Gasps and sneers filled the air as a young man stepped forward to issue his challenge in the third round, drawing narrowed eyes and faint smirks from the other competitors.
"Hoh, you dare challenge , Claudius Lothain of Yon Augenn? Very well, I'll indulge you, Valenzian," Claudius remarked, gazing down at Siegfried condescendingly.
"I'm Siegf–"
"Hold your tongue! I do not wish to know your na. Let's just get on with the battle."
Had Claudius said such words to any other person on Shye's team, they would've been infuriated, but not Siegfried.
As far as he was concerned, everything was fine as long as he got what he wanted—a fiery duel with a worthy opponent.
He simply shrugged off the rude remarks and headed directly for the weapon rack.
After selecting a finely crafted blunted katana that suited his taste, Siegfried returned to the center of the sparring area, patiently waiting for his opponent to finish choosing a weapon.
A few monts later, Claudius also arrived with a blunt tachi in hand.
"Moderator Scarlet, please begin the match." The Yon Augennian youngster said. "I wish to finish this as quickly as possible."
Hearing this, Scarlet quickly complied, raising her right hand the next mont.
"Begin!"
anwhile, Siegfried rely smiled mysteriously as he observed Claudius' arrogant actions, waiting for him to attack.
What Siegfried hadn't anticipated was that, despite claiming he wanted to end the duel quickly, Claudius made no move to attack.
Instead, he stood there in a relaxed combat stance, staring at Siegfried with unamused eyes, waiting for him to make the first move.
"Hm? What's the matter, Valenzian? I thought you wished to challenge ? Why are you not attacking? Co, I shall give you three chances to attack before I retaliate."
...Back at the Valenzian table, the more hotheaded mbers—Harry, David, and Seira—along with Siegfried's girl, Lesurii, clenched their fists in anger.
"This arrogant bastard just won't shut up, will he?" Harry muttered angrily, fully aware that Siegfried wouldn't even bother acknowledging Claudius' conceited words.
However, this was exactly why they were so frustrated—if it had been them, they would've fired back with sharp, infuriating retorts.
Unfortunately, Siegfried was just too calm and indifferent to care.
Three free chances to attack without Claudius retaliating? What a load of crap!
"Hoh, as expected of a Yon Augennian! Very well, I'll take you up on that offer," Siegfried said with an innocent yet battle-hungry smile.
These were exactly the opponents he'd been waiting for! After all, the arrogant types were usually skilled enough to back up their words—though rarely as much as they believed.
But who knows?
Perhaps those from the most competitive region in the world are truly as strong as they claim.
"Lil bro Siegfried! Beat that fraud up!" Seira cheered, slightly irking Claudius.
Almost simultaneously, Siegfried lunged forward at a speed that greatly surpassed his Yon Augennian opponent's expectations, though Claudius could still handle it with moderate effort.
His blunted katana then glimred with a transparent sheen, signaling that he had activated [Power Slash].
"Heh, this is it? Aren't you wasting your chances? Power Slash!"
Claudius was intent on demonstrating the disparity between the lower-ranked regions and the top-ranked ones.
Therefore, he decided to use the sa skills as his opponent, creating the perfect comparison between the power of their abilities and physiques.
Brandishing his tachi horizontally upward to intercept Siegfried's downward slash, Claudius sported a confident smirk as he observed the gap between their weapons closing.
Before long, their weapons were set to clash—or at least they should have been. However, the expected tallic sound of their weapons colliding didn't echo in the grand halls of the venue.
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Instead, as though a ghost, Siegfried's weapon simply passed through Claudius' tachi, heading straight for the latter's wide-open, fairly handso face.
This had been Siegfried's trump card since their academy days: [Ethereal Sword Lv.5 (Uncommon)], his most effective skill for catching opponents off guard.
The next mont…
*BONG!*
The sickening sound of blunt tal colliding violently with a human skull echoed throughout the venue, causing nearly every young onlooker's eyes to widen in shock as Claudius was sent hurtling across the sparring area, rolling on the ground before finally coming to a stop in front of the Yon Augenn table, motionless for a brief mont.
"C-Claudius!"
"Shut up, Glenn! I'm fine!" Claudius shouted angrily, struggling to get to his feet while clutching his bleeding head.
Naturally, Claudius was at a loss for how to feel, a tumult of emotions crashing over him.
Getting hit hard during the first of the three free chances he had offered his opponent? It was utterly embarrassing.
To make matters worse, it was then that his opponent, who had remained calm and composed up until that point, decided to speak.
"Sigh…Brother, let's get serious and fight. I ca here to spar against the best, so could you please stop fooling around? We only have one chance to fight, after all," Siegfried said earnestly, disappointnt lacing his voice and piercing Claudius' already wounded pride with each sincere word.
"Next ti, don't offer others three free chances if you can't even defend against one, alright? It's better to just give it your all. It would be more enjoyable for both of us that way, don't you think?"
To the Yon Augennian, it was even more painful than mocking words.
"You…You bastard…talking down to ?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, VALENZIAN?!" Claudius roared as he rose to his feet, charging straight at Siegfried with his blunt tachi crackling with black lightning.
"Thunderous Onslaught!"
Contrary to expectations, Claudius still refrained from using his full power, opting instead for a [Rare]-tier skill in an attempt to defeat Siegfried, whom he perceived as arrogant, despite Siegfried's genuine desire to have an enjoyable duel.
He refused to entertain the thought that so random, naless Valenzian would compel him to unleash his full strength to win.
In his narrow, misguided sense of pride, the ideal response to the situation was to defeat Siegfried without resorting to his strongest skills, allowing him to still demonstrate the disparity between them despite the earlier mishap.
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