System vs Rebirth

Noel was quite surprised when they crossed the bustling street. Even though there were trades, they merely exchanged one thing for another.

There were also a lot of arenas between tents that were used by their warriors to fight each other.

Noel thought this would be what they used to negotiate with the buffalo king.

Still, even though the buffalo-people had a massive physical advantage, he noticed that they didn’t have a lot of spiritual energy in their bodies.

“This is it,” said Andreas while coming to a halt. Before them was a huge wooden house where the buffalo king resided. There were two guards, each of them was a spirit master. They were holding a huge axe with a long handle. Coupled with their muscular bodies, it increased the intensity of pressure they were emanating.

When they noticed Andreas, both of them immediately crossed their axes together to create a wall between Andreas and the door.

“Who are you?” One of them asked while glaring at them. Considering Noel and Anna covered their bodies and faces with long coats, they indeed looked suspicious.

However, Andreas didn’t hide any part of his body. He simply took out a necklace that had a shell with a pair of swords on it.

“That’s…” It seemed they had recognized the necklace.

“I am Andreas. I’m currently on an errand for the Prophet. I need to meet the buffalo king.”

Both guards exchanged nods. One of them said, “Please wait. We’ll inform—”

Before he finished his words, a voice came from the inside. “There’s no need. I’m here.”

A person suddenly emerged from the giant gate. This person was twice as tall as Noel and its head and feet were like buffalo, while its muscular body was that of a human.

Noel and Anna were quite surprised. Although their average height was above two meters, this was the biggest person he had met so far.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Andreas, the adopted grandson of the prophet.” The Buffalo King sniffed a few times before saying, “What do you want from me? Is the prophet’s business related to those two?”

“The prophet asked me to bring them to him.”

The Buffalo King squinted his eyes. “Then you should know about the tradition of my tribe, right?”

“I know. The person who wants to ask for help from the Buffalo tribe will need to fight in the arena with the person they requested.”

“Indeed. So what’s your request?”

“I want you to escort us personally to the sanctuary.”

“Do you think you will be able to afford me?”

“Not me.” Andreas shook his head before glancing back. “Them.”

“Hoh?” The buffalo king squinted his eyes before saying, “That’s fine with me. But you should know what it means to fail the challenge, right?”

“Don’t worry. You won’t win.”

“I won’t win?” The buffalo king harrumphed before stomping the ground.

Bam!

His stomp was so powerful that it cracked the ground within a thirty-meter radius. Even some of the walls of his house got crushed by that stomp alone. After that, he let out a roar into the sky while releasing his spiritual energy.

His spiritual energy was different from what Noel and Anna had faced so far. This spiritual energy felt heavy.

From the two basic approaches for spiritual energy control, it was clear that the buffalo king actually practiced the hard approach. This explosive power was so great to the point where Noel realized that he had never learned anything about the soft approach. In other words, the buffalo king was actually taking the extreme path of the hard approach.

‘So, this is what will happen when you take the hard approach to the extreme.’ Noel frowned.

“So who is going to fight me first?” The buffalo king smirked while glaring from above as if to intimidate them. Judging from his reaction, it was clear that there were people who wanted to get the buffalo king’s help by bringing a lot of people.

However, Noel placed his hand on Anna’s shoulder as if saying that he would be the one taking this challenge.

“So you’re the first, huh?” The buffalo king sneered.

“No. I alone am enough.”

Instead of getting offended, the buffalo king simply grinned. “Hahaha. I like this guy. Everyone needs to have their own arrogance. In that case, we shall go to the arena!”

Noel whispered, “By the way, what’s the rule of this tradition?”

“There’s no rule. You fight with all you have and try to defeat him. If you’re too weak, you can also die in the challenge.”

“I see.” Noel nodded.

The matter of their king taking the challenge immediately spread to the settlements. A lot of people were trying to see the buffalo king’s strength.

The arena itself was just a small field next to the buffalo king’s house. There was nothing special. Even the spectators were standing in a circle.

“Buffalo King!”

“Crush the challenger!”

The buffalo king and Noel were standing only two meters apart. Just looking at their size alone, people already felt sorry for Noel.

Noel glanced at the people and asked, “You’re not going to use your weapon?”

“My body is a weapon that is enough to defeat you.” The buffalo king smirked.

“In that case, I won’t use any weapon as well.”

“Don’t say that I don’t give you the opportunity!” The buffalo king frowned. He stomped the ground and released his explosive energy. More energy was concentrated on his right arm, which suddenly turned into steel. “In that case, die in your arrogance!”

The buffalo king charged forward while slamming his fist at Noel. The latter jumped to increase his momentum and met the buffalo king’s fist with his own fist.

Bam!

The clash between their fists caused a massive shock wave that dispersed in all directions. However, the result of the match was clear.

All of a sudden, the area behind Noel was crushed by an absurd amount of force, which also launched all the people standing there.

“Aaaahhh!”

Despite them getting injured, the buffalo-people actually cheered as if it were something normal. “As expected of the king!”

“You’re the strongest!”

“Uoohhh!”

Amidst their cheers, the buffalo king couldn’t help but tremble. Only a few people could understand what kind of exchange just happened earlier.

Noel split his spiritual energy into two layers. The first layer contained the powerful fist and the second layer dispersed that energy. If not for it, the destruction would be even bigger, especially in the area behind the buffalo king.

“Shut up!” The buffalo king roared.

“!!!” The people were startled. They didn’t know why the buffalo king was mad at them.

“It seems that I have underestimated you, challenger. However, we don’t need your pity here. It’s an honor if someone dies in this match, even if they are only spectators. Do you think you will gain my acknowledgment without using your full power?”

“You will die if you don’t use all your power as well.” Noel smiled.

“In that case, I have to apologize for doing something rude.”

“We both are.”

The buffalo king shouted, “My axe!”

Two giant buffalo-people hurriedly came to the arena, bringing a four-meter-long giant axe. In addition, the fact that the weapon needed two people to carry it signified its weight.

On the other hand, Noel pulled out a thin sword that looked like it could be snapped easily by the axe.

“Haaaaaa! Rage!” The buffalo king roared, causing his energy to explode. The ground was shattered by the intense shock wave it produced.

Noel concentrated his energy on his sword. Unlike that rampaging explosive power, his energy was refined and calm, which made it hard to see its strength.

“Here I come, challenger!” The buffalo king’s eyes turned bloodshot as he unleashed every ounce of his strength in this swing. “Mountain Crusher!”

Noel took a deep breath before swinging his blade. “Divine Slash.”

Clink!

The ringing sound of the clash echoed first before the two energies clashed.

Bam!

The explosive power from the buffalo king traveled first, destroying everything in the fan-shaped area. Anything within fifty meters was crushed and swept away. A lot of people got crushed by it, but due to the joint effort, they were only injured.

However, the next thing that happened was much more impressive.

A huge wound from the buffalo’s hand all the way to the shoulder appeared, the blood spurting to the ground.

After that, the sword strike traveled to the area behind the buffalo king. There were several people trying to stop that attack, but the sword strike cut their weapons along with the people behind them, killing four people in the process.

The sword strike continued to travel to the edge of their settlement, which was almost four hundred meters.

More importantly, it left a ten-meter-deep sword mark on the ground, meaning that the power they saw was only a fifth of its total power as the rest was hidden underground.

“This…”

The people were stunned. They couldn’t imagine that the buffalo king was defeated overwhelmingly.

“Transcendent…” The buffalo king sucked a cold breath.

“What did the king say?”

“Transcendent?”

“That small guy is a transcendent? The same as the elders?”

“No. Is he an elder?”

“How envious… Those four people died in the hands of a transcendent. I should have stood there!”

Noel finally understood why the buffalo king told him not to worry.

“To think that the gap between us is so big.” The buffalo king’s expression turned solemn.

“Not really. Your strength is beyond my imagination. I have never thought that I would fail to protect myself.” Noel raised his head.

“!!!” The buffalo king widened his eyes, seeing the small scratch on Noel’s cheek with blood flowing out. It was a small wound, but it was true that the buffalo king’s attack managed to reach Noel.

The buffalo king then stood up before shouting, “I shall rebuild my house on top of the sword mark! Only the mighty warriors of our tribe are allowed to build their house on top of it.”

“Uoohhh!”

“Glory to the king!”

The cheers erupted as their eyes were filled with excitement.

“The competition of those twenty might warriors will be held today. Those who are chosen shall have the honor to follow me and escort our guests to the sanctuary.”

“Uooohh!”

After the announcement, the buffalo king then placed his axe in front of Noel before falling on one knee. He placed his right arm on the ground so that the blood flowing from his wound would fall to the ground.

“With this honored scar, I, Buffalo King Uruk, have acknowledged you and your power. Hence, I shall be at your service.”

Noel smiled. Even though there were a lot of different cultures, he could see that this buffalo tribe placed importance on their honor and strength. They were simple, but righteous. “I’ll leave it to you.”