—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Mister, who do you think is the strongest out there?”
“Hmm… I think that bald guy over there looks the strongest.”
The way he calmly observed the situation suggested he had a lot of experience in this kind of thing. Though the unnecessarily large axe he was carrying made him look a bit weak.
Axes were best when they were small enough to be thrown.
Deputy Commander Jared was incredibly skilled at throwing axes. He was so good that it could be considered a separate art in itself.
He could accurately split an enemy’s head from fifty meters away with a single throw of his hand axe.
It was literally sniping. No wonder the enemies called him the “Devil of Francisca.”
He had often relied on that axe during his rookie days.
…Though Jared had died in the last battle, an enemy’s axe lodged in his neck.
“Mister?”
“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought…”
“Let’s just watch the matches, shall we?”
“Right, right…”
William turned his attention back to the arena. The match for Group Eight was about to begin.
“The referee is here! It looks like it’s about to start…”
Stop subtly clinging to him.
“We will now begin the match for Group Eight!”
A strangely familiar line echoed through the arena, and the match for Group Eight began.
“They’re just cautiously observing each other again.”
“It’s difficult to make a move unless you’re absolutely confident in your skills.”
“Maybe they’re looking for allies. They might have made a plan beforehand…”
Fifty martial artists stood in the spacious arena, cautiously observing each other, weapons in hand, creating a stalemate.
It was a rather boring scene for the spectators who had come to watch, but for the martial artists, it was quite interesting.
“It seems like there’s no one particularly strong in Group Eight.”
“Mok Yeong-ho from Group Seven was strong…”
Well, he was skilled enough to reach the quarterfinals or semifinals. He later joined the Azure Dragon Unit or the White Tiger Unit, if he recalled correctly.
He was a promising young man.
“How long do you think this match will take?”
“It should end within thirty minutes at the latest. In a battle of attrition, the moment you lose momentum, you can be overwhelmed in an instant.”
What was the most important thing in a chaotic battle?
First, avoid becoming the target of multiple opponents.
Second, erase your presence.
It was difficult to survive in a chaotic battle without those two prerequisites. Or, they could wear chainmail and activate aura armor like knights.
With ultimate defense, they could deflect aura blades and arrows, and beat down their opponents in a one-sided battle, even in a chaotic situation.
“Ah, it looks like they’re starting to move.”
“I guess they’ve run out of patience.”
A young man with an innocent face and an awkward demeanor swung his sword. Judging by his form, he seemed to have just reached the second-rate level. As his sword swung towards the person next to him, the other martial artists, who had been cautiously observing each other, began to wield their weapons one by one.
The bald man William had been watching discreetly retreated and released his aura, instead of joining the fray.
He was a seasoned veteran. It might be a tough fight if he faced Hye-ryeong.
As he briefly pondered, twenty people were eliminated in an instant.
Most were eliminated because they dropped their weapons or were severely injured. The eliminated martial artists were carried away on stretchers or left the arena dejectedly.
“He’s going to make his move soon.”
“You’re right. The bald guy is moving!”
…Did he just glance in their direction? Maybe it was his imagination.
Anyway, the bald man picked up the axe he had been carrying on his shoulder and started to eliminate his opponents one by one.
The sight of weapons breaking and flying through the air as he swung his axe with his muscular arms was quite spectacular.
“Wow, ten people eliminated in an instant…”
“Group Eight is filled with mediocre martial artists.”
There was no unexpected underdog rising to the occasion. Well, he knew that wouldn’t happen since he already knew the outcome… but he was relieved that the original story hadn’t been altered from this point onwards.
“The winner of Group Eight is! Song Mu-han of the Paeryeok Clan!”
“It’s your turn now, Mister!”
“Alright, I’ll be back.”
“You have to win!”
“Of course.”
It would be too embarrassing to be eliminated in the preliminaries.
William lightly stretched as he headed towards the waiting area.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“We will now begin the match for Group Nine!”
‘It’s finally starting.’
William stood in a corner of the arena, folding his arms. The early stages would be a fierce battle of nerves. He had no intention of revealing his strength in the preliminaries.
He already stood out as a Westerner, and if he went all out from the start, someone might come prepared with a countermeasure.
While longsword swordsmanship wasn’t easily countered, even with preparations, there were crazy geniuses in this world.
It was better to be safe than sorry, so William took a deep breath and calmed his mind.
‘First, observe the situation.’
As with the previous group, the martial artists hesitated, cautiously observing each other. William felt their gazes on him as he slowly drew his longsword.
A long sword, different from the ones used in the Central Plains.
‘It’s long.’
‘If we approach him carelessly…’
‘A sword like that doesn’t suit a man of his size.’
A blonde martial artist among the black-haired martial artists.
Naturally, the gazes of not only the martial artists but also the spectators focused on him. William sighed inwardly and slowly lowered his sword, holding it with both hands.
Alber.
He assumed the lower guard stance, one of the four basic stances of longsword swordsmanship, and closed his eyes.
It was as if he was saying, “Come at me.” But the martial artists couldn’t approach him recklessly.
‘What kind of aura is that…’
‘My heart is constricting just from his aura… where did such an expert come from…’
‘He’s not someone I can handle.’
“Brother Jegal, look at them. They’re so scared they can’t even move. And they call themselves martial artists of the righteous factions…”
Jegal Hyeon-sang smiled at Namgung Hwi’s condescending remark and said, “Young Master Namgung, how can wolves bare their fangs in front of a tiger? Just by standing there with his sword lowered, he has already taken control of the arena. If they move carelessly, they’ll be eliminated.”
“Haha! What an expert! I can’t wait to fight him!”
Paeng Jeok-san laughed heartily and guzzled down his alcohol straight from the bottle. He looked like a drunkard, but Jegal Hyeon-sang seemed accustomed to his behavior, waving his fan to dispel the smell of alcohol and saying,
“I think this will be the match with the most alliances formed.”
As Jegal Hyeon-sang predicted, the martial artists began to turn towards William one by one. Their actions showed their determination to eliminate the biggest threat.
But William remained unfazed, maintaining his stance with an impassive expression.
‘I can’t kill them, so the best I can do is make them suffer.’
This wasn’t a battlefield, so he couldn’t act with the same ruthlessness. William pushed aside the resurfacing memories of the battlefield, opened his eyes, and glared at the martial artists slowly closing in on him.
‘A pincer attack, huh.’
It was crude compared to a sword formation performed by those who had trained together, but fighting against multiple opponents meant facing four or five swords for every one of his.
He couldn’t let his guard down, even if his realm was higher.
William suddenly stepped forward.
His target was the weakest martial artist among those surrounding him. The man, caught off guard by the sudden charge of the giant Westerner, frantically swung his sword.
His sword strike lacked power. It couldn’t stop William’s advance.
William deflected the sword with the base of his blade and punched the man in the face. The man flew three zhang through the air, crashing to the ground and convulsing. The medics from the Medical Hall rushed over and carried him away.
“He sent him flying three zhang with a single punch…”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, William immediately swung his sword horizontally, aiming for the chest of a martial artist standing awkwardly. A clean, straightforward attack.
The martial artist raised his sword to block the attack.
‘It’s like being hit by a hammer…’
His sword vibrated, and his body shook. He gritted his teeth and endured the impact. If he could hold out for just a moment, the other martial artists would attack the Westerner.
William’s back was now exposed.
The other martial artists could attack him from behind.
But William didn’t care. He took a large step towards the martial artist who had blocked his attack, smoothly moved to his side, used him as a shield to block the attack from behind, and kicked the second-rate martial artist he had locked eyes with, his foot infused with aura.
The second-rate martial artist, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, flew through the air in a similar fashion to the first, and the medics rushed over once more.
“You too.”
“Aaaargh!”
The martial artist who had become a meat shield after blocking William’s sword was grabbed by the neck and thrown out of the arena.
‘Three people eliminated in an instant…’
‘If we approach him carelessly, we might be eliminated without even getting a chance to fight!’
The martial artists, not wanting to be eliminated pathetically in the preliminaries, took a step back and resumed their cautious observation. William stretched his neck, loosening his muscles.
‘I’d like to eliminate the stronger ones first.’
As he thought this, the gazes of the martial artists focused on him once more.
The might of the Blue-Eyed Lion was finally revealed to the martial artists of the Central Plains.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
[Your Text Here]
