BXBX NOVEL Chapter 348 - Quarter Finals (6)
Chapter 348 - Quarter Finals (6)
On the fourth day of the tournament, the audience were having conflicting feelings because of yesterday's match. In yesterday's match, the clearly weaker Afeus had shown great prowess by using his opponent's mentality of underestimating him to his advantage. He even used a new kind of spell that was unheard of, but in the end, he was disqualified and the winner was Hime.
Everyone knew that he was the clear winner of that match, but because of the rules, he had lost. Most of the audience members found it hard to accept Afeus's loss yesterday, so the energy in the arena was weird. There were those that were still excited, but there were also those that had looks of pessimism about them. The loud cheering from the prior days of the tournament wasn't present on this day.
Henrietta was able to notice all of this as she sighed. Being the emcee of this tournament, she needed to try and excited the audience members. She breathed in and then smiled the best smile she could muster.
"Hello everyone it's the fourth day of the Grand Mage's tournament! I know that yesterday's match has dampened the mood of the tournament, but let's forget about that and get back to the fun times! Today's match is going to be a treat indeed! On one side is the powerful magic swordsman that could overwhelm his opponents with the sheer pressure of his mana, Valdel!"
Seeing that beautiful smile on Henrietta's face some of the audience members were feeling a bit better now.
Valdel stood up and slowly got on the stage with his back straight and his eyes looking ever forward. Unlike Hime, Valdel would never look down on his opponents as he would always go all out no matter what. This was something Ren had engraved into him as he was training. He could show mercy and not kill his opponents, but he was never one to hold back.
"Now onto his opponent! On the other side is the representative of the fairies the cute and powerful Aerwenna! Don't let her innocent look fool you, if she could she would ruthlessly beat you into meat paste."
On the other side, a four feet tall maiden with clear butterfly-shaped wings stepped onto the stage while pouting. She looked at Henrietta with that cute pouting face of hers.
"I'm not ruthless what happened last time was an accident, how would I know the other people were so weak."
"Well, then Layfon what do you think about this match-up?"
"Hey don't ignore me!" Aerwenna stomped her foot in anger as she was being ignored.
"Valdel is a rather famous individual who has been acknowledged by different Temple's priestesses. He is here now as the representative of the temple of Justice. I haven't seen his actual combat style but the sheer amount of mana he possesses is enough to suffocate his opponents. In the quarter-finals, he used the basic spell [Flare], a spell mostly used to start small fires. He used that simple everyday spell to beat his opponents into the ground. Then there's Aerwenna, as a fairy, she is naturally attuned with mana and has a better affinity with most elements." Layfon pondered for a few seconds before continuing.
"In skill and actually battle experience, Valdel beats Aerwenna. On the other hand, Aerwenna possesses a natural talent that normal humans can never hope to match. If Valdel has actually been given the power of a hero by any of the existing temples this would have been one-sided. Even in ancient times, heroes were the pinnacle of humanity's strength. Those unreasonable beings who you can never beat no matter how hard you train."
Layfon's expression changed for a second as he clenched his teeth. Henrietta who was beside him noticed the ice-cold killing intent he was emitting. It came and went so fast that no one except for her noticed it. After a second Layfon's expression returned to normal and he smiled.
"The two have their pros and cons so the victory could go either way. Well, it's not like the people here will listen to my opinion due to the unfortunate incident yesterday. This isn't an excuse, but a battle is always unpredictable and luck plays a part in every battle. If Hime went all out at the start and didn't give Afeus time to do anything then she would've easily won. But of course, because of some circumstances and a little bit of luck, she never was able to unleash her whole strength."
The audience's reaction to Layfon's comment was very aggressive. As some people started shouting very hateful words, Layfon remained unmoved as he didn't change his opinion. Even if one of the audience members started to do something, they wouldn't be able to hurt him. Before the audience got even more heated up Henrietta interrupted them.
"Alright then, let's see to whom the Goddess of victory favors!"
…
While Henrietta was trying to hype up the audience, Aerwenna was looking at her opponent curiously. Unlike the opponents on the first day, it was obvious to her that Valdel was in a whole different league.
"Are you strong?" She went straight to the point and asked.
"I'm okay but compared to some people I'm pretty average." Valdel answered with what he thought was true. To him who knows so many strong people he felt so much weaker.
"Are you really average? The mana you radiate is like nothing I have ever seen before. Are you perhaps trying to trick me to get my guard down? Even though I look little I'm a proper adult and will not be tricked!"
"I'm not really tricking you or anything, I'm just telling you what I truly feel." Valdel shrugged his shoulders as he answered. Aerwenna pouted and looked at Valdel with caution.
"Are you really telling the truth, you're not lying to me, are you?"
"I have no reason to lie. Also who's to say who is strong or not? The meaning of strength differs from person to person anyway."
"I see, that's right!" Aerwenna smiled a very cute smile that could warm the hearts of any that saw it. She then raised her hands while gathering mana. "Then I'll be the judge if you're strong or not."
Valdel nodded his head and took a fighting stance. He held no sword but the stance he was in looked like he was holding one.
"It looks like our two contestants are ready to get going! So let's get this battle started! Valdel versus Aerwenna let the battle begin!"