Chapter 181: A Trial by Fire
Less than thirty seconds after the group chat fell silent, a frantic patter of footsteps echoed from the end of the ruined passage.
Stelle led the charge, a blur of motion with March 7th hot on her heels. Dan Heng, ever the composed rearguard, maintained a steady, ground-eating pace behind them. The trio had clearly sprinted here at full speed, eager to catch the spectacle.
They arrived just in time to see the battle's final moments.
Under Zhongli's tutelage—"Let the Fire-Woven ascend, then entangle its neck"—Wise had grown increasingly proficient at dispatching the remaining Heavens Condemnation Gladiators. These fierce stone monstrosities, which had previously required a whole squad of Okhema guards to bring down, now seemed clumsy and oafish. They swung wildly, unable to so much as graze the hem of Wise's clothes as he weaved between them, his burning ribbons lashing out with punishing accuracy.
Finally, Wise saw his opening. Like twin vipers striking from the shadows, his Fire-Woven ribbons shot forward, wrapping precisely around the neck and joints of the last gladiator. In an instant, scorching flames seeped into the cracks of its rocky hide.
With a grating shriek of shattering stone and a shower of brilliant sparks, the final Heavens Condemnation Gladiator crashed to the ground, collapsing into a heap of smoldering rubble.
"Wow! Big brother, you're amazing!" Belle was the first to cheer, her hands clapping enthusiastically.
Stelle, March 7th, and Dan Heng, who had been watching from the sidelines, joined in the applause.
"Well fought, Wise!" Stelle praised, a wide grin on her face.
"Your movements were so fluid!" March 7th added with a beaming smile.
Even Dan Heng offered a slight, approving nod.
The same young man who had been a whirlwind of fierce, almost violent grace during the battle now seemed to shrink under his friends' praise. Wise raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, a touch of red creeping up his neck.
He offered a shy smile. "It's... it's alright. It was mostly Mr. Zhongli's guidance, and these monsters have pretty simple attack patterns..."
Before he could finish his modest deflection, the world seemed to rupture.
A colossal, grinding roar of crumbling rock erupted from a broken platform high above their heads. A massive shadow tore through the silence, plummeting toward the ground with an overwhelming momentum that threatened to crush everything beneath it. It struck like a meteor, smashing into an open space not far from Wise.
BOOM—!
The ground buckled, forming a shallow crater as a cloud of dust and smoke billowed outwards.
As the grit began to settle, a titanic figure was revealed. Over three meters tall and encased in thick, formidable stone armor, it stood majestically amidst the haze. It was poised on one knee, still in its landing buffer, one hand gripping a massive, door-sized stone greatsword that was nearly as tall as itself, its blade buried deep in the earth.
The entrance was a masterclass in intimidation and sheer, unadulterated coolness.
The Damned Vanguard.
The smile vanished from Wise's face, replaced instantly by a mask of hardened focus. He spun around, dropping into a low fighting stance as he stared intently at the sudden, terrifyingly powerful foe.
Stelle's eyes, however, practically lit up with stars. She muttered under her breath, her voice a low grumble of pure, unadulterated envy, "Whoa! Why him? Why does this guy get such a cool entrance?"
"When I saw them attacking Okhema's city walls earlier, they were all just dull bricks who only knew how to swing. How come this one gets to play 'God of War Descending From the Heavens'?" she fumed. "Nope, I can't stand it. This guy is way too flashy. I have to beat him up!"
As she spoke, a flash of light bloomed in her palm, and her familiar metal baseball bat materialized. She was already tensing, ready to rush forward.
"Hey, hey, hey! Stelle, wait!" March 7th, ever vigilant, snatched her friend's arm. "This is Wise's trial! Did you forget what Mr. Zhongli said? We need Wise to accumulate more practical combat experience! If you just go in and smash it, you'll have your fun, but won't all of Wise's efforts be for nothing?"
Stelle froze. She glanced at Wise, who stood poised and ready for battle, then down at the bat humming eagerly in her hand. With a reluctant sigh, she made it disappear. "Alright, alright... You're right. Ugh, what a waste of such a cool punching bag..."
Her attention snapped back to the impromptu arena, but she was still muttering, "Go, Wise! Beat him up! Dismantle that flashy stone armor of his!"
Down in the crater, Wise had no mind to spare for Stelle's complaints. His entire being was focused on the behemoth before him. Over three meters tall, covered in seemingly impenetrable armor, and wielding that monstrous greatsword... just looking at it was suffocating. The sheer pressure radiating from the Damned Vanguard as it simply knelt there far surpassed that of all the previous gladiators combined.
Wise's palms grew slick with sweat. He vividly remembered watching Stelle, Dan Heng, and March 7th dealing with these things during the defense of Okhema. To them, the Vanguards were like vegetables to be chopped, none of them lasting more than a single exchange against the Astral Express crew.
What he didn't know, however, was that this particular monster was an enhanced variant, tough enough to withstand at least three of Stelle's full-power swings.
'They can do it, so I... I should be able to, as well!' A spark of defiant fighting spirit ignited in Wise's heart, burning away some of his nervousness.
But he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could fell his opponent in a single blow. He had a clear understanding of his own strength—just managing to defeat this thing would be a monumental step forward.
Taking a deep breath, Wise decided against using the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit. He would continue to rely on his martial arts and the Fire-Woven ribbons, treating this as the ultimate form of training.
The Damned Vanguard moved.
It let out a low, muffled growl from within its stone helm. With an unnerving ease, it lifted the massive greatsword with one hand and swept it horizontally, aiming for Wise's waist with a gale-force wind that tore through the air. Its speed wasn't blindingly fast, but the immense pressure generated by its sheer size and weight was terrifying.
Wise's eyes narrowed. With a sharp pivot of his feet, he sidestepped the heavy, powerful blow by a razor-thin margin, the wind from the blade scraping painfully against his cheek.
'Just as I thought. The weapon is too heavy, so its movements are a bit slow. This is my chance!' he judged internally.
He immediately launched a counterattack. His Fire-Woven ribbons shot out like two agile fire snakes, aiming directly for the stone-gauntleted wrist that gripped the sword's hilt. He intended to entangle and disarm it.
However—Splat!
The ribbons connected, wrapping tightly around the Vanguard's arm. But in the next second, the monster merely flexed its arm, and an utterly irresistible force surged through the fiery tethers.
Wise felt a tremendous power wrench him forward. He lost his balance completely, letting out a cry of surprise as he was flung through the air. He barely managed to twist his body in mid-flight, landing unsteadily and staggering back several steps before he could regain his footing, his arm tingling from the violent shock.
"Hiss... The power difference is too great," Wise muttered, shaking his numb arm. His expression grew even more serious. The strategy of binding the enemy's weapon was a failure; his opponent's absolute strength far exceeded his own.
It seemed his only option was to get in close, to search for gaps in the armor and strike at its weak points.
But... looking at that suit of fully-enclosed stone armor, would he even find an opportunity to break through?
Thinking was no substitute for doing.
Wise lunged forward again, using his superior agility to constantly evade the Damned Vanguard's powerful but somewhat clumsy slashes and swings, patiently waiting for an opening in its assault.
Finally, after the Vanguard committed to a massive downward slash that buried its sword in the ground, he saw it: a huge window of recovery lag.
An opportunity.
A sharp glint flashed in Wise's eyes. His body, like a spring compressed to its absolute limit, suddenly exploded forward. He clenched his right fist, concentrating all his strength into a single point. It was a straightforward, unadorned punch, launched like a cannonball, aimed directly at the Damned Vanguard's waist.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]