light once again surged from Prince Rothgar! The blazing light scorched the black spiritual light, representing steel, into a reddish hue! The light condensed, whirled, exploded, and at the same moment, Prince Rothgar curled up, bent his knees, and stomped the ground—

With a dented helmet and blood flowing beneath, he heavily collided with Kai’s chest!

"He has advanced!"

At the edge of the arena, countless people exclaimed in surprise.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay