Similarly, Cathy too felt the shift in the air and quickly raised her own defenses, her heart pounding.
Inside the arena, Julian’s body began to glow with a deep, ominous light.
The phoenix’s power, which had been doubled when he absorbed it, started to condense rapidly around his right arm. The flas grew denser, brighter, and hotter, compressing into a single, terrifying point of concentrated energy. Small cracks appeared on the surface of his skin as the vessels in his arm began to fracture under the strain.
Aldric’s expression turned serious. He could feel the terrifying amount of power gathering in Julian’s fist.
"So this is your final card..." the commander muttered.
Julian took one step forward.
His voice rang out clearly across the silent training ground.
"Crimson Sovereign. Final Technique: Apocalypse Phoenix Descent."
The mont the words left his mouth, Julian launched forward like a cot.
He threw his right fist straight toward Commander Aldric in a devastating punch. The space around his fist distorted violently as the heat reached its absolute peak. The air warped and shimred like lting glass. Waves of golden-red flas roared outward from his arm, scorching the ground beneath his feet into molten slag with every step.
The pain was almost unbearable.
Every fractured mana vessel in his body scread in protest. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but Julian bit down hard on his lower lip and pushed forward with sheer willpower.
Seeing the young lord giving everything he had, Aldric felt a surge of genuine pride and joy.
The veteran commander’s face broke into a wide, battle-hungry grin.
"Well done, young lord!"
He roared in approval.
"This is what I wanted to see!"
Aldric too concentrated every ounce of his storm mana into his right fist. Lightning crackled wildly around his arm as wind howled like a living beast.
"Storm Sovereign. Final Strike: Thunder God’s Judgnt!"
With a thunderous battle cry, Aldric launched himself forward to et Julian head-on.
BAAAAAAAAAAM!!!
The two fists collided in the exact center of the training ground.
A blinding explosion of light erupted instantly. Golden-red flas and electric-blue lightning clashed in a cataclysmic burst that lit up the entire arena.
The sheer power of the impact sent a visible shockwave rippling outward in all directions. The ground beneath them shattered completely, sending chunks of stone flying everywhere.
The containnt barrier groaned dangerously, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface.
If not for the Duke pouring every bit of his Peak Arch Mage mana into reinforcing the shield at the last second, the entire training ground and possibly half the eastern wing of the castle would have been destroyed.
The clash continued for several long, terrifying seconds.
Flas and lightning intertwined in a violent dance, creating a swirling storm of fire and thunder that threatened to swallow both fighters. The temperature inside the barrier skyrocketed to unbearable levels. The soldiers along the far wall had to pour even more of their own mana into their personal shields just to keep standing.
Julian’s body trembled violently from the backlash. More blood leaked from his mouth and nose as several mana vessels in his arm and chest finally gave way, shattering under the strain.
But he refused to pull back. He pushed every last drop of the doubled mana into that single punch, refusing to yield even an inch.
Aldric was also pushed to his limit. His griffon-enhanced body shook as the overwhelming heat tried to burn through his storm armor.
The two Arch Mages remained locked in that explosive deadlock, neither willing to give even a single step.
Then, with one final, deafening CRACK, the collision reached its peak.
A massive pillar of fire and blue lightning shot straight upward, slamming into the reinforced barrier with enough force to make the entire castle tremble slightly.
The Duke’s face was pale with strain as he held the shield together with everything he had.
Inside the blinding light, both fighters were pushed back several ters.
When the light finally began to fade, the training ground was left in ruins. Deep craters, molten stone, and scorched walls everywhere.
Julian stood on one side, breathing heavily. His right arm hung limply at his side, several vessels completely shattered. The phoenix’s power was rapidly dissipating as his body could no longer sustain the doubled mana.
Aldric stood opposite from him, his storm energy also flickering unstably. His uniform was burned in multiple places, and weak arcs of lightning still sparked across his body.
To the shock of everyone watching, the veteran commander suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood which splattered onto the cracked stone at his feet.
Yet even as blood dripped from his chin, the sa excited grin remained on Aldric’s face.
For a long mont, neither of them moved.
Then Aldric let out a loud, genuine laugh, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
"...Hah! Not bad, young lord. Not bad at all."
The Duke finally lowered his arms. The reinforced containnt shield shimred once before vanishing into thin air.
Julian swayed on his feet. He took one shaky step forward, then dropped to one knee, panting heavily.
"I admit defeat, Commander,"
Julian said, his voice hoarse but steady.
Aldric walked toward him, his own steps slightly unsteady but filled with visible pride.
"Young lord... you were beyond my imagination,"
The commander said, stopping a few feet away.
"To push this far with a body that wasn’t fully prepared for such power... truly impressive."
anwhile, the Duke remained in his position for a few seconds longer, his expression unreadable. Then he too approached the two of them.
"Kraven," the Duke called, stopping in front of his son.
His voice was low, but there was unmistakable warmth and pride in it.
"I am very proud of you, my son."
He quickly reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a small glass flask containing a thick, blackish liquid.
"Here. Take this."
The Duke tossed the flask to Julian.
Julian caught it with his left hand and imdiately uncorked it. Without wasting any more second, he drank the contents in one gulp.
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