Chapter 193  

Before the match, both teams' representatives advanced to the arena center, greeted by the announcers announcing the start. Lee Shin, smiling, observed the opposing team's wizards.

'Finally, we get to meet.'

Lee Shin had his sights set on the Great Wizard, Para McMatain. He had previously watched Para's videos inside the Tower and wanted to pit his magic against him. Back then, Para had fought against the US instead of South Korea. However, the U.S. was defeated before Para could fully display his abilities.

‘I acknowledge his magical skills, but those aren't everything in a fight.’

Lee Shin had provoked Para in his recent interview. He wondered if the old wizard would refuse, considering it was an obvious provocation. With their level of confidence, however, they would not back down.

"Before the match begins, let me explain the rules," said the referee, holding a microphone in the center of the arena. "The Lostria side has accepted the South Korean representative team’s proposal. Therefore, this friendly match between Earth and Lostria will be conducted in the Winner's style."[1]

The crowd began to stir, as this was a different kind of match. In the Winner's match format, the victor remained in the arena until defeated, a rule designed to heighten audience excitement. Consequently, the spectators were thrilled.

"First player of each team, please come forward," the referee said.

Park Joo-Hyuk came from South Korea’s side, and a yellow-robed wizard stepped into the arena from the Empire’s side.

"The match ends when one side is incapacitated or gives up," said the referee.

Their names and faces appeared on the large screen. It was a match between Park Joo-Hyuk and Huisdien Bodich. Huisdien was the Head wizard of the Empire's number one magical vanguard.

‘Would Park Joo-Hyuk be able to win?'

People, including Lee Shin, thought this match would be difficult for Park Joo-Hyuk.

- All right, so Park Joo-Hyuk is out. Apparently, Lee Shin put Joo-Hyuk on the representative team.

- Yes, that’s right. The situation now feels similar to the first match. Park Joo-Hyuk is lacking compared to the rankers from other countries.

- But don’t forget the kind of match it is. Lee Shin must have put Park Joo-Hyuk on the representative team because he wanted to win all the matches himself.

- Ah! Is that so? Even if the other representative team members lose, he believes he can win against everyone on his own?

- Exactly!

As the broadcasters speculated about Lee Shin's motives, the chat room was filled with comments echoing similar sentiments.

# The moment the Winner's style match was adopted, it was guaranteed that this set of matches would end with South Korea’s victory.

# No matter how strong the Para or Paraguay guy is, he is nothing in front of Lee Shin. Don’t you think so?

# I think you’re overconfident. People say Para is the strongest in the Empire’s representative team.

.

# So what? Lee Shin is the strongest on Earth.

# Lee Shin is not only a top-ranker but also holds the 736th place in the rankings. Who here still doubts his abilities?

# Wow… that’s insane…

# I feel like even if Lee Shin was fighting alone against four challengers, he would still have managed to win.

# Hahaha, I agree with you.

# Looool

People were confident in the South Korean team's victory now. However, the Empire's representatives scoffed at these Earthlings.

"Ha! These idiots. Did they seriously want a Winner's style match? Were they out of their minds when they proposed this?”

"Our wizards who participated in the US match can’t match up to the wizards we brought for this match. Especially with Para here with us, proposing to do it Winner's style is like sticking their heads into a dragon's mouth."

"If that conceited Lee Shin dies this time, I wonder how they would react."

"Same here. I’m curious, too. They learned our magic so diligently, those fools, utterly unaware that it would only benefit us. Hahahah.”

The match kicked off. Huisdien moved his hand as if painting in the air, and lightning energy began to trace his movements, weaving through the space.

"Move," said Huisdien Bodich.

He cast his spell, and the bird-shaped lightning energy, previously suspended in the air, took flight. It swooped down, charging toward Park Joo-Hyuk.

'Tsk. That’s a challenging skill.'

Park Joo-Hyuk furrowed his brows and radiated his sword aura. His bluish sword aura flew from his sword tip and sliced through the yellow bird's head.

"Hmmm.?Not too bad," Huisdien Bodich muttered.

Huisdien Bodich had commented with a stoic expression before he continued to cast magic spells in all directions, maintaining the same look.

"Can you dodge all these and reach me?" said Huisdien Bodich.

A dazzling display of yellow lightning energy filled the air, resembling ink spreading through water. Park Joo-Hyuk furrowed his brow, skillfully evading the thunderbolts attacking him from every direction.

"Enhancing Sword," Park Joo-Hyuk said.

Park Joo-Hyuk decided to unleash his ultimate attack.

"Interesting," Huisdien Bodich muttered.

Multiple lightning arcs surged toward Park Joo-Hyuk simultaneously, their movement resembling that of sentient beings. Zap, zap, zap!

And almost at the same time, the tip of Park Joo-Hyuk's sword came to an abrupt stop, positioned directly in front of Huisdien Bodich's face.

"Ugh... Argh..." Park Joo-Hyuk gasped.

Park Joo-Hyuk's face was charred and scorched, yet his shimmering blue eyes remained fixed on Huisdien Bodich. Soon after, he collapsed.

Thud.

Park Joo-Hyuk collapsed to the floor, and the referee shouted gruffly.

"The winner is Huisdien Bodich!”

The mesmerizing magic show made the audience cheer in ecstasy. Everyone thought Park Joo-Hyuk's sword would never reach Bodich, but it had grazed him before falling. Bodich didn’t move from his spot but gritted his teeth, looking at Park Joo-Hyuk.

"Who’s up next! The next South Korean representative, please come forward," the referee said.

Huisdien Bodich remained in his spot. The bustling figures of the South Korean representative team could be seen on the other side of the arena.

'No matter who comes forward, I’ll finish them all.’

Huisdien Bodich felt a surge of irritation. He had been confident that no attack could breach his defenses. Yet, Park Joo-Hyuk's sword had managed to slice through. He couldn’t deduce how his opponent had done that, so his frustration only grew.

"T-there he is! The second South Korean representative team player is—!" shouted the referee.

The next player stepped onto the stage, and the audience’s excitement escalated rapidly.

"It's Lee Shin—!" shouted the referee with excitement.

With the referee's introduction, Lee Shin appeared, smirked, and gazed at Huisdien Bodich.

"You seem surprised," Lee Shin said, looking at Huisdien Bodich.

"I didn't expect you to come out so soon," Huisdien Bodich replied.

"Well, because this is part of my plan," Lee Shin replied.

Lee Shin's unexpected appearance as the second player took everyone by surprise. As a result, the chat room was flooded with messages from the viewers.

# What the heck? Why did Lee Shin come out already?

# No way! The ace should come out last! What's the point of coming out so early? He will only exhaust himself.

# What are you saying? Didn't you say that Lee Shin could defeat four of them? Hahaha.

# Are these South Korean kids two-faced or what?

# What are you talking about! Of course, Mr. Lee Shin will definitely win. I was just sad that other team members of our representative team don’t get to show off their skills!

# Lee Shin is quite arrogant. If he loses, it will be a national embarrassment, won't it?

# Lol, don’t worry about it. We’ve got Cha Yu-Min, Kim Kang-Won, and Baek Kang-Woo too.

# But if Lee Shin was to come out so soon, why did they send out Park Joo-Hyuk first?

# Geez, can’t you understand? Lee Shin sent him first to see how strong the opponent was. And since he thinks he can defeat the wizard, he came forward so soon.

# Oh, is that so?

***

The sounds of cheers from the crowd resonated throughout the arena. Even those disappointed with Park Joo-Hyuk's loss cheered passionately, looking forward to the upcoming match. They pleaded with Lee Shin for victory, hoping not to be disappointed.

'Yeah, I can't lose.'

After the connection between the Tower and Earth had been severed, Earthlings fell into despair, unable to see even the light of hope. Lee Shin longed for this vibrancy, vitality, and the Earthlings’ lively voices; he did not want Earth to perish.

By now, the scorched Park Joo-Hyuk had been carried out.

'He didn't use the Power of Transformation properly.'

Lee Shin knew that Park Joo-Hyuk had concealed his abilities to not reveal all his cards to his opponent. It was all good because Park Joo-Hyuk did not die. Besides, if the spell had been powerful enough to kill Joo-Hyuk, Lee Shin would have intervened to stop it.

He had sent Park Joo-Hyuk first to help him gain experience in real combat against a strong opponent. The remaining three were in the representative team as a precaution for unforeseen circumstances. Lee Shin needed people who could win the match in case the Empire side did not accept the proposal.

‘It became meaningless, though, because the Empire side accepted the Winner's style match.’?

Moreover, Lee Shin thought that there was no need to reveal the combat power of Cha Yu-Min, Kim Kang-Won, or Baek Kang-Woo. Besides, they could get seriously injured if they fought this meaningless fight.

‘I'll settle everything on my end.’

Lee Shin stepped onto the stage. Huisdien Bodich was a considerably strong wizard. His control over lightning energy, as demonstrated in his fight against Park Joo-Hyuk, was impressive to the point where even Lee Shin was amazed.

"All right. Are you guys ready?" The referee glanced at both sides and nodded. "Since it seems everyone is ready, let's begin!"

The referee left the stage, and Huisdien Bodich apathetically looked at the barrier that emerged soon after. However, contrary to his appearance, his mana was bubbling.

"Rise," said Huisdien Bodich.

The spell made white thunderbolts, much stronger than the thunderbolts from the last match, materialize in the air.

‘Was he hiding his strength?’

Just like Park Joo-Hyuk, Huisdien Bodich seemed to have the energy left to attack. 'Well, it would be meaningless…!’

[Thunder Flare]

Lee Shin unleashed the mana he had gathered, releasing it onto the ground in one powerful surge. A brilliant white light erupted, threatening to engulf the entire arena. The thunderbolts collided, creating a chaotic clash of fragmented energy that bounced around, wreaking havoc within the arena.

"Keugh…!" Huisdien Bodich groaned when the lightning fragments brushed past him. He seemed confused for some reason.

'Yeah, you must be shocked.'

Wizards rarely lost control over the mana within space. His thunderbolts now left his hands but didn’t follow his wishes. A sword that slipped from one's hand became a perilous weapon. Similarly, Huisdien Bodich's thunderbolts were no longer acting to protect him.

"Keauakk…!" Unable to anticipate or defend against the lightning-fast fragments, Huisdien found himself kneeling on the ground, getting struck repeatedly and quickly.

"E-enough...!" Huisdien Bodich muttered in pain.

The thunderbolts continued to flutter above the arena, betraying his wishes. Bodich’s flesh was torn apart as lightning energy enveloped him. His blood splattered on the field for a considerable time before the barrier was lifted.

One person stood tall when the barrier was lifted, while another lay defeated. There was no need to specify who those individuals were.

Wooaah!

Yeahhhh!

Roars of cheer almost shook the arena. The voices echoing from all directions carried Lee Shin’s name. A smile appeared on his face due to their cheering.

"Next," Lee Shin said.

Those were the only words Lee Shin had to say. Huisdien Bodich was undoubtedly an excellent thundermancer, but their skill gap was pretty big. Lee Shin thought that it might have been more interesting if he had demonstrated the elemental spell of another attribute.

The resentful glares from the Empire’s wizards who carried out Huisdien hastily were sharp. Was that anger directed at Lee Shin for making a mop out of Huisdien, or was it a defiant reaction to the unexpected strength of an opponent?

Step. Step. Step…

The next player stepped onto the stage; sadly, it wasn’t Para McMatain. Lee Shin ignored the Empire wizard and locked eyes with the Great Wizard standing beyond him. Their gazes clashed in the air. They continuously evaluated each other, attempting to decipher each other's thoughts.

'Did he want to come out this round?'

Lee Shin felt certain that Para McMatain wanted to step onto the stage immediately. However, it was likely that the Empire's side was opposing it. They must have realized that their ordinary wizards would not stand a chance against Lee Shin, especially after witnessing his recent match against Huisdien Bodich. This likely explained why they hesitated to send out Para.

"Let's begin!" The referee announced the start of the match.

The next player was a geomancer. It was a challenging ability to deal with, yet…

[Psychokinesis]

As the intangible and invisible hand disrupted space and distorted the mana waves, the one trying to dominate space became nervous.

‘Dealing with a well-versed elemental wizard was more tricky than a non-perfect specialized wizard.’

Ironically, wizards tended to become more arrogant when they acknowledged their uniqueness. When Lee Shin forcefully struck the ground with his intangible mana, the ground beneath the wizard rose, disrupting the wizard’s mana control. Lee Shin did not miss the opportunity and released a burst of mana toward the opponent’s head.

Boom—!

"Keugh…!”?The geomancer groaned in pain.

The wizard, staggering around in confusion due to the destructive force that shook their cochlea, crashed into the barrier.

[Blitz Gun]

Baaaam—!

The light energy that collided with the barrier burst into flames and dissipated. And on that spot, only the trembling wizard remained, looking at the sky with hopeless eyes.

"The winner is Lee Shin!" shouted the referee in excitement.

The match lasted less than a minute.

Woaaah—!

Yeahhhh—!

Thunderous cheers spread again from the people staring blankly at the spectacle.

"Next," Lee Shin said.

Now, only two remained.

‘Are you just going to watch from the back, Para McMatain?’

. The match sounds like a single-elimination/knockout tournament, but we are going with this because the author consistently uses this term.