Chapter 266: Kang Oh vs. Dion
Dion, a middle-aged man with a sharp jaw, big, bright eyes, and a manly face, dual wielded gladiuses. He was called the Indomitable Gladiator, and possessed great skill and fame.
But Kang Oh wasn't one to be underestimated.
The Numbers!
Kang Oh was a Demonic Swordsman, which allowed him to wield both Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood. Plus, he was a psychic with Hyper Intuition, and possessed a ton of stats!
Even so, Dion was objectively stronger than him. However, Kang Oh had an advantage; he only had to last for 10 minutes.
'This fight will be determined by how I use those 10 minutes!' With Ubist in hand, Kang Oh pulled out a BB-rank mass-produced sword from his inventory.
Gluttony!
Ubist's darkness munched on the mass-produced sword.
[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed the Steel Sword.]
[It is a BB-rank item.]
[Entering Gluttony mode.]
[For 10 minutes, the demon sword and your character's abilities are doubled.]
All of his abilities were doubled! Kang Oh's body overflowed with power.
But then...
Dion's body faded, and he reappeared right in front of Kang Oh.
Swish.
His right-handed gladius came for Kang Oh's flank.
Spinning Thrust!
A spinning air current surrounded his blade.
Danger, danger!
Hyper Intuition sent him a warning.
With his doubled speed, Kang Oh responded immediately.
Whoosh.
His jet-black blade clashed with Dion's sword.
Clang!
Upon impact, the swords let out a metallic 'clang' and emitted sparks.
Dion followed up with his next attack. He swung his left-handed gladius in a vertical downwards strike.
Slash!
A white line followed the path of his gladius. Moreover, it seemed as though it was cleaving through space itself.
Kang Oh quickly flattened his blade, and blocked Dion's attack.
Clang!
Another metallic 'clang' rang out.
Though two of his attacks had failed, there was no panic within his eyes. Dion continued his relentless assault.
Swish, whoosh, whoosh, swish!
Both of his blades aimed for Kang Oh's vitals like an angry wasp.
Kang Oh bit his lip and focused entirely on blocking Dion's attacks. It felt like he was fighting against both a left-handed and right-handed swordsman at once.
'This is proper dual-wielding.'
Hyper Intuition, which pinpointed his enemy's weak points, couldn't find anything. Dion's relentless assault wouldn't give him a chance to counterattack.
At some point, Kang Oh's body began to accrue small, flesh wounds. He was unable to block or dodge all of Dion's attacks. It was only natural. Dion was using one of his trump cards, after all.
Mad Wind's Sword!
The more he attacked, the quicker his attacks would become. In exchange, any damage he took would be doubled.
However, Kang Oh didn't look like he'd attack anytime soon. He was the recipient of a one-sided beatdown.
'You must've thought that you'd be able to last for 10 minutes, but... I'm going to finish you in 5!' Dion's eyes narrowed and he mercilessly barraged him with attacks.
* * *
"Ugh," Kang Oh cried out.
Dion's gladion pierced through his left shoulder.
Bam.
A giant shard of light burst from the wound. Dion had finally landed a proper attack.
"Oooh!"
"As expected of the Commander!"
"Uhaahk, what are you doing?"
"Keep at it till the very end!"
Those who'd bet money on Dion cheered, while those who'd bet on Kang Oh scowled.
"Man, this is way too one-sided."
"How is he even going to last 10 minutes!?"
Kang Oh was like a flickering light before the wind.
"Haht," Dion cried out. Thinking he had an opportunity, Dion aimed for Kang Oh's neck and solar plexus simultaneously. With the fastest speed that Mad Wind's Sword would allow at that! It was akin to a flash of light.
"Aah."
"It's over!"
Those with good eyes assumed that Kang Oh had lost. Dion's attack wasn't something that any of the gladiators here could block.
Moreover, Kang Oh had swung Demon Sword Ubist so slowly. If the gladius was a tiger, then his jet-black blade was a turtle. That's how huge the difference in speed was.
Obviously, the two gladiuses reached Kang Oh's neck and solar plexus first.
However...!
All of a sudden, something extraordinary happened. Demon Sword Ubist flashed and came straight for Dion's heart!
Transcendent Blade!
Kang Oh had swung his blade at Dion's heart with transcendent speed.
'Got you!'
His patience and defense had all been leading to this moment! Kang Oh's demon sword would pierce Dion's heart before the gladiuses made contact!
However, another extraordinary event happened. Kang Oh's attack, which should've been completely unavoidable, had been avoided. Dion was forced to halt his attack, but ultimately, nothing had changed.
"I was wondering what you were aiming for. Transcendent Blade, huh... It was quite sharp," Dion said.
He'd never let down his guard, even when he was gaining the advantage.
"If I'd had known that you could use Transcendent Blade, then I would've made a more elaborate trap." Kang Oh looked disappointed.
The reason Kang Oh's Transcendent Blade had failed was because Dion had used his own.
"Now then, let's keep going." Dion smiled for the first time. The battle was starting to become fun for him.
"Did you know? That it's already been 3 minutes since the match started?" Kang Oh grinned.
"There's still 7 minutes left," Dion replied.
"You only have 7 minutes left. And... Now it's my turn!" Kang Oh suddenly rushed forward and swung his blade upwards.
Tempest Tiger!
A roaring golden tiger pounced on him.
Right when Kang Oh had approached, Dion had retreated; and when he used Tempest Tiger, Dion had swung his gladius.
Black Sun!
His gladius unleashed a black sphere.
Tempest Tiger versus Black Sun!
The two powerful blasts collided!
Boom!
Which resulted in a giant 'boom'. Kang Oh and Dion were both pushed back. A dust cloud filled the space between them.
Kang Oh and Dion got back into position, and then charged forward. They both had the same intention; pierce through the dust cloud and launch a surprise attack.
Ultimately, the two met in the middle. Once they saw each other, the two swung their blades without a second thought.
Clang, clang, clang!
Kang Oh and Dion's blades clashed thrice.
The force of their blades produced wind, which scattered the dust cloud, and the audience began to take interest in the match once more.
"Ooh, that guy. He's pretty good!"
"You're right."
"Aah, what are you doing, Commander? This is embarrassing!"
"Crush him!"
They ardently cheered once more.
Kang Oh and Dion's match only intensified from there.
* * *
"It's already been 5 minutes," Kang Oh said teasingly.
"There's still a lot of time left, I see." Dion didn't look anxious at all.
Dion's style hadn't changed; he relentlessly attacked Kang Oh with his dual gladiuses. However, Kang Oh's response had changed. He didn't focus entirely on dodging or blocking Dion's strikes anymore; he counterattacked now!
Slash!
Darion's gladius etched a white line in the air.
Kang Oh swung his own blade.
Slash!
The two white lines overlapped, canceling each other out.
'Try taking this too.' Dion thrust his gladius without any prior movements.
No prior movements would keep Kang Oh from predicting his attack! This thrust was one of Dion's trump cards.
However, Kang Oh was the wrong person to use it against. Kang Oh possessed Hyper Intuition. Hyper Intuition would warn of him of danger, regardless of the movement or lack thereof, which would allow him to respond accordingly.
As a result, Kang Oh was able to dodge Dion's thrust and land his own attack.
Bam!
Ubist pierced Dion's right thigh.
"Ugh." Dion furrowed his brow. At the same time, shards of light burst from his thigh.
"Ooh, he hit him!"
"He's amazing!"
"Aah, Commander. Please get a grip!"
"Fight properly!"
The gladiators clenched their fists and yelled.
'I'm not satisfied with just one attack.' Kang Oh quickly followed up with another attack.
Dion got back into position and counterattacked.
Then...
A beast-shaped, jet-black wave surged from his blade.
Darkness Strike!
Seeing that, Dion quickly used his own skill.
Black Sun!
His mighty black aura consumed the Darkness Strike and flew right at Kang Oh. However, it wasn't so fast that Kang Oh couldn't dodge it. By consuming Darkness Strike, Black Sun had gotten significantly weaker.
Kang Oh rolled on the floor, and the black sphere harmlessly passed over his head.
Dion raised his gladiuses and then swung them downwards simultaneously. They came right for Kang Oh's head!
"Uhaahk!" Kang Oh shouted and swung upwards.
Lightning Breath!
Crackle!
An electric blast shot straight at Dion.
Dion quickly threw his body out of the way, allowing him to just barely dodge the Lightning Breath.
After that...
"Hoo, hoo."
"Haa, haa."
The two, some distance away, began catching their breath.
"You don't have much time left." Kang Oh smiled.
"True. How much time do I have?" Dion glanced at the surrounding gladiators.
"You have 3 minutes left," someone yelled. He was holding an old pocket watch.
"Oh, there's still 3 minutes left?" Kang Oh grinned.
He'd said the exact same thing Dion had said when there was only 5 minutes left.
"No, there's only 3 minutes left. So let's finish this." Dion crossed his arms, and released his tremendous fighting spirit.
Fighting Spirit!
For 3 minutes, one's strength, speed, HP, and Stamina would increase proportional to one's Fighting Spirit side stat. Dion's Fighting Spirit was outrageously high, so his abilities were increased by 300%.
'Danger!'
Sensing danger, Kang Oh immediately used Devil Trigger. Dion had forced him into using his final trump card!
"Die!"
Dion's blades came flying at Kang Oh, who'd become the Jet-Black Demon. Kang Oh gritted his teeth and blocked blow for blow. If he lost the momentum, then he'd be in danger.
Their blades clashed.
Clang.
Their blades bounced off, and the two swung their swords once more.
"Chaht!"
"Haaht!"
Another clash!
Neither Kang Oh nor Dion retreated. Neither of them blocked either. They only charged and attacked! Both of them were trying to kill the other in a single strike.
Those watching them eventually closed their mouths and clenched their fists.
Who would win?
No one could know for certain anymore.