Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

“I, Dumm Ting, will crush you!” the cultivator roared, gaining many boos and disapproving glances from the audience. It seemed that nobody among the cultivators in the audience agreed with his self-proclaimed title.

His roar was only met by Polter's chuckle. “ Who would have thought that that wide chest of yours was only there to bellow empty phrases,” the dwarf sneered.

Grunting, Dumm Ting showered the dwarf in quick jabs, that were all evaded despite his opponent wearing heavy armor. Suddenly, in between the quick combination of punches his muscles suddenly visibly bulged as he wound up and mixed in a lightning-fast, brutal punch.

The audience that had a hard time following the action suddenly heard an audible crunch, followed by Dumm Ting quickly taking his distance from Polter. Only high-level adventurers and cultivators were able to see what happened with their bare eyes, other had to watch the replay of the golem recording.

A fist traveling with incredible speed had been met by a shield covered in a thin layer of silver aura. Deforming on impact with a crunch that could be heard in the whole stadium, it was safe to say that the first lost this encounter.

At the same time, the poleaxe of the little combatant had aimed to lop off the cultivator's ankle, forcing him to quickly take flight. To the onlooker, there seemed to be a clear advantage to one side.

...

<Dumm Ting lv.94>

“What a monster...” Polter thought internally, checking his opponent's status with appraisal. Although he could barely see his physical stats, it was enough to make the dwarf think like this.

The cultivator didn't wear any items that increased his strength, but all of his physical attributes were above 400, despite keeping a , albeit ugly, human form! Especially his defense was comparable to his own, wearing the armor.

The dwarf felt reminded of Azotain, the golem he had fought a few days earlier. if there was one difference, then that the cultivator was fighting without a weapon, making the fight easier on Polter, having the range advantage.

However, he had gotten cocky, when the cultivator proved to be quite predictable. He intended to feel out his opponent, but the sudden punch had caught him off-guard, instinctively parried it with his shield and shield saint aura. The impact had him shudder and he quickly counter-attacked to gain some comfortable distance.

He didn't like to admit it, but he had to get serious. Although he had studied the preliminaries, Dumm Ting was above what he had expected. He had hoped to keep some of his skills up his sleeve for the following rounds, but this was not the time to take things slowly.

This wasn't like his fight with Azotain, where the only stake was a lost bet. This was still the first round of the tournament, his pride didn't allow him to lose before he showed everything he got. Determined he looked at his opponent, seeing his action with slight surprise.

Although the hand should have been pulverized, the other was already balling and releasing his fist, as if it had just fallen asleep for a moment. Showing his hand already functioning again, was a clear sign that he possessed incredible healing capabilities in addition to his physical attributes. he cracked his knuckles before turning to Polter.

“That hurt a little. But don't think your shell will save you next time, little tortoise,” he said with a sneer and his aura rose. His body started to grow.

Polter clicked his tongue. Since the other seemed to go all out, he would miss this chance to get in a fighting condition. Loosening his shoulders he began activating a slew of buff skills. <Dwarven Spirit> to raise his willpower and endurance, <Mountain Strength> to raise his strength, <Shield Aura> to raise his defense...

On the other side, the almost 2-meter tall man easily grew to double his height, becoming a terrifying sight to behold. Polter on the other hand didn't grow in size, instead, his shield slipped from his hand and he grasped the poleaxe in both hands.

For a moment, the glint of mockery could be seen in Dumm Ting's eyes and expression, thinking his opponent lost the will to fight. But it was quickly snuffed out when the shield started floating in a perimeter around the dwarf. It was not that his shield was an ego item, but it was one of the skills of a shield saint, <Shield Will>, which instilled part of the wielder's will into the shield.

“A flying shield? What kind of bullshit is that?!” he exclaimed aggravated. “I will show you that all your toys are nothing in front of true skills!” Dumm Ting exclaimed, gaining some approval from the audience. To not rely on external means was a big part of the philosophy of many cultivators.

Two seemed to be ready to clash again. After the moment it took them to power up, the two fighters rushed at each other again. Now facing a four-meter-tall giant, the dwarf started infusing his aura into the pole axe. Dark flames licked up from the weapon in his hand.

Although the poleax was inspired by the axe of chains Seth had once lent him, this was the fundamental difference between the two. The flames looking like cursed fire were the Blessing of Oh. Oh was the god of dwarfs and anything underground from Polter's home world.

Unlike cursed fire, this was a pure dark flame, without anything evil or twisted. Mixed into the blessing was Polter's aura as the polearm demon, raising its damage and speed in addition to the blessing of his god.

“Mountains Crusher!” Dumm Ting exclaimed, his fist clad in red aura. The attack carried a terrifying pressure, literally, the power to crush mountains.

In turn, Polter enveloped himself with the dark flames. After all, he was Shield Saint, a class evolved from a Paladin. Enveloping himself in the power of his guardian deity was the basics. And when the fists descended on him-

“Bind!” Polter used his chance to activate the weapon's skill.

Dumm Ting's body was stopped in his tracks, and his terrifying strike halted. Against his will, he was frozen in a horse stance, his arms stretched out, still aiming for where the dwarf had stood. This wouldn't hold for long, Polter knew this best.

It took less than a second for the cultivator to regain control, but it was too late. Polter jumped in the air, whirling the poleaxed in a <Whirlwind Strike>, he minced the hulk's calves all the way up to his knees, where a final, devastating strike directly sank the axe blade into Dumm Ting's knee, severing the bones and joint, only leaving it attached by a strip of skin.

When Dumm Ting regained control, he was already falling, bellowing in pain, as he crashed onto the arena floor, together with his devastating skill, creating several cracks and a small crater in the rare marble the arena was made of.

Cutting him with the Flames of Oh, the god of everything below, was Polter's way to prevent his freakish healing. With his left knee severed and his lower legs engulfed in the dark flames, Dumm Ting didn't seem like a threat, but Polter had no intention of letting him off.

But his opponent had also no intention of just dying- When Polter came for the final attack, Dumm Ting as if only waiting for the chance, kicked him away. He stood on his hands, using his burning lower leg to sort of roundhouse kick him across the arena...

This fight was still far from over.

“Don't think this is over, little man!” Dumm Ting hollered, rolling away before he got back on his feet at the edge of the arena.