Damn, I Have to Marry the Strongest Antagonist at the Start? - Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Chapter65-Am I Late?
As the earth patterns continued to surge towards her, Marry instinctively tried to dodge.

However, as soon as she lifted her foot, yellow rays of light emerged from the formation beneath her, wrapping around her legs.

Her bones creaked under the pressure, as if caught in iron clamps, rendering her alabaster legs immobile.

At that moment, the earth pattern crashed into her like a meteor.

“Ugh!”

Marry staggered back, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

Her body felt as if it was being crushed, the pain relentless, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Despite her body being fortified by secret techniques and potions, making her stronger than an ordinary mage, the impact was too fierce for her to withstand, leaving her severely injured.

Struggling to stabilize herself, Marry suddenly realized that her mana and blood circulation were shackled by the heavy yellow glow entwining her body.

“With your current strength, you are only fit to kneel before me as a lowly maid!”

Having suppressed Marry in a single move, John couldn’t help but laugh maniacally, despite having anticipated this outcome.

Three years!

Three long years of ridicule!

No one knew how he had endured the mockery!

For this day, he had endured countless hardships and life-threatening situations, living rough and facing numerous trials. Now, he would use his absolute strength to crush Marry beneath his feet!

“From now on, the revered Marry is nothing more than a lowly maid before me!”

“Mountain Pattern!”

With a surge of mental intensity, John’s fervent shout echoed as he raised his hand towards Marry, pressing down forcefully.

Boom!

Another massive earth pattern emerged, charging towards Marry with increasing ferocity.

As the earth pattern surged forward, it absorbed the light from the formation below and the surrounding patterns, transforming into a towering hill that charged towards Marry.

At that moment, Marry felt as though her body was about to be crushed.

Her soft skin cracked, blood oozing out, and her bones creaked in agony, as if she were about to fall under this attack.

The onlookers were horrified by this scene. John and Marry were both gold-tier level 8 mages.

They had expected a balanced fight, but Marry was already injured and on the brink of death as the battle had just begun.

John’s combat prowess was terrifying!

Some platinum-tier mages, watching the slightly deranged John, wore grave expressions.

They had a strong feeling that even they might not be able to withstand this move.

John’s current battle strength was approaching platinum-tier!

Saint Annie, the Council of Elders, and the members of the royal family couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock, their hearts hanging in suspense.

John’s displayed power far exceeded their expectations, and his techniques were extremely rare, not quite [Order] yet resembling [Order] in a mysterious way. They couldn’t fathom it at all.

As everyone held their breath, their expressions tense, Marry also sensed the overwhelming danger.

She gripped her sword tightly, its blade glowing with watery light.

Sword energy from all directions rapidly gathered onto the blade.

With a mighty slash, a white streak appeared, like a surging river, piercing through the void. It manifested in front of Marry and collided with the hill pattern.

Boom!

The river of sword energy collided heavily with the hill pattern, spreading a deafening roar.

The hill pattern trembled slightly, unleashing an unimaginably terrifying force.

The Royal Arena trembled violently, the ground cracking, and even the clouds in the sky were torn apart by the spreading sword energy.

The numerous mages watching from the edge of the arena, despite sensing the danger early and activating their magical defenses, found the impact too overwhelming.

Those closer to the arena were directly blasted away, their faces pale, as their protective spells crumbled like paper against the onslaught.

In the next moment, countless sword energies, centered around the river of sword energy, shattered like being thrown into a meat grinder, turning into light particles that fell to the ground and dissipated.

After the river of sword energy shattered, Marry’s body shuddered, growing even weaker.

The hill rune then unrelentingly crashed into her, causing her blood to boil instantly.

She was sent flying like a broken kite, her breath weakening as she fell beneath the arena, coughing up blood.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still, with everyone staring dazedly at Marry beneath the arena.

The three-year agreement had ended just like that!

John had defeated Marry with overwhelming force, revealing the vast difference in their strengths.

Moreover, Marry’s defeat not only disgraced the Azure Kingdom’s royal family but also meant she had to abide by the wager and become John’s maid!

This thought shattered the hearts of many of Marry’s admirers like glass.

Many students from Luna Academy also stared in disbelief.

They were well aware of Marry’s strength; she was among the top talents even in their prestigious academy.

Yet now, she had been defeated by John!

As countless people sighed in amazement, the crowd suddenly noticed something, and exclamations arose.

“Owen!”

“Owen is here!”

As these voices echoed, everyone’s gaze turned towards him.

Even the top prodigies like Davis and Monroe, who had initially lost interest, looked at Owen with renewed curiosity.

At this moment, Owen appeared very young, with short hair shining cleanly in the sunlight, accentuating his handsome face with an added touch of charm.

As Owen walked over, Madelyn in the crowd widened her eyes in shock.

She had clearly told Owen to escape with her sister, yet he dared to come here!

If the matter of him killing the eldest prince was exposed, there would be no escape for him.

How could he dare!

In the midst of everyone’s attention, Owen shook his head slightly.

He had no intention of attracting attention.

He had only come because Marry had sent him an invitation; not showing up would have been rude and unusual.

He planned to leave after watching the event. But upon arriving, he witnessed Marry’s crushing defeat.

Owen shook his head and stepped forward to help the weakened and terrified Marry to her feet.

Being knocked off the arena meant she had lost according to the rules and must now become John’s maid as per their agreement.

Deep down, Marry felt a surge of despair. Rather than break her promise or suffer humiliation, she considered ending it all. But seeing Owen brought her a moment of peace.

As Owen helped Marry up, he glanced at her ten white fingers.

Noticing she wasn’t wearing any rings, he sighed in relief.

It seemed she wore that particular ring only as a decoration and didn’t keep it on during battles.

Thus, his deception with Ymir—that he was the one needing protection—remained undiscovered.

The sight of Owen helping Marry, with Marry looking at him with deep emotion, confirmed the previous rumors to the onlookers.

It wasn’t just that Marry was interested in Owen; it seemed Owen also had feelings for Marry, as he had twice now saved her from dire situations.

“This Owen is quite the romantic. I like that,” Monroe said, licking her red lips, feeling a sudden fondness for him.

Meanwhile, other top prodigies who knew Owen’s strength became wary.

Owen had appeared just as Marry was defeated.

What did this mean?

Was he here to seek justice for Marry?

But wasn’t he Leslie’s fiancé?

As the crowd buzzed with discussion, the one whose emotions fluctuated the most while watching Owen help Marry was John on the arena.

Seeing the man who had stolen his Order of Thunder and possessed the Order of Fire, and knowing that Marry—the woman he thought of as the epitome of perfection—was deeply in love with Owen, despite him being someone else’s fiancé, filled John with boundless anger and jealousy.

“Owen, since you dare show up here, let’s settle this with a fight!” John roared.