CHAPTER 627: HUMANITY

The Black Qi was perfectly tailored for Kiernan. It was loose in the right places and tight in all the right places.

A black sash was bound to his waist. The collar rose high, was open at the chest, and framed his face perfectly.

It made him look really handsome. Even compared to before. The young women all around the world couldn’t help but swoon at his new look.

"You..."

Arazimir swooped down with the crimson wings. Spun and slashed his crimson wings at him. He let the wings hit the Black Qi.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

It almost sounded like the crimson wings clashed with steel. It couldn’t harm the Black Qi at all.

"Mastered Iron Style, Heavenly Punch!"

Kiernan uppercutted Arazimir in the chest. The punch shattered his ribcage, sending him flying high into the air.

"Nooo!"

Arazimir caught himself with the wings. He swallowed the pain. And then he dove straight down.

However, this time around, with his speed, he created countless afterimages, hundreds of them, and they all cascaded down on Kiernan.

It was still obvious which was the real one.

"Mastered Iron Style, Ghost Spring!"

Kiernan matched the attack with his very own afterimages. They smashed through Arazimir’s fake afterimages. Then, they surrounded him from all sides.

Arazimir’s eyes swam around in fear. He couldn’t tell which one was real. And each afterimage was wearing that same scary Black Qi.

"Iron Smash Storm!"

Thousands of punches fell at Arazimir. He got punched down to the rooftop. He crashed straight through and fell several floors down to the castle’s basement.

The afterimages returned back to Kiernan’s body, and as he landed on the rooftop, everyone looked at him as if he were a god.

"D-Did he do it?"

Antigone asked with a big smile.

The referee jumped down to the hole to check on Arazimir and saw that his eyes were still very much open.

However, he wasn’t moving as if he were a statue, and there was a stench of piss wafting from his pants.

’...Ugh, did he piss himself in fear? How did this young man reduce Beast Prince to such a humiliating state?’

The referee asked himself in shock, but after seeing that he had no intention to move, he raised his arm.

"1!"

The sound of the countdown reverberated across the air like a thunderous shout.

At the rooftop, Beast King Vladimir stood silently, leaning against one of the towers, and his eyes were glazed over.

He was no longer interested in his son, but in Kiernan instead, and his gaze was firmly locked on him as he stood at the rooftop.

Beast King Vladimir believed that it could take him many, many years until he could throw a challenge for the Martial God throne.

Thus, he believed that his son would sooner or later catch up to him, and it would be one of them taking the throne.

It was fine for him either way, as it would mean that the Blood Lions were the greatest race in the world.

However, now that wasn’t the case.

His son wasn’t going to be his closest rival, but it actually might be this young man, Kiernan, instead.

And therefore, he wasn’t treating him as some youngster anymore but as a bona fide rival!

’...Should I kill him? They will try to stop me, but can they? If a human becomes Martial God, it could mean the end of us, Animalkin.’

Beast King Vladimir thought with hostility.

However, across the rooftop, Victor, Xerxus, and Imperius were all staring at him with cold looks.

It was almost like they knew what he was thinking about.

’...Haha. I cannot become Martial God without a rival. The heavenly rules were written that way. If I kill him, there might not be another rival for me.’

Beast King Vladimir thought and clicked his tongue.

"8...!"

The countdown was almost up, and Beast Prince Arazimir still wasn’t moving from the basement where he fell.

"9!"

When that was said, the entirety of humanity held their breaths, and some started tearing up already.

It had been such a frustrating couple of months having to fear for war and having to think about sending husbands, fathers, and sons to the frontlines to fight.

This tournament had been thought to be lost a couple of days ago, and everyone had already prepared for that.

Yet, this had come.

In this moment, all of humanity stood tall, and the referee’s final words left his lips.

"10!"

"The winner is Kiernan Hunter!"

"Humanity has won!"

Kiernan touched his knees. He let out a deep breath. The nervousness left his body like a weight lifted off his shoulders.

Even he felt like letting out a few tears.

No one knew just how much pressure he had been feeling all this time. He’d been trying to suppress those overwhelming feelings as well as he could.

He hadn’t slept. Barely ate. He had only been attempting to break through into the Martial King realm.

It was because that was the only way to win, and now that it was all done, he could finally rest.

"Kiernan!"

"You did it!"

"You insane motherfucker!"

The humanity’s representatives surrounded him, clapping him on the back and putting him into a tight embrace.

They were also crying tears of frustration. Frustrated with either their performance or the whole situation.

It was finally over, and they couldn’t be happier.

It had been a horrible week for them. The thought of losing kept lingering in their minds. And if they had lost, it would’ve haunted them for the rest of their lives.

’...Dark Countries, you want me to defeat him to become Martial God? Good luck, because I can’t do that shit.’

Wilhelm thought to himself with a wry smile.

Shocked. Crying. Disbelief.

Animal Kingdom’s representatives didn’t know how to react to their loss, as their minds broke at the moment when humanity’s victory was announced.

They... lost?

How... why? What...?

Their victory shouldn’t have been clear. They had Beast Prince Arazimir on their side. They also had six High Stage Martial Grandmasters.

They were the strongest race in the world. They were leading the tournament three to one. And they lost.

"Ahhh!"

Dawn bawled her eyes out, and the rest of the Animal Kingdom representatives were hanging their heads low.

They wanted to hide their faces, as they were also crying.