The number of people who gathered around the arena alone was more than two hundred in number. Ages and genders were properly distributed among the population of the crowd, which was unlike Ironside.

Seeing the number alone, even though they were currently cheering for their baron, Floki was still satisfied.

If everything went well, they would be converted to his people.

He turned to Garrick, who stood gallantly beside him, and whispered, "Defeat all your opponents, show no mercy."

[ You’ve triggered a quest for your knight "Garrick" ]

Garrick nodded attentively.

From among the people of Wayan, someone strode and stood in the middle of the currently empty arena.

The man announced the rules of the duel.

They were the basic rules.

Garrick versus the strongest knight in Wayan.

"Go Barnabas!"

"Go Barnabas!"

The people of Wayan chanted loudly as a man who was as tall as Garrick and wielded two greatswords stepped into the arena.

The man was bald and had a lot of facial hair, giving him a rough look.

Heavy steel armor with a special crest on its breastplate protected his body, reflecting the rays of the scorching afternoon sun.

Garrick stepped into the arena, now facing his opponent known as Barnabas.

But he wasn’t impressed.

He looked above Barnabas, staring at Denji, who was grinning proudly, and asked in an uninterested tone, "Is this the strongest you can find?"

The crowd’s chanting ended.

Everyone looked at him with different expressions on their faces, mostly surprise and disgust.

Denji’s grin vanished instantly, replaced by rage, a faint dark red aura leaking from his body.

’That is my knight.’

Floki smirked proudly.

Barnabas, who was standing a few feet away from Garrick, was embarrassed. How could someone underestimate him like this in front of his people and his master?

Killing intent radiated from his gaze.

But he did not respond. He gave Denji the chance to respond to the ’fool’ in front of him.

Yet, Denji said nothing.

He calmed his rage and signaled for the announcer to begin the duel.

"Begin!"

The man barked as he quickly darted out of the arena, afraid he would be crushed by the two mighty knights.

With the duel finally beginning, the crowd went silent, eyes fixed on the movements of the two challengers.

Yet only one person moved.

Barnabas sprang forward, leaving a dusty cloud behind as he closed the distance with Garrick.

Garrick did not bother to equip his weapon.

He did not use his War runic powers.

He simply furrowed his eyes to focus on the movement of his opponent, which was very easy to read.

’A true knight is never ruled by their emotions. You’re a shame.’

He thought inwardly as he took a stance, widening his feet for more balance.

Barnabas closed the distance.

He lifted both greatswords with immense strength and sent them cleaving down with force. The crowd barked his name as they witnessed his killer move.

And then they fell silent the next second when both greatswords slashed through empty air and dug into the field.

Gasps could be heard.

The knight who had been standing in that position was no longer there.

"Huh?"

Barnabas expected the sound of his blade tearing flesh, not slashing dry ground.

"Pathetic."

The voice behind him muttered into his ears.

His eyes widened, electric signals traveling throughout his body as he attempted to channel strength into his blades and retrieve his weapons.

Which was fruitless, as Garrick delivered a shameless flying kick to his buttocks with enough force to send him flying headfirst toward the crowd in front of him.

The crowd yelled chaotically as they rushed out of the way for Barnabas to crash.

"Ahh!"

Barnabas moaned in pain.

Garrick completely ignored him.

"Is that your strongest?"

He asked the triggering question once more.

This time, no one dared to speak.

Denji’s frown softened as he scrutinized Garrick, then Floki, who was smiling proudly.

’I have underestimated them,’ he concluded.

’He managed to defeat Barnabas, my strongest, with but one move? That is impressive. Who is this guy really?’ he thought.

One voice in his mind wanted him to accept their victory, and another, more dominant voice opposed it.

He turned to Floki.

’This young brat. He dares to gloat in my presence. I will teach him a lesson,’ he thought in a dark tone.

"You seem very ready for combat. How about you take on my five strongest at once? If you can stand your ground against them, I will personally bow down to your baron, and if you fail, your baron will have to do anything I say," he said with clear confidence.

Baron Denji bowing for another man?

Impossible.

His people whispered among themselves.

At Denji’s words, five huge knights stepped into the arena one after another.

While they were not as large as Garrick nor Barnabas, they moved as a unit.

Two of them could take on Barnabas, and five of them were definitely overkill for Garrick.

Garrick scanned the five of them, ignoring the glares they sent at him.

"Not satisfactory. But enough," he commented loudly enough for the whole crowd to hear.

"Who is this guy?"

"Can a human being really possess this much confidence in the presence of definite failure?"

"I want to be as foolishly confident as him."

The crowd commented one after another.

Garrick only picked out the dialogue in the crowd that requested his name.

He took a bold step closer to his opponents.

"I am Garrick Voss, the War Runic Knight of Ironside, and I accept your challenge," he stated firmly.

Denji scoffed. He could not wait to see this man go down. He could not wait to punish him and his master together.

"Let the duel begin!"

The announcer stepped into the field, announced once again, and ran away.

"I, Tronan, will crush you with my battle-axe!"

"You will pay for disrespecting Baron Denji. I swear upon my name."

The five knights announced their titles like some sort of power boost and charged at Garrick.

Garrick activated his runic powers.

The tattoo on his face glowed red, and a bright red veil of energy shrouded his body.

While the crowd was amazed by the display, he blasted toward the five knights.

What took place next slackened the jaws of everyone watching, including Denji. Floki was not entirely shocked; still, he was amazed.

When Garrick arrived in their midst, time appeared to slow slightly.

The five knights were impressive. Despite the speed he approached them with, they gauged his direction and attacked in unison.

Five different heavy weapons, wielded with immense strength, fell at the same time toward the same person, each targeting a different vital area.

Garrick moved smoothly.

With eyes that glowed faint red, enhancing his perception and reaction speed, he struck all five wrists in a short span.

Moans of pain followed.

His boots were wrapped with runic power.

With a clean sweeping kick, enhanced by magical force, he sent all five of them flying like ragdolls into the crowd.

The speed at which they were sent flying was so great that the crowd could not react in time.

Three of them crashed into different parts of the stunned crowd, and dozens of people were wounded simultaneously.

Standing in the same spot, Garrick maintained his composed stance as his eyes met Denji’s in challenge. Denji stared at the scene with a panicked expression.

’This can’t be. He defeated all five of them at once. They didn’t even get the chance to put up a good fight?’ Denji reacted inwardly.

His eyes instinctively darted toward Floki.

To his dismay, the young brat was giving a thumbs-up to his knight, who nodded appreciatively.

"I can’t let this happen..."

Denji spoke.

But it wasn’t his real voice that came out.

It was two voices overlapping. One was his, the other thicker, darker, and filled with malicious intent.

The strange voice made even his people turn toward him.

For a moment, their expressions began to change one after another, revealing fear as they could already tell what was about to happen.

Floki’s eyes darted toward Denji.

A frown appeared on his face.

Something strange was happening to him.

Denji’s body released an unstable wave of red aura that grew larger by the second.

His eyes narrowed into unnatural glowing red slits.

Before anyone could react, Denji lunged at two helpless women behind him.

His hands, now shaped into claws, plunged into their flesh.

The women cried out.

The people around them screamed and scattered in fright. The entire field fell into chaos.

Denji ignored the commotion.

He dropped one of the women, who gasped for breath, and focused on the one still in his grasp.

He dug his teeth into her shoulder, tearing away a large chunk of flesh, and chewed aggressively before taking another bite.

The woman was already dead at that point.

The other tried to crawl away.

Floki watched, his eyes widening.

He recognized this.

It was similar to what he saw in his trance, when he saw Noah feasting on zombies.