"...number 31—Brynhild Blazoria... and number 34—Jarek Jensson!"
"So soon?" Both Jarek and Brynhild under their breaths.
Jarek could only hope that his preparations were sufficient, while Brynhild wasn't as calm as she expected herself to be.
She found herself thinking. 'Can I win?'
But she shook her head, dismissing these negative thoughts with resolve. 'I am Brynhild Blazoria. Which setback have I faced that I have never overcome? This will be the same. I won't easily lose to you.'
They now stood on the arena, observing one another for a moment.
Jarek could see the determination etched in Brynhild's eyes.
It was a reaction he wasn't expecting from her. 'Could it be...?
But before he could finish his thoughts, the referee's voice cut straight through them.
"Begin!"
Both sides remained still, observing one another with calculating gazes, looking for a flaw.
The first to attack is usually the first person to reveal one.
The silence was immediately broken when Jarek fired the most powerful offensive ability he had.
|Heaven's Fury|
The lightning attack travelled at a frightening speed.
|Fire Art: Firewall|
But Brynhild's reaction speed wasn't lacking, as she created a thick wall of flames to absorb the impact of the attack.
But just as Jarek had expected, the wall of flames was unable to completely withstand the attack.
After all, the defensive capabilities of the fire element were truly abysmal.
Brynhild had, of course, expected this, and had managed to dodge the attack as soon as she had conjured the flaming walls.
Jarek was already rushing towards her as soon as he fired his attack.
Seeing this, Brynhild retaliated with fire arrows to deter Jarek's approach.
|Lightning Art: Lightning Ward|
Jarek had to slow down to dodge and defend against these arrows, but still kept advancing.
If Brynhild fired three arrows, Jarek would dodge two and defend against one most of the time.
This meant that he was expending less energy than Brynhild, who was creating the fire arrows.
It didn't take long for the sharp Brynhild to realize this as well.
She also remembered that Jarek's 'true' cultivation was higher than hers, and her face turned solemn at this realization.
'I can't defeat him in a battle of attrition.'
The tactic she used against others was now being used against her.
Jarek might be limiting the destructive capability of his attacks, but his stamina was still as high as ever.
'It seems like I can't afford to hold back.'
She then brought her hands close together.
One hand produced a flame, and the other wind.
As the fire continued to burn the air, thick smoke was produced as a result.
Seeing this, Jarek wanted to stop her, but Brynhild halted her process and fired more fire arrows, forcing Jarek to defend once again.
This bought her all the time she needed.
As Jarek turned to look in Brynhild's direction after dealing with her arrows, he could only see a large volume of smoke occupying almost half of the arena.
Brynhild was nowhere to be seen, no doubt hiding within the cover of the smoke that had covered the entire arena by now.
Jarek immediately became alert, observing his surroundings with a cautious gaze.
Suddenly, a fire arrow was fired from his right side, and he moved forward to dodge.
Soon, several more arrows followed, one fired after the other, as he unfolded his defensive ability, which withstood several of these arrows.
But despite his unfavorable situation, Jarek didn't show any signs of panic.
He still appeared quite calm.
"He is done for."
"I don't blame him. That move is almost unbeatable."
Brynhild continued with the same tactic, still quite wary as she kept her distance.
Jarek continued defending at times, almost being so close to being hit by an arrow, his situation appearing quite helpless.
It became apparent to everyone that his defeat was imminent.
Brynhild also became confident that Jarek had no more tricks to play. 'I overestimated him.'
Jarek suddenly felt that the arrows were becoming more powerful, as Brynhild started to slowly shorten the distance.
'Just a little closer.' Jarek thought to himself.
After almost two dozen arrows, Jarek then turned to look in Brynhild's direction. 'Now!'
Jarek then dashed towards her at full speed.
Brynhild, who thought that Jarek was just running towards where he thought the fire arrows came from, was surprised when Jarek's speed suddenly skyrocketed.
And instead of heading to the position where she had been a few moments ago, he was now heading towards her.
|Fire Art: Blaze Steps|
|Wind Art: Gale's Embrace|
Brynhild was startled at this unexpected development.
But before she could react, Jarek launched his attack first.
|Lightning Art: Heaven's Fury|
Brynhild was forced to block this attack with a Firewall of her own.
When she successfully managed to block and dodge the attack, and was about to counterattack, Jarek was about five metres away from her. He moved his shadow forward as it extended towards Brynhild's shadow.
Brynhild, sensing his intentions, wanted to retreat, but it was too late.
Jarek's shadow had already latched onto hers, and her movements halted for a moment.
But because Jarek was using the strength of a peak Master, this restriction only lasted for a short moment.
But sadly for Brynhild, time wasn't on her side.
Before she could regain control of her body, Jarek's sword was already near her neck, having arrived there at a speed she couldn't understand.
But somehow it felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
But that familiar feeling was the least of her problems.
"Winner, Jarek Jensson!"
'How?' She asked herself the question everyone had in their minds.
"No way, she lost?"
"How did he do it?"
They couldn't fathom what method Jarek used to win.
Most cultivators would have found themselves lost when facing Brynhild's unique ability, but it seemed like he wasn't affected by it.
No, he was in fact troubled by it at the beginning, but all of a sudden it lost its effect on him.
Only a few keen people could tell the true nature of the events that transpired.
"Amazing. Supreme grade talents are indeed unparalleled in talent. In less than a single day, he already developed a counter for Brynhild's nearly unsolvable ability." The bearded old man said as he marveled at Jarek's talent.
"The kid is also quite cunning. Even though he could have revealed he had a countermeasure when Brynhild unleashed her trump card, he waited until the last moment to catch her off guard to burst out with all of his strength. He will be a force to reckon with in the future."
Ernst, who listened to his grandfather's praise, couldn't help but ask the question going through everyone's minds, "What kind of countermeasure did he use?"