Damn, I Have to Marry the Strongest Antagonist at the Start? - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Chapter18-Silver-tier Level 6
Pharaoh’s Tower, Second Level.

Benedict and the others watched in amazement as Owen battled the Sphinx, each landing blows and dodging strikes.

“No wonder Master Owen was so confident. He can easily break through the Sphinx’s defenses!”

“But this is far from enough. The Sphinx hasn’t really started fighting yet; it was just testing him earlier!”

“Master Owen should know the danger of this BOSS by now and be preparing to retreat, right?”

“Oh my god! Master Owen is charging again!”

As they discussed, they suddenly saw Owen rushing towards the Sphinx once more.

How dare he!

The previous attacks were just the Sphinx’s probing moves, not even its full strength. Master Owen charging now was practically a death wish!

Their hearts pounded in shock.

The Sphinx, too, showed signs of anger.

It suddenly opened its large mouth, about the height of a person, releasing a powerful suction that gathered the mana from the air, forming a spherical light in front of it.

Then it forcefully spat the sphere towards the charging Owen.

Boom!

The moment the light sphere shot forward, it was like a meteor falling, tearing through the void, and black cracks spread out from its path.

The terrifying chaotic energy waves made the entire second level of the tower tremble and undulate like the sea.

“Wolf God’s Protection!”

Benedict and the Wolf Guard had already exerted all their strength to activate their skills, forming a huge bowl-shaped protective shield over themselves.

On the surface of the shield, the shadow of a giant wolf could be seen howling towards the sky.

However, as the terrifying ripples from the light sphere swept over them, their combined shield was immediately dented by the successive impacts.

All the Wolf Guard members turned pale, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

Even though they were only caught in the aftermath, the attack was far beyond their strength to withstand.

“This is bad! Master Owen is in danger!”

Benedict’s heart skipped a beat, and a look of intense worry appeared on his face.

The mere aftermath was so terrifying that even the Wolf Guard, with their formation led by Benedict, a gold-tier mage, were injured from the impact!

It was unimaginable what kind of dreadful force Owen, who was facing the Sphinx’s attack directly, would have to endure.

Regret filled their hearts; they should have forcibly taken Master Owen away earlier!

As they sighed in regret, Owen, facing the light sphere, swayed under the terrible magical ripples, like a lone boat in a storm, seemingly on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

Owen’s expression grew solemn. “As expected of a gold-tier level 5 BOSS!”

The Sphinx’s oppressive and dangerous presence far surpassed that of Madelyn.

Under this immense pressure, the Obsidify on Owen’s body became even darker.

His body swelled like a black bear, and the Godslayer Staff in his hand shone brilliantly with the gathered mana, becoming a dazzling beam of golden light.

Slash!

A sword strike cut through the void, and the golden sword energy tore the sky apart!

It seemed as if heaven and earth were split in two, and all the mana on the second level of the tower was drawn to the sword energy.

The house-sized light sphere, with its domineering stance that distorted the air, clashed with the sword energy Owen had desperately unleashed.

For a moment, the entire pyramid shook. The ground exploded with the spread of terrifying ripples, carving deep trenches and raising clouds of dust.

Even the murals on this level were shredded to pieces by the energy waves, turning into powder that drifted down.

Benedict and the others, caught in the overwhelming energy of the collision, struggled to stand, losing their vision and hearing.

Their world turned pitch black, and the turbulent mana pierced their protective shield, causing skin-cutting pain.

It felt as if a river of swords had penetrated their bodies, leaving them covered in wounds and drenched in blood.

Some of the weaker Wolf Guard were thrown against the walls by the chaotic energy, creating deep human-shaped dents.

Their situation was relatively better, as they were standing not far behind Owen.

In this chaotic elemental storm, Owen stood like an immovable rock, blocking wave after wave of destructive impact.

The collision lasted for a full ten breaths before it finally subsided.

The black glow on Owen’s body had dimmed significantly.

Despite the Obsidify and his defensive measures, he was still heavily injured by the terrifying impact of the clash.

It seemed he had endured it.

Next, the god-tier talent Order of Merlin activated, drawing elements madly into his body to help heal his injuries.

Once his body had somewhat recovered, his vision pierced through the thick smoke and dust to see the Sphinx not far away.

From beneath his feet, a fan-shaped sword scar deepened as it extended, even cutting through the boundary between the second and first levels.

The further the sword scar stretched, the more terrifying it became.

The blackened scorched earth within the sword scar emitted wisps of blue smoke, occasionally bursting open, releasing sharp waves of sword energy and chaotic elemental ripples, causing a sense of dread.

As his gaze followed the sword scar, at its increasingly deep and terrifying end, the massive body of the Sphinx was embedded in the wall.

From its brow to its abdomen was a crisscrossing, centipede-like grotesque wound, deep into its flesh and bone, nearly splitting it in two!

The gold-tier level 5 Sphinx had suffered a fatal blow!

At this moment, its face was split apart, its blood-red eyes dimming as it struggled to lift its gaze toward the approaching Owen.

Deep within its eyes, there was a mix of shock and unwillingness.

This insignificant human, only silver-tier level 1!

He had blocked its skill attack and inflicted such grievous wounds with a single sword strike!

Its massive body trembled, trying to rise, causing the entire pyramid to shake.

But it struggled for only a moment before the wound torn open by the sword began to leak its vitality and mana, as if draining its strength and life force entirely.

Its consciousness grew increasingly fuzzy, and its body felt heavier.

Moments later, its tense body went limp, collapsing into a heap, and it completely lost consciousness.

With the Sphinx’s fall, an upgrade glow reappeared around Owen.

Silver-tier level 2.

Silver-tier level 3.

…

Silver-tier level 6!

The upgrade light flashed five times in succession, and his tier jumped from silver-tier level 1 to silver-tier level 6 in one go!

Even though Owen had anticipated a rapid tier increase after defeating the gold-tier BOSS, he hadn’t expected such a massive boost!

As his tier advanced, his body absorbed the mana from the air like a greedy sponge.

Every cell was saturated with elements, and the euphoric sensation made him feel as if he were floating on clouds.

Meanwhile, Benedict and the others, who had been pushed to the edge of the second level by the earlier waves of energy, gradually regained their composure.

They stared in shock at the massive Sphinx with its nearly torn-open chest, their jaws practically hitting the ground.

Had Owen really killed the Sphinx?

Their hearts were in turmoil, as if this scene were a dream.

This was a gold-tier level 5 BOSS!

Its terrifying combat power was something that even the combined strength of the Wolf Guard couldn’t match.

Yet now, it had been slain by Owen with a single sword strike!

“Did I see that right? Master Owen really did it?”

“If he can single-handedly kill a gold-tier level 5 BOSS, just how strong is Master Owen’s combat power?!”

Soon, their attention shifted to Owen.

They felt that his sturdy frame seemed to contain an unimaginable power.

He had repeatedly shattered their expectations, surpassing the limits of their imagination!

Then, they noticed Owen’s continuously advancing tier!

The shock on their faces turned to numbness.

Indeed, with a genius, anything unimaginable could happen.

Owen took a deep breath, glancing at the Sphinx’s body.

He then noticed its corpse was beginning to dematerialize.

A thunderous light flashed and flew to his forehead, transforming into a mysterious small pyramid.