Land of Proof, Champion Finale.
On the day such a huge match was going to be fought, Eisenmarkt had a festive atmosphere from the day before.
From children to adults, the debate continued over who would win, and the opinions on what the flow of the fight would be kept coming in.
Of course, that discussion didn’t happen too much because Ilya Lindsay was the champion.
The topic was if they could have the chance to see the Sword Master give her best, and the interest on who would win wasn’t high.
An Expert couldn't beat a Master!
It was a fact which everyone knew.
Ilya Lindsay’s skills were too good for an underdog to win.
However, today one of the strongest contenders was the challenger.
There was great tension in Eisenmarkt.
“Amazing! All the King Level gladiators came, didn’t they?”
“Obviously! Who would want to miss this match? Look closely! Not just the gladiators, but even the nobles from the surrounding estates have come.”
“Uh? That person… Is that Jet Frost?”
“I think you are right? No, not just Jet Frost!”
“All the masters of famous swordsmanship schools have come here. Joseph of Lation city and Carissa too!”
Joseph and Carissa were the teachers of one of the best swordsmanship schools in Lation city, and were both people who had reached the level of Master.
The fact that even people who never left their schools were here, magnified the excitement of the audience.
A day that could potentially fall into the pages of history!
Just being here at this moment was a rush of adrenaline to the audience.
Of course, there was Hinz, the chief reporter of Weekly Arena, who was feeling the most emotional.
He felt a burning sensation in his chest as he quietly murmured.
“The moment I have been waiting for has finally come…”
He felt he had two failures in his life.
As he thought, he recalled the first one.
Who would care for a commoner-born gladiator? But in the end, she had turned into a champion at the age of 20.
It was unfortunate, but there was no need for him to feel bad as no one could have guessed that would happen.
But the second was Ilya Lindsay, who took the champion title; there was no choice but to feel regret.
Once was a mistake, but twice was a failure.
He prided himself on being a better reporter than others, but back then, he too said that those two things wouldn’t happen from the sidelines like everyone else!
It was upsetting and sad! To the extent where it would even appear to haunt him in his dreams.
Of course, not anymore.
A third chance was given to his foolish self!
And now that he caught it, he didn’t want to miss it.
He was going to witness a new flower blooming much closer than others.
And he wasn’t just watching, but he also participated this time.
And now, at the moment close to the end, the Elf Hinz was having the most exhilarating feeling.
‘Perhaps Irene and Ilya Lindsay are feeling more than this.’
Hinz thought as he gulped.
Indeed, what were the thoughts running through the heads of the two people who would stand against each other in a while?
Were they nervous?
Were they excited?
He didn’t know.
But what was clear was that they too must be having some new feelings.
“Huh! It is starting!”
“Look here, stay quiet, will you!”
“Quiet! Silence!”
After a while, everyone went silent as they saw the referee come up to the stage.
A shockingly weird atmosphere completely different from usual matches.
Normally it would have been noisy, but today’s protagonists made such a situation possible.
The audience felt goosebumps on their skins because of the silence.
Eventually, after all the verification procedures were done, Irene summoned his trademark sorcery sword.
And he took a stance to indicate he was ready.
So did Ilya Lindsay. She swung her sword a couple of times and then took her stance as well.
The stadium had a dangerous air, and it was as if daggers would be shot out at any moment, even the audience was engulfed into it.
People were already clenching their fists as if a sword was pointed at their throats.
And…
“Start!”
With the referee’s shout, the championship match began.
Whoop!
The start was as everyone had expected, with Ilya Lindsay charging ahead.
Even the King-Level gladiators always had slow reactions to her movements.
Of course, that wasn’t the case with Irene Pareira. As if equipped with a solid shield, he slashed at the opponent’s attack with his great sword.
Tang!
With a collision, Ilya Lindsay retreated back as quickly as she charged.
Of course, it didn’t end there.
The onslaught from the champion had just begun.
Whoop!
Clang!
Ilya’s footsteps and the clash of swords kept reverberating as she moved forwards and backward.
The interval of her movements was so short that it was like she was changing the range of her sword’s attack.
And that wasn’t all.
The champion was utilizing the stage completely as she pressed the challenger from all directions, just leaving enough distance to run and then retreat and then move ahead again to use her sword.
It was so fast that no one understood how she was able to do it.
Her movement went beyond common sense.
It seemed like she would run straight ahead, but then she would stop and then use her core to change her direction and then use her body to increase the force before swinging her sword.
The skill of changing the direction of the sword mid-air was very tough to use in practical matches, and this made the King level gladiators who were watching doubt their eyes.
‘How is that possible?’
‘What is she using to do that?’
A technique that simply exceeded the abilities of others!
Of course, it wasn’t as if everyone in the arena was shocked by it.
Among the swordsmen there, there were two people.
Sword Master Joseph and Carissa Floyd were able to accurately grasp the skill of the champion.
“She is also applying that footwork…”
Joseph mumbled.
Handling the feet was as important as handling the sword when in battle. For that reason, swordsmen would put considerable effort into their footwork.
In order to move one step ahead, the strength in the leg was enhanced with aura. So they had to make sure that the bones and muscles of their body could withstand it.
This is something normal people would never understand.
However, swordsmen who had reached the stage of Master are the only ones who can try to use this, and it was called the ‘Manifestation of footwork.’
And that was what Ilya Lindsay was doing today.
As if she wanted to shine, she was concentrating the aura in the sole of her foot to increase her speed.
Sometimes she would use a lot of aura to stop herself and then would use a little aura to move as smooth as flowing water to counter her opponent’s attack.
As a result, she was displaying something which went past human limits.
And this wasn’t an easy thing to do.
This was something that most experts couldn’t even imitate, and only those who have reached the end of an Expert could try.
And Ilya was able to unfold and display such a technique with ease.
‘The Aura operation is so smooth that I can’t believe she became a Sword Master just last year.’
‘She isn’t even 20 yet…’
Both Carissa Floyd and Joseph looked stunned.
They too were born with talent, which wasn’t lacking at all compared to geniuses, but the current champion seemed to be on another level.
The young ones in the match seemed to be born with higher potential than them.
However, their eyes weren’t on Ilya Lindsay.
A young man who wasn’t being deceived by the frightening movements and was able to block all the attacks.
Irene Pareira’s skills were incredible.
“Is the new generation changing?”
“Uhm.”
Hearing that, Joseph nodded.
As she said, a new wind was blowing across the continent.
Kakang!
Kang!
Kwang!
Of course, even as these two masters were immersed in their emotions, the two gladiators below were fighting.
Ilya attacked, and Irene defended.
It was as if a blacksmith was beating on the iron, but the audience weren’t feeling bored at all.
Because both the people on the stage were high level.
However, just because they didn’t feel bored, that didn’t mean the flow of the match would continue like this.
And then came the point.
Keeng!
A screeching sound.
An attack which was sharp enough to humble everything they had seen so far.
The most important thing was that the attack didn’t go for Irene Pareira, but.
It was aiming for the Sword of Irene Pareira!
The attack from Ilya Lindsay, which everyone in Eisenmarkt knew as the sword which established itself as the best, was fired at Irene’s great sword.
Looking at the sword of Ilya which wanted to break the weapon of the opponent, the gladiators were tense.
However, the challenger didn’t panic.
Kwaang!
The loudest clash until now.
Ilya Linday took a step back with an annoyed expression.
It was a huge attack. All her attacks so far had been noticed by her opponent, so this was her way to move ahead in the match.
Of course, she was expecting this to be successful.
However, it failed.
Irene Pareira acted accordingly as if he knew this would happen and perfectly defended the sword.
No, before that…
‘Even if the attack went straight through, I don’t think the great sword would break.’
What was the sword made of?
What kind of heart and will went into making that sword so reliable?
To her, who was in thought, Irene Pareira said.
“The Aura sword, you better show it to me.”
“…”
“If you keep taking your time… your sword will break first.”
“…!”
Ilya Lindsay frowned.
However, she couldn’t object.
Although the opponent was prepared, it was her who would benefit from using the aura sword.
It was natural. The skill gap between the two was something no one could ignore.
However, right now, the great sword of Irene was strong enough to ignore the difference.
To the extent that even the sword in her hand, the sword her family gave her, wouldn’t be able to handle.
At that moment, a strong bright light shone on the sword of the champion who had finally decided.
Woong!
“A-aura sword!”
“The champion is bringing out her sword again!”
“Yeah! This is how a match should be! This challenger isn’t just anyone, so she can’t relax!”
“Is this the real beginning?”
Aura Sword
A technique which was solely for the Sword Master, a utopia for swordsmen.
The eyes of the audience were filled with joy and excitement.
However, Irene’s expression was completely different as he looked at the sword.
‘… like Grayson.’
Above everything else, the color was silver.
However, it wasn’t the light which he focused on.
There was a shadow.
A shadow so dark that he couldn’t believe that Ilya Lindsay was the one that raised it.
The light which was shining from the sword looked as if it was shining at the cost of burning herself, so Irene could hardly react positively.
‘No wonder. Ilya’s problem right now wasn’t just a problem which solely concerned Ilya…’
And such thoughts didn’t last long.
Seeing his friend glare at him more ferociously than she ever could, Irene Pareira reaffirmed his will.
The opponent in front of him right now was a talent who would leave her name in history.
And that person who reached the Master level at an earlier age than anyone else came at him with a terrifying force.
