The Barrier vanished.
As the Barrier started to vanish, Kyle felt nervous and not nervous at the same time. It was a strange mix.
In a way, he was worried that Swamp Dragon had died since he didn't want to lose him, but he also believed that Swamp Dragon was still alive.
He was worried that Swamp Dragon would die, but Kyle wholeheartedly believed that he wouldn't die this day.
It just didn't feel right.
When the Barriers fully vanished, the entire mood on both sides shifted.
The people of Dawnlight looked at the victor with widely opened eyes.
Kyle couldn't stop himself from smirking.
Swamp Dragon stood in the middle of the arena, his eyes closed.
From Dawnlight's point of view, nothing surprising had happened so far. Sure, they had lost one of the first battles, but that wasn't anything unusual.
Yet, when they saw that one of their two most powerful Advanced Crushers had died, they became shocked.
What?!
How?!
This was not a fight they were supposed to lose! This was an Advanced Crusher who could become a Fulfilled Crusher as long as they consumed a bunch of Energy Stones!
An Advanced Crusher who knew a Pure Level Four Law was already one of the most powerful Advanced Crushers, and this one had actually known a Complex Level Four Law!
They were not supposed to lose!
This was not supposed to happen!
"They cheated!" one of the Fulfilled Crushers shouted at the referees.
Of course, the referees also hadn't expected this outcome. Both of them had officiated a couple of Dawnlight's past fights, and they had never seen any of their Advanced Crushers losing.
The referee from the Contrast Empire looked a bit shaken, and he kept looking at Swamp Dragon with narrowed eyes.
Meanwhile, the other referee looked positively surprised. In a way, he looked like an employee who asked for an adjustment of their income due to inflation, and their boss came back with an increase of 50%.
"This is a serious accusation, and I have to treat it seriously," the first referee said with a dark tone as he looked at Swamp Dragon. "Due to the evidence, I have to ask you to swear that you're not wearing a Realm Cloak or a similar device."
"Hold on a second!" the other referee shouted. "This is not according to the established rules. We can't just change the rules on the fly. We have been given certain tasks, and we are supposed to fulfill those and only those. An additional investigation is not within our scope of duties. "
The first referee glared at the second referee. "These are unnatural circumstances. Unnatural circumstances need flexibility."
"What's so unnatural about this?" the second referee asked with annoyance. "It's a fight between two Advanced Crushers, and one of them died. It would be unnatural if both of them were still alive or if both were dead. Having one dead Advanced Crusher seems to be the expected outcome."
"It's about the identity," the first referee said. "What are the chances that an Advanced Crusher with a Complex Level Four Law would lose against another Advanced Crusher?"
"Low, but I don't see how that's relevant," the second referee said with a shrug. "The agreement only states that neither of them can be at a higher level than the Advanced Compression Realm."
The two referees kept arguing for a while longer and even switched to voice transmissions halfway through.
Eventually, both of them looked at Swamp Dragon, but it was the second referee who spoke up.
"Toxic Arrow," he said. "You will not be under further investigation. If you refuse to answer, nothing bad will happen to you, but in order to dispel any doubts, I advise you to answer some questions."
Swamp Dragon nodded. "I can't promise that I will answer all of them, but I will cooperate."
The second referee nodded with a slight smile. "Alright, are you willing to tell us a bit about how you've won the battle?"
Swamp Dragon's brows furrowed slightly, and he glanced at Kyle.
If he told them about his powerful Momentum, Kyle's opponent might be prepared for Kyle's Momentum to be just as strong. This would make it harder for Kyle to surprise his opponent.
Yet, when Swamp Dragon looked at Kyle, he just saw a confident and calm smile.
"Go ahead," Kyle transmitted. "You can tell them."
Swamp Dragon looked back at the two referees. "I won because of my Momentum," he said.
"Only because of your Momentum?" the first referee asked with brows furrowed in skepticism.
"My own power also played a role, but it was my Momentum that made the biggest difference," Swamp Dragon answered.
"Are you willing to show us?" the second referee asked.
Swamp Dragon nodded.
The next moment, the Energy in the surrounding 2,400 kilometers turned lifeless, unmoving, and grey. It was almost like it didn't dare to move.
At the same time, a feeling of absolute dread washed over everyone below the Wisdom Fire Realm, excluding Kyle. Even Kyle's opponent looked at Swamp Dragon with horror.
At this moment, almost everyone felt like they were standing in front of someone in the Wisdom Fire Realm!
The power of Swamp Dragon's Momentum was so powerful that it seemed to be just at the edge of the Wisdom Fire Realm.
Even the two referees were surprised.
They weren't sure if they had ever seen a Crusher with such a powerful Momentum.
"That doesn't prove anything," the first referee said. "Your Momentum might have been weak before entering the battle, and it only reached such a high level afterward."
"In which case," the second referee interjected, "it proves that it must have been an extremely desperate and dangerous battle for him, which means that he very likely didn't cheat. A cheater wouldn't have had so many difficulties."
"His current Momentum is proof of his power before the fight. In order to get such a powerful Momentum, he must have fought many dangerous and desperate battles. If it happened in the past, it proves that he was powerful enough to win. If it happened just now, it proves that the fight must have been extremely difficult, and therefore, most likely fair."
The first referee looked at the second referee with narrowed eyes.
The second referee just looked at the first referee with a raised brow.
For two seconds, the two just looked at each other.
"Explosive Karma wins this round," the first referee announced neutrally.
The members of Dawnlight gritted their teeth in frustration.
This was unfair!
They were supposed to win!
"Last battle," the referee announced.
The members of Dawnlight looked at their comrade, who was about to enter battle.
Things had taken a horrible and unexpected turn, and they were worried that their comrade would also die.
Meanwhile, Kyle's opponent looked at him with narrowed eyes.
He wasn't going to underestimate Kyle after what happened.
"Crimson Inferno, step forward."
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author's patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.