Chapter 122: Martial Arts Tournament ④
The match began with the referee’s call.
“Ora ora ora ora!”
Right from the start, Darius launched a fierce assault with his spear. However, every attack was blocked by Sayaka’s Barrier.
“Damn it, the Saintess’ Barrier blocks everything, huh? Then I’ll just keep attacking until it breaks!”
Ooh, what a muscle-headed way of thinking… Or rather, with your attack power, it’d take a lifetime to break it.
For about an hour after that, we were forced to watch Darius relentlessly pounding on the Barrier. What kind of torture is this?
The spectators were getting bored too, going to the restroom or buying food.
Inside the Barrier, Sayaka was even reading a book…
Still, he’s got some guts to keep attacking for an hour straight. Normally, you’d get tired of it. Or maybe think of another method…
Then, just when Darius had finally exhausted all his options, Sayaka made her move.
“I surrender.”
Whoa! Surrendering at this timing?! What did she even come here for…? No, wait, seeing how exhausted Darius looks, it’s obvious who’s superior. In a way, maybe she skillfully demonstrated the Saint’s power?
“Winner, Darius!”
Even Darius, the winner, looked dissatisfied, but well, he made it to the semi-finals, so it should be something to be happy about, right? The spectators were just stunned, though.
Right then, that took quite a while, but is it finally my turn? My opponent is the mastermind behind this Martial Arts Tournament. I need to crush his foolish idea of dominating all countries, but how should I go about it?
Even if I show the difference in our power, if I don’t do it well, I might end up looking like the bad guy, like Hayato did. Aurora seems to be watching from the stands too, so maybe I should show off a cool side for once?
My name was called by the guide, and I left the waiting room, following after Yorumungan who had gone out ahead.
“Match 4, Yorumungan versus Fog, begin!”
Even after the referee’s signal to start, we remained motionless, glaring at each other. Yorumungan probably wasn’t moving because he considered me, who looks like a human, to be beneath him. His pride likely wouldn’t allow him to make the first move against an inferior opponent.
On the other hand, the reason I didn’t move was because there was something I wanted to ask Yorumungan.
“Why are you trying to dominate the other countries?”
Yes, I tried asking why the Dragonkin are trying to dominate other countries, in the style of a taciturn swordsman.
“We, the supreme Dragonkin race, are saying we will protect the other weakling races. You should just obey us meekly.”
“Protect? Isn’t it more like exploitation?”
“Gufufu, you could say that too. But isn’t it better than dying?”
This is useless. We’re getting nowhere. It seems I really should just beat it into his body. Starting with the fact that you guys aren’t the strongest at all.
As if to say the conversation was over, I drew my Sword and took a stance. Following Master Brown’s teachings, I pulled back my right foot and placed my center of gravity slightly forward. My stance involves lowering my arm and hiding the Sword with my body so the tip isn’t visible.
In contrast, Yorumungan pointed his spear tip towards me and lowered his stance, but it seemed he was willing to let me have the first move.
In that case, I’ll take the initiative. Since he’s waiting, I gathered sufficient power, channeling it from my hips as I swung my Sword upwards from a low diagonal angle.
Clang!
A dry metallic sound rang out, and a line appeared down the middle of Yorumungan’s spear. That line gradually widened, and half of Yorumungan’s spear fell to the ground.
“Haheh?”
Seeing his spear cleanly sliced in half, a strange sound escaped Yorumungan’s mouth.
A stir went through the spectator seats. Oh, Aurora looks surprised too. I know where she is thanks to detection, after all. Hmm, is that Theodore next to her? Aren’t they a little too close?
While I was looking away, Yorumungan hastily unleashed his Breath. Well, without a weapon, that’s what he’d do. A Breath of this level wouldn’t be a problem even if I took it, but to look cool while defending, I deployed the Water Wall I had prepared.
The wall of water I created completely blocked Yorumungan’s Breath. From there, I used All-Encompassing Water (Man, this name is long) to transform the water wall into a Dragon and had it confront Yorumungan.
Sensing the amount of magical power contained within this water Dragon, Yorumungan took a step, then another, backward.
The transformation of the water wall into a Dragon sent the spectator seats into an uproar. Fufufu, what a difference from the match with Hayato! I can even hear high-pitched cheers directed at me.
Unable to fire his Breath repeatedly, it seems Yorumungan had lost his means of attack and was helpless. Now’s the time to press the attack.
Behind Yorumungan, I used Earth Total Annihilation to create a Tiger made of earth.
Noticing its presence, Yorumungan looked behind him, his face coloring with despair. It is coloring, right? It’s hard to tell with a Dragonkin’s complexion.
The Dragon at the front gate and the Tiger at the back gate let out a Roar and lunged towards Yorumungan.
“I surrender…”
At Yorumungan’s declaration, the Dragon and Tiger, which were just about to bite down, dissipated into mist. The spectators gasped in admiration at the beautiful conclusion, like a scene from a movie, and then erupted into loud cheers.
Without responding to the cheers, I coolly left the Arena. I shook off the outrageous idea that briefly popped into my head: ‘Tomorrow, I’ll use Bewitchment on my clothes…’
And returning to the waiting room, looking at the empty room, I thought this:
(Everyone left early…)