Chapter 9: Suprise turn around
The voice seems to be an array which allows the hosts voice to be projected through speakers that are scattered across the arena.
"I know, I know, you are wanting to see the fight, but allow me to speak of the crimes permitted by these sinners first"
"Hippos the Big, real name Hipu stones, a former bandit who evaded the guards for a few years until being recently captured"
"His crime are the murders of dozens of merchants and the dealings of stolen goods"
"The Law found him guilty, the punishment"
Here the crowd gets quiet, waiting for the verdict.
"Death!"
The cheering of the crowd erupts, as they chant death to the murderer. Hippos can also hear, but he doesn't care as he just laughs maniacally, licking his lips as he scans the crowd.
"His opponent, Jericho the destroyer"
"True name, Jericho Hughes, he and his family conspired to overthrow the monarchy, his family exterminated, he managed to avoid the tribulation while fleeing like a rat"
"On the run he killed several guards, but due to the efforts and bravery of our royal guards, he had finally been found and captured"
The cheering of the crowd erupts, Without even waiting for the voice to continue, they chant "Death to the rebel" .
Unlike Hippos whos laughing without a care in the world, Rage and humiliation can be seen deeply etched into Jericho. clenching his hands around his blade tightly.
"hehe, Looks like Jericho isn't resigned to his fate"
"Looking at his determination, could he be the first criminal sentenced to death to escape his fate? we will have to see!"
"Without further ado, Let the battle commence!"
Cheers and clapping echo's into my ears as a loud drum can be heard, signalling the start of the death match.
Looking at Jericho, I recall something about his family
His family had been caught trying to rebel by another of the eight great noble families, the Neumann family.
"Looking at the rage and humiliation hidden within his eyes, I also see a bit of desperation" It looks like it isn't so simple as rebelling.
"The Hughes family most likely found something the Neumann had an liking for"
Rebel? they could simply of been framed, but what can you do? if one of the great noble families frames you for being a rebel, then your a rebel, especially so for those none noble clans.
Your word against theirs, who are people going to believe?.
Shaking my head I continue watching.
When the beat of the drum echoes outwards, with a stomp on the ground, Hippos shoots forward like a bullet, taking the axe from his back as he chops downwards.
Coughing, Jericho evades to the left but stumbles as he does so, the axe managing to slightly cut his cheek.
"What?" confused, I replay the exchange just now and notice something is wrong with Jericho.
"I thought hes just malnutritioned, but it isnt so simple, could it be?" with a finger on my lips, I narrow my eyes.
"Poison?" I mutter.
"Is it the Neumann family?"
I remove any thoughts and continue watching the battle. Jerichos title as the destroyer isnt unearned reputation, from the conversations around me I can hear people mutter that Jericho isnt like his usual self.
He would usually overhwelm and destroy all his opponents, without giving them a chance to fight back, but now he hasnt managed to attack once while already being forced into the defensive.
Hippos is attacking wildly without focusing on defense, as the term goes,
"A good offense is a good defense".
Flames cover his axe as they chop apart the air, bringing up dust between each attack. So this technique should be the -Raging Axe- martial skill.
Its a low ranked mortal skill for axe users, Its power could even match a mid ranked mortal skills, but its defense is severly lacking.
Whilst Jericho seems to be using the blue feather slash, except its a variant that's been altered to fit the blade! its not bad either, he actually managed to train it to the advanced stage.
Seeing the flames cover the arena the crowd cheers.
"Kill the rebel!!" Some cheer for Hippos.
"Fight back you rebel, where did your courage of rebelling against the king go? arent you high above the heavens?" Some try to anger Jericho, while others want him to kill Hippos, perhaps due to them betting on Jericho with the highest odds.
Curses and cheers mixed together are thrown about.
Jericho is really struggling, Inspecting closer I now realise that the poison is worse than i thought. Each strike of Hippos forces Jericho to defend himself using saint force.
Each time he uses his Saint Force, it becomes more and more unstable.
"What a vicious poison, at this rate it wouldnt even take five minutes before he would lose control of his own saint force"
"At that point he would be cleaved in two!" in thought, I begin analysing the Raging Axe martial skill.
Time slowly passes, Hippos attacks become even more unrelenting as they rain down on Jericho, more wounds pile up, Jericho almost looks like a blood person as not a bit of his clothes remain unstained.
"Is this the end?" Looking up to the sky, he sighs unresigned to his fate.
With another clash, hes forced back against the arenas walls.
Seeing him backed against a corner, exhausted and injured, Hippos puts on a cruel smile as He raises his axe high before dropping it down at extreme speeds.
Seeing this, Jericho just wants to rest, he begins to close his eyes.
"Jericho my boy, your the hope of our family!" A tired middle aged man with a set of white hair smiles at him as he practices the blade.
"Brother, Your awesome!" a young boy smiles innocently.
"Cousin, in a few more years you'll overtake me" a burly young man laughs, patting him on the back.
"No!" His eyes shoot open, madness can be seen within. He only has a single strike to change the course of the battle otherwise he would be killed, but how?
Suddenly a calm voice enters his ears.
"Step left, lean 23 degrees to the right and slash upwards towards his left shoulder in an arc of 67 degrees"
With this voice, he doesnt even think as he subconsiously commits the actions.
The axe swings down, but suddenly changes direction as it arcs to the left. Hippos seemingly knowing Jericho would dodge left.
But whats this? although Hippos predicted his opponents movements the axe actually misses Jericho by a few millimeters!
At this moment a bright light can be seen as Jerichos first and only offensive strike this battle shoots forth.
"What? did he see through my move? did he plan this from the start? but I was told..." regretful, Hippos can only watch the blade light as it heads towards him, aiming directly at his weak point of his stance.
Panicked, Hippos dodges left while twisting to avoid.
It makes no difference whether hippos avoids or not as the blade seems to have a mind of its own, mirroring Hippos own movements as it makes an arc through the air, heading straight towards his left shoulder.
After slicing into Hippos left shoulder, it doesnt stop as it continues cutting through his torso while exiting to the right side of his waist.
The audience quietens down, seemingly dumbstruck, unable to comprehend what just happened.
Seeing the blood splash across the arenas floor, They watch as Hippos is cut in half diagonally as both sides of his body drop to the floor.
Unable to continue standing, Jericho also drops down unconscious.
Swallowing saliva, the audience looks at each other unsure of what to do.
"Cough, cough"
Several startled and coughing noises can be heard as the arena hosts voice begins to resound clearly through the speakers.
"Jer...Jericho Wins!!!"
After the announcement, the quiet crowd immediately erupts into fierce cheering, especially those who placed on the 5:1 odds of Jericho winning.
"Jericho" "Jericho " "Jericho"!!!!
Looking at this I smile.
"I managed to analyze Hippos weakness just in time"
Jericho was pushed against the arenas walls where I was sitting, having been within a range of five meters of me I had an idea to test something.
I had sent out a stream of mental energy towards Jericho, I sent a stream of thoughts into his mind.
If it had failed then at worst Jericho had been killed, but it actually worked. He manged to recieve my voice within his mind.
"Telepathy"
Smiling, I get up and leave the arena, whether Jericho will be killed by the Neumann family or not while hes unconsious, its no longer my concern.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone