章節 32: Arc 1: Part 32
"Third round! Begin!"
.
"Come!" Julian shouted while showing off his magical power to everyone.
Joshua hesitated for a moment, but he had decided not to back down. He gripped his swords really hard and used Blitz Dash and Wind Dash at the same time. To support those two spells, he also casts Light Feet, Body Reinforcement, and Speed Buff. Lastly, all those spells were tied together with Magic Overlay. A spell that was commonly used to use multiple spells at once, lessening the side effects of executing too many spells at the cost of more mana consumed.
{'Fast!'} Julian thought. {'But not fast enough!'}
His torso twisted to the right, with his hands swinging the sword he held toward Joshua. However, Joshua suddenly ducked down and rotated his body as he passed Julian.
{'What?'} Julian was surprised by Joshua's immediate reaction. He looked down and saw the magic that coated his legs chip away. He looked back at Joshua, who was standing up in a stance.
{'Not bad,'} Julian grinned. Although he said he would fight seriously, he did not put all his strength into it but instead paid careful attention to Joshua. But it seemed like he had to be really serious.
Julian and Joshua faced each other again, and Joshua made the first move. He used Speed Buff and Light Feet to increase his speed. It wasn't as fast as when combined with Blitz Dash and Wind Dash, though.
Joshua swung his swords, and Julian blocked them efficiently while keeping his sword close to him. Despite the disadvantage of having a single bulky sword, he could still keep up with Joshua's ferocity. After exchanging blows, Joshua realized a frontal attack would have no effect at the moment.
{'Then, how about this?'} Joshua chanted as the wind gathered around the sword gripped in his right hand before he thrust it forward. Once the wind reached its peak, his arm and sword sped toward Julian.
Julian was prepared for the incoming thrust, but he didn't expect the sudden increase in speed. His sword couldn't react faster, but his body could. Julian leaned forward to the right and avoided the thrust by a hair's breadth.
At this moment, Joshua was astonished by the fact that Julian had avoided his special attack. Julian took advantage of Joshua's stunned state. He kicked the ground and blasted off, bashing Joshua away with his sword.
Joshua was tossed to the back, but he quickly recovered and assumed his position. He watched as Julian rushed over. Julian's speed was by no means slow, but that was not the scary part. Julian swung his sword down, and Joshua had to dodge to the right immediately. Upon the sword making contact with the ground, it caused an explosion and created a crater. Joshua skidded on the ground and seized this chance for a counter. He couldn't be bothered by what Julian did to the ground.
Just as he was about to swing his sword, Julian suddenly let it go and turned his body toward Joshua. His left fist clenched hard and launched toward Joshua.
{'Shit!'} Joshua applied too much speed and couldn't stop at the right time. Dodging was possible, but it would hurt a lot, and his spell would be broken. As a result, Joshua kept pressing his attack and horizontally swung his sword.
The fist collided with the face, and the sword collided with the stomach. Joshua was sent flying, while Julian had a wound on his stomach. Joshua sprawled to the ground and landed on his stomach, while Julian staggered back while holding his wound.
{'I did it!'} Joshua grinned despite having his nose bleed.
{'That hurt,'} Julian grimaced while trying to recover his wound momentarily.
Joshua quickly got up. He couldn't miss this chance; he had to keep pressing Julian and not let him have a chance to fight back. For that reason, he used the Lightning Tunnel.
{'It can't continue like this. I guess I have to use it early.'} Julian gripped his sword and channeled his mana.
Joshua flashed like lightning toward Julian, his surroundings became dark, and the only thing he could see was the one in front of him. But this was something he got used to. He readied his sword and was about to swing it … or so that was supposed to happen.
{'W-what?'} Joshua couldn't keep up with what had happened. His body flew to the left and bounced several times on the ground before he stopped. He felt his right side hurt. His magic armor had been broken. Although there didn't seem to be any wounds, it was really painful. He thought his bones would break any time soon.
Joshua slowly got up and saw something different from Julian. A red aura, like boiling water, came out of his body.
{'That is not normal,'} Joshua gulped. He didn't know exactly, what had happened, but he knew Julian had just attacked him during his Lighting Tunnel phase, which he thought was impossible.
In response, Julian boldly rushed toward him faster than before, answering his question. Joshua quickly moved away and saw that Julian's sword, which hit his previous location, had made a long crack in the ground. But that wasn't the end of it. Julian quickly pulled his sword and chased Joshua again.
Each time Julian attacked, Joshua opted for a dodge. Each time the attack missed its intended target, the ground became the victim. However, Joshua realized that Julian kept getting faster and stronger.
{'Faster and stronger ... but he seems to be like a mad bull,'} Joshua thought. Julian only focused on him, and each of his attacks was powerful but unrefined. It was clear that Julian had attacked him blindly.
{'This is bad,'} Joshua thought. He felt his mana and stamina depleted just for dodging only. He also felt his body become more painful each time he moved. Julian's previous successful attack seemed to wreck his body from the inside.
He knew he couldn't go on like this. He did not know for how long Julian could keep this up either; it was something he couldn't gamble on. If by any chance he got hit by Julian again, his defeat would be assured. An endurance battle wasn't possible, so his only chance of winning was to defeat Julian right here, right now, and take the risk.
{'While you are strong … you are not as fast as Ninia!'} Joshua dodged and got closer to Julian for an attack. His sword grazed Julian's magic armor, and it made Joshua realize that Julian didn't even bother to dodge. {'He is abandoning his defense for absolute power and an increase in speed. He is a berserker.'}
Someone with a lack of conscience but an insane amount of strength—that was the so-called berserker.
Joshua kept attacking and dodging. He was slowly chipping away at Julian's magic armor and getting closer to wounding him. However, as he progressed, Julian's reaction speed became faster, and it became increasingly difficult to attack properly without getting hit.
"Kuh!" Joshua ducked down to avoid a slash. He might have lost his head if he hadn't reacted quickly enough.
{'I have to end this!'} Joshua used the Lightning Tunnel and made a distance between them.
"Magic Overlay!"
"Light Feet! Wind Dash! Blitz Dash! Air Burst! Lightning Tunnel!" Joshua vanished and moved toward Julian at a speed closer to Vyn's.
{'For the last attack!'}
"Wind that roams free! Gather around me and lend me your strength. Give me the power to surpass everyone and cut through every obstacle—"
A sword descended and hit Joshua. He was smashed to the ground and created a deep crater. Inside the crater, Joshua lay with his left side touching the ground. As for his right side, it was protected by his sword, which broke not long after that.
{'It hurts!'} Joshua screamed internally. When he sensed Julian suddenly attacking him, he quickly blocked it with his sword, but it didn't do much. His sword got shattered, and he felt his right arm was broken as well, along with the unbearable pain that spread across his body.
{'H-how did he react to my speed?!'} Joshua was sure that Julian wouldn't be able to react to his speed, but it seemed his confidence was nothing more than foolish arrogance.
Unfortunately, Joshua didn't have time to ponder since Julian had not yet finished. Julian walked toward him and swung his sword down.
"Shit!" Joshua rolled away and barely avoided the attack. He desperately struggled to get up and then used Wind Dash to open some distance, but Julian was able to catch up with him by kicking the ground.
"No!" Joshua avoided an attack, but it was not the end; another attack came and sent him flying.
"Ugh," Joshua groaned as he rolled on the ground after hitting the ground and accumulating injury after injury. He stopped rolling, but the pain kept increasing.
{'Am…. Am I doomed to lose?'} Joshua looked up at Julian, who began to walk toward him. Desperation, fear, despair, and panic swelled inside him.
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Proofreaders: Lola & Rilise
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Author: Sorry for just updating. I felt like crap. At the beginning of last December, I got a severe cold/flu, and shortly after, my digestive disorder also recurred. Fortunately, my condition is improving, and I will start writing again soon. I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thank everyone who follows my stories and supports me.
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