Chapter 259: Much! A/N: My sleepy, dumb ass made the betting pools way too low for the number of viewers, not considering that it’s coming from all across the Empire. New, both phase pools: Tavian Gridfall: 918,013,560 AC → 2,611,217,800 AC Leo: 777,815,780 AC → 1,576,835,300 AC --- Chapter 259: Much! The betting pools were visible to both Leo and Tavian. Seeing the numbers, Tavian’s smile stretched wider as he continued forming the massive array beneath the ring, glowing lines spreading like veins across the stone floor. "Looks like people trust me very much, much, much, much!!!!" he shouted smugly. The moment his final word left his mouth, Leo’s vision warped. Multiple Tavians suddenly appeared, filling his sight from every direction, their identical figures crowding around him until there was no clear path left as they movement and speech all matched. "So this is what your opponents saw when you fought them?" Leo muttered, calmly turning his head left and right. No matter where he looked, endless Tavians surrounded him. Leo’s eyes flicked upward for a brief moment, catching a glimpse of the betting pool—and his own odds. "Haha," he chuckled softly. "I hope Miho made her bet in the last window. Otherwise, she’ll make a loss like many people who are about to go broke after this match." Just then, Leo sensed something flicker unnaturally to his left. He smiled—and dashed forward. But Tavian’s eyes widened when, instead of lunging left, Leo suddenly shifted and surged slightly toward the right—straight at him. "Heh," Leo scoffed. "Is that how you fooled people in the previous match? But it won’t work on me!" "3-star Earth Defence Array!" Tavian shouted. A sturdy wall of earth erupted in front of him, thick slabs of stone rising from a circular array beneath his feet, the ground groaning as it reshaped itself. The very next moment, Leo cocked his fist— —and punched straight through the wall. Cracks spiderwebbed outward before the entire structure shattered in an instant. "3-star Astral Chain Binding Array!" Tavian said. Three distinct areas lit up around Leo, blazing orange, as thick astral chains shot forward at terrifying speed. But Tavian didn’t stop there. "Detonation!" Even before the chains could reach Leo, the ground beneath him exploded outward. The shockwave hurled Leo into the air as the chains curved mid-flight, snapping around him and binding his torso along with his hands. Tavian slammed the end of his staff sharply against the ground. "High 3-star Detonation!" Leo’s eyes narrowed as he saw Tavian’s orange pupils glow intensely. It was clear Tavian was activating his talent from the very start. As new detonation arrays began to manifest, Leo saw the glow in Tavian’s eyes intensify further. Tavian was clearly struggling to maintain control, yet it still worked. Thin layers of magic lines formed in mid-air, coalescing into small, fist-sized, intricately patterned spheres. At the same time, the astral chains yanked Leo downward with terrifying force. This guy... is a master of multitasking, Leo observed. Tavian had formed multiple arrays simultaneously. First, the massive illusion array. Then a hidden detonation array. Amidst all that, he reacted to Leo’s advance by raising an earth wall defence.That was followed by astral chains—and now, these detonation arrays, each radiating dangerous power, higher than even a high 3-star. All of this flashed through Leo’s mind in a nick of time as the 3 chains tightened around him, pulling him into a forced fall toward the ground. He quickly scanned his surroundings. Most arrays were supported by the terrain, etched directly onto the ring’s surface. But a few—the detonation arrays—were forming in thin air, sustained purely by Tavian’s talent. Tavian’s talent was [Array Vision], which allowed him to weave arrays into existence—even in mid-air. Outside the ring, the crowd went completely mad at the sight of Leo being dragged around by Tavian. "Ohhhhh! Today I’m becoming rich! I put all my money on Tavian! Tavian, you will win! I love you! No—I love you 10000!" a man shouted hysterically. Naturally, the men around him subtly stepped away from the weird guy. But the cheers didn’t lessen—especially from the girls. Even if Tavian looked strict, his sharp features and confident demeanour attracted plenty of eyes. "I knew my hero would win!" someone screamed. "Defeat that black-haired man!" Back to Miho— Her fists were clenched tightly, her eyes locked onto the ring with unwavering focus. "Master Leo, you can do it!" she whispered fervently. "I bet my everything on you!" Beside her, the 3 girls snorted. "Hmph! I’m sure Miss Lily must’ve given him her points so he could rank 1st," Aina scoffed. "Yes, yes," Mira added. "Just look at how that Tavian guy is pulling him around." "Miho, you really shouldn’t believe that pretentious man," Sylva said dismissively. Miho didn’t hear a single word. All her attention was on the match. Suddenly, the three girls noticed Miho’s lips curl into a faint smile. They turned back toward the ring—and their eyes widened. Instead of being slammed into the ground by the astral chains, Leo twisted his body mid-fall, forcefully shifting his orientation. Though he was still bound, it didn’t last long. The moment Leo’s feet touched the ground— [Earth Manipulation]! Grumble—Grumble! The entire ring shook violently. The rocky terrain cracked open at multiple points. Earthen mounds rose abruptly, jagged spikes erupted from the ground, and the most violently distorted areas were the locations of the astral chain arrays and the detonation array. Shatter! The chains connected to the arrays snapped instantly. However, the portions binding Leo remained intact, as if once the chains latched onto a target, they became independent of their originating arrays. "Hyap!" Leo exerted brute force, pumping his arms outward. The chains around him shattered into fragments of fading light. Tavian’s eyes widened as most of his arrays collapsed within seconds, and the entire ring was left in utter shambles. But he didn’t panic. Instead, his gaze sharpened as he shifted his focus to the detonation arrays floating in thin air around Leo. Booomm—bbooo—bbooommm! A series of explosions rang out, overlapping shockwaves swallowing Leo’s figure in a thick cloud of dust and debris. But in the very next moment— A fast-moving object burst through the dust cloud, shooting straight toward Tavian. Tavian gritted his teeth. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 The charging figure was Leo, and he was completely unscathed. "3-star Distortion Array!" Tavian shouted. Leo’s vision—which had previously been filled with countless Tavians before the illusion array was destroyed—suddenly tilted unnaturally. It felt as though the world itself had slanted, like a camera knocked askew on its stand.