Mason was so pissed he burst out laughing. Along with him, the other four from the Red River Pact clan — plus the new vice-leader standing in the arena — also started laughing.
Inside the arena, only their laughter echoed.
Who did he think he was? Some unbeatable, untouchable god? Even the most arrogant and talented people had some limit, but Darian just looked like a complete idiot.
"You’re right, you don’t need your weapon — because the result’ll be the same whether you use it or not," Mason said, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Darian just clenched his fists for a moment, then shot him a teasing look. "You sure you wanna stand there and let me hit you ten times?"
"Enough bullshit," Mason started losing patience. "For trash like you, it’s not just ten strikes — you could hit me a hundred times and it still wouldn’t matter. Just hit me already, damn it!"
"For real?" Darian’s face lit up in total surprise. "Alright, I’ll give it a shot."
Mason wasn’t saying that out of pure ignorance. In the earlier fight, he’d only used about 30% of his power, and the gap between two and three rings was massive.
He was a tank specialized in forming ice armor. Because of the stellar physique of the Empire’s people, most tanks picked some simple blessing tied to natural elements. They were easy to learn and use, and their starborn bodies gave them way more potential than usual with that kind of blessing.
Another thing was Darian being a support. Supports didn’t have any real offensive power. Even if Darian was super skilled and loaded with weird artifacts, as long as Mason focused on defending with his ring energy, no support could hurt him — not even with everything they had.
Everyone in the arena understood that... which was why they looked at Darian with pity and a bit of mockery. Though they didn’t laugh out loud like that clan did.
Darian walked up slowly until he was only three steps from Mason, then raised his right arm. Holding up his fist in a clear threat, he asked one more time:
"When I hit you, you sure you won’t block it?"
"Hmph!" Mason scoffed. "You deaf or what? I said I’m not gonna block. I’m being generous here, giving trash like you a shot. But if you keep wasting my time, I’ll knock you flat myself!"
"Alright, alright!" Darian nodded and raised his fist.
Right then, he took a deep breath...
All seven stars in his body pulsed in sync. Half the power of his ring burned up in a single instant.
A burst of wind blew out in all directions.
Everyone turned toward Darian, startled — and saw a faint, seven-colored glow flash across his eyes.
"Well then, since that’s how it is, I’ll go easy on this first hit. Just a little test, alright?!"
And right as he finished saying that, Darian stepped forward.
A faint black aura appeared around Darian’s fist. Then he threw a punch... but it moved super slowly toward Mason’s chest.
To everyone watching, it looked like the scene was in slow motion.
But... from Darian’s body, a subtle energy leaked out — incredibly dense and terrifying. Only one person in the arena truly felt it: the high-ranking military officer standing nearby — the strongest person present.
He instantly recognized the power of seven stars. His eyes widened. That technique was similar to what the Empire warriors used... but way, way more abnormal.
No one else noticed anything. Most people still watched with looks of mockery... even Nayara got serious.
She figured that since Darian wasn’t even using a weapon, that gentle-looking punch was something she could’ve taken — let alone a tank.
"A complete idiot with no idea what he’s doing..." Mason spat, his eyes flashing with killing intent as Darian’s fist crept closer.
He hadn’t moved or defended, but he never said he wouldn’t retaliate. Against someone as cocky and ridiculous as Darian, just a flick of ring energy would be enough to counter and break his arm.
Judging by Mason’s expression, Darian seemed to guess what was about to happen — and smirked coldly. Then, out of nowhere, his right fist sped up — and hit Mason square in the chest.
The punch didn’t look strong or weak. The sound it made... wasn’t loud, but oddly muffled.
Just as everyone expected, Mason didn’t budge an inch. Not even a flinch... his expression didn’t change at all.
Laughter exploded again around the arena — once more, coming from the Red River Pact members.
The laughter slowly faded as something began to feel... off.
As Darian pulled his fist back, Mason’s expression still hadn’t changed. But what really threw everyone off was that he wasn’t mocking anymore. He didn’t even try to counterattack...
Darian took a step back and looked at him with a smirk. "Oh? What’s wrong?"
Finally, Mason groaned in a hoarse voice. His eyes flew wide open. Then... his body started to collapse slowly.
He dropped to the ground, clutching his chest in agony. His whole body trembled, cold sweat pouring from his forehead...
...a second later, he vomited a huge mouthful of blood, mixed with white foam. Then blood started gushing out from his nose, eyes, and ears.
Everyone in the arena stared, completely stunned, jaws hanging open.
After a moment of stunned silence, the current vice-leader of the Red River Pact jumped out of his seat and landed right in the center of the martial stage.
He immediately checked Mason.
Within a second, his eyes went wide with horror. Then his face darkened as he glared furiously at Darian. "You..."
After examining him, it was clear: all of Mason’s internal organs were damaged, and more than ten of his ribs were broken. Inside, he was a total wreck — a scary mess.
His injuries could only be described as insanely severe, and not even the best pills would stand much of a chance of healing him.
"So that’s all he was... what a disappointment." Faced with the vice-leader’s murderous glare, Darian didn’t flinch at all and spoke calmly.
Inside, he was mocking them. If Mason had actually blocked with full power, he definitely could’ve tanked several of his punches. That way, the black power would’ve only seeped into a small part of his body. Sure, after a few exchanges, Darian would still win — easily, in fact.
But... choosing to be arrogant and take the hit head-on? That was just stupid.
Even though the punch didn’t push him back, Darian’s stellar-level body carried terrifying destructive power. Once it hit, it tore right through Mason’s ring energy defense. That let the black power flood in without resistance — and once it activated, it wrecked him from the inside.