Watson’s voice was not loud, but it was audible in the otherwise silent arena.
The fusion technology could give him skills directly, but it could not give him combat abilities. As a result, as he was fighting Elvira, who was also a gold-tier warrior, she had managed to stab him in the shoulders.
Their attacks were only a few inches apart, but the result was completely different. That was the distinction in combat experience.
It was no surprise.
The opponents he fought might be instantaneously killed by the system’s ability, leaving him with limited opportunities to fight. As his strength grew, his situation would change. The stronger he became, the slower his strength grew. He could crush his rivals because he was a dual-class platinum-tier elite, while most of his foes were silver or gold-tier elites.
When he entered the diamond tier and faced those old monsters that were diamond tier or beyond, the disparity in experience would make it more difficult for him to fight. Even though the kingdom only had one diamond-tier elite, who knew if there were other elites in other places? Furthermore, his goal was to deal with the King. Therefore he should plan for such a day.
The best way to improve his actual combat experience was to have a teacher.
Watson was debating whether he should employ a swordmaster from the Royal City to educate him. He had Antonio teach him magic so he would not have to worry about that. However, he had always struggled with combat aura when he trained on his own. In comparison to a mage, he clearly lacked a warrior’s training.
During his battle with Elvira, he recognized certain issues, but he did not care if he won or lost. It was preferable to lose to Elvira than to be at a disadvantage in the same situation in the future. The only pity was that, according to the agreement, he could not continue to assist Torch Town in its transformation. Thus, Lubin would be quite disappointed. He could already imagine Lubin’s snot and tears begging him not to leave.
“Blackmoon Town has admitted defeat. Commander Elvira has won!”
While Watson was deep in thought, the residents in the arena cheered. Some of them were already hugging each other.
Elvira’s voice broke through the commotion at that precise moment. “Wait a minute, Watson. In fact, I was the one who lost that fight.”
What had happened?
When the crowd, which was already ecstatic, heard the voice from the stage, they looked perplexed. Watson was evidently injured as a result of their sword combat. He should be the one to lose. Why would Elvira admit defeat?
Elvira swung around and stared at Watson, ignoring the surrounding noises. “Watson, tell me the truth. Did you not use all of your strength when you fought me just now?”
Why did he not use his full strength? Was that not Watson’s full strength in that fight? The crowd was even more dumbfounded.
“I did not expect Miss Elvira to notice that.”
Watson touched his head and revealed a shy smile.
Elvira let out a long breath; she sounded unhappy. “I realized something was wrong halfway through the battle. You clearly had the power to defeat me, but you deliberately used magic tricks to try to exhaust me. If I had not suggested a quick and decisive battle, you would have used that method to defeat me! It’s a shame for any knight not to use all of their strength in a duel. Are you underestimating me?”
“I did not mean that, but if I had used all of my strength, things would become very troublesome.”
“How troublesome?”
Elvira showed a look of disbelief. “Watson, I’m admitting defeat because I know I’m not your match. I can’t deceive myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m convinced! If you don’t let me see your true strength, I’m afraid I won’t be able to admit defeat wholeheartedly. You won’t reject my request, right?”
“That…”
Watson looked troubled. He had wanted to go all out to win that battle, but Elvira insisted that he had cheated. He had no choice but to suppress his strength at the gold tier. Unexpectedly, after he lost to Elvira, the other party felt dissatisfied. It had been really difficult for him.
Apart from determining that he lacked battle experience, he also decided that he should never fight with women, especially irrational ones, after that conflict. That would be disastrous.
Watson sighed as he reflected on that thought. “Miss Elvira, it will be extremely dangerous for you to stand in front of me if I were to release my true strength. Please take a step back.”
“How far back? A hundred meters?” Elvira put the thin sword back into the sheath at her waist and walked backward for a hundred meters.
The entire arena was only four to five hundred meters in length and width. Elvira was about half a distance away from Watson, so she felt that it was enough.
“No, Miss Elvira, a hundred meters is far from enough. You will need to step outside the arena.”
Watson shook his head. Elvira’s forehead furrowed, and her expression was weird when she heard that. She could only demolish the ground within a 100-meter radius if she utilized her full strength to cast the Heavenly Fire Unsheathing. The entire stadium was a few thousand square meters, and the surrounding stands were significantly larger. Watson meant that he could destroy nearly 10,000 square meters in a single move.
How was that possible?
“It’s not only you, Miss Elvira, but all the spectators in the arena had better go right now. My master and the border count will form a protective shield. That’s the only way to ensure your safety.”
“Alright, I will evacuate everyone in the arena now.”
Elvira fixed her gaze on Watson. Even though she did not believe Watson’s strength was as great as he said, she followed his instructions. That was because she was very interested in Watson’s true power.
“Listen to me, everyone. Please leave the arena. The opponent from the Blackmoon Town will cast a powerful spell. It will be very dangerous if you continue to stay here.”
Elvira used her combat aura to amplify her voice. She began to evacuate the spectators in the stands. Out of respect for her, 80% of the people left the arena obediently. However, a small number of the more rebellious ones did not go.
“Watson, do you really intend to use all your strength? Aren’t you worried that Torch Town will be destroyed?” Sylvan asked in a worried tone. While Elvira did her job, Lubin and the others went to see Watson from the viewing platform.
“It’s fine. We have Master and Lord Sylvan to keep an eye on things. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if Torch Town is destroyed. The purpose of my visit is to rebuild Torch Town. Since Miss Elvira has admitted defeat, there’s no need for me to leave. It will be easier to rebuild it after it is destroyed,” Watson replied with a smile.
Lubin rushed forward when Torch Town was mentioned. He apologized as he wiped the chilly sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. “Young Master Watson, the battle just now should have finished a long time ago. It is all Elvira’s fault that she did not give up. Forget it; she even accused you of cheating! Do not worry. I will talk to her and remove her as the Torch Knight’s commander. I will make sure that she is punished for this.”
The battle had made Lubin’s heart pounded, and his hands and feet were numb. He felt the world had darkened when Watson admitted his defeat.
If Watson lost, he would have to leave Torch Town. Who else would help to develop Torch Town for the better? It was all Elvira’s fault—that stupid woman with a brain of muscles. Lubin pondered that hatefully in his heart. He stared at Elvira’s back, who was evacuating the crowd.
Plus, Elvira even said that she wanted to witness Watson’s true strength.
It was extremely foolish. What if Watson used his full strength to pulverize Torch Town? After he heard Sylvan tell Antonio that Watson was a platinum-tier dual-class elite, he did not doubt that Watson could do that.
“Young Master Watson, I know that you are powerful. Elvira is not your match. You don’t need to prove anything to her. Let’s find a place to discuss the matter of rebuilding the town.” Lubin smiled apologetically at Watson.
Initially, he respected Watson because of the close relationship between Watson and those important figures. Watson’s strength had already convinced him.
“Mayor Lubin, go take a rest. After all, I promised Miss Elvira that I would show my strength. I can’t go back on my words,” Watson replied and walked to the side to warm up.
Lubin moved his lips and was about to say something when Antonio cut him off. “Let us do it according to Watson’s plan. My disciple has always been busy with fusing items for his family. He is always thinking about others but rarely about himself. He had finally made a request; how can we reject him? I also want to know how powerful he is anyway.”
‘Master Antonio, you are too doting on your disciple.’
Lubin could not say it out loud; he could only follow Sylvan and Antonio out of the arena.
The arena was nearly empty in 20 minutes. There were a lot of people outside. Many people glanced through the entrance and talked about it.
“The boy from Blackmoon Town wants to show off his magic. Why should we leave? Does he think he is powerful enough to destroy the entire arena?”
“Forget about Commander Elvira. Even Lord Sylvan and Master Antonio are out here, and they even used magic to set up a protective barrier outside the arena. Is this not making a mountain out of a molehill? There’s no need for Commander Elvira to admit defeat. Perhaps that kid isn’t strong enough and is intentionally scaring us!”
Some people had heard that Watson had held back in the fight with Elvira, and she wanted to see his true strength. She also wanted to prevent them from saying that she had lost on purpose. They could understand Elvira’s feelings, but they did not know why he was making such a huge deal out of nothing.
In the arena…
Watson concluded his warm-up exercises and took a look around. He saw a few folks seated sparsely at the top of the audience seats. Except for him, the entire arena was nearly empty. Antonio and Sylvan had also set up a protective shield for the people within it.
“Very good. Now I can cast my magic without worry.”
Watson stretched his muscles and closed his eyes. He had progressed all the way to the platinum tier since he had transmigrated to that realm. During that period, he had fused various spells, and fighting abilities, some of which were powerful and others were not. He felt it was really difficult to choose the strongest one. In that case, he might as well not choose at all. Instead, he would reveal everything he had learned.
What was his real strength?
It was to fuse all the abilities he had obtained into one. That was his true strength.
Watson took a deep breath and activated the fusion system. In an instant, all the abilities he had mastered flashed across his mind. They were like strands of light that could split the heavens and earth. Dozens of powerful platinum-tier spells and even more gold-tier skills; all of those fused to create a massive explosion that blew his consciousness away.
He faintly heard a system notification.
[Congratulations, Master, for fusing all of your current abilities. You have obtained a peak diamond-tier spell, Absolute Explosion.]
