Chen, with all his calculations, never expected that Darius was just playing around with him before, not serious!
But the surrounding Noxus veterans' eyes lit up, and they started discussing:
"How long has it been since Noxus Hand acted with his full strength?"
"To force the boss to go all out during a spar, this kid is not simple."
"It's really good that Noxus has new power."
"How many hits do you think this kid can take next?"
"..."
They watched the battle intently, curious to see how powerful this kid truly was today.
Before Chen could react, Darius had already rushed to his face, swinging an axe at his neck.
"Damn it, this isn't a spar! He's clearly trying to kill me!"
Just one punch had sent him flying and knocked off about one-eighth of his health, and now Darius had also applied a stack of Hemorrhage!
Chen had already felt Darius's power; there was still a gap between them. Although he had his system's cheat and many skills, his current stats were far lower than Darius's, and his combat experience was nowhere near Darius's!
If he took a few more axe swings, and Darius triggered his Bloodrage, he definitely wouldn't be able to withstand it!
But the entire process before had taken only a few seconds, and Counter Strike was still on cooldown. He could only grab the street lamp and block, while shouting loudly:
"Unbreakable Will!"
Two familiar rune shields appeared around him. He lifted the street lamp, only to feel a terrifying force. This Noxus Hand was a pure stat monster!
Even with Unbreakable Will active, Darius swung his axe continuously, without any fancy moves—just vertical chops, horizontal slashes, and uppercuts!
But Chen was pushed back repeatedly, using the street lamp to block several times, his hands completely numb from the impact.
Chen found an opportunity and finally freed up one hand. With one second of free time, he clenched his left hand.
A cloud of green poisonous mist exploded at Darius's feet, coiling around Darius like a python, fiercely constricting Darius's neck.
Chen secretly used Cassiopeia's Q skill, Noxious Blast. The Noxious Blast wrapped around Darius, eroding his life and stamina.
"Cough cough... you can even use magic. You've made me think even more highly of you!"
Darius coughed twice, actually spitting out a trace of blood, finally causing substantial damage to Darius!
But Darius was now smiling broadly, very satisfied with Chen. Darius decided to show his sincerity, which meant going all out!
"Decimate."
Noxus Hand swung the Black Cleaver in his hand, drawing a graceful arc in the air, and chopped towards Chen.
Chen still wanted to block with his battle axe, but Darius's battle axe, Black Cleaver, had already stacked its passive Cleave, and the battle axe glowed blood-red. At this moment, the axe blade seemed to become infinitely sharp!
"Crippling Strike!"
The Black Cleaver and the ordinary battle axe collided once again.
Sparks flew everywhere.
At the point where Chen's battle axe met the Black Cleaver,
starting from a tiny crack,
it spread wildly around,
instantly filling the entire battle axe with cracks.
The next second,
the battle axe exploded!
It didn't just break; it exploded into several pieces!
The fragments flew towards Chen, but thankfully, under the protection of Unbreakable Will, it only caused a minor scratch!
But Darius's Black Cleaver had arrived as expected, chopping towards Chen.
It happened in a flash; Counter Strike's cooldown finally refreshed. Chen roared:
"Counter Strike!"
The street lamp spun above his head!
Darius's full-strength swing felt like hitting cotton, its power skillfully neutralized by Chen's street lamp.
Darius swung another axe from a tricky angle, but the street lamp once again blocked the axe, nullifying the immense power of the Black Cleaver.
"Impressive!"
Seeing all his attacks nullified, Darius swung his axe again, but this time it was a feint; the real move was a hidden kick aimed at Chen's lower body!
But Counter Strike was not controlled by Chen; it was the system's forced block!
The street lamp in Chen's hand suddenly stood upright, blocking the giant axe above and Darius's insidious kick below.
Just as Chen was about to end Counter Strike and knock out Darius with the street lamp, Darius suddenly stopped, stepped back two paces, and waved his hand:
"Enough, no more fighting."
The warlike Darius actually stopped fighting. Chen was confused again, and the surrounding soldiers also cast curious glances at Darius. It was the first time they had seen Noxus Hand voluntarily stop before winning!
Darius put down his battle axe, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said to all the onlookers and Chen:
"This time we'll call it a draw. This kid is very strong, and we can't continue fighting. Any more, and it would be a fight to the death. We wouldn't be able to determine a winner without fighting to the bitter end."
"We are all powerful Noxus warriors; we should die gloriously on the battlefield! Wouldn't dying in a spar among our own be a joke?"
Everyone was stunned, especially the veterans. They knew that Darius had admitted that this kid's strength was no less than his own; even if there was a difference, it wasn't by much!
Chen let out a sigh of relief, dropping the street lamp to the ground with a clang. His hands were trembling, and the skin between his thumb and forefinger was already cracked; he was barely able to hold his weapon.
Darius was right; he had to go all out against Chen, which meant he couldn't hold back his strength.
In fact, Darius realized that Chen was almost at his limit. If they continued fighting, he wouldn't be able to control himself and might very well chop Chen to death with one axe swing. In a duel between masters, one move could very well decide life or death.
Darius didn't want Chen to die, so he offered a way out and chose to stop.
But this caused a stir among the veterans; they all looked at Chen as if he were a god:
"Wow! At first, I thought this kid was all talk, but he actually managed to fight Darius to a draw!"
"Yeah, I think he's definitely a strong contender for the next Noxus Hand!"
"His combat skill is really high, I just don't know why he uses a street lamp as a weapon."
"Indeed, but he's exceptionally good at using the street lamp. He can block any attack, even the dirty tricks from the boss..."
"..."
Noxians are sometimes this simple, revering the ultimate strength.
Darius extended his right hand to Chen:
"Come on, that was a great fight today. I'm treating you to a meal!"
Chen also shook his hand. At least for now, the two were not enemies:
"Thank you, Noxus Hand."
Powder watched with great interest from the side:
"Is this the mutual appreciation between masters? It's so cool, it makes me want to learn martial arts!"
But Powder looked down at the Pow-Pow and flame chompers! hanging from her, and shook her head:
"Explosions are still more fun."
Darius then looked at Powder nearby and said to Chen:
"That's your woman, right? Bring her along."
Powder's small face suddenly flushed, and her feet shuffled on the ground as she mumbled:
"His woman..."