Chapter 165: Next (3)
Chapter 165: Next (3)
"...What?"
"Wh-What was that just now?"
"He took down Deneb's apostle in a single blow?"
The celestials were thrown into a ruckus.
They looked down at the dusty arena with disbelief countless times, but the result didn't change.
—The Silver Blade, Líu Yǐ-háo...
Even if he was the youngest of Deneb's twelve apostles, a powerful Awakener whose name was known for his exceptional skill had been knocked out within a second.
[...Uh, hmm.]
Spica looked down at the arena with a dumbfounded expression but soon put on an awkward smile and lifted her hand up.
[Th-The victor is Lady Vega's apostle, Awakener Gwon Ohjin! Did Líu Yǐ-háo let his guard down? The result is unbelievable!]
Only once she finished speaking did the celestials come back to their senses and start to applaud.
"N-No way."
Deneb was also surprised by the unforeseen result.
Although Líu Yǐ-háo was his youngest apostle, he was an Awakener in possession of the same Star rank as Ohjin.
No...
Truthfully, you couldn't say they were at the same rank, as Líu Yǐ-háo had risen to the 7-Star rank a year prior.
Even if they were at the same rank, Líu Yǐ-háo should've overwhelmed Ohjin by far if you considered the considerable difference in proficiency.
However, the result was the complete opposite.
Overwhelm? He had been knocked unconscious in one strike without having a chance to retaliate.
"Eek!"
Deneb gritted his teeth and glared at Ohjin in anger.
His hand that was on top of the chair trembled, and Allen placed his hand on Deneb's shoulder.
"Calm down."
"...I know," Deneb answered bluntly.
It was obvious that he would only be mocked by the other celestials if he displayed emotion.
"Bring Líu and heal his injuries."
"Okay."
Allen nodded his head and went down to the arena.
[Well...! The next apostle Sir Deneb will send is...]
Spica slurred the end of her sentence and looked towards Deneb.
"Ivan, you should go next."
"Understood!"
Ivan Beroev...
He was the Awakener ranked 9th out of Deneb's twelve apostles.
His ranking wasn't that far from Líu Yǐ-háo's, but he was a beginner 8-Star Awakener.
If you considered how much of a difference was made per star, there was no worry that he would get one-sidedly beaten like Líu Yǐ-háo.
'I did want to send out a child that's ranked higher, but...'
Deneb nervously chewed his lips and looked at the celestials filling up the stands.
His twelve apostles were so famous that there was no celestial that didn't know the hierarchy.
When there were already a lot of celestials who thought Deneb was petty for the rule of having to take down three apostles, he wouldn't be able to avoid humiliation if he sent out a high-ranking apostle, regardless of whether he won or lost.
"Don't worry, Папа!"
Ivan laughed energetically after saying 'Papa' in Russian.
"Líu Yǐ-háo simply let his guard down! I'll go face him since I already know that his skill isn't to be looked down on!"
"Is that so?"
The edges of Deneb's lips crept up, and his dark blue eyes headed to Ivan.
"Then I'll trust you, Ivan!"
"Yes!"
* * *
Translator - Maccas
Proofreader - ilafy
* * *
Ivan lightly held a simple, massive sword with one hand and jumped into the arena.
Boom!—
A heavy thud rang out as the man who was almost two meters tall landed on the ground.
[The next opponent is Ivan Beroev! An Awakener who displays swordsmanship with destructive power!]
Spica's clear voice echoed out in the arena.
Ivan looked at Ohjin and smirked.
"I'm sorry for boasting without recognizing a skilled individual like you! I'll apologize in Líu Yǐ-háo's stead!"
"I wonder..."
Ohjin grinned and grasped his spear.
"Did he truly lose because he let his guard down?"
Even if Líu Yǐ-háo paid close attention, he wasn't Ohjin's opponent.
"We'll know soon enough!"
Ivan raised the sword up high and the stigma of Cygnus engraved on the left side of his chest emitted bright white light.
When the rays of light gathered on the unreasonably large blade...
"Hyaaaaap!!!"
Boom!—
He took a heavy step forward and swung his sword down at Ohjin.
Ivan and Ohjin were over 30 meters apart. Despite its size, it was a distance that the sword could never reach.
Rumbleeee!—
White energy gathered explosively.
The cold energy surrounding the large blade gathered and shot an icy blade towards Ohjin.
Clang!—
Ohjin instinctively raised his spear and blocked the sword strike, but his body couldn't withstand the impact, and he slid back.
The cold energy spread through the shaft and bruised his palms blue as if they had got frostbite.
Ohjin slowly furrowed his brow.
'Is this the power of the stigma of Cygnus?'
—A stigma that allows one to freely control 'coldness'.
He had heard the rumors, but the way the ability pressured him was still unlike anything he'd encountered.
'However...'
Ohjin tensed his bloody hands and smirked.
It was an incredible ability, but he also had the stigma of Lyra, which would never fall short to the stigma of Cygnus.
'Exceed.'
Bzzzzzt!—
Blue lightning flowed around his body.
His mana circuits suddenly compressed and explosively accelerated his speed.
The mana of the dragon vein slumbering within the left side of his chest flowed out and permeated his lightning.
"Azure Dragon Strike."
Blue lightning in the shape of a dragon shot at Ivan.
Ivan calmy raised his large sword and swung it towards the approaching lightning.
"Hirachaaa!!"
He cut the lightning in half along with his shout, but some of it flowed through the blade and shocked his body.
"Kuuuh! This tingles quite a bit!"
A groan of pain left Ivan's mouth after he got shocked by the lightning.
However, soon after, the white energy coming out of his stigma repelled the blue lightning.
"Why don't you try blocking this!"
He swung his sword with a confident look.
Cold energy trailed the sword covered in white light.
Rumble!—
A wave of ice tracing the path of his sword shot forwards and caused the ground to tremble.
—A destructive sword strike.
Ohjin looked at the wave of ice approaching him like a tsunami and lowered his body.
"I wonder... is it really necessary to block?"
Bzzzt!—
Lightning blazed in his legs as he jumped into the air, and the wave of ice passed by under his feet.
Ivan smirked as if he'd predicted that scenario and swung his sword towards Ohjin.
"Blizzard Smash!!"
Swinging upwards, he sent a horizontal sword strike that soared up with cold energy towards Ohjin.
"Haha! There's a reason to block this time, isn't there?"
Ivan smiled after shooting the sword strike.
Ohjin was still in the air. As long as he couldn't move his body in mid-air, he would have no choice but to block the attack.
And once that happened...
'He won't be able to endure the attack.'
If there was one thing Ivan was confident in, it was his destructive force that he believed to be on par with high-rank Awakeners.
Ohjin's hands had torn and bled from blocking just a light sword strike moments ago. The amount of strength he put into his attack now was around five times what he used before.
It wouldn't end with Ohjin's palms getting frozen. The amount of force contained within the attack was enough to turn his entire arm into a block of ice.
Fwaash!—
The wave of energy shot by Ivan spread out like a net and targeted Ohjin.
Ohjin gripped his spear as he looked down at the solid wall of white energy.
[It's been used! Blizzard Smash, the skill that can be said to be Awakener Ivan Bereov's signature move! Will Awakener Gwon Ohjin be able to block the powerful attack?!] Spica shouted as her eyes shone.
—Blizzard Smash...
As a famous unique skill made personally by Ivan Bereov, the force behind it was so powerful that rumors about it had spread amongst celestials.
When the celestials were looking with interest and anticipation of how he would block the attack—
"Fuu."
—Ohjin exhaled a low breath and crouched in the air.
Bzzt, Bzzzt!—
Blue lightning spread around his body like a fog.
Explosively straightening his crouched body, he 'stepped' on the foggy blue lightning.
"L-Lightning Step?"
A celestial who recognized the technique opened their mouth wide in astonishment.
—Riak's famed technique.
The technique was known to have taken Riak over dozens of years to learn, despite him possessing top-class skills amongst Star Spirits, but a one-year-old Awakener had displayed it directly in front of their eyes.
"But there's no room to avoid..."
Was it because he wasn't used to the technique? Ivan's attack had already arrived right in front of his nose by the time Ohjin's feet touched the lightning.
Ohjin looked at the white sword strike right in front of him... and threw his body into it without hesitation.
"Wh-What?!"
Ivan's eyes widened.
Ohjin threw his body into the attack when it was unknown if he would even be able to block the attack if he used all of his strength.
Swoosh!!—
His body went into the sword strike that spread out like a net and it appeared like he would get shredded at any moment, but Ohjin's body slipped through an invisible gap as if the match was scripted.
There was not a single scratch on his body.
"I-Impossible!"
An exclamation shot out of Ivan's mouth.
He couldn't believe that Ohjin had avoided the air-tight sword strike without an injury. No, even if there was a gap large enough for a human to fit through, it shouldn't have been possible.
'What kind of sane human would attempt that...?!'
Imagine a small tunnel that a human body could use to narrowly escape. If the surface of that tunnel was made out of sharp blades, how many people would be willing to throw their body through it without hesitation?
Even if you wouldn't die on Sacred Ground, it didn't mean that you didn't feel pain.
It was unknown if he would have his entire body shredded the moment he strayed off-course by even a single millimeter, but Ohjin had still been able to perform the act.
"Didn't I tell you?"
Bzzt! Bzzzt!—
Ohjin descended from the air while using the blue lightning like stepping stones as he smirked.
"It isn't necessary for me to block."
He landed in front of Ivan Bereov in an instant and swung his shaft at Ivan's solar plexus while he was dumbfounded.
Pow!!—
"Kuugh!!"
Ivan clutched his stomach after getting hit and fell on the spot.
"Bleurghhhh!!"
Viscous vomit poured out of Ivan's mouth, and he collapsed on the spot, unable to stand again.
"..."
[...]
Silence settled down in the arena.
Even the host, Spica, shouted out with a shocked expression.
[Th-The victor is Awakener Gwon Ohjin!! From the first match to the second, he has managed to overwhelm Sir Deneb's apostles without any significant injuries thus far!]
Cheers exploded out of the mouths of the spectating celestials.
Those who expected Ohjin to be defeated one-sidedly rained down praises at Ohjin for being able to show an unexpected turn of events.
"Now this is an apostle of a North Star!"
"As expected of Lady Vega's apostle!"
"Just where did she find a talent like him?"
It was comparable to how humans watched dog fights. The way the celestials showed heated responses throughout the match was beyond his imagination.
Ohjin listened to the cheers and provoked Deneb using his finger once again.
"Next."
"..."
Deneb's expression distorted heavily.
Even Ivan, someone he trusted, had been defeated in an instant.
There was only one opportunity left remaining... He would have to surrender some divinity to Vega if they lost again.
"I'll go next."
At that moment, a woman who was observing the match with calm eyes stepped forward.
Deneb's eyes widened, and he looked back at the woman with surprise.
The cold woman looked like a lone flower in the middle of a snowy field.
She was the apostle ranked 5th out of Deneb's twelve apostles, Shaolin.