The third match of the second round was pretty much an unlucky draw for the Silent Mermaid's crew.
Jack felt a slight tightening in his chest. An annoyance and suspicion. He couldn't help wondering whether the random draw was manipulated somehow.
After all. this was the duel of... Leon Drake vs. Bell Basher. Two of his own crew members.
The stadium went quiet as the two men stepped out. Many of the audience knew the two were comrades. Friends from the same team members. They had seen them interact and they had seen them with the other Silent Mermaid crew members.
But now, they were opponents. There was no animosity on their faces. Only a grim, determined grin. This was just like a duel training session for them.
When he got to the stage, Leon didn't hold back. He knew how capable Bell was. And if he showed a weakness, he might lose. Thus, he immediately activated his primal sorcery, even before the duel started.
Scales of draconic armor shimmered into existence over his limbs. Spreading out to cover his whole body in dark, full-plate armor. And then, he drew his grimoire. Lightning crackled around his fingertips.
Bell, on the other hand, grounded himself in a defensive stance. He wore the [Buckler of Retribution] on his left hand. It was a small, circular shield engraved with runes of absorption and redirection. A very dependable artifact for his combat style.
Bell also wield his own grimoire. His eyes glowed as he prepared the fire-and-lightning spells he had mastered.
The sound that indicated the start of the battle reverberated loudly...
Leon was the aggressor. He launched a volley of [Lightning Arrows]. The bolts zig-zagged across the arena. Targeting Bell from several different direction.
Bell cast a [Greater Ward] spell on his buckler and raised it. The shield glowed and expanded into a great energy shield. Protecting him and absorbing the electricity.
The runes on the shield glowed red, then white. Bell released the absorbed energy back at Leon in a concentrated beam of plasma.
Leon swayed his body. The beam scorched the air next to his ear. It kept moving straight and struck the arena's erected barrier.
Leon charged forward. Closing the distance. He was mainly a long-ranged mystic scholar, but his draconic armor primal sorcery made him a formidable melee fighter. He swung a fist sheathed in thunder.
Bell blocked it with the ward-overlaid buckler. The impact sounded like a cannon blast. Sending both competitors several steps backward. But they both instantly dashed back to the melee range against each other.
Soon, the two combatants were trading spells at point-blank range. Fire met lightning. The arena was quickly obscured by smoke and sparks.
Bell used his [Quick Reflex] to react to any of Leon's movements. But Leon's [Rapid Thinking] and his fast, offensive attacks made it hard for him to perfectly anticipate all of Leon's attacks.
Leon raised his gauntleted arm and punched. The grimoire in his other hand glowed bright. A vortex of crackling lightning blanketed his fist.
Bell step aside. He didn't directly block the attack. Instead, he used his buckler to deflect the lightning coated fist. Sparks splashed like sea waves hitting a reef.
The buckler succeeded in deflecting the attack. Its surface absorbed part of the lightning attack and retaliated in a controlled explosion. Pushing the full-armored Leon backward several steps.
Bell didn't waste the chance. He invoked a [Flame Bomb] and sent it to Leon. Forcing the latter to roll sideway to evade the attack. The bomb exploded and destroyed some part of the arena floor.
But Leon wasn't injured. In fact, while still rolling on the floor, he managed to send a blast of [Lightning Strike] to Bell.
The latter immediately raised his buckler to block. The shield absorbed the lightning blast. Converting it into a majestic blinding flash that returned back to Leon. Causing the crowd to gasp in unified awe.
Leon was unfazed. He received the attack with his gauntleted palm. Channeling his armor's internal core. The obsidian plates seemed to ignite a deep, inner furnace. A low roar resonated through his whole armor as the flash seemed to activate the inner mechanism of the armor.
He charged forward. Each step he made sent shockwaves through the ground.
But Bell was not one to do nothing in the face of danger. He muttered a spell, the [Lightning Shield] and imbued his buckler with it. Layering the object with a wave of electrified energy that neutralize Leon's lightning attack.
A series of rapid exchanges followed. Leon's lightning blades cut through Bell's concentrated firestorms; Bell's buckler generated intermittent shock fronts that deflected the lightning blades.
As they kept clashing, the arena's ground was churned into a vortex of sparks, ash, and fleeting obsidian shards. The audience was completely entertained with incredible battle filled with lightning and flames.
Finally, after more than fifteen minutes of clash...
At a critical moment, Leon unleashed a spiraling [Draconic Tempest]. A spell that fused sonic energy and lightning in a vortex. It created a massive, concussive blast that sent a pressure wave across the arena, knocking Bell off his feet.
Before Bell could recover, Leon seized the opening. His gauntlet palm reached out. Currents were crackling along his forearm. He slapped the buckler with an electrically charged strike.
The resulting explosion was deafening. BOOM! A blinding flash and loud noise... The exploding force threw both combatants back. Debris and sand scattered like blizzard in a raging hurricane.
When the dust settled, Leon stood. His armor's glow dimmed but he was fine.
Bell, on the other hand, was down on one knee. Gasping. Still out of breath. He raised a hand in surrender. He was spent.
Leon offered a hand and pulled him up. The crowd roared. Jack nodded. It was a good fight. Leon had won. But Bell had shown his power too.
...
The fourth match of the round was a non-event. Because Baron Burst had killed or incapacitated everyone in Moby's stage during the first round, there was no one left to face the remaining seed.
Crimson Shark, the blood-controlling warlock from the Glorious Pirates, walked onto the stage. He smirked at the crowd and was declared the winner by default.
"What a lucky pirate." Reina said. Her lip curled slightly in distaste. "Always finding the easy path to victory."
"He won't find the next one easy." Jack said calmly. "None of the three remaining contestants are weak."
...
The tournament moved into the semi-finals without a break. The organizers wanted to keep the momentum, it seemed.
Lion Fist faced Fuuka Chain first. It was a battle of combat skill versus speed.
Jack focused his observation. He enhanced his vision. Making his eyes act as if they were lenses adjusted to the minute fluctuations in the arena's magic field.
Lion Fist stepped onto the arena. His posture was relaxed but ready. The roar of distant thunder seemed to reverberate beneath his feet.
Fuuka Chain slid in. Already in her half-kamaitachi form. The wind seemed racing ahead of her.
The two locked eyes. One with disciplined calm, the other with reckless excitement. They waited for the starting gong to sound before they moved.
The duel began with a swift exchange. Lion Fist launched a series of rapid, ki-charged punches. Each strike was accompanied by a low roar of thunder.
Fuuka Chain easily evaded the attacks with her fast movements. She retaliated with a speedy, razor-sharp wind blades. Ones that cut through the air aiming for the martial monk's joints.
Lion Fist anticipated the wind blades. His body glowed with a thin energy covering armor. When the shapeshifter's wind blades met his energy armor, the collision generated a dazzling flash. The energy armor diffused the wind's edge.
The audience gasped and roared. Cheering the ones they were betting on.
Fuuka Chain sprinted in high speed and pivoted. Her arm extended in a swift arc. The scythe-like blade on it glinted under the afternoon sky. She thrust forward. Aiming for Lion Fist's ribs.
Lion Fist employed his monastic martial training. He performed a leap that defied gravity. Evading the slash and landing behind his opponent in a single heartbeat.
At that moment, Fuuka Chain's aura flickered. She used the kamaitachi's wind manipulation to send a burst of invisible wind that wrapped around her opponent. Attempting to bind his movements.
The burst of wind caught the edge of Lion Fist's energy armor. Managing to strangle his limbs.
The martial monk recognized the bind of the wind. He instantly channeled his own internal ki storm. Gathering a massive surge of ki power into his limbs. The crackling sound was building up.
He released an explosive move of 360 degrees swift rotation. A wave of pure ki energy overwrote the flow of the wind. Shattering the invisible binding into visible sparks.
But, Fuuka Chain didn't just wait. She had already moved like a blur around the stage, gaining momentum from her acceleration. She swung both blades of her arms. Leaving silver trails in the air.
She struck the monk dozens of times. Her vacuum-like blades cut through his dark blue battle gi. But although the cloth was easily sliced, the martial monk's skin seemed to be made of steel. Only shallow white mark appeared on his skin.
Lion Fist took the hits without any problem. But he couldn't compete against his opponent's incredible speed. So his eyes closed instead. Focusing and waiting.
When Fuuka Chain came close for a fraction of a second to attack, Lion Fist struck. He didn't attack her directly. Instead, he used a palm strike to the ground.
The resulting shockwave sent Fuuka stumbling. Before she could recover, Lion Fist was there. Launching a controlled single strike to her solar plexus.
The martial monk definitely held back his punch. It was not strong enough to kill. But it was enough to shut down her lungs for a few seconds.
The half-kamaitachi's form of Fuuka Chain collapsed. Reverting back to her human form. Gasping for air.
Lion Fist bowed. It was obvious. He was the winner of this match.
...
The next match was immediately started. It was Leon against Crimson Shark.
The pirate warlock was arrogant. He opened the fight by slicing his own palms, the blood flowing out and hardening into floating needles.
"Your tin armor won't protect you, Weakling." He hissed. "I'll drain you dry. Ah, don't worry. I'll leave you enough blood to be alive for a few hours. I don't want to be disqualified after all.
Leon didn't answer the taunt. He didn't think much of the pirate warlock. He had seen him fight in the first round. His blood controlling ability didn't impress him at all.
If his ability was limited to what he showed in the last-man-standing round, he was definitely not that strong. Leon believed that most of the crew members in Silent Mermaid, even Aella, could beat the warlock easily.
Well, even if the pirate warlock had some ability he hadn't shown, Leon wouldn't think much of him. The only problem the pirate would bring was how to beat him down severely, and defeat him without killing.
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