Joshua's next fight would not be as easy as the previous one. The announcer said the same things, and the crowd cheered after seeing Joshua fight again on the same night.
It was not so common to see that. But Joshua's last fight did not make him sweat, so they knew that was why he showed up again.
A level 9 opponent. Joshua had fought against similar foes. But the goblin was too dumb to be compared to this human. And Leo was rusty.
Despite that, Joshua was still feeling confident in his winning. But, as he wanted to be low profile, using his divine skills had to be avoided. That fact lowered his combat power by a lot.
"STAAAAAAAAAART!" The announcer said in a loud tone. Everyone who had the money started to bet. Some believed in Joshua, but everyone mainly betted on the other guy. The difference in strength was visible, and only those seeking adrenaline would choose Joshua.
Joshua was once again wielding his sword. His opponent had a giant ax. Berserker was his name, and he looked like a barbarian. Imposing, threatening, and savage. It was clear that he had faced many battles.
Both of them clashed weapons right after the start of the fight. It was a way of measuring strength and imposing one's dominance. Joshua receded three steps after the collision. Berserker had a better time, recoiling only one.
"He has a higher strength than me. Having a higher level counts for something, after all." Joshua did not feel discouraged. Phoenix Blood was a skill he had acquired a long time ago, and it made him stronger as he suffered more damage. It also grants him more health regeneration. Joshua had an advantage over his opponent if the fight dragged long enough.
They stared at each other. Joshua slashed his great sword against his opponent.
Berserker was not idle fooling and blocked it with ease using his ax. But, as he smiled at Joshua, a fist came flying straight at his face.
Joshua changed his grip, using only one hand to wield his sword and the other to punch. Berserker's nose bled, and it was now pointed slightly more at the right.
"Bastard, my nose. You broke it!" Berserker yelled. An immense rage consumed him, and his veins started to pop. His eyes turned red, clearly indicating some magical ability.
Things got serious. Joshua's opponent increased its strength twofold. Hiding all of his abilities would not be a wise decision, so Joshua decided to act.
Berserker was pissed off. He waved his giant ax, aiming for Joshua's head.
A magical fire appeared out of thin air, enveloping Joshua's sword and legs. Increasing the power of his legs was a wise decision. The force of an attack came from the legs and the core, not the arms. That was something Richard taught him a long time ago.
Both men were using some of their triumph cards. The crowd was thrilled. An intense fight where both sides had a chance of winning.
But, as both weapons were about to clash, someone appeared in the middle of both men. A man grabbed the flaming sword with one hand and the giant ax with the other.
Everyone was stunned. It was not common for someone to stop a fight in that arena.
"Everyone, listen carefully." The mysterious man was not joking. Neither Joshua nor the Berserker said a thing. The information above the man's head was hidden, which meant he was strong.
"Someone is attacking the city. Everyone that's not strong enough should leave or hide. It is unknown if the army of Rinidan will win this fight, so bear that in mind. "
The underground arena was silent. But as people started to realize what that meant, chaos erupted. Joshua and Berserker exchanged glances, saying, "we will finish this another time."
Joshua did not know how bad the situation was. But, he was sure Khali or Aurora knew more about it. Everyone tried to flee as quickly as possible. The arena had many people, so it took Joshua some time to leave.
Joshua saw how the houses were burning, and the people of Rinidan were running. It was clear that the enemies had an artillery weapon and were attacking already.
Running through the crowd, Joshua went straight to the inn. They decided to meet there if anything happened. Sure enough, by the time Joshua got there, they were waiting for him.
He was not the blonde youth anymore. Joshua turned back to his original appearance as he ran throughout the streets. No one paid attention to that, as they had more important things, like an enemy attack.
"Joshua!" Aurora said with teary eyes. She was scared to be found by their pursuers, but an entire army attacking the city was far scarier. It was a scope of battle they could not participate in nor change the outcome.
They did not have the money for the carriage to leave the city, but it did not matter anymore.
"I don't know how we escape from this," Khali said. Leaving the city would be suicide. Rinidan had mountains all around, and the only way out was the main gate, but the enemies were there.
"I have a plan," Joshua said. He was already formulating plans as he was walking towards the inn. Leo was his only hope.
Leo had been living inside the mines for a long time, and Joshua was sure a way out existed inside of it. Most important members of the city would surely know some other secret passages to leave the city, but they would not share them.
Joshua briefly explained that he had met someone while cleaning up the mines. The whole Crows Nest thing and the fact that Leo was a Lich was still something Joshua kept secret.
"I hope he managed to look like a human by now." Joshua thought.
They were still skeptical about this Leo knowing a secret passage out of the city, but they had no other option. Slowly Rinidan streets were filled with burnt corpses. Giant flaming rocks crossed the sky now and then, destroying houses and families.
~~~~
While all of this was happening, someone was having the time of their life.
"Hahaha. My spell worked," Leo grabbed a mirror to see his appearance.
"Oh, my beautiful orange hair, I missed you so much. Wait, what is this noise?" Leo thought.
"It's probably nothing," he put the thought at the back of his mind and continued to admire his face...