The battle between the two quickly turned violent.

Axes crashed against each other repeatedly as flames and blood-colored energy exploded across the arena in rapid succession, the sound of metal collisions and shockwaves echoing loudly throughout the settlement while the crowd outside the barrier screamed in excitement after nearly every exchange.

At the start of the fight, Kharos was clearly the one controlling the pace, his higher level showing immediately.

Every movement he made carried more force behind it, and his attacks flowed together with surprising aggression as he continuously pressured Dribb from multiple angles, occasionally mixing direct axe strikes with compressed slashes of hardened blood that cut through the air like blades.

Whenever those attacks struck the ground or exploded against Dribb’s defense, bursts of crimson energy erupted violently across the arena floor.

Dribb was taking hits.

Not enough to bring him down, but enough that the damage was visibly accumulating.

At first glance, it honestly looked like Kharos was slowly overwhelming him.

But the longer the fight dragged on, the worse things became for Kharos.

Every strike Dribb endured only seemed to make him more dangerous.

And I could see it happening in real time.

I sat comfortably atop a makeshift throne of earth Doro had raised during the fight, with Zarah and Flogga sitting on one as well, watching the battle with unusually focused eyes.

And...I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

Not because the fight was funny, but because this was exactly what I had expected from the start.

The flames around Dribb’s body were growing hotter and more unstable with every injury he sustained, while the pressure coming from his swings gradually became heavier than before.

[Pain Rush], the innate skill that he had converted pain into raw physical power.

Combined with [Hellbrand], which continuously raised his body heat and amplified his flames, the more intense the battle became, Dribb was essentially becoming stronger the longer Kharos took to finish him off.

And Kharos realized it too.

I noticed the exact moment it clicked in his head.

His attacks suddenly became more direct and far more aggressive, abandoning some of the earlier probing strikes as he clearly attempted to end the fight before Dribb’s growth spiraled completely out of control.

But by then...It was already too late.

BOOM!

Another collision shook the arena, but this time Kharos was the one forced backward several steps across the platform while Dribb remained standing his ground, flames surging wildly around his body as a grin stretched across his face.

The momentum of the fight had started shifting.

The expressions on the faces of Kharos’ allies had slowly begun changing.

The earlier confidence and amusement were gone now, replaced with visible shock as they watched the Blood Berserker gradually lose control of the fight they had clearly expected him to dominate.

They genuinely hadn’t anticipated this outcome.

Kharos had underestimated Dribb.

Actually, most of Caius’ people had underestimated my goblins in general.

They saw lower levels and assumed weakness without understanding how absurd some of the abilities within my clan actually were, and now they were being forced to witness firsthand why I kept telling them my goblins weren’t ordinary.

The shift in the crowd made it even more obvious.

The voices supporting Dribb had grown louder and louder with every passing exchange, while the cheers backing Kharos had noticeably begun dying out as uncertainty spread among his supporters.

Inside the arena, Kharos suddenly stepped backward and swung his hand outward.

Multiple sharpened blood spears formed instantly around him before shooting toward Dribb at high speed from different angles.

But instead of retreating, Dribb threw his head back and howled.

The heat pouring off his body intensified violently as the glowing markings from [Hellbrand] spread further across his skin, pulsing like burning cracks beneath the surface while flames burst around him with enough force to distort the air nearby.

And then Dribb surged forward.

At that point, there was honestly no better way to describe him other than a raging war god swinging an axe through sheer violence and momentum alone.

Every movement carried an overwhelming force behind it.

Every swing released bursts of heat and flame powerful enough to shake the arena.

Kharos couldn’t stop the sweat running down his face anymore.

Part of it came from the unbearable heat flooding the battlefield.

But another part of it came from Dribb himself.

He genuinely hadn’t expected this level of pressure.

"Kharos! You need to end this quickly!" Drel shouted from outside the barrier, his voice filled with urgency now. "He’s getting stronger the longer this drags on!"

"I know that!" Kharos barked back furiously while throwing himself sideways to avoid another violent explosion of flame.

The blast erupted close enough that the heat scorched the side of his face before his regeneration rapidly repaired the damage almost immediately.

But even that moment alone made the situation obvious.

Compared to when the fight had first begun, Dribb had become drastically stronger.

Faster too.

His swings were no longer the reckless attacks from earlier. They carried increasing weight, sharper timing, and enough force behind them that Kharos was gradually being pushed onto the defensive despite the level difference between them.

And the worst part was...

Dribb was still growing stronger.

Kharos couldn’t even find enough breathing room to properly retaliate anymore.

Every time he tried creating distance, Dribb immediately closed the gap again with another violent charge, forcing him back into close combat before he could fully stabilize himself.

"It’s payback time!" Dribb roared. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

His axe came crashing down a second later.

BOOM!

Kharos narrowly avoided the strike at the last possible moment, but the attack still slammed directly into the barrier behind him with enough force to make the entire dome tremble violently.

Several goblins outside instinctively flinched backward despite the protection separating them from the fight.

And inside the arena, Kharos stared toward Dribb with growing disbelief, the look on his face making it obvious he no longer saw Dribb as some ordinary goblin.