Death Match

“Good... good, excellent!”

The blue-haired Knight, Will, laughed as he muttered "good" three times, clearly losing his temper.

He tossed his hair back, and the battle qi he had just suppressed erupted once more, violently shattering the granite tiles beneath his feet!

As the future heir of the Border Family, when had he ever suffered such relentless provocation?

“Ogre, is it? I will remember you. You will pay for what you have done!”

Without even performing the salute of engagement, Will charged straight at Ogre with his sword raised.

From the moment Ogre agreed to forego his rest, the battle had begun.

Clang—!

A crisp ring resounded as sword and spear clashed.

To Will's surprise, his strike didn't snap Ogre's spear, but only left a deep gash on it.

How could this commoner possess such a fine weapon?

Amidst his shock, Ogre had already thrown a foot forward. Instead of trying to kick Will away, he sought to use the leverage to push himself back.

Utilizing the reaction force from his foot and spear, Ogre pivoted slightly on his other foot, which was still planted on the ground.

With a quick sidestep backward, he dodged to Will's flank, leaving only a crater of shattered gravel in his wake.

Will was also quick to react; he was a Knight raised under the orthodox training of his family, after all.

Relying on the near-decade of extra foundation he had over Ogre, he managed to instantly keep pace with Ogre's rhythm.

Swinging his sword, he slashed horizontally!

Though the sword appeared to have sliced into the body, not a hint of joy could be seen on Will's face—because the sensation of the strike felt wrong.

‘Shoot, an afterimage!’

Before Will could even process how Ogre was so fast, he took a heavy blow from the spear. The spear swept across the plate armor around Will's waist, causing sparks to fly from the impact.

It was not that Ogre didn't want to pierce his head, but rather that the head was too small a target. In the heat of the moment, Ogre could only aim for the larger torso.

At this moment, both of their hearts sank.

‘An armor infused with battle qi is so hard!’ / ‘This guy is so strong!’

The former was Ogre's thought, while the latter belonged to Will.

The first round of their exchange ended with Will being swept off his feet.

At this moment, even those completely ignorant of the trade could see that Ogre's previous match was definitely not rigged. This result was absolutely jaw-dropping.

Having been swept to the ground, Will quickly curled his body into a defensive posture to prevent a follow-up attack. This was a reflex possessed by every Knight and Martial Artist raised in the frontier, and it was also where he differed from goblin Professionals.

The expected continuous pursuit did not happen. By the time Will kipped up, Ogre was already gone.

‘Where is he!’ Ignoring his messy hair, Will alertly scanned his surroundings.

When he finally spotted Ogre, he found the other party clutching his chest.

Thump—thump! Thump!

The successive drumming sounds came from nowhere, irritating Will. But he couldn't afford to worry about that now.

“Slash!” Upon spotting his target, Will immediately went on the offensive.

Will had originally wanted to fell Ogre with a single, overwhelming strike to reclaim his bruised ego. But his awkward display in their first exchange made him realize his opponent was no pushover.

He stopped holding back immediately. Taking a short breath, he instantly gathered battle qi into his sword, slashing out several crescent blue energy waves in quick succession—the Battle Qi Slash!

The Battle Qi Slash was a highly practical move. Almost the first technique every human Knight learned after completing their Life Circle was this one. Being able to project battle qi as light blades was a qualitative transformation, granting a Knight the capability for mid-range combat.

Convenient, fast, and practical—this was the consistent evaluation of the Battle Qi Slash by Professional Knights.

As the intensity of the battle qi rose, and with the varying attributes granted by different breathing techniques, the Battle Qi Slash would often be imbued with different elements. The power imbued within Will's Battle Qi Slash was of only one kind—frigid cold!

“Will is getting serious.”

The spectators outside the arena stared unblinkingly at the battle, afraid of missing a single detail. There was no way to dodge an attack of this caliber unless one jumped high or fell flat on the ground, because Will's Battle Qi Slashes had already blanketed half the arena.

Yet, to everyone's absolute surprise, Ogre didn't dodge.

Zzzzt!

Dazzling blue electricity crackled along the tip of his spear as he met the Battle Qi Slashes head-on.

The result was clear as day—the frigid Battle Qi Slashes were shattered instantly with a flick of the solid, electrified spear. Generating high temperatures was far easier than causing damage with low temperatures.

Instead of retreating, Ogre pressed forward, heading straight for Will.

“Lightning battle qi! How is that possible!” A Professional Knight in the stands couldn't help but stand up.

“No—that's not battle qi.” A Professional dressed as a Mage pushed up the monocle over his right eye and answered with certainty, “Battle qi covers the entire body in a stable, harmonious flow. His current, however, resembles something released by a manipulation mage.”

“Are you saying this kid is also a Mage? A Spellsword?”

Spellswords were a very rare branch of evocation path Mages.

“No... this should be an innate power. I suspect there is a high probability that it's an inherited ability from his bloodline,” the Mage answered confidently.

‘Damn it! How does he also possess this kind of power!’

While the spectators in the stands were thoroughly entertained, Will's mind was in utter disarray.

For he realized—Ogre's speed had increased once again!

And that obnoxious drumming sound was only getting louder and louder!