Chapter 48: Blades of Light Everywhere
The elders in the premium seats were really shocked, watching the match.
"Impossible..."
"How can she be this strong?"
"Even the favorites working together can’t put her down."
The gray-robed elder beside Garion turned to him and smirked.
"Your disciple is really interesting, Garion. She seems to read her opponent’s movements and counter in such... unusual ways."
The gray-robed elders stroked his beard, thinking.
"It’s unlike anything I’ve seen in this arena... no, in this world. No one used that kind of martial arts."
Garion laughed loudly, forcing the other elders to turn to him.
"Of course! I’m the one who taught them to her, after all. Watch more and you’ll see just how strong my martial moves are."
The gray-robed elder’s smirk deepened, but his eyes stayed sharp.
"Yes... It is impressive. But even so, it’s still not enough to defeat both Larris and Elira together."
Garion tilted his head, his grin never fading.
"Why’s that?"
The elder turned his gaze back to the arena.
"Because they haven’t used their full power yet."
Several elders nearby nodded in agreement.
Garion chuckled again, shaking his head.
"Heh. Neither has Dahlia."
The gray-robed elder blinked, his smirk faltering.
"What did you say?"
Garion leaned forward, stretching his hands and grinning wide.
"You think Dahlia is using all of her power? Of course not. She was still holding back."
Garion pointed his finger at her.
"What you’ve seen is just the power when she became serious, and if she used her real power, the match is over in an instant."
The grey-robed elder’s brows lifted.
"If that’s true... then this match will be far more interesting than I imagined."
Garion slapped the armrest, laughing hard.
"Interesting? You haven’t seen anything yet."
---
Elira pushed herself up slowly, one hand gripping her sword, the other pressing her pained stomach.
"Tch... Damn it. How can she be this strong? How did she even read my strike so easily when she doesn’t even see it?"
Beside her, Larris stepped forward, steadying her with his thick arm. Then, his face frowned as he answered her.
"From what I see, she doesn’t just rely on speed. She’s using her eyes and reflexes to guess our attacks."
His face frowned even more as he felt a bit shocked.
"And the scariest part is that her hunches were all correct. She can easily guess based on our body movement."
Elira’s eyes narrowed, hearing that.
"If that’s the case, then any close-range attack will be useless against her. She’ll dodge or counter before it lands."
Larris nodded, but his brows stayed furrowed. Elira exhaled sharply, trying to think of something.
"It seems that I have no choice but to use that move, though I’m really reluctant to do so."
She turned back to Larris, her voice lower now.
"Get ready! Use your strongest move when I give you the chance and finish it in one strike!"
Larris tightened his grip on his axe and gave her a short nod, raising his axe high.
He began to pour mana into his axe and his body, getting ready to use one strong final move.
Elira steadied herself again, her sword glowing even brighter than before.
Across teh arena, Dahlia stood calmly, rolling her shoulders once.
She rubbed her stomach with one hand before smirking at Elira, mocking her.
"Hurts, doesn’t it? Was my kick good?"
Elira quickly frowned, her lips pressed thinner. Her stomach ached, but she lifted her chin high and answered.
"Dahlia... I admit that you’re strong. Stronger than most here. But don’t think you can beat the two of us together with only this."
She raised her glowing sword again, so painful to look at by other spectators.
Dahlia dropped her hand from her stomach and lowered her stance one more, smirking.
"Then let’s see it. Let’s find out if your mouth... or your sword is sharper."
The crowd erupted again, stomping their feet, chanting all three names, excited for the next closing battle.
---
Elira’s eyes locked on Dahlia as she tightened her grip on her glowing sword.
"I know you’re strong in close combat and know how to counter most of close ranged strikes."
She stepped forward, grinning wide.
"But how about this? Do you think you can block... or even counter this?"
Her voice rang out across the arena as she unleashed her skill.
"Mirage Strikes!"
Dahlia smirked, raising her fists.
"As long as I can see it, it’s useless."
Elira’s lip curved into a smirk.
"Is that so?"
She slashed her sword once, clean and sharp. Then she slashed again, then again, repeatedly.
Dahlia’s smirk soon faded as she saw what was happening.
"What the?!"
Each swing of her left behind a trail of light, thin arcs floating in the air as if they were solid blades.
One strike became two, then four, then eight, until Dahlia was surrounded by glowing slashes of light, all pointed toward her.
The crowd gasped in shock seeing the current situation.
"What hell is that skill?"
"Are those even real?!"
Dahlia growled, shifting her stance.
"Tch. Which one’s the real strike?"
Elira chuckled softly, spinning her glowing sword one last time, mocking her.
"Now... tell me, Dahlia. Which one can you dodge? Which one can you block?"
Elira stopped her sword, then pointed it at her, smirking.
"Choose wrong and the right sword will cut you down in an instant."
Dahlia clenched her fists, her eyes moving from one glowing arc to another.
Damn it... If I guess wrong, I’ll be done.
---
Back in the premium seats, Garion leaned forward, his eyes wide.
"Wow... I never thought there was a skill like this."
The gray-robed elder smirked, folding his hands.
"Now then, Garion... what do you think? Can Dahlia still win? If she chooses wrong, she’ll be finished."
For the first time, Garion’s face turned into a frown, making the other elders grin wide.
"So even he doubts her now."
"At last, some fear."
Garion exhaled slowly, then spoke.
"It’s true. This is hard... harder than I expected. But I believe in her. I know she can do this."
The gray-robed elder tilted his head, still smirking.
"I see. Confided until the end, huh?"
Garion sat back, watching how Dahlia handled this.
But even though his face was frowning, his mind was grinning.
Heh! These old men really hadn’t realized it, huh? They never realized it from the start, and that’s the reason she won’t lose.
Garion smirked in hiding as he kept watching the show.