"Do you think he will lose?" Derek asked Joshua, who was Roland’s best friend. "He won’t," Joshua replied in a heartbeat. But despite his fast response, there was a tinge of uncertainty in his voice. The reason why he wanted Roland to win was because he knew his best friend from the ground up. He knew how strong Roland was. This meant that if Clark could defeat him, then Clark must be stronger, the mere thought of which made Joshua feel incredibly anxious. The Sage of the Hero Party had already simulated many battles in his mind, and three out of ten battles, he managed to win against Roland in a one-on-one fight. Because of this, he was very confident that if they really fought against each other, he still had a chance to win. This was also the reason why he wanted Roland to win! The ladies, on the other hand, were equally worried. Diana and Mildred glanced at each other with anxious looks on their faces, while Shana and Erica were holding each other’s hands as if trying to assure each other that everything was going to be fine. They were all comrades, so they wanted nothing more than to see Roland emerge victorious in his fight against Clark. A few minutes later, Roland’s sword made a clunking sound as it fell to the ground. It had become so heavy that Roland had no choice but to let it go, or else, it would cause his downfall. His vision was also getting a bit blurry because Clark had shifted from messing with his sense of touch to messing with his vision. The Scion of the Ashford Clan already knew that the poison had already spread enough to make Roland feel as if his entire body was heavy as lead. As such, he no longer needed to continue casting this illusion on him and shifted his focus to his opponent’s vision, which made things more difficult for Roland. Thirteen, who was currently sitting on a chair on the stage, was drinking some fruit juice with Pica and Pico. He knew that this battle would be ending very soon. "You fought well," Clark said. "But there is always someone stronger than you." "I know that there is someone stronger than me," Roland replied. "But that person is not you." The only person whom he would acknowledge stronger than him was Zion—no one else. He could admit to being defeated by Zion, but he wouldn’t admit to getting defeated by others. The young man even glanced at the stage for a brief moment to look at the teenage boy, who seemed to be enjoying the show. Clark also gave Zion a sidelong glance before shifting his attention to his opponent, who was on the brink of collapse. However, he didn’t intend to lower his guard. He knew that the most dangerous time for any creature was when they were most desperate. Even a cornered mouse would bite back. Knowing that principle, he would never lower his guard even when his opponent seemed like he would collapse at any moment. Clark stomped his foot, and gray mists once again spread outward, covering the entire arena. This made the spectators groan because they wouldn’t be able to see what was going to happen next. "Finish him," Claude muttered under his breath as he looked at the arena that was being covered by gray mist. "Secure victory for our clan!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 On the other hand, Thirteen narrowed his gaze as he watched the battle. ’At times like this, the Plot Armor of Heroes kicks in,’ Thirteen thought. ’This cheater!’ In the end, the one whom Thirteen truly wanted to win was Clark instead of Roland. Although he trained Roland to become more powerful, in his eyes, the young man had yet to suffer any hard setbacks in his life. He wanted Clark to be THAT person to teach him a lesson that would make him understand that all was fair in love and war. Being righteous and fighting fair was good and all, but only those who were truly strong could back up this attitude. If one didn’t have the strength to support this mindset, then it would be best to not think that everyone would fight according to your rules! The sound of weapons clashing could be heard from within the gray mist. Although Roland had already discarded his sword, the Flying Sword hovered around him, deflecting the throwing knives that Clark was using from a distance. The Scion of the Ashford Clan was baiting Roland to make his weapon fly in his direction. The moment he did that, Clark would finally go for the kill, ending this battle once and for all. But what he planned to do didn’t happen. Something else happened instead, which caught him completely by surprise. His flying daggers landed on Roland’s body, embedding themselves deep in his flesh. Clark hadn’t aimed for any vital parts, but the places where he aimed were critical locations, which would definitely hurt and make his opponent feel a world of pain. Roland, who had been hit, fell on his back and lay on the ground unmoving. Clark observed his opponent and wondered if he had accidentally killed Roland. The young man frowned and moved closer to get a better look. Once he confirmed that Roland wasn’t dead and had merely fallen unconscious, he would immediately disperse the gray mist so that he could immediately seek medical help. When he was only a few meters away from the young man, Roland’s closed eyes suddenly opened. Roland’s eyes shone golden, making Clark feel that something bad was going to happen. He immediately backed away, but just as he thought he had safely distanced himself from his opponent, Roland had propped himself up from the ground and glanced in his direction. A moment later, the young man vanished from where he stood and reappeared right in front of Clark. Clark was caught by surprise, but he still managed to regain his composure in the blink of an eye and slashed his sword in front of him. His reaction was fairly quick, but his eyes widened in shock at the outcome that he didn’t foresee. Roland caught the blade of Clark’s sword between his thumb and index finger. Thirteen, who was watching this from the stage, clicked his tongue in annoyance before muttering under his breath. "Cheater." Clark might not know what was happening, but how could Thirteen not know? He had seen it countless times in the past, and this was the one thing that he hated about heroes. It was whenever their Plot Armor suddenly activated, allowing them to overcome adversities that should’ve been impossible for them to overcome.