The Young Count stood waiting, arms crossed over his chest, his head held high and his eyes fixed on the opponent who had drawn his bow.
"Hold on, Javiera!"
The fired arrow surged forward rapidly. Although they had been at the same distance since the start, this time the attack reached Jashua in nearly half the time.
The Young Count violently swung his crossed arms outward. While everyone assumed he was wary of the arrows and had dodged the previous one for that reason, the truth was quite different.
Jashua's goal was to provoke his opponent, enrage them, and create a greater sense of ruin by offering a glimmer of hope first. Having faced thousands of enemies from four civilizations almost every night throughout the Two-Year Wars, it was a fact that the Young Count was leagues ahead of the Holy Blood Sect disciples in terms of combat psychology.
Therefore, the energy within the arrow dissipated before it could even reach him. At that same moment, a great cry of amazement rose from the spectator rows.
"He managed to dissipate the arrow too?"
"What kind of guy is this? What kind of energy control is that?"
In the upper tiers, while two disciples excitedly questioned each other, their friend beside them sat with his back against the hard ground and his legs crossed.
"Didn't I tell you? He's not even using his full power yet."
Unlike his two stunned friends, he looked quite pleased; having a prediction turn out to be correct always brought a small sense of satisfaction.
The chaos of the spectator rows did not reflect on the battlefield at all. Two people on one side, the Young Count on the other. Both young men in the arena had a girl behind them; the only difference was that one was fine, while the other's arms were painted entirely red.
"I'm going to kill you!"
The second arrow took flight and reached its target, but its fate was no different from the last. Warding off the attack, Jashua wiped the thin fragments of energy remaining on his arms with the back of his hand; this time, the archer seemed to have used quite a bit of energy.
"How many more times am I going to hear that stupid roar from your group? Do it if you can! Look, I'm right in front of you!"
Jashua spoke neither harshly nor falsely; as promised, he waited for his enemy to attack him without moving from his spot.
The young man drawing his bow glanced at the girl behind him without turning his head. He found her truly at her limit, even pushing past it. This was the straw that broke the camel's back; after drawing his bow, he roared in agony.
There was no threat or insult, but the third arrow was larger than the previous two combined. It appeared the long-haired boy had put all his strength into a single attack.
"That's it! Come at me with real power, not stupid threats!"
Jashua shouted back as the arrow launched. The enemy's desperate, gut-wrenching attack brought out his own warrior instincts. A long, thick, metallic-colored staff appeared in the Young Count's hand as he met the incoming attack with his weapon.
When the massive weapon collided with the purple arrow, an ear-piercing sound and bright lights scattering into the air filled the battlefield. Then came the sound of knees hitting the ground; along with the young girl who had been wounded in the arms and bleeding for a long time, the archer also fell.
With his opponents collapsed both mentally and physically, Jashua began to walk for the first time. Gripping his weapon, which he held parallel to the ground, he walked right up to his adversaries.
Without a word, he raised his weapon and delivered a heavy blow, sending both enemies flying all the way to the spectator tiers surrounding the arena.
Adding his physical strength to the majesty of his weapon, the Young Count dumped two more pieces of trash in front of the Ten Lilies.
"Next!"
Under intense cheering, Jashua made his classic hand gesture, summoning new opponents to the arena, but this time the response was slightly delayed.
The member of the Ten Lilies watching him from their seat was whispering to the others without lowering their hood. Judging by the facial expressions of those standing, the group was getting a bit tense.
"I put in one and take three; these crystals are for suckers!"
While the tense wait continued on one side, the betting office was making instant payments to the winners; they had to maintain this attitude so the losers would try to recoup their losses in the next round.
"Don't get cocky yet; play the same bet in the next round if you've got the balls!"
In the middle rows, a young disciple grabbed the collar of the person next to him. The one being shaken violently seemed to be in high spirits, thrusting the crystal in his hand right into his friend's eyes.
"Of course I'll bet on him. If you're a man, you bet on the others!"
"We'll see. A grasshopper jumps once, it jumps twice, but on the third time, they'll step on it and crush it!"
The spite of the losers was not small; they believed the Ten Lilies Group would send new fighters into the arena and defeat Jashua, and they weren't entirely wrong.
The Young Count had two new opponents: two males, one very short and the other even taller than Jashua. The short one was thick-set, while the tall one was thin as a twig; they looked strange no matter how you looked at them.
"Aren't you going to tell us to kneel too? Or have you realized that fancy trick won't work on us?"
Jashua scanned the opponents approaching him step by step from bottom to top and began to speak as he threw his weapon over his shoulder.
"Two close-range combat types. Another Black Lily stupidity!"
The crowd's noise was cut like a knife upon hearing the name "Black Lily" alongside the word "stupid." Even if they were hated here as a clan, their total power was nearly equal to the other five clans combined.
"Insolent dog, I'm going to cut that tongue out!"
The two men moved to the attack, fanning out to the left and right. Unlike those who had entered the arena before, these two did not look young; it was as clear as day that they were well into their twenties.
Their weapons appeared in their hands: two daggers for the tall one and a long-handled mace for the short, fat one. Surrounded by purple energy, the Young Count, who was the target of the weapons, also began to advance, deciding to meet the attack head-on.
Five steps later, the mace collided with the massive metal staff-like weapon, scattering yellow sparks around the duo. Meanwhile, through the bright lights, two silvery glimmers approached Jashua's back. Although the audience focused on the unfolding scene, the Young Count managed to see them.
He managed it, yes, but he had a problem. Even if he wanted to escape the attack by moving forward, it was impossible. His short and fat opponent was not budging; using the advantage of his physical traits, he had practically locked Jashua in place.
A nasty grin appeared on his face—the pleasure of knowing that in one more step, his ally would stab their enemy from behind. They had achieved success very early in the execution of their plan, or so they thought, because the Young Count took a deep breath into his lungs and exploded a fierce roar right into his short opponent's face.
The fat one collapsed like jelly, blood flowing from his ears like a fountain, but Jashua had no time to watch. With the danger in front of him gone, he spun around, swinging his weapon rapidly behind him, and at that moment, the two daggers collided with the giant metallic staff.
The sound coming from the arms extended to the limit for the stabbing motion echoed through the surroundings; it was the sound of bones shattering as they broke. The daggers had long since lost their original shape and flown into a corner, but they couldn't have been as mangled as their owner's arms.
Jashua didn't stop. He delivered two more strikes: one to the legs and the other to the torso. His opponent took the shape of an 'S'. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck along with the fat one lying on the ground, the Young Count walked to the edge of the arena and threw the agonizing bodies before their friends with his bare hands.
"Next!"