*Whoosh*
Swift Indigo wasted no time. Once she heard the words indicating the start of the match, she sprang right into action. Her slim sword was as elegant as its owner, and the slightly blue color of its blade gave it a sort of surreal effect as it wove through the air like a needle. Its owner and the weaver, Swift Indigo, was like a skilled seamstress, as her sword gently pushed towards Black Hand.
Black Hand had a look of pure concentration on his face. His eyes were fully focused on the frame of Swift Indigo and her sword. The slender blade of her sword didn't cause him to feel any comfort in any way. The blade was of a narrower width, but it didn't destroy its imposing manner in any way. As the weapon approached him, he felt a chill fill his entire being. It wasn't from fear, but the blade itself!
Suddenly, two daggers appeared in Black Hand's hands. Each hand held a dagger. The hilts of the daggers were exquisitely engraved with the image of a beautiful rose, and the blades of both weapons were pitch black. The weapons looked like they had stolen the color of the night for themselves, and they filled all who saw them with a sense of dread that couldn't be explained.
"Beautiful daggers," Mane expressed his admiration for the maker of the daggers when Black Hand revealed them to the world. Even he felt a sense of dread from those blades.
"That sword isn't bad either," Lam added. Mane nodded his head at his friend's words. Both pairs of weapons were exquisite, leaving those who saw them with the desire to grab them for themselves.
"Those daggers are called Blood Rose Daggers. They are made from a thirty year old poisonous plant called the Blood Rose and the strongest steel there is, making them the one of the most poisonous weapons on the planet," Vital Orange was standing right next to them, and heard their short conversation. He didn't hesitate to give out the origins of the daggers that Black Hand was using. As for the sword, he didn't know how it was made, but could tell that they were on the same level as the Blood Rose Daggers.
"Interesting," Mane furrowed his brows and said.
"Compared to those daggers, I'm more interested in that sword," Mane spoke to Hildegarde via Lock-On. The cute fairy wasn't at her usual spot on Manes shoulder, but was sprawled lazily on Mane's head instead.
"I can see why. They were clearly made with something that was born out of ice elements," Hildegarde nodded her head and said. The sword in Swift Indigo's hands may be on the same level as the Blood Rose Daggers, but Mane felt that it could have been so much more. The components of the blade of the sword were made of ice elements. Mane could tell because he could feel the chill from the weapon, and he knew straight away that it was made using special materials.
"If Frederick had forged the weapon instead of whomever actually did, it wouldn't have such a low grade," Mane shook his head and said. He couldn't help but feel that it was a real pity. It seemed that whoever made the sword wasn't as skilled as the one who made the Blood Rose Daggers, or the other weapons Mane had seen the Black and Red Team members use. He could feel that the ice elements in the weapon were pure, and if Frederick had been the one to forge the sword instead, the boy who could easily dismantle a divine artifact like the Tool of Blessings wouldn't have had any problem turning this mid-grade weapon into a high level artifact.
"But in this world this standard seems to be high," Hildegarde stretched lazily and said. Mane agreed with her. Even he was desperate to get weapons comparable to these mid-grade weapons. That was because the low grade weapons he had couldn't quite handle the power of Edict. That was something that only mid-grade and high-grade weapons could do. Mane decided to worry about the issue of a weapon later. He turned his attention to the match.
With speed not at all inferior to Swift Indigo's, Black Hand's daggers clashed with Swift Indigo's sword.
*Clang*
The collision wasn't as thunderous, neither did it produce as mighty an effect as the collisions between Red Prince and Black Saga, but it was powerful all the same. Black Hand's arms became blurry, leaving several after images as he struck at Swift Indigo repeatedly. Swift Indigo wasn't one to be underestimated either. Her sword play was exquisite and untraceable, and one couldn't even predict what the weapon was aimed at. It was such fine swordsmanship that someone like Mane who had several sword techniques to draw from was left sighing in amazement.
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
*Clang*
The two clashed several times, with none of them gaining any advantages over the other. The crowd watched with bated breaths, and each person had their mouths open as they admired the amazing display before them. The fight wasn't as domineering as Red Prince and Black Saga's match, but it wasn't inferior in any way. If Red Prince and Black Saga fought like two angry brutes with excellent power, Black Hand and Swift Indigo fought like seasoned dancers at a ball. Their movements were so well refined and exquisite that Red Prince would have blushed in shame seeing their fighting method.
"This is amazing!" Peter exclaimed with a look of pure fanaticism on his face. His breathing was hurried, like someone deeply enthralled in a series of vigorous cardiovascular exercises. His eyes were firmly glued to the two who were fighting in the center of the field. One man and one woman had the eyes of everyone around drawn on them.
"This is such a tough match! It is almost impossible to say who will come out on top!" Peter exclaimed.
"Not necessarily," Maggie shook her head and interjected.
"How so Maggie?" Peter asked seriously because he knew that Maggie's insights and analysis were usually spot on.
"Watch," Maggie didn't say anything. She suggested that everyone watched what was going on seriously without losing focus. She didn't want to ruin the contest by giving them a winner.
*Boom*
Black Hand kicked Swift Indigo away with strong force. The beautiful figure of Swift Indigo was launched into the air, but she glided gracefully as though the air was just as solid as the ground and landed stably.
"Black Hand has been cut! He has been cut! And we all know what happens when Swift Indigo stabs someone" Peter's sharp eyes picked up a new development. Black Hand's arm had a shallow cut on it. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been anything fatal, but Swift Indigo's weapon was famous in this tournament. The weapon had the ability to slow down anyone it cut no matter how shallow the cut was. It could be as shallow as a needle prick and one would still have their speed reduced drastically. It could even paralyze an opponent if the cut was deep.
"I guess it's over for Black Hand now. There is no way that he would be able to keep up with Swift Indigo now!" Peter commented, and many agreed. Yet a few didn't think the same. There were some seasoned warriors around with decent vision, and they could tell that it was the other way round.
"Not quite," Maggie echoed the thoughts of these seasoned fighters when she said this.
"Black Hand was only cut because of what he was doing," Maggie said, and pointed at Swift Indigo.
"Look at her leg," Maggie continued.
Her words made everyone turn their attention to Swift Indigo's leg, and they saw a large gush on her left calf. The strangest part was that the wound wasn't bleeding. Rather, a purplish color had developed around the wound and the wound itself was getting darker and darker by the second.
"Swift Indigo's weapon isn't the only special weapon here. Just like her weapon is able to affect the agility of anyone whose skin is broken by its blade, Black Hand's weapon seems to have the ability to slow down an opponent as well. And he was able to cut far deeper into her leg than she cut into his arm. So we can assume that she is facing a greater crisis than he is" Maggie theorized.
The crowd finally understood why Swift Indigo hadn't charged in after she had struck Black Hand. It turned out that she was in a much worse position than Black Hand.
Black Hand still had a serious look on his face. If this was a real life and death competition, his opponent would have been killed within the first minute. But he couldn't use any of his weapons because of their deadly poisonous abilities. Even the Blood Rose Daggers were highly toxic. He had to coat them in some special herbs to reduce their toxicity for the tournament. His eyes were locked on Swift Indigo's figure like a predator watching its prey. He stood silently for several minutes, and when everyone was growing impatient, he pounced.
"It's over," Mane sighed, and Lam nodded his head. They understood why Black Hand decided to wait. Although Swift Indigo was poisoned, the poison didn't take effect straight away. And she was fighting to push the toxins out of her body. Seasoned outer energy warriors had such fine control of their muscles that they could do this. It wasn't the right move in a match like this. But since both of them had been struck by their respective weapons, they were both in uncomfortable situations. So she took the risk of self-detoxification. But she made an error in judgement. She had ignored the fact that unlike her, Black Hand didn't need to go through any detoxification. The ice elements would eventually leave his system without him doing anything. Whereas she had to fight to get her body back. So whilst she was trying to do this, Black Hand was watching intently for any minute changes. He intended to strike when she was at the most crucial moment of her detoxification. And the moment was now!
"We concede" a silky smooth voice made its way into the ears of everyone here. It was soft, yet everyone heard it. And Black Hand immediately stopped his movements. His daggers were pointed at the neck of Swift Indigo, and her eyes were filled with disappointment.
Steel Fist nodded her head at the one who spoke up. She had to listen to this person because apart from the current on-field warriors, she was one of the two whose words held some degree of authority. The speaker was the captain of the Indigo Team – Celestial Fairy. Since she was the captain of her team, her surrender meant the surrender of Swift Indigo.
"The first match has ended. Black Hand from the Black Team wins!"