BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power-Chapter 80 – The Test

Violent, thunderous sounds kept erupting without pause... the arenas everywhere were stirred by fierce, raging battles.

Before Louis stood the little girl of the third rank, radiating a concentrated and powerful aura.

Her eyes drifted toward the other battlefields.

"It seems they’ve started arriving... which means," the girl murmured, "that all the subordinates here are stronger than what second-rank lords can handle."

She turned her gaze back to Louis.

"You don’t seem surprised by my strength?" the small third-rank lady asked. She paused briefly, then added,

"Is your master of the third rank?"

She received no answer.

Louis stood at a distance, finally regaining the rhythm of her breathing.

"Her strikes are strong... truly strong," she whispered. "But... if I guide her attacks to strike my gloves a few times... she’ll definitely fall."

Louis stood twenty meters away.

Her eyes remained fixed on the small girl across from her, while her mind worked rapidly behind that calm exterior.

She could clearly feel the weight of her current power.

She had already surpassed what most second-rank lords possessed.

But...

Could she truly face a third-rank lord?

She wasn’t sure.

Red flames slowly rose around her gloves, strands of crimson energy circling her fists like burning smoke.

She lowered her head slightly and whispered,

"With my ancient weapon... I might have a chance against this third-rank lady."

She lifted her gaze again.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Even though the task is difficult... the gap isn’t that large."

On the opposite side...

The little girl noticed that smile.

She was still holding that pink rod in her hand.

A strange ancient weapon... shaped like a simple water pipe, completely smooth, without a blade or a sharp edge.

It looked like a toy... not a weapon.

But Louis did not underestimate it.

Suddenly—

She moved.

Her steps were swift and silent.

She launched forward like a shadow slicing through the air.

A faint trail of dust rose behind her as she rushed directly toward the girl.

Then—

She struck.

Her left fist, covered by the black glove glowing red, shot toward the girl’s chest.

At that exact moment—

The girl raised the pink rod with one hand.

Clang!

The fist slammed into the rod.

The force was enough to push the girl several meters backward.

But—

She showed no real reaction.

She simply stood there.

As if what had happened was nothing more than a light shove.

Louis didn’t wait.

She charged again.

A second strike.

Then a third.

Her fists moved faster now, leaving crimson streaks through the air.

But the girl...

Was laughing.

A soft laugh.

She spun her body lightly.

Raised the rod.

Blocked each strike one after another.

As if she were on a school outing... not in the middle of a battle.

And yet—

She never attacked.

Only defended... and played.

Inside Louis...

Another smile appeared.

But outwardly...

Her expression showed dissatisfaction.

Her eyes narrowed.

Her strikes began to look more determined.

After several exchanges—

Louis suddenly stopped.

She slowly pulled her fist back.

The red energy around the glove flared brighter.

Then—

She struck.

BOOOOM!

The girl instantly raised her rod to block.

But this time—

The force was different.

The strike didn’t stop at the rod.

The pink weapon was driven violently backward...

And slammed directly into the girl’s chest.

"Ahhh!"

A sharp cry of pain escaped her.

Her body was thrown backward violently.

Dozens of meters.

The ground cracked beneath her feet as she slid.

At the point of impact—

A massive shockwave circle spread outward.

Thick dust rose into the air across ten meters.

All traces of grass on the ground...

Were erased by the force of that blow.

Inside the dust—

A faint voice was heard.

"This..."

The girl whispered.

She slowly lifted her head toward Louis.

Then she stood again.

Her hand still holding the rod.

She took a deep breath.

"Ah..."

She said, her voice slightly feverish.

"What a strike."

Then she smiled.

"I didn’t expect that from you."

She tilted her head slightly.

"Were you hiding a blow with that much power?"

Then she shrugged.

"Well, no matter."

She raised the rod again.

"Let’s see... how long you can endure."

Suddenly—

The pink rod began to extend.

It wasn’t a simple stretch.

It kept growing longer.

One meter.

Two.

Five.

Then—

Ten meters.

Perhaps even more.

The weapon now resembled a gigantic pillar.

Its length immense.

Its size terrifying compared to the girl’s small body.

She pulled it slightly backward.

Then—

She struck.

The pillar vanished.

It disappeared completely from in front of her.

Louis’s eyes widened.

"Wha—?!"

She cried out.

Her gaze snapped right...

Then left...

Trying to determine the trajectory.

But—

She saw nothing.

Suddenly—

It appeared.

From above.

Louis looked upward.

The pink pillar was descending from the sky.

But now—

It was no longer merely a pillar.

It was the size of a stone column from the ruins of an ancient city.

Massive.

Heavy.

The air before it surged violently, as if the sky itself were being crushed beneath its weight.

The pressure descending with it made the ground tremble.

Louis’s eyes narrowed.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOM!

The impact roared like thunder.

It wasn’t merely the sound of a strike...

But a pressure explosion sweeping across the ground.

The earth cracked in a wide circle, and dust erupted skyward like a dense pillar covering dozens of meters.

The air itself seemed to tear apart for a moment.

Then...

Everything slowly began to calm.

Dust started settling gradually, and the tremors in the earth faded bit by bit.

Within the cloud of debris...

The pink rod returned to its small size in the girl’s hand.

She waved it lightly, as though what had just happened had been nothing more than an ordinary strike.

As the dust cleared...

The scene became visible.

Louis was kneeling on one knee.

Her breathing was heavy.

Her chest rose and fell violently.

She nearly collapsed... barely holding herself from falling.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

Then—

She smiled.

A slow smile.

And said softly,

"I... succeeded."

The smile widened.

The shape of a crazed grin began forming on her face.

What she had just done...

Was a true gamble between life and death.

During the long years of her training...

She had acquired a unique ability.

The ability to store attack energy.

And later...

Another ability.

To store defensive energy.

Thanks to those two properties...

Louis could store large amounts of power inside her gloves... to use at the right moment during battle.

Before that giant strike fell...

She knew only one thing.

If she could survive it...

Her yellow glove would fill with enormous defensive energy.

But—

There was a problem.

She didn’t know the true strength of the strike.

She didn’t know if her stored defense would be enough.

It was an extremely dangerous gamble.

If her defensive energy had been lower than her opponent’s attack—

The defense would have shattered.

And she would have taken the full impact.

A strike like that...

Was enough to crush her in an instant.

Yet despite that...

She wasn’t afraid.

She was confident.

At the moment the pillar descended from the sky—

She raised her yellow glove.

And blocked.

The impact was terrifying.

The pressure nearly tore her arms apart.

The ground beneath her shattered.

And the overwhelming force drove her to her knees.

But—

She wasn’t crushed.

She didn’t die.

She survived... by an extremely narrow margin.

And that...

Was the only proof she needed.

Louis slowly raised her head.

Her eyes burned with dangerous excitement.

She lifted her yellow glove slightly.

And there—

Dense energy began gathering inside it.

Whirlpools of power spun around the glove.

A heavy pressure spread through the air.

That was...

The energy of the strike she had survived.

Louis smiled widely.

Then whispered,

"Thank you..."

She raised her gaze toward the little girl.

"...for this gift."

Across from her—

The girl tilted her head slightly.

She looked at the glowing glove.

Then her eyes widened a little.

For the first time—

The playful expression disappeared from her face.

She said calmly,

"Oh..."

Then she smiled.

"So that’s how your ability works."

But Louis—

Was already standing.

Despite the exhaustion.

Despite the pain.

She took a step forward.

The yellow glove overflowing with tremendous energy.

And said in a low voice,

"Now..."

She clenched her fist.

"You’re a third-rank lady... so... let’s see if you can withstand a third-rank strike."

Then—

She rushed forward.

"Come to me!"

The little girl shouted, a devilish smile spreading across her face.

She raised the pink pillar.

Slowly...

It began to grow larger.

Its length stretched, its diameter expanded, until it resembled a massive stone column glowing with a pale pink light.

She was preparing to receive the attack.

Across from her...

A hidden smile settled within Louis.

This...

Was the moment she had been waiting for.

Moments ago she had successfully accumulated enormous defensive energy.

And now—

It was time to accumulate attack energy of equal magnitude.

She rushed forward.

Her steps were swift and sharp, piercing the ground like black arrows.

When she reached several meters away—

She jumped.

Her body rose into the air.

She drew her black glove backward.

Her fist tightened.

Then—

Energy began to pour out.

Threads of power burst from the glove like swirling torrents.

The air around her fist trembled.

On the other side...

The girl narrowed her eyes.

She felt the weight of the gathered power.

Then—

BOOOOOOOM!

Louis threw the punch.

The sound echoed across the arena again.

But—

Suddenly—

Louis shouted,

"Damn you!"

At that very moment—

The girl vanished.

She leapt away lightly, landing at a distance while laughing.

"Hahaha!"

Her laughter was full of mockery.

"Did you think I was stupid?"

She pointed at Louis’s yellow glove.

"Your yellow glove... absorbed the power of my strike."

Then she pointed to the black glove.

"And the black glove... absorbs attack power."

She tilted her head arrogantly.

"So you’re seeking gradual growth."

She laughed again.

"Hehe..."

Then she said coldly,

"I... see the solution clearly."

She raised a finger toward the sky.

"One single strike... overwhelmingly powerful."

She smiled.

"That will erase your entire plan."

Then—

She jumped.

Her body soared high until she stood suspended in the sky.

She raised her hand.

Suddenly—

A blue window appeared before her.

A transparent screen floating in the air.

Louis looked at it in confusion.

But—

She couldn’t see what was on it.

The screen wasn’t facing her.

The girl began pulling things out of the window.

Small objects...

Then their shape became clear.

A pile of papers.

She threw them downward.

The sheets scattered through the air, drifting slowly as they fell.

Then—

They landed near Louis.

Her eyes widened.

She instantly leapt away.

Retreating several meters.

But—

In the sky—

The window appeared again.

And from within it...

A cold notification voice sounded.

{ Target locked }

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"You think success requires those papers to hit you?"

She snorted mockingly.

Then raised both hands toward the sky.

Between them—

The pink pillar rested.

But this time—

It began to grow.

Slowly at first.

Then faster.

It grew larger.

Longer.

Bigger... and bigger... and bigger.

Until even fighters far away began to notice it clearly.

Louis whispered,

"What the hell is that..."

Her body trembled involuntarily.

The air around the gigantic pillar began to distort violently.

The pressure emanating from it was as heavy as a mountain.

Within moments—

It had become the size of a twenty-story skyscraper.

Its shadow alone covered a vast area of land.

Then—

Louis moved.

One step.

Then another.

She began retreating, trying to escape.

But—

From the sky the little girl said calmly,

"There’s no point."

Her eyes shone brightly.

"You’ve already been marked."

Then she smiled slowly.

"This strike..."

She paused for a moment.

"...will hit you without fail."

And in that moment—

The massive pink pillar began falling from the sky.

The air exploded around it.

And the sky itself seemed to collapse down upon Louis.