Chapter 249
Chapter 249
~whoosh~
{What the…?!} – Charlie’s eyes opened wide.
~bam~
At the last instant, Juno dodged the blow that must have been fatal (according to Charlie) and jabbed her fist imbued with pure energy hard in his gut. A loud thump and a sizzling crackle of lightning thundered all over the arena. Charlie rolled over on the ground a dozen meters until he stopped, coughing, his body bent over like a cooked shrimp.
He had to use pure energy to be able to breathe again.
The audience couldn’t believe their eyes. Would ever a stronger fighter be willing to be beaten time after time? Or was he still controlling the force of the blow because he didn’t want to hurt the girl, which would make him look like a jerk?
«What if Charlie is actually a masochist, and he likes it when our lady beats him?» – Lee asked Stephanie loud enough for everyone to hear.
His words echoed in everyone’s minds, making the audience wondering if it was really true.
All that the Romanovs could do was to blush profusely to that statement. Only a few people noticed that Charlie’s last blow was in full force and speed.
According to them, Juno was able to dodge because of the unbelievable for her cultivation speed that she had never shown before. She must have been deliberately hiding her real potential!
Charlie has just come to his senses when he saw a hellish angel swooping down on him… He dodged at the last moment and rolled forward.
~crash~
The surface of the arena opened in large cracks in the place where Juno’s foot hit the ground.
She clicked her tongue. If she had aimed a bit lower to his solar plexus, he wouldn’t have managed to dodge! – «Was it a good move? Are you going to praise me?»
«Well done!» – Charlie growled furiously. He had no idea why she was still alive! She must have lucky! To hell with her! Good luck is not forever! Charlie rushed to Juno, still restraining himself, trying to play to the crowd and not betray his true intentions to finish this bitch off.
After a few seconds of the battle, Charlie got punched in the liver. Nobody can live forever.
«What about this move?» – Juno gloated.
«Well done! It was a good one!» – Charlie sounded as if he wanted to strangle her with his words.
«Thank you.» – The wicked angel smiled and attacked again… She could feel her opponent’s internal state and controlled him as if he were a puppet. Boys are so predictable! Juno was beyond happy that she was able to compete with opponents of his level. Kyon had given her an encouraging upgrade as well as Lovr in his world.
Charlie rushed forward like a gust of wind, no longer restraining herself. He found out during the fight that it was too difficult to hit this sly bitch! Even more so, she managed to bite him back! Why were her blows so painful? It might as well be someone whose cultivation was just a couple of stages weaker. What kind of wild power was hidden in her fragile body?!
Charlie was furious! She was reading him like an open book! Juno could see through his four battle fists in Granieri style at a much slower speed! Her movements were too unpredictable. She was flexible like a snake, stretching her body into shapes that made Charlie’s head spin. Anyway, there was no time to admire her curves. The honor of his family and his own were at stake as well as his revenge!
{It can’t be! Who the fuck is she?! Who taught her to move so unpredictably?! Concealment items become useless during the fight, don’t they?!} – His brain was no longer able to cope with endless questions. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his eyes puffy and bloodshot. His clothes were torn, which made him look even more like a monster.
People in the audience were not complete idiots, they began to suspect that Romanov was fighting seriously. Their jaws slowly dropped, and their eyes widened. They could not believe that an eight-stage weaker opponent could compete with him in close combat! She was incredibly fast, agile and flexible! Were they dreaming?
The sect envoys closely watched Juno’s movements. They wouldn’t have to interfere in the battle, she was doing pretty well! And yet, they could not understand her intricate, complex movements. Eight battle fists were as far away from them as the stars in the night sky. Who had been training her? They had to find it out.
It hurt to look at the patriarchs who had made the deal with the fat guys. Pale as death, they clutched at their chests, guzzling valerian root extract.
Charlie was known as a master of deception. When his signature trick took Juno by surprise, he smiled maliciously. – «And now the punishment for a bad move!» – He hit Juno with all his might.
~bam~ ~puff~
{It can’t be!} – Charlie was too stunned to say anything. His brain was utterly fried. Normally, his blow would make mincemeat of anyone eight stages weaker, but this girl just dragged her feet on the floor, maintaining her balance. She didn’t have any visible damage!
«Tell me, bald bed bug, how long you are going to pretend it’s only training if we’ve been fighting for real all this time.»
«I don’t understand what you are talking about. I have given you my word that I will go easy on you, and I am!» – Charlie yelled a bit too loud, trying to convince the audience.
«Well, well… Or maybe you just like being thrashed? What a shame! The leader of the young Romanovs is a masochist. Lee was right.»
Patriarch Romanov covered his red face with his hands. He knew that Charlie wasn’t taking it easy on Juno. The bastard was risking the honor of their family! Gods forbid he wouldn’t break her neck!
Charlie gave a rather forced laugh. – «Very funny, pipsqueak!» – He rushed forward and tried to repeat his signature trick in a different interpretation, but the bitch figured him out. She pretended she was trapped, and then she hit him in the head, splitting his lip.
«Will you praise me, master?» – Juno was playing to the crowd, waving her hands.
The people in the audience laughed loudly.
Charlie spat a clot of blood and forced a crooked grin. His teeth were bloody as if he was a demon. – «Well done. You’re doing great!»
Juno giggled to herself. What a dumb idiot he was! Finally, she was in her element. She wanted everyone to see that she was worthy of attention and respect, just like Elsa! The Stones must look up to her. She began to feel her blood boil. Juno was very grateful to Kyon for the unexpected upgrade… To hell with him!
«All right, pipsqueak. If you want it so bad, I’ll take this fight a bit more serious! Sand god’s cut!» – In an instant, a sand cloud five meters high appeared above Charlie. It condensed into an extensive five-meter blade and headed rapidly towards Juno, intending to cut her in two. It was powerful enough to cut stones and rocks like butter!
Bai, Diana, and the other Stones turned ashen.
Juno activated the ether barrier and the wind element for protection… She couldn’t dodge such an extensive attack.
The blade hit her… Myriads of sand grains of which it was composed collided with the barrier, sending bright sparks flying in all directions. They fell on the ground helplessly, while Juno diminished the sharp air currents with her wind element.
Thousands of people opened their mouths when they saw her ether barrier withstand such a powerful attack.
{Fuck, she has a superior grade of ether?! Or is it a master grade?! What the hell?!} – Charlie thought.
«A bit more serious? I can’t tell the difference.» – Juno flashed a mischievous smile at him.
«Don’t push it, I’ve only started! Divine sand tornado» … «Mountain crushing blades!» … «Indestructible boulders!» … «Sand god’s stream!»
For a couple of minutes, Juno had to withstand a flurry of sophisticated techniques: heavy sand whirls, thousands of dangerous wind blades, axes, and hammers created from a sand cloud, sand eruptions, streams and flashes, huge heavy boulders, hail, and wacky traps for kids!
The way she gracefully moved, playfully avoiding deadly attacks, as well as her unthinkable beauty, had gained her a hundred thousand ardent fans in five minutes of the battle. They applauded and cheered the new brightest star of the tournament. Princess Kara was, of course, the biggest fan.
Charlie began suffocating under pressure, sweat streaming down his face and neck, then dripping down. He could not believe that his entire arsenal of skills was useless. It seemed to him that gods were making fun of him, having sent him an invincible opponent. The huge boulders awkwardly missed the target. The wind element was useless against the equal wind bender. The ether barrier protected Juno perfectly from his sandy style, while her lightning strikes were lethally dangerous should they hit him in the neck or next to the heart (harder than before).
«Is it everything you’re capable of?» – Juno grinned contemptuously, stretching casually as if doing her morning exercises.
Suddenly Charlie’s eyes darkened. – {Fuck! Don’t tell me that she has been teasing me to make me waste my energy!}
His anger had dimmed his judgement. Charlie started wearing down. He had no more energy, which couldn’t be said about this bitch!
{It can’t go on like this… If I lose to her, I’m dead! I have to use the unique body’s signature technique!} – Charlie pointed at Juno. – «Alright then, I’ll show you half my real power!»
«A whole half!! Wow!» – Juno covered her mouth in mock fear.
«Now mock me if you will, this time it will work!» – Ugly Charlie threw up his hands to the sky like a virtuoso conductor before the concert. – «Ancient god’s sand hurricane!» – He activated the unique body’s technique. It consumed a huge amount of energy, which would leave him with 10%. He had to finish the fight as soon as possible.
A weird, somewhat dangerous aura enveloped the arena, causing dizzy spells and dry mouth. A strong wind made up of myriads of sand grains howled, whirling around Charlie. It soared upward and spread throughout the arena, forming a miniature hurricane. Its height reached ten meters at a speed of two hundred kilometers per hour. In the midst of this rampage, Charlie felt like a sand god!
Princess Kara murmured excitedly. – «Is it the sphere of the essence?!»
Queen Vlada shook her head absent-mindedly. – «Don’t be deceived by its looks. It’s only a pale imitation. Only kings can have the sphere of the essence or even emperors.»
Charlie grinned viciously. – «Time for the real combat to begin!» – His face disappeared behind the thick veil of the hurricane.
Juno had a wary expression on her face. She couldn’t see further than an arm’s length away. With the help of the wind element, the zone of visibility could be increased to three meters… Too little!
She activated scanning. To no avail! The strange aura had narrowed her spiritual scanning! It was too scarce to react fast enough…