Six seconds later, my strings secured the plant. I gave it a gentle pull, and it came out a little before disappearing into my core. The moment I did, I turned and ran toward the exit of the lake. I could feel the relief in the Red Bear Beastman's eyes. Well, he didn't have to feel relief yet; he is very much in danger. To heal from it, he will have to eat the same flower he is harvesting. I don't care what happens to him. I have my problems to worry about. People outside of the lake are looking at me with clear hunger in their eyes. There are five Peak Sovereigns there, but I am most worried about half-elf, who is looking at me with a smile. There is a hunger for battle in his eyes and I hope it is not for me. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 Thud! I got out of the lake and immediately, those Five Peak Sovereigns moved toward me. "He is mine," said the half-elf, and immediately three people stopped. The two kept walking, but the three behind them seemed to have said something that made them stop in their tracks, with alarm in their eyes. 'Fuck!' I cursed, thinking I will have to deal with the trouble. I had what I wanted and now I just wanted to get out, but as always, things are not simple as I wanted them to be. "Can I just go?" I asked the half-elf, and he smiled. "Tell me, what is your real level?" he asked and for a moment, I got alarmed, before calming down. "Can't you sense? I am a Peak Sovereign," I said, even pressing him down with my aura. "I can't tell what your level is, but it is not Peak Sovereign," he said and my eyes hardened. "Get out of my way and you won't like what happened next," I threatened, pressing him down further with my aura, but instead of seeing even a hint of fear, there was a grin appeared on his face. "I like to see what you could do," he said a moment later. A crystalline blood-red teardrop appeared on his temple and a moment later, his whole armor turned blood red from a beautiful green. There is even a sigil appeared on his chest, which made many people retreat in fear. "Oh, hell no!" I cursed my luck, while the bastard in front of me grinned even wildly. "Your name won't be Aranor Winterthorn, will it?" I asked and his grin froze, and surprise appeared on his face. "How do you know?" it asked a moment later, but I smiled. "I want this to be a strictly merciful duel, with ten minutes as the limit," I said, and a smile appeared on his face. "And you know the rules," he said, and I just looked at him. "Fine. I am not in the mood for a death duel anyway," he said, and his aura blazed like a bloody cloud as he came at me. The half-elf is from the Blood Sun realm and the people of this realm craziest bastards. Always searching for opponents to fight; it could be a normal duel or a death duel. They will fight them all, like maniacs. I know about this bastard before Jim had fought against him, twice since coming to this ruin. He was cursing him like mad. He said he had been marked by one of these bastards a few months ago, and now he couldn't get rid of them. Every time they sensed him, he will have to fight them. In these few months, he had fought them over fifty times and nearly wanted to go home, since their mark was not something he could remove. Leila also had a mark, but her senior removed it from her. She said whenever she sees these bastards; she would run away. I should have asked for more information, especially about this bastard, but I only asked about the realms and rules to deal with them. Which library also has the information about. CLANNNG! My sword clashed against his saber at full power, and I shook, while it grinned and attacked me again. I quickly moved my sword into a defensive. I do not need to defeat him, nor do I believe I could, but I am confident that I will survive defensively. I will have to defend, as defeat is not an option, especially against this bastard. He will not kill me if he defeats me, but will beat me in the most humiliating way. CLANNNG CLANNNG CLANNNG! I defended the more powerful attack, and it attacked again and again. Constantly, without stopping even a second. "Why are you only defending?" it asked as it continued with its attacks. "Ten minutes," I said simply, and he grinned again, but there is faint anger in it. "If you only defend, I will defeat you in the most humiliating way possible," he threatened and this time, I smiled and there is confidence in it. "Can you?" I challenged and the grin on my face, before bigger and anger also vanished. "I like confident people like you. Crushing that confidence is the most amazing thing," he said and attacked an even more powerful attack. I studied him with my clones and defended against his attacks. He is not an easy opponent and surviving ten minutes against him is going to be hard, but what other choice I have? I can not defeat him, not could let myself be defeated. I also cannot afford to get too injured in the battle, as the sharks are watching. The moment I finished this battle, they would come at me, and I need to be ready to face them. As unlike him, they would not hesitate to kill me. Seconds passed and turned into minutes. It used every type of attack, and they are impressive, but I have defended against all of them. He might be from a realm and battle junky, but I have fought the real war of survival. Killed more than it had; my experience is much greater than him, despite him using really good fighting style. Mine is forged through my experience. CLANNNNG! Another of his attacks hit, and I took three steps back. It shook my internals so much that blood came to my mouth before I drank it down. I need to defend against him for the last minute and it will be over. "You are quite good at defending. That makes me wonder whether you had ever launched an attack against a worthy opponent," he mocked. "Didn't you see my attacks earlier?" I asked, to which he laughed. "Those were against ants, not against real opponents," he replied, not caring for people listening. They are glaring daggers at him, but they will do nothing. They do not dare to; he is from the realm. A single call from him, could destroy their whole organization. He launched a couple of more attacks, before stopping, with a smile disappearing from his face. "I am going to launch the last attack. If you defended against it, I would end the duel immediately," he said. "I accept," I said and gathered all my power for the last defense.