Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 248: I win

The thing about Tiber’s power was that it was not consistent. Each time he got a new nightmare form, he had to learn how to fight with it. He had to learn how to make use of it. And every nightmare form was so fundamentally different that the same technique would not work the same way twice.

He had learned to adapt, to come up with creative ways to fight in a short amount of time. It also helped that once he was in the process of digesting a nightmare, he learned everything about the said nightmare—the limits of its powers.

When Cross used all of his forest to make himself a shield, Tiber knew the man was going for a final showdown. He would have to go all out as well.

Tiber did not wait for Cross to make his move before he raised his neck, opened his mouth, and began to spew forth waves of black fire.

It was not just a short wave. It was a continuous stream that blocked the air. The fire did not disappear. Instead, the black flames hung in the air, more and more joining as Tiber continued to pour them out.

The area around him was now blackened with intense heat. The sand softened as if it would begin melting at any moment. Cross tightened his hand on his sword. He knew then that if he did not make his move, he would be in greater danger.

Cross took one step forward, and suddenly, he was in front of Tiber. He targeted the area where his neck was stretched out and slashed with his sword.

But it did not go as expected. The black fire above Tiber crashed down like a waterfall. Like claws or hooks, it dug into his flesh and bones, entering his body and replacing his blood with fire. Tiber roared in pain, his body withering, his skin turning into flame.

"What is this..." Cross took several steps back.

Tiber had turned into fire. That was the only way to describe it. A great mass of black flame shuddered and twisted in front of Cross. It was still shaped like Tiber but several times his size.

And then, the fire began to shrink. The lizard turned humanoid, with two legs and that lizard’s head. It was the exact same size as Tiber in his human form. But the most curious thing was that his black bones poked through the body of fire.

Tiber was now bones, covered by compressed black fire.

Tiber turned in Cross’s direction and flung himself forward. There was no technique, no fancy way of fighting. His figure simply blurred forward, and he hugged the man.

Cross flinched and tried to get away, but Tiber’s grip was surprisingly strong, and he clamped his hands tightly on the armored man.

And then the fire around Tiber began to slide forward, burning the green armor little by little, exposing Cross’s flesh. It was then, finally, that Cross began to scream.

It was a raw, unfiltered shout of pain. The fire engulfed him fully, and he began to cry, his eyes stinging with tears. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I surrender! I surrender! I surrender! Let me go!"

Tiber pulled back, and Cross flung himself away. His chest was red, part of the flesh burned away, almost all the green armor gone, and his body shook and shuddered with pain.

He fell to his hands and knees and began to cry.

Without waiting, Tiber shifted from his fire-covered form back to human. His face was twisted in pain, and his dark eyes were like two black stones.

"I hate that technique."

But still, it was far better than Cross, who had no immunity to fire at all.

And then the crowd’s voices flitted in as the shield was raised. Tiber blinked. He had forgotten that they were still fighting with an audience.

The crowd spoke in hushed tones, completely stunned by what had happened. Even those who bet on Tiber did not know if they should be happy or not. It was something they never expected.

But then the glass covering the VIP section slid open, and Atrox stood there grinning. He began to clap. The single clapping echoed in the arena before others began to join—hesitant at first, but then fully.

The crowd then began to shout his name.

After all, they could not deny his strength and power. He had won.

Tiber faced the VIP section and bowed. It was the first time he had been in a spotlight like that.

"Not so bad."

Meanwhile, healers rushed into the arena for Cross. They helped the fainted man into a carrying bag and took him away.

Tiber smiled. "You’re very strong. This experience will either break you or make you."

☆☆☆☆

Atrox munched on more fruit. Since it was something he enjoyed, the servants had been forced to bring more and more as time went by.

Beside him, Chief Eamon Rikon had a shadow crossing his face. He could not believe his strongest arena knight rank was defeated like that. It was something that should not have been possible—but it had happened.

He could not help the sigh of relief that left his lips. He was glad that the bet was not anything serious for him.

"Looks like I win," Atrox said unnecessarily.

He had clapped and bragged about it already. Why was he still saying it?

Eamon scowled. "Yes, my lord. You win. I did not know your subordinate was that strong."

Atrox shrugged. "Why would I bet against someone who was not strong? Don’t tell me you underestimated him and did not send your best?"

Eamon shook his head. "No. He is my strongest fighter in the knight rank," he hesitated. "Looks like your fighter has a promising future in arena fighting... if he ever wants to stop following you, that is."

Atrox chuckled. "Sure, you can ask him yourself when you see him. But for now, I believe you owe me something."

"Can we return to my castle before we settle the bet?"

Atrox had no problem with that, and after Tiber joined them, they followed the Chief back to his castle. This time, he did not tell them the history of his city or anything about its attractions.

Only Slya seemed interested in their surroundings as she pointed out different things after she praised Tiber.