Chapter 430 98.2 - Duels [4]
Chapter 430 98.2 – Duels [4]
Victor and General Kyle stood opposite each other, their gazes locked in a silent challenge. The contrast between them was striking: Victor with his sleek, refined movements and sharp, calculated precision, and General Kyle with his imposing presence, his every move exuding raw power and unyielding strength.
The headmaster’s voice rang out. “Begin!”
SWOOSH! Victor was the first to move, his sword flashing in the dim light as he advanced with incredible speed and precision.
He aimed for the gaps in General Kyle’s defense, seeking to exploit any weakness. His sword, a masterpiece of craftsmanship, moved like a blur, slicing through the air with lethal intent.
The speed at which he was moving was so fast that almost none of the freshmen were able to follow his strikes.
CLANK! CLANK! Yet, General Kyle stood his ground, his massive hammer held in one hand, the large shield in the other. He moved with surprising agility for someone of his size, the shield absorbing Victor’s rapid strikes with resounding clangs.
The shield was lightened with a brown area covering it. It was the mana of the general, protecting the shield. His eyes never left Victor, his expression calm and focused.
Victor’s blade danced around the general, each strike carefully calculated. He aimed for the joints in the armor, the weak points in the defense. But each time, Kyle’s shield met his sword, deflecting the blows with ease.
“You’re fast, Young Blackthorn,” Kyle rumbled, his voice carrying across the amphitheater. “But speed alone won’t win this duel.”
That was indeed correct. Even though the duel had just started, and it was very hard to judge how it was going, it was practically impossible for Victor to leave a scratch on General Kyle, let alone win.
Victor’s eyes narrowed, his focus intensifying. He already knew that from the start.
“Huf…..”
Thus, he shifted his stance. His breathing changed, as did the flow of mana that was moving in his veins.
However, General Kyle was taking this fight seriously.
“Now, young Blackthorn. You must never reveal your weakness to your enemy.”
CRACK!
With a loud crack, he flashed forward, with his hammer on his hand shining. The ground cracked from the sheer strength of the blast as Kyle pushed his huge weight.
–Vertical Smash.
He attacked with a powerful swing of his hammer, the swing even spreading the wind through the arena. The attack happened so fast that the onlookers weren’t even able to register it.
Yet, something immense happened. In that split second, Victor’s green eyes opened, and a force was shining in them.
The blade that he was holding was covered with a pure-white color, the energy covering it.
From the bottom of the ground, in a flash, Victor raised his blade.
「Sword of Order. Bloom.」
CLANK!
The blade was raised, meeting with the huge hammer. The force of the blow created a shockwave that pushed Victor back. The ground shook with the impact, a testament to the general’s strength even while restrained.
「Recover.」 Yet, Victor hadn’t stopped. He stood up in an instant as if the strike hadn’t done anything to him.
「Sword of Order. Repeat.」 He launched a series of powerful thrusts, each one aimed at a critical point. The audience watched in awe as his swordsmanship was put on full display.
He launched a series of powerful thrusts, each one aimed at a critical point. The audience watched in awe as his swordsmanship was put on full display.
Victor’s blade moved with a fluid grace, each thrust precise and controlled. The white energy surrounding his sword shimmered with intensity as he drove forward, seeking any opening in General Kyle’s defenses.
Kyle’s shield met each thrust with practiced ease, but Victor’s relentless assault was starting to wear on him. The young Blackthorn’s speed and precision were undeniable, and even the seasoned general had to put in effort to keep up, it seemed.
“Impressive,” Kyle admitted, a glint in his eyes. “But let’s see how you handle this.”
Kyle’s hammer began to glow with a deep, earthy hue, the mana within it resonating with the ground.
SWOOSH! He swung it horizontally this time, aiming to catch Victor off guard with the sheer width and power of the attack.
「 Earthbreaker Swing.」 Victor’s eyes widened, but he was ready. He leaped into the air, his sword held high as he channeled more of his mana into it.
「 Sword of Order. Bloom.」
His blade met the hammer with a resounding clash, the white energy of his sword flaring brightly as it absorbed the impact. The ground beneath them cracked and shattered from the force of the collision, but Victor remained undeterred.
SWOOSH! As the dust settled, Victor used the momentum to spin around, his blade cutting through the air with lethal intent. He aimed for the general’s side, hoping to catch him off balance.
But Kyle was not easily taken by surprise. He shifted his stance, bringing his shield up just in time to block the strike.
CLANK! The clash of metal echoed through the arena, the sheer force of the blow sending another shockwave through the stands.
However, the general was not finished. As if he was already expecting what Victor was going to do, he charged his shield with a different energy this time.
「Earth. Bend to my will.」
The energy that was already covering the shield suddenly took shape.
A bunch of rocks were formed out of nowhere.
BOOM!
And those compressed rocks that were rotating in the air instantly flew to Victor, who was recovering from the attack.
Victor, mid-air and vulnerable, had no time to evade the oncoming rocks. But in that split second, his mind raced, and he did something unthinkable.
His eyes focused intensely on his body, and with sheer will, he moved an immense amount of mana.
Suddenly, as if stepping on an invisible platform, Victor pushed himself into the air, creating an angular movement that defied logic. His movement was so fast that it created a vortex of air around him.
The approaching rocks were caught in the vortex, decimated as if they had entered a blender. Shards of rock scattered harmlessly to the ground below.
Victor did not stop. Channeling his energy into his sword, he used his rapid rotation to send a series of immensely fast sword slashes toward General Kyle. Each slash cut through the air with high frequency and deadly precision.
「Sword of Order. Symphony of Recursion.」
The arena was filled with the sound of Victor’s blade slicing through the air, a symphony of steel and energy. The slashes moved too quickly for the eye to follow, a blur of motion aimed directly at General Kyle.
General Kyle braced himself, his shield and hammer at the ready. He knew he had to withstand the onslaught to turn the tide of the duel. His mana surged, reinforcing his defenses.
CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!
The slashes collided with Kyle’s shield, each impact resounding through the amphitheater. The sheer force of the attacks pushed the general back, his feet digging into the ground as he struggled to hold his position.
Victor’s relentless assault continued, his blade moving faster and faster. The vortex of air around him grew more intense, the pressure building with each passing second.
「Terra Aegis.」
The barrier formed just in time, absorbing the brunt of Victor’s attack. The high-frequency slashes struck the barrier, causing cracks to appear but ultimately holding firm.
And General Kyle had already formed the counter to the strikes.
「Heart of the Brave. Command of Earth.」
There was a special reason why the Braveheart family was able to retain such a strong standing in the military despite them having one of the most balanced attributes, Earth attribute.
The reason for that was simple.
It was their ability to command even the slightest particles of Earth on the ground. Earthen mages or Earthen Psion users tended to be more direct and sloppy with their approach, most of the time lacking precise control. Since Earth elements were always together as one on the ground, partially commending the particles of a huge rock would still move it enough to utilize.
Yet, the Braveheart family was different. They were born with a special usage of Earth attributes.
Just as it was being displayed in the arena.
General Kyle made some of the psionic particles rise from the ground, causing the density of the air to increase. As the air became denser, the friction resulting from the angular movement of Victor increased, making him slow. Victor’s momentum faltered as he felt the increased resistance against his movements.
‘What is this?’
Victor could feel his movements becoming sluggish, the friction in the air around him intensifying. It was as if the very air was conspiring against him, slowing his every action.
General Kyle didn’t waste any time. He raised his hammer to the sky, channeling his mana into the weapon. The air around him seemed to hum with energy as he prepared for his next strike.
If the previous attacks were still within range for academy students, at least for third and fourth years, this strike would put pressure on a graduate. The mana levels were suppressed, yet everyone seemed to forget this fact.
“Is this even a duel for an academy student? This level is too high, no?”
Even the people who had witnessed the duel between Irina and Seraphina were flabbergasted. The reason for that was not because of the techniques used.
Sure, General Kyle was already on another level.
But, the important thing was Victor Blackthorn’s ability to oppose those attacks. Even with his mana suppressed, General Kyle’s attacks could make the rank-8 Hunters sweat, and Victor Blackthorn was flawlessly opposing those attacks.
“The duel is over now.”
Yet everyone was now sure.
With this strike, the duel would be over.
「Hammer of Earth. Braveheart’s Judgment.」
The hammer glowed with a fierce light, the earth psions swirling around it. Kyle’s eyes locked onto Victor, his expression one of grim determination.
He brought the hammer down with a thunderous roar, the force of the strike sending shockwaves through the air.
Victor, struggling against the increased friction, saw the incoming attack.
“Pitu.”
His mouth was already filled with dust.
“Huuuuu….”
He knew he had to act fast.
Channeling his remaining energy, he focused on his sword, the white light intensifying. One strike.
It came to one strike.
He stopped his movements as he was already aware of the energy that the hammer contained.
The light in his green eyes once again intensified.
「Sword of Order. *****」
The hammer met with the ground as they collided with an explosion of light and sound, the sheer power of the impact creating a massive shockwave that rippled through the arena.
The ground beneath them shattered, cracks spreading out like spiderwebs from the point of impact.
Yet that wasn’t the end.
General Kyle raised the hammer from the ground, and with it raised, the ground erupted as if it were a volcano. The whole arena turned to dust, and everyone’s eyes were focused on Victor.
In that split second, the white color of his blade flashed.
And the whole world went white.
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