“So this is where the tournament of Barbatos Academy was held,” one of the Barbarians said. “Not bad.”

“Indeed,” another Barbarian agreed. “Too bad, there are only a few dozen students who will watch our moment of glory.”

Barbarians were similar to the Orcs in a way that most of them were battle junkies. Einar was like that as well in the past. But after several close calls in the Sacred Dungeon, he was now a seasoned warrior and his attitude in regards to fighting had also changed.

Alicia, Zarazel, Keane’s Master, and Jack Spawow appeared in the stands. Clearly, they were also quite interested in watching how Lux would handle the feisty Barbarians who didn’t know what was good for them.

“Okay, let me just tell you the rules of this sparring match,” Lux started. “Anyone who falls off the stage, loses consciousness, or is unable to continue fighting loses the match. Are these terms acceptable for all of you?”

The Barbarians nodded their heads. The rules that Lux spoke of were no different from what they had back home.

“Very well.” Lux nodded. “As you may already know, I was the Champion of the Tournament in the past. Because of this, it will be unfair if you can just challenge me just like that. So, I’ll give you one condition. You need to beat one of my summons. If you are able to do that, then I will allow you to challenge me.”

The Barbarians frowned and communicated by glancing at each other. However, Lux’s words held a bit of truth in them. If they wanted to fight him, they must prove that they were worthy, so they all agreed to his condition.

“Great!” Lux smirked before raising his hand. “Come, Pazuzu!”

Lux’s fearsome Fortress Defender appeared, making the Barbarians narrow their eyes.

“Pazuzu, feel free to go all out,” Lux ordered. “Show them your might!”

“Yes, My Lord,” Pazuzu replied.

Currently, the Fortress Defender was wearing golden plate armor and holding a golden shield. The shield was the one stolen from Ronan on the battlefield, and the plate armor was from the same person, taken when he took it off to try and take advantage of the unconscious Sarah.

In other words, except for his spiked mace which was a Pseudo-Legendary Weapon, Pazuzu’s defensive armor and shield were both Legendary Equipment!

Even if the fearsome Defender’s attack damage wasn’t that high, the Barbarians could only dream of breaking past his defenses!

“I’ll fight him first!” one of the Barbarians said. “This monster looks similar to that girl that dumped me a few months ago. It’s time for revenge!”

Hearing that, Pazuzu looked at the Barbarian in contempt. Even though he admitted that his looks weren’t that good, he was still more good-looking than the Barbarian in front of him.

“Battle start!” Lux shouted from outside of the Arena.

As soon as the cue sounded, the Barbarian charged toward Pazuzu, planning to strike with the War Axe coated in blazing flames.

The Fortress Defender didn’t move from his spot and simply waited for his opponent to strike him with his strongest blow.

“Die, Ugly Monster!” the Barbarian roared as he slashed at Pazuzu using his full power.

Since his opponent was a Summoned Monster, there was no need for him to hold back his attacks.

A metallic clang reverberated in the surroundings as the Flaming Axe and Pazuzu’s Golden Shield collided.

The ground under their feet shattered, but Pazuzu’s defensive stance didn’t break.

As if thinking that one strike wasn’t enough, the Barbarian unleashed a flurry of blows. However, all of his strikes were blocked perfectly by the Fortress Defender, preventing the latter from gaining any advantage in the exchange.

A few minutes later, the Barbarian backed away panting for breath. He couldn’t believe that he was unable to even put a dent in the Golden Shield that Lux’s Summoned Monster was holding.

“Impossible!” the Barbarian shouted. “This is a Mythical War Axe! Why isn’t your shield breaking?!”

Pazuzu lowered the shield blocking his body and looked at the Barbarian who was uglier than him.

“Do you know why you can’t break past my defenses?” Pazuzu asked.

“Why?!” the Barbarian asked in a heartbeat.

The Fortress Defender walked fearlessly toward the Barbarian as if he was invincible.

He only stopped when he was a foot away from the teenager, and lowered his head until it was only a few inches away from his face.

“It’s because I can do this all day,” Pazuzu replied. “How about you? Can you do this all day?”

The Barbarian looked down as if pondering Pazuzu’s question. Half a minute later, he answered.

“Is it because I can’t do it all day that girls don’t like me?” the Barbarian asked.

“No,” Pazuzu replied. “It’s because you don’t know Da Wae~”

Without another word, Pazuzu used his shield to bash the teenager, sending him flying out of the arena.

Everyone watching, with the exception of the Rankers and Lux’s entourage, booed.

“Haters gonna hate,” Pazuzu replied before making a gesture for the other Barbarians to come up the stage and challenge him. “Who’s next?”

“Me!” The biggest among the teenage Barbarians jumped on the stage and summoned a two-handed Great Sword. “I’ll make you pay for what you had done to my comrade!”

“I don’t think so,” Pazuzu replied as he raised his shield in front of him.

“Shield Counter!”

Earlier, the Fortress Defender only blocked his opponent’s attacks. But the reason why wasn’t just to defend against the Barbarian’s attack. It was because he was charging up his skill, Shield Counter.

This ability allows Pazuzu to store the force behind each blow that was directed at him and return it to his enemies by 200%.

Before the Barbarian could even engage the Fortress Defender in a battle, a powerful blast of energy erupted from Pazuzu’s shield, sending the Barbarian crashing toward the walls of the stands.

The Fortress Defender had calculated the strength of the attack perfectly, and made sure that his opponent would only receive a minor injury from his attack.

“Who’s next?” Pazuzu asked as white smoke rose up from his golden shield. “I already said this, but I will say it again. I can do this all day. Who wants to fight me next?”

The Fortress Defender looked down at the three remaining Barbarians who were staring at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Come,” Pazuzu said as he made a taunting gesture to the three Barbarians who wanted nothing more than to snap his neck. “I’ll fight the three of you at the same time.”