“……I can’t even see clearly. Are their weapons really made of iron? Cass seems to be suppressed the whole time… ah, it looks like it grazed his face… is he really okay…?”
Kersey rubbed her eyes. The more hits someone takes, the worse their disadvantage. For her, the weapons were just a blur of afterimages—she could barely make out whose body had gained another bloody scratch.
“I don’t get it…”
Bried’s face showed little emotion. She didn’t seem surprised by the outcome so far. “He was suppressed at the start, but now it’s basically even.”
“If you say so, Bried. This close-quarters combat has the weapons swinging way faster than normal fights.”
Kersey wiped her sweat, her expression tense. She naturally wanted Cass to win and teach that domestic-abusing foxman a lesson. Besides… she had read the messages Cass sent earlier—he told her to pay attention to Ti Er Xiu’s wives, Ya Qi and Ya Luo.
Ya Qi and Ya Luo were dressed in a way that left little to the imagination. The bruises on their bodies and their thin clothing made Kersey want to heal them and give them more clothes. It wasn’t hard to spot them among the audience. While the other fox people were focused on the fight between Cass and Ti Er Xiu, those two stared blankly somewhere else, expressionless. Not the kind of expression that was simply absent, but more like puppets whose strings had been cut. Compared to yesterday, when they’d been fragile and somewhat human, their current state… was indeed strange.
Just then, Cass’s sword landed its first hit on Ti Er Xiu, drawing blood. A faint cheer rippled through the crowd.
“Good. One point back.” Bried murmured in satisfaction, still keeping her hand on the sword hilt.
Wa Luolan looked incredulous. “I thought Ti Er Xiu’s reaction speed would be extremely hard to deal with and would counter Cass’s Slippery Magic. But not only is Cass not flustered fighting him for the first time, he’s actually suppressing him.”
“Slippery Magic… it does seem that way.”
Kersey smiled softly at the cute name. But when she shifted her gaze, her face stiffened. It was hard to notice unless you looked closely, but a bloodstain had appeared on Ya Qi and Ya Luo’s lower ribs—exactly where Ti Er Xiu had been wounded.
“Ha!”
Ti Er Xiu let out a sharp yell and leaped backward. The easy smile had completely vanished from his face. Cass first glanced at Ya Qi and Ya Luo in the audience, then pursued Ti Er Xiu. If Ti Er Xiu gained distance, there was no telling what strange trick he might pull. Cass rushed forward, keeping Ti Er Xiu within attack range.
Ti Er Xiu kept unleashing thrusting slashes, but Cass calmly parried or dodged each one. Ti Er Xiu kept retreating, until the sound of gravel scraping under his feet stopped. Even without looking at the ground, Cass knew he had stepped to the edge of the ring—one more step and he’d lose.
‘Now if I pressure him again, trick him into using that forced attack, dodge it, and then counterattack—or use Wraithblade’s transformation ability to push him out of the ring—I can decide the match—’
Crack!
A loud thud rang out as Ti Er Xiu kicked up a cloud of sand with his right foot. Countless grains filled Cass’s vision. He probably meant to use the sand as a smokescreen, then circle to the left or right and counterattack. Cass’s eyes widened instantly. Behind the scattering dust, he saw a flash of purple light.
‘A new skill…’ Cass retreated quickly, dodging the sand while observing Ti Er Xiu’s movements. The purple light came from a sword in Ti Er Xiu’s hand. No, it was a new weapon. Its blade glowed faintly purple under the sun.
‘What should I do… Should I call off the match? Or is it my imagination?’
Kersey’s eyes darted between Ti Er Xiu and Cass. Every time Cass landed an attack on Ti Er Xiu, his wives showed a slight reaction, though it was hard to tell because of their blank expressions.
‘So… it’s not my imagination. Whenever Ti Er Xiu gets hurt, Ya Qi and Ya Luo get hurt too.’
The atmosphere in the ring was tense, making it hard for Kersey to intervene. Since Cass had specifically told her to watch out, this might have been part of his plan… He didn’t tell Bried, who specialized in combat, but told her, the Priest. He probably wanted her to do something.
“Bried, Wa Luolan, I’m going over there.”
“Bathroom? I’ll come with you.”
“No, not that, Bried… I’m just moving to the opposite side. You can still see me from there.”
With that, under Bried and Wa Luolan’s watchful eyes, Kersey wove through the fox people absorbed in the match and moved behind Ya Qi and Ya Luo. She tried casting a healing spell on them. Fortunately, their wounds did close, and the bruises faded. Kersey glanced at Ti Er Xiu—his wounds remained unchanged.
“Rooar!”
Ti Er Xiu charged forward with a roar, a double-bladed axe in his right hand and the purple-glowing steel sword in his left. This sword was clearly different from the axe. Cass instinctively felt that if that sword touched him directly, even using his Talent [Friction] to negate it would lead to something bad. The magic in the sword didn’t belong to Ti Er Xiu—it felt familiar but twisted.
No choice. From behind Ti Er Xiu’s shoulder, Cass caught a glimpse of pink. He understood—Kersey was in position. So his next attack could go all out.
‘I’ll show another card too.’
‘Bite him! Hertanid!’
Cass slightly raised his left arm. The Wraithblade impossibly switched from his right hand to his left.
“Huh!?” Surprise flickered in Ti Er Xiu’s eyes.
Crack!
The descending purple steel sword was intercepted. In Cass’s left hand, a flesh shield—which hadn’t existed a second ago—opened a mouth full of jagged teeth and clamped down on Ti Er Xiu’s sword.
But now Cass had no other weapon. Naturally, Ti Er Xiu swung his double-bladed axe at Cass’s empty right side. Cass’s expression didn’t change; he didn’t dodge. Ti Er Xiu’s eyes seemed to predict something bad, but he couldn’t stop his attack and put all his strength into the swing.
Shiiing.
Cass raised his right hand, applying full friction. He also adjusted the friction coefficient differently. The thick axe blade slid along Cass’s hand, following the trajectory he wanted, arcing up into the sky—leaving Ti Er Xiu no time to twist the weapon for another strike.
At the same time, the round shield in Cass’s hand released its bite.
“Guh—!”
Both weapons were blocked, and Ti Er Xiu leaned back spread-eagled, obvious panic on his face. Cass didn’t miss the chance. No time to retrieve the Wraithblade—he kicked off the ground, his right leg shooting forward at incredible speed. A knee strike, amplified by friction and muscle strength to the limit, slammed into Ti Er Xiu’s solar plexus. The sound of ribs cracking echoed.
“Pff—!!”
The pain, as if his internal organs were being crushed, sobered Ti Er Xiu considerably. His back arched, and he flew several meters through the air before hitting the ground hard.
“Haaah… haaah…!”
Though it hurt so much that he drooled a mix of spit and blood, and his ribs were clearly broken, Ti Er Xiu still used his two weapons as crutches to push himself upright.
“How about it, Ti Er Xiu? Want to continue?”
Keeping his distance, the blue-haired human warrior spoke calmly, holding his sword—redder under the sun—in hand.
Ti Er Xiu’s solar plexus throbbed with unending pain. He sneered. “Heh.”
The adrenaline from the fight had cooled somewhat, and he noticed he had many small wounds he hadn’t felt before. This kid had too many strange tricks. His body was like wearing invisible armor.
‘I still have a few moves, but I feel like he’ll digest them quickly.’
Ti Er Xiu glanced at his two private slaves in the audience.
‘Huh?’
He had shared the pain of that last blow with them, yet he still felt awful. He thought they’d be vomiting from the pain, but they seemed fine. Instead, that big-chested pink-haired human mushroom girl from yesterday was inexplicably clutching her chest and dry heaving, her face pale purple.
‘Pretty tough. I’ll reward you properly later.’ Ti Er Xiu stuck out his tongue and licked his nose.
‘If this goes on, I won’t get any benefit. Sorry, Lord Baruma.’
He didn’t look at Cass again. Instead, he turned toward Waermor outside the ring. His gray-furred arm dropped, letting go of the axe handle.
“I surrender. I give up. Too scary, you little—”
Snap!
His tongue wouldn’t obey. Ti Er Xiu froze, unable to speak. His fingers didn’t unclench voluntarily; the weapons stayed gripped in his hands.
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