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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The match had reached its halfway point.
Twenty-five martial artists had been carried away on stretchers.
William, having thrown out the fifteenth martial artist, leisurely wiped the blood off his sword.
‘I’ll have to give my sword a thorough cleaning today.’
He hadn’t cut through any internal organs, but blood had been spilled, so he had to clean it meticulously. William flicked his fingers, shaking off the blood that had splattered on his hand, and surveyed the increasingly chaotic arena.
“Hyaah!”
“Take this!”
“Witness the true essence of the Sacred Spear Style!”
‘What a bunch of clowns.’
Trying to show off in a chaotic battle…
William scratched his head as he watched the martial artists fighting while trying to look cool. He had established such a dominant presence in the arena that no one dared approach him, even when he blatantly exposed openings.
None of those who had attacked him had been able to withstand a single blow. Everyone in the arena must have realized by now.
The winner of Group Nine had already been decided. All that remained was for them to either ignore William, who was standing idly by, and fight amongst themselves for a semblance of dignity…
‘Five of them.’
…Or join forces and challenge him again.
Five people ganging up on one person wasn’t a pretty sight, but the martial artists in Group Nine had no other choice.
Challenging an overwhelmingly strong opponent alone was suicidal.
If this was an actual battle instead of a tournament, the arena would be soaked in blood and guts.
‘But it’s not completely hopeless.’
That was the thought that simultaneously crossed the minds of the five martial artists. The battles that had led to the elimination of twenty-five people were just a chaotic mess, with no real coordination.
If these five, who had briefly exchanged names and coordinated their attacks, worked together, they wouldn’t be easily defeated.
“It’s cowardly, but… please understand.”
“There’s no such thing as cowardice in battle. The one who survives is the one who makes the rules.”
William replied in a nonchalant tone and assumed his stance.
Ox Guard.
Tension filled the arena. Six martial artists preparing for battle, and the spectators watching with bated breath.
All eyes were once again on William.
“Here we come.”
The five martial artists charged simultaneously, keeping their distance.
Their blades came from different angles, as if trying to prevent the blue-eyed swordsman from blocking them all.
William scanned their movements and charged towards the martial artist on the far right.
“What?!”
He couldn’t use Qinggong or footwork techniques, but William closed the distance with a primal form of stepping, deflecting the sword that swung from right to left.
As his sword slid off William’s, the martial artist lost his balance and stumbled. William seized the opportunity and slammed his pommel into the man’s forehead.
“Aaargh!”
“Next time, train your lower body more.”
William, having kindly pointed out his opponent’s weakness, spun around and observed the four swords rushing towards him.
‘Their coordination is sloppy since they just came up with it on the spot.’
It wasn’t easy to move in sync without hindering each other’s movements with just a brief moment of coordination.
True coordination required long hours of training.
William blocked the sword thrusting from the far right with the body of his sword and pushed it away with force. The martial artist, pushed back by the unexpected force, stumbled, his sword tangling with the other three, creating a sharp clang.
“Damn it…!”
“What a skillful move!”
“Using their strength against them…!”
They ended up blocking each other’s swords, their bodies entangled, their attacks failing to reach William.
‘It’s time to end this.’
There was no one in Group Nine who could challenge William, so he could end the match whenever he wanted. He charged towards a martial artist who had lost his balance, kicked him away, and immediately slashed the chest of another martial artist standing nearby.
Wang Ho, a member of the temporary alliance, hurriedly braced himself and blocked the incoming attack.
‘What kind of strength…!’
He gritted his teeth, reminded of the fact that great size came with great strength.
He managed to deflect the sword at an angle, barely redirecting the powerful blow.
But William, as if expecting this, smoothly lowered his body along the trajectory of the deflected sword and immediately swung his sword upwards.
The clean strike sent the martial artist’s sword flying.
“…I concede.”
“Next time, consider dodging. You have to use your footwork techniques.”
“Thank you for the advice, Brother Wi.”
Three more eliminated.
William rotated his slightly stiff shoulder and leaned to the left, sensing a presence behind him. A sword passed through the space where he had just been standing.
He grabbed the attacker’s wrist, pulled him forward, and attempted a shoulder throw.
“Agh!”
It was an attack that couldn’t be defended against, especially against an opponent who was far inferior in both realm and experience.
William looked away from the martial artist sprawled before him and said to the remaining martial artists, who were hesitantly backing away,
“It’s almost lunchtime, so let’s end this.”
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“You were amazing, Mister! Every time you swung your sword, someone went down! You threw them, tossed them, kicked them!”
“As Junior Sister Hye-ryeong said, it was a valuable learning experience.”
“It was nothing. I didn’t even show any special moves.”
It wasn’t a big deal to be praised for winning when there wasn’t even anyone who had reached the peak expert realm.
“No, Brother Wi’s performance in the chaotic battle was an eye-opener for many martial artists.”
Was it really that impressive?
He had simply won using the standard method of fighting safely in a chaotic battle.
He asserted his dominance to deter attacks, subdued his opponents efficiently, and quickly eliminated the weakest link when they formed an alliance.
Chaotic battles were common on the battlefield, so he had naturally learned how to deal with them. Well, he had also received some training from the Captain.
If a knight who had finished charging with their lance had to dismount, it was the beginning of a chaotic battle. Of course, the situation was a bit different since knights were heavily armored and used aura armor.
If knights in reality were compared to tanks, knights in this world were literally “tanks.” A charging knight clad in aura armor could crush a person like a truck.
“Hehe, I was able to reach the main tournament because I imitated what you did, Mister! So you are amazing!”
“…It was a bit close, though.”
The last opponent was slightly stronger than Hye-ryeong. He was distracted by her swaying chest…
Even the spectators were staring.
It was a bit annoying, but even he couldn’t avoid looking at her jiggling chest during a fight. At least she seemed to have tightened her bandages today, so it wasn’t as distracting as usual.
If they had sports bras, he would have bought her one.
He was reminded of the benefits of modern technology in situations like this.
“Anyway, I made it to the main tournament!”
“Yes, yes, good job.”
So could she please stop subtly trying to get closer? People were watching, so she should at least be a little discreet.
He wanted to eat his meal in peace.
William picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, savoring the taste of the marinated meat.
“There are no bad dishes here.”
“Haha, I heard the chef in charge of this dining hall used to work for the Imperial Family.”
The Imperial Family?
How did they manage to recruit such a high-class chef? Someone of his caliber wouldn’t have been easily released from the Imperial Palace.
“Why would a chef like that come to the Wulin Alliance?”
“It seems there were some… circumstances within the Imperial Family.”
Was he caught in a power struggle? William vaguely accepted Hajin’s trailing explanation and picked up a dumpling, popping it into his mouth.
Hmm, delicious.
“Mister, what are you going to do now?”
“Train.”
He had to warm up before the main tournament.
He also had to review today’s preliminary match.
It was the first time he had seen so many different martial arts at once, so he wanted to recall them and try to increase his understanding of martial arts, even if it was just a little.
After all, the roots of all martial arts were the same. By reviewing and internalizing what he had seen, he would be able to deepen his understanding.
He had to go through this process to fuse the Western arts with the Central Plains martial arts.
The way they were used was completely different.
“I’ll train too…”
“Hye-ryeong, Elder Baek said he would watch your swordsmanship, so go see him after you finish eating.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll see you later, Mister…”
“Why are you so glum? The main tournament is only a few days away.”
“Hmph…”
William patted Hye-ryeong’s shoulder a couple of times as she looked down at the floor with a disappointed expression, then stood up.
“I guess I’ll take a walk and then go train…”
“See you later…”
“Goodbye, Brother Wi.”
He left the dining hall, bidding farewell to the two of them.
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[Your Text Here]
I love MCs who use unorthodox fighting styles, be it poison like in some novels or just raw strength overpowering the others like in this one