My Love Debts Are Everywhere!

Chapter 76: The Terrifying Power of Valen, the Spear Hero, and Guren's Crushing Defeat

"Come on, let's begin round two!"

Valen couldn't help but burst out laughing at the sight of Guren's confident demeanor.

"Hahaha! Excellent! I sensed your powerful aura previously, and it seems your power surged after activating it. It looks like it's my turn to act," Valen exclaimed, excitement gleaming in his eyes as he clenched his fists.

The way Valen regarded Guren instantly shifted, becoming appreciative rather than dismissive as before.

As Guren activated his aura, Valen unmistakably sensed a formidable threat.

Despite his lack of understanding of how Guren possessed a technique similar to the hero's power activation, Valen disregarded it.

In his current state, a desire to unleash his power surged within him—a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time.

Guren smiled at Valen's arrogant words, unfazed.

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, Guren moved with incredible speed from his previous position and appeared directly in front of Valen.

Such incredible speed caused the space he moved through to quiver, as if it might tear apart and collapse at any moment.

"What!?" Valen exclaimed, his surprise palpable as he looked at Guren, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

However, before Valen could gather his thoughts, Guren swiftly closed the distance between them, his right palm clenched, and delivered a forceful punch to Valen's chest.

Sensing the imminent threat of the punch, Valen swiftly brought his arms together, adopting a defensive stance.

*Boom!*

Confronted by the unusually potent punch, Valen, accustomed to effortlessly blocking such attacks, found himself instantly bounched into the air with unexpected speed.

*Whoosh!*

Guren's figure darted with lightning speed, reappearing behind Valen as he remained suspended mid-bounce.

In midair, Guren contorted his body, executing a swift kicking motion aimed at Valen's back.

Recognizing the imminent threat behind him, Valen swiftly adjusted his airborne trajectory, then countered Guren's kick with a powerful fist of his own.

*Boom!*

The collision of their powerful attacks tore through the air, propelling both of them to crash into both edges of the barrier with a deafening impact, creating a tumultuous disturbance.

*Bang!*

The high-level magic barrier created by Rain shook violently, as if on the verge of collapse, as the two bounced off and crashed into both sides of it.

Observing the fierce battle from outside the barrier, Velix's expression immediately turned grim.

"These two..." Velix muttered in a cold and slightly angered tone.

He hadn't anticipated that the duel, initially intended to dissuade Valen from rejecting Guren's involvement in the impending war, would escalate into a serious altercation.

Had either or both of them sustained serious injuries, it would have posed a significant problem.

Yet he made no attempt to intervene, merely observing until one of the two could no longer continue.

It wasn't that he lacked the capability to intervene, but doing so now would undoubtedly result in dissatisfaction from both Valen and Guren themselves.

Considering Guren's arrogant nature, he wouldn't have been able to calm down in the face of Valen's previous insults without retaliating.

"But I didn't expect Guren's strength to reach this level, which is quite impressive," Velix whispered with appreciation and satisfaction to Guren.

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He had only recently realized that the technique Guren had employed wasn't the hero's power but rather a mimicry of its operation.

Having grasped this, he was truly in awe of Guren's ingenuity in creating such a technique.

"Indeed, he is a worthy wielder of the fourth hero's destiny," Velix praised once more, then turned his gaze toward Rain at the far end of the room.

"Rain, reinforce this magic barrier to ensure it withstands their escalating intensity." Velix swiftly issued the command.

He sensed that the barrier might not hold for long if the two unleashed their full power.

Naturally, Velix wouldn't be foolish enough to allow the two to unleash their true power, especially considering that if Valen were to do so, Guren might not have survived for more than a few seconds.

Don't be deceived by Valen's current appearance of disadvantage; Velix, who knows him well, understands that he is not serious and is merely playing around.

Upon hearing Velix's command, Rain nodded, stepped forward slightly, and raised one hand.

"High-Level Magic: Enhancement," she uttered calmly and quietly.

*Sizzle!*

Suddenly, the magic barrier at the center of the throne room glowed intensely as several additional layers of defense materialized, enveloping all sides of the barrier.

Observing the magic barrier now fortified with unusually potent defensive power through the enhancement magic, Velix nodded in satisfaction.

From his perspective, it seemed that this magic barrier could effortlessly repel high-level magic capable of decimating an entire city in an instant.

"Thank you, Rain," Velix said with a calm tone.

"You're welcome, Your Majesty," Rain responded casually, returning to her initial position.

Her indifferent gaze shifted back toward Valen and Guren inside the magic barrier, now tinged with a hint of interest.

"Cough! Cough!" Inside the magic barrier, Guren coughed, feeling intense pain radiating from his back to his chest.

His handsome face appeared slightly pale, with a small spot of blood staining the corner of his right lip from the force of being thrown and crashing into the barrier behind him.

"Damn... That guy is truly formidable. Even after activating my aura method, I still find myself at a loss like this," Guren exclaimed in surprise as he wiped away the spot of blood at the corner of his lip.

Admittedly, he had once again found himself at a significant disadvantage, which surpassed his expectations.

He slowly rose to his feet and locked eyes with Valen, who had also risen and was staring intently at him.

"Hahaha! Guren, you truly surprised me this time. I didn't anticipate you'd put me in such a position, and I must say, it's quite refreshing." Valen, appearing disheveled from the previous impact yet devoid of a single wound on his body, excitedly praised Guren.

"Huh! I didn't expect you to be able to stand up after taking that kick from me. If it had been anyone else, their bodies would've been crushed," Guren snorted coldly, responding indifferently to Valen's still pretentious words.

Valen, instead of showing anger, grinned in response to Guren's words.

"Well, I must concede, you're undeniably formidable. Moreover, earlier, I said that if you managed to make me move from my place, you would win," Valen remarked, recalling his earlier words.

With a smirk playing on his lips, he glanced eagerly at Guren.

"However, I retract my previous statement. It's you who deserves to feel a bit of my true power!" He proclaimed it loudly.

*Boom!*

After he spoke, suddenly, a fire-red aura erupted from his body.

The aura, a manifestation of the mana within him, enveloped and encased his entire form, resembling a fire god descending upon the world.

Watching this unfold, Guren felt his heart racing with a great sense of terror at Valen's sudden transformation.

Nevertheless, unwilling to surrender and wary of Valen's sudden transformation, he chose to reinvigorate his previous technique.

*Boom!*

A powerful aura once again erupted from his body, restoring the effectiveness of his combat power to its former level.

After both had activated their respective methods, they locked eyes for a few moments before finally...

*Whoosh!*

Both of them swiftly vanished from their previous positions, and in a split second, they reappeared at the center point, their palms clenched as they both made punching motions.

*Bang!*

Their punches once again emitted an unusually loud sound, causing the tiles beneath them to shatter apart.

However, in this clash of strengths, neither was knocked away; it seemed their strengths were evenly matched.

Of course, this was only on the surface; in truth, Guren felt his arm go numb, as if it had lost its ability to sense pain due to the force of the clash.

"Hahaha! Impressive! You can withstand my attack... But what if I augment it with my red mana power?" Valen laughed triumphantly before channeling the red mana surrounding his body to enhance the force of his punch.

*Boom!*

"Argh!!" Guren's eyes widened as he cried out in pain, feeling an incredibly powerful force slam into his arm, sending him hurtling into the air.

Witnessing this, Valen laughed eagerly, clenching his right palm into a fist before teleporting over to the airborne Guren.

"Take this!" Valen exclaimed loudly, pouring all his power into his punch aimed at the still-bouncing Guren.

"Not good!" Guren sensed a looming aura of death as Valen appeared above him, aiming his powerful punch.

Swiftly, he activated the mana in his body to maneuver in the air, simultaneously casting a magic barrier around himself with a quick chant while crossing his arms into a defensive stance.

*Crash!*

The barrier magic surrounding his body shattered like glass upon impact as Valen's punch crashed straight into the arms that Guren had crossed in a desperate attempt to block the attack.

"Puff!" Guren immediately spat out a mouthful of blood as Valen's punch connected, his handsome face turning deathly pale.

The force of the blow was so immense that Guren felt as though he had been struck directly by a meteor.

*Whoosh... Boom!*

His body rebounded with incredible speed, crashing directly into the magic barrier.

"Puff!" Guren once again vomited blood, succumbing to unconsciousness from the impact against the magic barrier.

Moments later, he fell to the floor with a "thud!" still unconscious and appearing disheveled.

Witnessing this scene, the atmosphere in the entire throne room immediately grew silent.

Yet, before they could fully comprehend the shock of the incident, a sudden cracking sound shattered the silence.

*Crack... Crack...*

Cracks resembling spider webs suddenly appeared all over the magic barrier Rain had previously reinforced before it finally broke.

*Bang!*

The barrier instantly shattered into pieces, resembling shattered glass.

As the scene unfolded, Velix swiftly rose from his throne and proclaimed, "This duel has come to an end!"

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A/N: Well, there's only one chapter today because I'm so tired and I want to finish this duel session with one chapter. Thank you, and don't forget your support!