Lord of the Sky City

When the announcer finished the introduction, the competition began!

Ober, clad in Berserker Armor, was the first to jump onto the platform, closely followed by Rocky who also leapt up to stand on it.

"Kid,"

"…you are pretty good."

Both of them had boarded the platform, officially starting the match, but Ober did not immediately make a move. Instead, he slowly stepped along the edge of the platform, strolling leisurely as he spoke, "I heard about your previous preliminary matches, they were beautiful so…"

Moving slowly along the edge, Ober continued, "So I'm giving you an opportunity, surrender now, and I might spare your life."

Like Ober, at this moment, Rocky was also not rushing into action. As Ober slowly approached him along the edge, he also paced along the platform's edge, keeping the same direction and almost the same stepping frequency as Ober. Thus, although both were shifting their positions, the distance between them remained unchanged.

When Ober's words concluded, Rocky chuckled, "Is that so?"

"Of course…!"

The moment he uttered these two words, Ober suddenly burst forward, his Armor pushing at full force as he charged at Rocky!

Clearly, his previous words were merely a probe, testing Rocky's psychological state; once the probing was over, he immediately took action.

In an instant, Ober had closed the distance to Rocky, followed by a furious flurry from his Mana Sword!
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The quality of a Rank match was evident from this one attack alone!

Ober's charge at Rocky was so swift, it reached the limits of what the naked eye could capture. To all the spectators, he seemed to transform into a shadow, without needing any preparation or superfluous movements, he instantly appeared in front of Rocky.

Such a fierce attack was absolutely unseen in the preliminary matches but was the norm in these rank matches.

But Rocky was also well-prepared; he knew that Rank matches were not on the same level as preliminary matches, so ever since stepping onto the platform, he had been extremely vigilant. Thus, facing Ober who had swiftly charged up to him, especially as the Mana Sword swooped down, he simply raised his right arm and deployed the Magic Energy Shield on his forearm.

With a clang, the forcefully descending Mana Sword heavily struck the Magic Energy Shield, the impact causing Rocky's right arm to involuntarily sink downward.

"It's started, ladies and gentlemen! The battle has begun!"

After a brief 'exchange of pleasantries', the two contestants on the platform commenced their fight, and the announcer also started shouting from the sidelines, "Ladies and gentlemen, look at the magic energy values on the screen!"

Following the announcer's voice, the audience immediately focused their attention on the big screen.

At this moment, not only did the main venue's screen show the ongoing battle between the two, but also displayed two numbers on the left and right sides.

These two numbers, measured by the magic energy meter within the arena, showed the magic energy values of the White Demon Armor and Berserker Armor in the most direct way to everyone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, contestant number 1021, wearing the White Demon Armor, has a magic energy value reaching up to 5000, which has already exceeded most of the fourth-generation Special Armor. It's quite exceptional! As for Ober's Berserker Armor… my goodness! The magic energy value of the Berserker Armor has reached a whopping 6200 points!"

"Good heavens! This value is absolutely astounding. Just how much has Ober enhanced his Armor for it to achieve such a high magic energy level?"

When the announcer revealed the magic energy value of Ober's armor, the audience collectively gasped, unable to restrain a wave of amazed murmurs.

It was no wonder the audience reacted like this because a magic energy value of 6200 points was indeed high enough to be shocking.

According to the average standards of the fourth-generation Special Armor, most Special Armor hover around 4500 points. They usually don't go much lower, nor do they exceed by much.

Therefore, in many people's eyes, the White Demon Armor's 5000 points were already considered very high. However, Ober's Berserker Armor not only surpassed White Demon but reached an astonishing 6200 points!

What concept is this?

A standard Berserker Armor without any modifications has a magic energy value of 4700, which is relatively high among the many fourth-generation Special Armors. However, the Berserker Armor worn by Ober has a magic energy value of 6200, indicating that he enhanced his own armor by 1500 magic energy points!

To increase an armor's magic energy by thirty percent clearly shows that Ober really put effort into his armor.

This was something even Orton and others had to admit.

When Rocky and Ober dueled, Orton and the others furrowed their brows.

"This armor has been heavily modified,"

Staring at Ober's Berserker Armor, Hammerfire, an authority in the field, said, "This guy must have installed a large number of Magic Stones into the armor; otherwise, the Berserker model could not have reached such a high magic energy value."

"The material of the armor must have also been improved, or else it would have issues bearing the load,"

Aniye then spoke up.

"And the conduction system. If the conduction system has been improved, then the weapon system of this armor must have been upgraded as well,"

Pelaya said at the same time.

"Indeed it's been upgraded. Notice the arms and shoulders of this armor. They are different from the regular Berserker Armor, clearly equipped with additional weapons,"

Nodding, Hammerfire pointed out the special features of Ober's armor, then looked towards Orton.

"Tell Rocky to be careful, activate all runes if necessary. After all, we've already thought of contingency plans, so it doesn't matter if they are discovered."

"Don't rush him, let him decide. My disciple isn't a fool; he knows what to do,"

Ober dismissed Hammerfire's words with a wave of his hand and then focused intently on the arena.

Up on the stage, the duel between Rocky and Ober continued.

Since the beginning of their duel, the two had been entangled in a fierce combat, seemingly testing each other.

Yet, in this testing phase, it was clear that Ober had the upper hand.

It wasn't surprising, for like in the preliminary rounds, Rocky had only activated half of the runes, maintaining the magic energy value of the White Demon Armor at 5000, hence lagging behind his opponent in terms of magic energy.

White Demon Armor now had a magic energy of 5000, while Berserker Armor had 6200—a twenty percent disparity! This twenty percent disparity highlighted that the Berserker Armor's enhancement for Ober was twenty percent higher than that of the White Demon Armor for Rocky!

This disparity in enhancement was evident from the first moment of the duel, their blows reciprocating, but Ober's attacks were clearly heavier, his speed slightly faster, and even his reactions seemed sharper, all indicating a more significant enhancement for Ober's armor.

In such a scenario, Rocky naturally fell into a passive stance, which might not be evident to the audience, but both combatants on the stage felt it.

As a sword struck down, although blocked by Rocky's Mana Sword, Ober continued wrestling while stepping forward half a step, closing the distance to Rocky.

"Is that all?"

Even with his helmet on, Rocky could imagine a cold sneer on Ober's face as he spoke, followed by a sudden retreat, deliberately widening the distance between him and Rocky.

Clearly, in Ober's view, the testing phase was over!