BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power

Chapter 161 - 159 – An Old Battle

I had now gone through every monster region.

And the undeniable truth, my friend...

was that I had stumbled upon a completely different kind of treasure.

At first, I viewed Great Calamity Beasts as combat tools, or trump cards to be used when necessary.

But after obtaining the Description Board, everything changed.

Raising Calamity Beasts for material production...

That alone was an entire path to wealth.

And with the board, I could extract the accumulated knowledge tied to each beast.

What it produced.

How it produced it.

And what it needed to achieve the highest quality.

The Pale Lightning Stag produced Restoration Water.

The Fiery Rhinoceros produced Volcanic Stone.

And the others were no different...

Each possessed hidden value I had never seen before.

I needed more beasts.

And more knowledge.

But most importantly...

I needed to learn which materials were truly valuable.

And which beasts produced them.

There was no point collecting a hundred beasts if their products were worthless.

But a single beast that produced a legendary material...

might be worth more than an entire city.

Still...

All of that would have to wait for now.

A message from Lord Frost had arrived moments ago.

"Have you learned who your opponent will be tomorrow?"

I replied that I had.

Before leaving the Beast Dimension, the tournament administration had already sent every participant a notice informing them of their next opponent and match time, in case they had missed the draw.

Only sixteen fighters remained.

If I won tomorrow...

I would be only one match away from securing one of the four invitations to the secret auction.

If I lost...

I would need to win two more matches afterward.

I sighed slowly.

The tournament structure had changed after the arrival of the Black Hunt Sect fighters.

Now...

A victory would advance me directly into the Top Eight.

The eight losers...

would fight among themselves to determine four survivors.

Afterward...

those four would challenge four of the fighters who had already qualified.

And I would be among them if I won tomorrow.

As for the Lords who had not lost a single match so far...

they would not participate in that elimination round.

In the end...

only eight would remain.

Then four.

And once the Final Four was reached...

an invitation to the secret auction would be guaranteed.

"Tomorrow’s opponent..." I muttered while rereading the name.

Then I sighed.

"He’s incredibly annoying."

---

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The announcer’s voice thundered across the arena.

"Today brings the long-awaited battle! A rivalry that began before the tournament itself! Had the organizers not intervened, the pre-tournament auction might have turned into a massacre among Fourth-Rank Lords!"

The crowd erupted.

Noise swept through the stands.

Meanwhile, Black Lightning Lord sat beside Forest Sparrow.

Both watched the arena with focused expressions.

"Did you give him any advice?" Forest Sparrow asked without taking her eyes off the battlefield.

The answer came immediately.

"He doesn’t need it. He’s fought dozens of powerful opponents already. This is just another battle. Whether he wins or loses, he hasn’t lost his chance to attend the auction."

Forest Sparrow smiled.

"He won’t lose."

She spoke with confidence.

"I’m sure of it."

Black Lightning Lord remained silent for several seconds.

Then he said:

"I’m... not so sure."

---

"The arena feels much livelier today."

I stood quietly at the center of the battlefield.

The stands were nearly full.

The noise was far louder than usual.

Everyone was waiting for this fight.

Some had come solely to watch it.

I stood calmly.

Waiting for my opponent.

Then...

he entered.

The moment I saw him...

I nearly laughed.

His bald head reflected sunlight like a polished mirror.

I barely managed to suppress the laugh.

"Lord Killing Eyes!"

The announcer’s voice echoed from afar.

The man walked forward slowly.

Heavy.

Steady.

He wore massive armor that covered his entire body.

It looked less like armor and more like a moving wall.

He didn’t speak.

Didn’t smile.

Didn’t acknowledge the crowd.

All he did...

was walk toward me.

One step.

Then another.

With every step...

his aura spread more violently.

The very air grew heavier.

The ground beneath his feet gradually cracked.

And his eyes...

remained fixed on me.

Without blinking.

Without hesitation.

At that moment...

my urge to laugh vanished.

So did any thoughts about his bald head.

"Haa..."

I muttered internally.

"This bastard..."

"He’s stronger than he was in his last match."

---

Moments later...

the starting bell rang.

DONGGGGG!

The instant the sound echoed—

Ivory Mask Lord leapt directly into the sky.

No hesitation.

No probing attack.

No testing his opponent the way he usually did.

Dozens...

Then hundreds...

Then more than three thousand circular wind blades erupted around him and soared upward.

They didn’t stop.

Three thousand more appeared.

Then another three thousand.

Then even more.

Within seconds...

the sky above the arena was filled with a storm of spinning blades.

"Hey! Aren’t matches supposed to start cautiously?!"

A Fourth-Rank Lord shouted from the stands.

Nobody answered.

Black Lightning Lord narrowed his eyes.

Remaining silent.

Meanwhile, Forest Sparrow looked toward the sky.

"That number..."

she whispered.

After a brief pause, she added:

"It’s similar to the attack he used against Lord Sand."

Discussion erupted throughout the audience.

Meanwhile...

the blades continued multiplying overhead.

Gradually...

the sunlight disappeared.

The entire arena fell beneath the shadow of a sea of spinning steel.

"How many are there?!"

"Did it surpass ten thousand?!"

"This is insane!"

Cries echoed from every direction.

Even members of the major sects—

people accustomed to watching powerful battles—

could only watch in silence.

Above...

more than fifteen thousand blades finally settled into place.

Then—

they began to merge.

A violent metallic shriek filled the sky.

Two blades became one.

Then four.

Then eight.

Then dozens.

Gigantic blades slowly formed in the heavens.

And with every fusion...

the pressure increased.

The sense of danger intensified.

Below...

Lord Killing Eyes did not move.

He stood motionless.

His gaze fixed on the sky.

As though watching an approaching storm.

Then—

enormous silver blades took shape.

One.

Then another.

Then another.

Until their number surpassed a hundred.

Massive weapons.

Each longer than several men standing end to end.

They floated above the arena like a fleet of heavenly spears.

Silence fell.

Everyone waited.

What would happen next?

Then...

Ivory Mask Lord raised both hands.

Suddenly—

the giant blades surged toward one another.

BOOOOOOM!

The collision shook the heavens.

The air trembled.

Cracks spread through the arena floor from the pressure alone.

One blade after another...

began merging.

Fusing.

Melting together.

Gradually, the silver color disappeared.

Replaced by a deep darkness.

A heavy darkness.

A darkness that promised destruction.

Then...

it was finished.

Behind Ivory Mask Lord in the sky...

ten colossal black swords floated silently.

Each was so enormous that it resembled a warship hanging in the heavens.

Their dark surfaces reflected the sunlight with chilling indifference.

And the aura they emitted...

sent shivers through countless spectators.

"Impossible..." one Lord muttered.

"Did he compress over fifteen thousand blades into only ten?"

"How powerful are those swords now?"

Even Black Lightning Lord’s eyes widened slightly.

Forest Sparrow remained silent, staring at the black swords.

Amid all of this...

Lord Killing Eyes remained unmoving.

No fear.

No hesitation.

Not even an attempt to evade.

He simply stared.

Stared at his opponent.

Then...

Ivory Mask Lord raised his right hand.

The black swords trembled behind him.

The air shook with them.

And his voice rang across the entire arena:

"Show me your abilities now."

And in the next moment...

every eye turned toward Lord Killing Eyes.

Waiting for his answer.

The ten black swords descended from the sky as though the end of the world itself had arrived.

BOOOOOOOOM...

The air trembled.

The arena floor cracked under the overwhelming pressure.

The audience held their breath.

Even the Fourth-Rank Lords in the stands rose to their feet without realizing it.

The colossal swords were falling at a terrifying speed.

Each one possessed enough power to split the entire arena apart.

As for Lord Killing Eyes...

He remained standing.

He did not move.

He did not attempt to dodge.

He did not even draw a weapon.

He simply stood there.

Then he slowly raised his right hand.

A small smile appeared on his face.

A smile that immediately caused Ivory Mask Lord’s eyes to narrow.

"Huh?"

One of the Lords muttered nervously.

In the next moment—

Tak...

A faint sound echoed.

Then—

BOOOOOOSH!

The massive armor covering Lord Killing Eyes exploded apart.

But instead of shattering...

It broke into thousands of tiny metallic fragments.

The fragments rose into the sky.

One after another.

Then they began to merge.

To reshape.

To expand.

To the shock of everyone present...

Dozens of metallic swords were born.

Their appearance...

Was almost identical to the giant black swords.

But they were smaller.

Denser.

And illuminated by a dark golden glow.

"Impossible!"

One of the spectators shouted.

"They look just like Ivory Mask Lord’s swords!"

Even Black Lightning Lord rose from his seat.

As for Forest Sparrow...

Her eyes widened in shock.

In the sky...

The golden swords settled before Lord Killing Eyes.

Then—

Their tips turned toward the descending black swords.

SWOOOOOSH!

All of them shot forward at once.

The first golden sword collided with the first black sword.

BOOOOOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion shook the arena.

Then the second.

Then the third.

Then the fourth.

The sound of the explosions became an endless roar of thunder.

And in a scene that left everyone frozen...

The giant black swords stopped.

They stopped completely in midair.

As if an equal force was pushing against them from the opposite direction.

Silence fell.

Absolute silence.

Even the announcer...

Forgot how to speak.

Meanwhile, Lord Killing Eyes remained smiling.

Standing calmly in the middle of the arena.

Dozens of golden swords floated behind him.

Above him, the ten colossal black swords remained suspended in the sky.

It was as though two armies of swords had collided above everyone’s heads.

Only then...

Did every spectator realize one thing.

This battle...

Had not truly begun yet.