Chapter 229: The Final Battle of the Blood Trial

Meanwhile in the Giant Kingdom’s Blood Trial, the last showdown was about to begin. And stepping onto the field was none other than Prince Loki.

“Karl, you came here just to challenge me, didn’t you?” Loki grinned with excitement, dual blades in hand as he stared at Karl from across the arena.

Karl still had plenty of energy left, though he looked a bit mentally drained. Laughing loudly, he answered, “Come on then. Show me the true strength of a royal giant.”

Without a hint of hesitation, Loki raised his swords overhead and roared, “Hakoku!”

A thick black wave of sword aura tore toward Karl.

Karl didn’t flinch. He spun his halberd in a blur, forming a round shield right in front of him.

Boom!

The two powers collided, sending a shockwave rippling out in all directions. The crowd was caught off guard and erupted in gasps.

“Whoa—look at that! He actually blocked Prince Loki’s attack!”

“Yeah, I can’t believe he stood up to the Hakoku! That’s our tribe’s signature technique!”

“Look! That human’s pushing forward!”

Sure enough, Karl was striding ahead, spinning his halberd as he advanced on Loki.

“Hahaha! Now that’s what makes this fun!” Loki shouted, charging in with both blades at the ready.

He lifted his swords high, blades shining with dazzling light as he slashed down toward Karl’s head.

Karl bared his teeth in a wild grin, pushing off with powerful legs. In a flash, he darted in close, muscle bulging along his right arm as he swept the halberd with full force.

Clang!

For a moment, their eyes met through the narrow gap between clashing weapons.

“You’re stronger than I thought. Guess I’ll have to get serious.” Loki pulled back, holding both blades in a ready stance as he eyed Karl.

Loki hadn’t expected Karl to match him blow for blow, even catching his Hakoku single-handedly. Their strength was terrifyingly close.

It was hard to believe this kind of power could come from a human.

No wonder he sailed through the last twenty-nine days without trouble.

“Maybe you cleared the earlier rounds, but you won’t get past me. Come—let’s see what you’re made of!”

Karl twirled his halberd in his right hand, speaking softly. “Let’s see you try.”

This royal prince was strong, Karl had to admit. Still, he was holding back—if he used his full strength and really hurt Loki, the alliance with the Giants might be finished.

So he had to pull his punches. He couldn’t injure Loki, but he still had to make him yield.

Loki crossed his swords before his chest, face drawn in fierce concentration as he bellowed, “Hakoku!”

Karl’s eyes sharpened. This time, he could sense an even greater force woven into the attack—Conqueror’s Haki.

“If that’s how you want to do it, then I won’t hold back either.” With a flash of red in his eyes, Karl swung his halberd in a powerful arc.

The halberd flared with Conqueror’s Haki. Their auras surged skyward, splitting the clouds overhead. Some in the crowd even fainted from the pressure.

“It’s a clash of Conqueror’s Haki!”

“Unbelievable! That human has Conqueror’s Haki too!”

“I know, right? He’s lasted this long against Prince Loki—he’s already outperformed most of our tribe. Is he really even human?”

Plenty of giants in the arena also fainted, but their friends roused them back quickly.

Some had built up a bit of resistance—they’d already been exposed to Loki’s Conqueror’s Haki many times in this very arena.

Boom!

Their attacks struck once more, unleashing a massive shockwave that shattered the ground. The crowd erupted in fresh screams.

“The ground’s split! That’s never happened before!”

“Yeah, both of them just cracked the floor with their attacks!”

“You have to understand—those stones were dredged up from the seafloor. They’re crazy tough! Even after so many battles, we’ve never seen the ground break before!”

It was true: while the stones were cracked now, they hadn’t exploded apart.

Loki grimaced as the force from Karl’s halberd surged toward him, forcing him to retreat.

He hadn’t expected Karl to hold back, or for his strength to keep climbing. Karl was trying to overpower him now.

“Ah!” Loki roared.

He leapt high into the air, his right arm suddenly swelling to twice its size. “Cut!” As quick as thought, his blade arced down toward Karl.

Karl swept his halberd upward in a brutal strike, slamming it into Loki in midair.

Loki was stunned. He hadn’t expected Karl to counter so fast, and pain twisted his face the next moment.

Bang!

Loki crashed to the ground, tumbling across the arena several times.

“Go ahead and use whatever tricks you’ve got left!”

Getting to his feet, Loki wiped blood from his mouth. There was real wariness in his eyes now—Karl was not only strong but quick. He was the first opponent Loki had ever met who was this tough.

“Hahaha! Let’s turn up the heat then!” Loki locked eyes with Karl, legs a blur as he charged forward swinging his sword.

He was a prince of the Giants—there was no way he’d surrender so easily. Not until he’d given everything he had.

Karl dashed in with heavy strides, halberd at the ready. Dark light crept from his arm to the weapon, a flowing black sheen wrapping itself across the blade. If you looked close, you’d see it shifting and flowing.

This was the advanced level of Armament Haki—Ryuo.

“If the usual attacks don’t hurt you, then try this on for size.” Karl exploded off the arena floor, charging Loki at blinding speed.

If normal strikes couldn’t touch Loki, then he’d give him a taste of Conqueror’s Haki’s inner power.

Loki blinked, and the next instant Karl appeared right in front of him—the black halberd swung for Loki’s neck.

This strike was cunning as could be—Karl was coming from below, slicing up and across to unleash the halberd’s full force.

If this blow landed clean, even with a giant’s body, Loki would be seriously wounded.

At the last split second, Loki shouted, catching the halberd’s shaft with his left-hand blade and hacking down with his right.

Slice!

The sound of metal biting flesh—Loki’s right chest was still pierced by the tip of the halberd.

Karl’s attack was simply too fast. Even using the left-hand blade to block, the head of the halberd still stabbed into Loki.

Loki’s face twisted in pain. For the first time in battle, he was bleeding. But that wound seemed to ignite an even fiercer fighting spirit.

His eyes went blood red, an overwhelming strength pouring from his body.

“You’re the first to wound me. You ought to be proud of that.” Loki said with a touch of arrogance.

And why not—he was still young, and a prince with this much power. A little pride was more than deserved.