[Valkas Ur Stakes 37 Contribution Points]
[VS]
[Ash Heath Stakes 2 Contribution Points]
It was already very rare for a rookie to participate in deathmatches on two consecutive days when he first came to the "cesspool" (a death row criminal's pet name for prison), not to mention that his opponent was actually Valkas "The Aristocrat". Naturally, this attracted the attention of countless people.
Many people who were not from the Deathmatch Society came over to watch. The audience seats were packed, and even the entrance was filled with people.
"Both of them are using swords… Is this a duel of swordplay? I haven't seen a swordplay duel in a long time. After every swordplay duel, the entire ring is filled with the fragrant scent of blood…"
"Human, kill that elf!"
"What kind of sword-holding stance is this? He hasn't learned swordplay before, has he? Could it be that he was scared when he saw The Aristocrat holding a sword, so he took a sword as well?"
"If you don't know how to use a sword, then don't use a sword! Isn't it better to use a spear? Simple and easy to grasp."
"It's clearly better to use an axe. One swing of the axe and no matter what kind of weapon your opponent uses, everything will turn into mush."
"You… What nonsense are you talking about? A spear is clearly more suitable for beginners!"
"I… I'm not talking nonsense! Axes are the best weapons for beginners!"
Ash had yet another reason for escaping from prison: he would rather listen to others swear than listen to two grown men argue with each other in the elegant manner of a tsundere young girl. It was as incompatible as tom yum with tofu pudding.
"They're so noisy."
"That's what the cesspool is like. There are buzzing flies everywhere."
Valkas looked at the iron sword in his hand and flicked it with his finger, producing a clear clang.
"Maggots can't turn into butterflies. Even a real butterfly is just a slightly larger fly in a cesspool."
Ash laughed. "I see you have a lot of reflections about prison life. Are you interested in publishing a book?"
Valkas gently brushed across the sword blade with his fingers and assumed a standard swordplay stance.
"Ash Heath, I'm sorry."
The instant the barrier around the arena rose, Valkas turned into a blur. The longsword in his hand seemed to extend to over ten meters as it pierced through the air!
Even though Ash had been on high alert the entire time, he still did not have the time to block with his sword. He could only barely dodge to the right and avoid a hit to his vital spots. A small piece of flesh on his shoulder was sliced off by Valkas' sword!
The intense pain made Ash gasp, but he had no time to rest, for Valkas was already close!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ash did not run away. Instead, he took the initiative to charge into Valkas' arms and pull the battle into the most dangerous distance!
His rationality was not drowned out by the pain—Valkas was ten centimeters taller than him, and had long arms and legs. His arm span and range of attack were too great. At such a close range, there was almost no room for Ash to resist. Only by shortening the distance between the two could he turn Valkas' advantage into a disadvantage, making it impossible for him to swing his sword!
"Have you never learned any swordplay?"
Ash suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. From the corner of his eye, he saw Valkas turn his wrist and change the forward grip on his sword into a reverse grip!
Clang!
Valkas' sword blocked Ash's stab. The elf swiped his elbow horizontally and used his height advantage to land a powerful blow on Ash's forehead!
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
The power of the elbow strike almost made Ash faint. At this moment, the spell energy that had been silent in his mind slowly circulated, emitting a cool aura that allowed him to quickly regain consciousness. His body still maintained his combat instincts as he decisively retreated!
When his vision cleared up, a cold light came towards his face!
Boom!
Ash scrambled to his feet, not daring to let his back touch the ground at all. He looked at the wall that had been torn apart by Valkas' sword, his face filled with delayed fear, followed by dread.
Their swords were not sharpened!
The prison was not crazy enough to provide sharpened weapons for the death row criminals to fight with!
It was already ridiculous that Valkas could use his weapon to slice off a piece of flesh from Ash's shoulder blade. Ash thought that Valkas' sword was so fast that his shoulder flesh couldn't even react in time.
But that was a stone wall!
It's actual stone!
Stop! This is not swordplay!
This was beyond the scope of swordplay!
"Spell… Spell spirit?"
"Why do you look a little surprised?"
Valkas smiled.
"Isn't it natural for a sorcerer to use a spell spirit in battle?"
"But the prison didn't unblock the spell energy limits—"
"Some things can't be locked. Even if their limbs are bound, they will still sprout wings and fly. The spirits born from the knowledge that I have completely grasped are still my power, even if there is no supply of spell energy. They will still make every ordinary action of mine into a moment of miracle."
Ash let out a deep breath. He could feel the weight of his shirt. The blood from the wound in his shoulder had soaked into his clothes. He could feel his strength seeping away, little by little. The blood took his physical strength with it as it fled his body.
It was different from an unarmed boxing match. There were not so many fancy moves and rounds of combat when in a deathmatch fought with cold weapons. There was only a breath in the moment of life and death—the strong lived, and the weak died.
However, for some reason, he felt very refreshed. The spell energy in his mind even became active, and his shoulder no longer hurt as much.
"If such an attack hit my vitals, I can't be saved, right?"
"I don't know. I've never gone all out on anyone in a deathmatch."
"I'm the first?"
"And the last."
Boom!
Valkas gently flicked his sword. The ground with hardness on par with fine steel began to crack and explode. It was as if a giant snake was charging toward Ash!
"The miracle of the elven swordmastery, Mountain Shattering!?"
"He actually used a miracle!"
"Impossible!"
There was a clamor in the audience. The faces of the death row criminals were almost pressed to the invisible barrier, just to see more of the Valkas' details.
Igora was no exception. He had seen Valkas' deathmatches before, and he had already expected Valkas to be able to use spell spirits.
However, using a spell spirit and using a miracle were two completely different concepts!
Every miracle could only be performed with the combination of several composite spell spirits, but this did not mean that one could perform miracles just by possessing several composite spell spirits. An ordinary person and an attractive person both had one mouth, one nose, and two eyes, but the result of the combination was that one had the face of an angel, and the other also had the face of an angel—just an angel that landed face-first when born.
The difficulty of casting a miracle was so high that "casting a miracle" itself was a part of a miracle.
One had to know that those who could become sorcerers were already naturally talented people. Otherwise, it was impossible for them to advance a technique to the realm of "sorcery" and summon a spell spirit.
However, even for such a group of geniuses, most of them could only hope to master one or two miracles in their lifetime. This was also the average standard of sorcerers—sorcerers below average could not even master a single miracle.
Miracles were so rare that their benefits were naturally positively correlated to the difficulty level. Compared to the straightforward effects of the spell spirit, the power of miracles was more complicated, grand, and difficult to crack. It could even give rise to all sorts of incredible effects that crossed the gap between factions.
For example, the miracle of a swordmaster had a healing effect, the miracle of a water sorcerer could evaporate the enemy, and the miracle of a gun master could make the enemy take the initiative to catch the bullets…
There was a popular saying among the sorcerers—"spell spirits are just the extension of our skills; miracles are what's truly incredible!'
Igora had also mastered miracles, and he had mastered the few spell spirits required for miracles. In theory, he was also qualified to perform miracles.
But he has never been able to perform a miracle in prison.
Not even once!
If activating a spell spirit in prison was equivalent to digging one's own nose with one's foot—which, while difficult, could be done with more practice—activating miracles in prison would be equivalent to using his feet to put on makeup! And to do it very well, or it would not be considered a miracle!
Ash was done for.
Igora looked at the earth-shattering battle in the arena and felt pity for Ash.
Valkas was clearly here for the kill. Under the pressure of the miracle, it was impossible for Ash to retain a whole corpse. It was hard to say if they could even find all the minced meat in the debris. The medics in the prison treatment room couldn't deal with such serious injuries. In the end, Ash's corpse would definitely be left for the ogres to deal with.
This was the reality of the Blood Moon Nation. Under the tablecloths of "racial equality", "legal supremacy", and "harmonious coexistence", the carnivores still followed the cruelest law of the jungle.
Once their interests were affected, even if they hid in the Shattered Lake Prison, they would still be crushed under the fingers of their superiors.
What a pity, he was a rather interesting man…
After the sound of the deathmatch arena shattering rang out for a long time, someone finally couldn't sit still anymore.
"Why isn't he dead yet?"
"Even if the miracle is weakened to less than 10% of its power, it shouldn't be unable to kill a weakling who can't even hold his sword steadily, right?"
That's right, why isn't Ash dead yet?
The death row criminals, whose attention had all been caught by the miracle, only now began to pay attention to Ash.
There was not a single good spot left in the deathmatch arena. In the face of Valkas' casual earth-shattering miracle, Ash dodged left and right like a hamster. He was in a sorry state and covered in dust. For several times, he was almost crushed into minced meat by Mountain Shattering.
However, he managed to dodge it every time! Every time!
Although his movements looked pathetic, in the eyes of the death row criminals, his movements were becoming more and more clear and efficient. He did not waste any energy at all!
Even Ash's sword was becoming more and more stable. It could even block Valkas' attack!
It was simply like…
"Just like yesterday's fight with the Beautiful Beast."
Someone murmured.
As the first victim, Igora naturally had many thoughts on this. In the battle, he had watched as Ash gradually became stronger, and his skills became better and better. From a greenhouse flower that couldn't even roll right, he transformed into a beast full of combat instincts in just a few minutes.
But now, a second victim had appeared.
That bastard, Ash, actually learned swordplay in battle!?
This was a prison, not some genius cultivation center, bastard!
However, there were also quite a few people who recalled Ash's charge and associated his current genius performance with his background.
"Four Pillar Deities…"
In the dim audience, Runner hooked an arm around his boyfriend's neck and stared at the two people in the deathmatch arena. A strange light flashed in his eyes.