As soon as Gerhart unlocked his Second Gate, he vanished from where he stood and reappeared in front of Cethus.

The Dragon Born had anticipated the Half-Elf’s move, but there was nothing he could do but grit his teeth and bear the consequences.

Cethus increased the gravity of his Domain to six times and coated himself with a Vector Shield to deflect Gerhart’s blow.

When Gerhart’s blow connected with Cethus’ shield, blood sprayed in the air, and the ground beneath shattered.

Nevertheless, Cethus held firm, enduring the Half-Elf’s attack, which was mitigated by half due to his shield.

Despite Gerhart’s fist never reaching Cethus’ Dragon Scales, the shockwave of his punch had dealt him internal injuries, causing him to cough up blood.

The Half-Elf stomped his right foot backward, as he unleashed another punch that sent blood spraying into the air once again.

With every strike that Gerhart delivered, the skin on his fists tore apart, revealing his bones beneath it.

Enduring the excruciating pain all over his hand, Gerhart unleashed blow after blow after blow.

With each strike, he felt as if the weight of a mountain was pressing down on his body due to Cethus’ Gravity Domain, crushing his body under it.

Even so, Gerhart persevered, unleashing blows that would have been powerful enough to annihilate any Elf who was of the Initiate Rank and below.

The spectators watching this scene from the side couldn’t help but frown as they watched the suicidal barrage that the Half-Elf was dishing out without any regard for his body.

This continued for a full minute, and from time to time, Lux would consider whether he should end the match or not. He could feel that Gerhart and Cethus were both staking everything on the line, so he wanted to respect their feelings.

Finally, the blows stopped coming as Gerhart stood panting for breath with his arms covered with blood.

“It will be best if you give up now,” Cethus said. “I still haven’t used my full power.”

“You don’t look convincing when your face is swollen, with blood dripping from your ears, nose, and lips,” Gerhart countered. “Your legs are also shaking very badly. If not for the spear you are holding on to right now, you would have collapsed long ago.”

“Nonsense.” Cethus coughed up blood as he leaned heavily on his spear. “I just stand here… and let you punch me because… a single punch from me can kill you.”

Truth be told, Cethus could no longer hear what Gerhart was saying. The Dragon Born’s ears had long ruptured, and his right eye was swollen shut and bleeding a bit, making him unable to see on that side.

If not for the fact that his left eye was still functioning properly, allowing him to read Gerhart’s lips, he wouldn’t have any idea what the green-haired Half-Elf was talking about.

His legs were ready to give way at any second, but he still held on and focused all of his strength to increase the gravity that was crushing his opponent’s body, making Gerhart unable to do anything.

“One last blow,” Gerhart stated as he raised his bloody right hand, whose fingers had all been broken. “I’ll end this with one last blow. If you survive this, you win.”

“Bring it on!” Cethus said before gritting his teeth. ‘I can still take one last punch. After that, I will win!’

The gravity was now 8 times stronger, which made walking literally impossible. Fortunately, Gerhart was close enough to Cethus to make his blow reach the Dragon Born’s body.

There were no longer any tornados circling around Gerhart’s fists, nor was there any shield protecting the Dragon Born’s body.

Both of them were both spent, and this last blow would decide everything.

Gathering all the strength he could muster, while fighting the gravity that was about to snap all the bones in his body, Gerhart roared as he unleashed one last blow.

However, as the Half-Elf was about to punch Cethus’ chest, his legs gave way, changing the trajectory of his punch.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Cethus’ bloodshot eyes watched the Half-Elf’s fist flying toward the lower half of his body.

“Noooooooooo!” Cethus screamed internally in slow motion as Gerhart’s attack inched its way toward his family jewels.

A pin-drop silence spread in the surroundings, only to be broken by the sound of a cracked nut that reached everyone’s ears.

Due to how intense the battle was, Alexa had subconsciously squeezed the nuts in her hands tightly, cracking their shells completely.

However, no one paid attention to what Garret’s eldest daughter did because the outcome of the match had already been decided.

“Both of you did well,” an old lady said, grabbing Gerhart’s wrist and preventing him from breaking her grandson’s balls to a pulp.

Cethus’ legs had finally reached their limit, making the Dragon Born kneel on the ground while clinging to his staff, preventing himself from completely falling.

The Gravity Domain had been dispersed, which eased the burden that Gerhart was feeling, allowing him to breathe normally again.

“G-Grandma?” Cethus said through blood-soaked lips. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just passing by and accidentally saw this battle,” Cethus’ Grandma, Faustina, replied with a smile. “You’ve grown a lot, Cethus. I’m very proud of you.”

“…I’m glad.” Cethus’ eyes slowly closed as he finally fell to the ground unconscious.

“This is not a draw,” Gerhart said in an exhausted tone. “I should have won if you didn’t stop us.”

Faustina nodded her head in acknowledgment of Gerhart’s words. If she hadn’t stepped in, the one who would have won the match would have been the green-haired Half-Elf. However, Cethus was her family, and she couldn’t just stand by and watch her grandson suffer.

“Yes, it’s your win,” Faustina replied. “However, since I interfered, I’ll give you an Argonaut-Ranked Beast Core as compensation. Fine by you?”

“Okay,” Gerhart coughed a mouthful of blood after the effects of his empowered state ended.

A second later, he, too, lost consciousness and Faustina gently laid him on the ground before taking out several High-Quality Potions from her storage ring.

Without even batting an eye, she poured half of their contents on the two unconscious fighters’ bodies before letting them both drink half of it.

Lux landed a few meters away from the High-Ranker before checking Gerhart’s and Cethus’ conditions.

Since Cethus had called the old Dragon Born his Grandma, the red-headed teenager didn’t get in her way as she administered treatment to the two unconscious fighters.

“Are you going to let my Grandson join your guild as well?” Faustina asked without even glancing in Lux’s direction. “It seems that my Grandson is very interested in following you around.”

“Yes,” Lux replied. “I will let him join my Guild.”

“Good. I like sensible people.”

“Hahaha.”

Lux couldn’t help but laugh because Faustina reminded him of his own Grandma, Vera. He could see the love in the old lady’s eyes toward her grandson and understood that she wouldn’t allow Cethus to be bullied under her watch.

“Well then, I have done my part,” Faustina said after making sure that Gerhart and Cethus were no longer in any danger.

She then stood up and gave the Half-Elf a teasing smile, making the latter shudder subconsciously.

“Since you’ve been good to my grandson, I’ll give you some friendly advice,” Faustina stated as she walked towards Lux and whispered something in his ears. “If the Dragon King invites you to go fishing with him, don’t go no matter what. Make up any kind of excuse that you can think of, and no matter what happens, you must reject his offer at all cost. Do you understand?”

Although he was feeling doubtful, Lux nodded his head in understanding.

Faustina smiled before lightly patting the Half-Elf’s shoulder.

“Take care of my Grandson for me,” Faustina gave the unconscious Cethus a side-long glance before walking away. “I’ll look forward to the next time I see him.”

After saying those words, Faustina disappeared, leaving the Outer Reaches behind.

Now that she was sure that her grandson was in good hands, she could focus on her other duties with a peace of mind.

‘It seems that I need to make sure that the Half-Elf doesn’t get on the King’s bad side,’ Faustina thought as she flew in the direction of the Capital City of Karshvar Draconis. ‘My grandson’s future depends on it.’

She had cast a special kind of barrier around her and the Half-Elf, preventing the Dragon King from eavesdropping in on their conversation.

Just like Cethus, she treated Valerie like a granddaughter.

Because of this, she didn’t want the beautiful yet extremely gullible young lady to feel guilty if something happened to the Half-Elf, who had already visited the Dragon Princess in her dreams, teaching her of many things that made her young, and innocent heart… skip a beat.