Chapter 300: Competing with Vulkan in Lifting the Tiechen

Ninglu and Vulkan started running at the same time.

The moment they set off, they left the Nocturne contestants behind them with long strides.

Once again, Ninglu did not spread his golden wings; he simply ran with all his might.

One pavilion after another was left behind him.

In a familiar rhythm, Ninglu ran a kilometer, and Vulkan was left a body length behind him.

The distance between the two grew ever wider, soon exceeding ten meters.

Vulkan's eyes, like erupting volcanoes, stared fixedly at the golden wings on Ninglu's back.

He was certain that Ninglu had not flapped that pair of golden wings; he was relying on pure physical strength to surpass his own speed.

Vulkan felt his body burning; even the Dusk Nether, who were much faster than the people of Nocturne, were not as fast as him.

This was the first time he had encountered someone faster than himself; his body crackled, his skin began to burn, and he ran with all his might.

However, he soon discovered that no matter how hard he tried, the distance between him and Ninglu grew ever wider.

With every breath Vulkan took, heat waves surged, and his eyes were like erupting volcanoes.

This was the first time he had encountered such a formidable opponent; his strength was only slightly weaker than his own, yet his speed was clearly superior.

Just as Vulkan saw the massive lava gemstone, Ninglu had already lifted it.

Vulkan did not stop; as a participant in the competition, he had to finish the entire process, even if he was destined to fail.

Running toward the finish line, Vulkan then collided head-on with Ninglu, who was on his way back.

Ninglu smiled at Vulkan and then ran toward the village.

The participants of the race erupted into enthusiastic cheers when they saw the lava gemstone emitting a blinding light.

Then, their cheers came to an abrupt halt; they saw clearly that the person running toward them was the giant in black armor, not their Lord of Drakes.

They stopped in astonishment and stood rooted to the spot.

Ninglu ran into the village, holding the lava gemstone.

The Emperor and Alpharius saw Ninglu's figure and smiled.

The cheers of the people of Nocturne came to an abrupt halt; they realized that this time, the victory went to the outsider, Ninglu.

His advantage was obvious.

The elder of the Noble Council, acting as the judge, calmed his Shock and announced loudly: "The winner of the race is Ninglu."

Ninglu put down the lava gemstone and thought to himself.

【Although it is not a Potion Material, it is a precious forging material.】

Having suffered defeat for the first time in his life, Vulkan returned to the village empty-handed.

"Lord of Drakes, victory is certain!"

"Vulkan is undefeated!"

Vulkan strode up to Ninglu, heat waves surging as he spoke: "Do you need a rest?"

"No need." Although Ninglu had removed the Blood-Colored Chain, he still did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue.

The golden wings on his back were like a perpetual furnace, supplying energy to his body.

He would never feel tired.

Over the next six days, Ninglu and Vulkan competed in one event after another.

The people of Nocturne were astonished to find that their Lord of Drakes had not achieved an overwhelming victory; most of the time, the two were evenly matched, and occasionally Vulkan would win, only to be defeated in the next event.

On the eighth day of the competition, the elder of the Noble Council announced.

"The competition to be held today is lifting the Tiechen; this is a test of strength, and even more so, a contest of endurance."

The contestants of Nocturne exerted their arms, struggling to lift the heavy Tiechen forged from refined ore.

The elder of the Noble Council had prepared Tiechen specifically for the two giants.

Their exclusive Tiechen each had two massive iron discs on the sides.

The iron discs were much larger than those of the other people of Nocturne; no other person of Nocturne could lift any one of these discs.

Ninglu and Vulkan exerted their arms at the same time and lifted the Tiechen.

Vulkan, shirtless, his eyes spewing volcanic heat, lifted the Tiechen.

The people of Nocturne erupted into enthusiastic cheers, shouting fanatically.

"Lord of Drakes!"

"Vulkan is undefeated!"

As the cheering subsided, the people of Nocturne saw that the outsider, Ninglu, had also easily lifted the Tiechen.

They were not surprised by this; the days of competition had already shown them that Ninglu possessed strength as powerful as Vulkan's.

What would truly decide the outcome was the endurance of the two giants.

From the sun's rise to its zenith, the arms of Ninglu and Vulkan did not shake in the slightest; they held the Tiechen steadily, appearing extremely relaxed while holding weights that would crush an ordinary person.

From the sun's zenith to sunset, the two still held the Tiechen steadily; compared to the early morning, there was not the slightest change, as if they were two statues.

The people of Nocturne, who had always firmly believed that the Lord of Drakes would win, now began to doubt that Vulkan could win.

After a tense deliberation, the elders of the Noble Council announced the result of the competition.

"The Lord of Drakes, Vulkan, and the outsider, Ninglu, cannot be separated in the Tiechen lifting competition; this event ends in a draw."

Ninglu put down the Tiechen in his hands; controlling the power of the Burning One Shard, he was like a perpetual motion machine, his endurance surpassing that of any primarch.

But he knew that Vulkan's constitution was superhuman, and even though his own endurance had the advantage, it could not be manifested within a few days.

That the outsider Ninglu had actually tied with the Lord of Drakes, Vulkan, in many competitive events left many of the people of Nocturne in Shock.

The people of Nocturne soon accepted the reality; this was consistent with the actual situation of the competition over the past eight days. If it had been ten days ago, they would never have believed that anyone could contend with Vulkan.

But having witnessed the entire process of the eight-day competition, even the people of Nocturne believed that a draw was a fair result.

Just as the people of Nocturne remained silent, an elder of the Noble Council with dark skin and a body adorned with gemstones stepped out.

"The final competition belongs exclusively to the Lord of Drakes Vulkan and the respected outsider contestant Ninglu."

"The competition is limited to one day: forge a weapon by hand, and use that weapon to hunt the Salamanders of the Death Volcano."

"Whoever hunts the largest Salamander shall be the final victor."

"Vulkan will surely win!" the people of Nocturne shouted in unison.

They believed that Vulkan, who taught them the mysteries of pattern welding, metal folding, alloys, and bonding, and who led their forging techniques to leap forward, would certainly win the victory.

Vulkan and Ninglu walked to the forges.

Vulkan moved first; he skillfully picked up the ore and hammer, skillfully beginning to strike.

Although Ninglu had never personally performed forging, his superhuman brain spun rapidly, recalling the scenes of workers forging Miguel Steel when he managed the Magnito Steel Mill.

He picked up the ore, and following the forging method of Miguel Steel, swung the hammer and began to strike.

The Emperor watched the two Primarchs and asked Alpharius, who was beside him: "Who do you think will win?"

Alpharius looked at Ninglu; his movements were swift and precise—he was an excellent Artisan.

But he then looked at Vulkan, the dark-skinned giant, whose every movement contained a certain rhythm; every strike of the hammer was like art.

Comparing the two, the gap was obvious, and Alpharius spoke: "Vulkan will win; although Ninglu was born on the Industrial World Vostonia, he has never personally forged a weapon."

"By the standards of a first-time forging, he is an excellent Artisan."

"But Vulkan is an Artisan of forging; only Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim can compare to him."

Alpharius remembered his previous two errors in judgment; he was silent for a moment before adding.

"The Death Volcano is his domain; he is familiar with it, and combined with the advantage of his weapon, I believe he will certainly win the victory."

The Emperor shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice: "After Ninglu obtained the golden wings on Medusa, he mastered the power of flame; compared to Vulkan, who is called the blooming of flame, he is the true master of flame."

"Fire is the furnace of iron; he is good at using this power, which can make up for the gap in forging technique."

"More crucially, for them, killing a Salamander is not the key; finding the largest Salamander is the key to victory, and the advantage Ninglu possesses in this regard is even greater than Vulkan's familiarity with the environment."

While the two were speaking, golden flames leaped within the forge in front of Ninglu.

(End of this chapter)