C284 - Second Round
The Ef'i tried his best to stand up, but more blood came out of his mouth whenever he tensed his abdomen. Something had broken, but he still wanted to get back on the ring to continue the fight. However, his body didn't listen to his commands, and his superior eventually shook his head before crossing his arms above him.
Khan didn't know the meaning behind that gesture, but the ecstasy that filled Lieutenant Unchai's face told him that the battle was over. The older Ef'i had announced his underling's surrender.
The other rings were still hosting battles, but the audience voiced surprised gasps anyway after witnessing the outcome of Khan's fight. Many even clapped their hands to announce their approval, and that gesture didn't come only from the humans.
Khan didn't let the victory ruin his concentration. His eyes moved to a wave of mana to his right. His hand rose in an attempt to catch it, but the energy escaped his grasp. He didn't even feel it on his skin.
'Too thin,' Khan thought as his mind played the sensations experienced during his previous sprint.
Khan had used the Ef'i's slashes as a foothold before, but he had never managed to pull off something similar in the past. The mana unleashed by the alien had been dense enough to create a platform that his feet could use to push himself forward.
The action gave Khan insights into the superior proficiency levels of the Lightning-demon style. His recent move had been almost instinctive. He didn't think before jumping on the slashes. He had merely felt that they could work as a foothold, so he had gone for that.
The success in that new move opened a whole world in front of Khan. His sensitivity to mana allowed him to see the waves of energy in his surroundings. It was actually hard to find spots that didn't have mana floating around.
Of course, that mana was thin. A faint gale was enough to disperse it. Khan couldn't even begin to conceive the proficiency level he would need to reach to use that energy as a foothold. Yet, the same didn't apply to eventual spells. Even the bullets seemed suitable to become footholds now that he thought about it.
The battle offered more insights, especially regarding Khan's ability to enhance the chaos element's natural properties. His opponent didn't resort to any defensive technique, but a single kick would have normally failed to defeat a first-level warrior with a superior physique. Yet, the internal damage inflicted through his energy had been enough to put him out of combat.
The outcome would have been different if the Ef'i had a defensive technique or had managed to block the kick. Still, neither had happened, so the battle had ended in a single attack.
'They are strong,' Khan thought after reviewing the battle.
The Ef'i had forced Khan to use his spell and best sprints to win. Having access to the knife wouldn't have changed the situation either. The aliens in the tournament were strong, and those in the next rounds would only be harsher to defeat.
'I might really have to kill someone,' Khan sighed as that realization solidified inside his mind.
Lieutenant Unchai didn't share Khan's worries. The soldier was happy beyond reason in front of that victory. Thanks to Khan, the Global Army had already gained a minor mine, which was enough to improve his mood.
Moreover, Khan had proven himself to be worthy of that nomination. He had struggled during the initial phases of the battle, but he had won without suffering any injury. That alone filled the Lieutenant with hope.
Khan approached the staircase and began to leave the ring, but a wave of strange mana suddenly landed at his side and made him turn toward the audience. His eyes ended up on one of the platforms that held both humans and Ef'i, and a surprised smirk eventually claimed his attention.
Almost everyone in the audience had stopped caring about Khan to focus on the other battles, but a smiling man had his gaze fixed on him. The soldier had short black hair and brown eyes. His chin lacked a beard, and his face appeared relatively youthful and lively. However, the amount of mana in his figure declared that he was different from the others on his platform.
Khan glanced at the man's shoulders to confirm what he had perceived through his senses. The soldier's uniform had five pairs of stars. He was the strongest warrior and mage in the entire underground hall, and Khan quickly understood that he had found the Colonel sent by the Global Army.
Khan glanced at his left arm. The strange mana had fallen there, but nothing had happened. He couldn't feel any difference in his skin or muscles eyes, so his confused eyes soon went back on the Colonel.
The Colonel's smile widened at that sight, and he even shook his head to reassure Khan. The latter didn't understand what was happening, but Lieutenant Unchai approached him before he could inspect his superior any further.
"Stop staring," Lieutenant Unchai whispered while placing his hands on Khan's shoulders. "Perform a salute and meditate. You only have three hours before the next battle."
Khan nodded and performed a military salute, but the Colonel had already moved his attention on the other battles. Khan took that chance to inspect his left arm again, but everything continued to be okay.
The superior of the defeated Ef'i approached Khan and Lieutenant Unchai to hand back the phone and the knife. Khan accepted those items and exchanged a nod with the alien before moving toward a side of the area.
The battles on the other rings continued to unfold while Khan sat next to the metal wall under the platforms. The Ef'i seemed to have the upper hand over the humans, but the soldiers didn't give them an easy time.
Spells flared on each ring. The other contestants didn't hold back during their fights. Khan didn't have a good view from his position, but he could still use his senses to keep track of the battles and find the strongest Ef'i.
A few Ef'i stood out from the rest, and they soon proved their value by defeating their opponents. Gasps and cheers resounded among the audience as more warriors left the rings. All of them saluted their superiors, but their gazes fell on Khan when they approached the metal wall.
Khan replied to those glances, but he quickly stopped caring about the Ef'i. His attention went back to the other battles, and he watched as they reached their end. Only two soldiers had ended up defeating their opponents. The aliens had dominated the first round.
"Is it always like this?" Khan asked while keeping his voice down.
"What do you think?" Lieutenant Unchai scoffed. "Focus on yourself. Don't worry about the others."
It wasn't hard to understand why the Ef'i won so much. Their tails and claws were natural weapons that gave them a stark advantage over the humans. Also, they had stronger bodies, they were generally tall, and their culture was heavily battle-oriented. Onia's harsh natural conditions gave them incredible resilience, and their four eyes granted them heightened vision.
The matter would have been different if the Ef'i had proper flaws like the Stal, but that wasn't the case. The humans would have to be far stronger to defeat them, and only a few soldiers could meet those requirements.
Khan listened to Lieutenant Unchai's advice. He closed his eyes and fell into his meditative state. He didn't get tired after his battle, but he wanted to check whether the Colonel had done something to his body.
Khan couldn't find anything even after checking his body through his mana. He guessed that the Colonel only wanted to study him, but he didn't know how to feel about that.
The same strange mana had reached the two victorious soldiers, which reassured Khan a bit. Still, he didn't like that gesture, and he hated the fact that he couldn't defend himself from that inspection even more.
Khan eventually put the matter aside during his meditation. He couldn't blame himself since the Colonel was a fifth-level warrior and mage. Also, the tournament claimed his full attention, especially after he confirmed the Ef'i's prowess.
Lieutenant Unchai interrupted Khan's meditation to hand him quick meals or drinks meant to vanquish eventual tiredness. He accepted everything before returning to his rest, and the time for the next battle eventually arrived.
The Ef'i had removed some of the rings during that break. The stages could close into large rectangular items that could pass through the tunnels, so transporting them wasn't an issue. In their place, the aliens had brought larger platforms that expressed the superior value of the following battles.
The same procedures happened when Khan and a young female Ef'i stepped on the ring. Lieutenant Unchai and the alien in charge of the enemy contestant checked the two fighters before leaving the stage. The glow of the artificial lights intensified as countdowns appeared on the metal floors.
Khan had inspected the Ef'i's previous battle. She was faster than her peers, and her slimmer chest granted her superior agility. She still couldn't match Khan's speed, but she had something else that made him worry about the imminent fight.
The floor turned green, and Khan shot forward. The Ef'i smiled in front of that scene and spread her arms while raising her tail to wait for his arrival.
Khan kept track of the mana inside his opponent. The Ef'i was gathering her energy on her palms and tail, but the process made it faint. It seemed that her mana was losing its properties.
The strange event didn't affect Khan's sprint. He reached the Ef'i in an instant, and his body rotated to deliver a kick aimed at the center of her chest.
The Ef'i crossed her arms to block the kick. Her limbs endured the powerful attack, but a red-purple glow followed after the impact. Khan studied his mana entering the alien's limbs, but his eyes flickered when he lost track of it.
The tail shot forward, but Khan used his raised leg to kick it away. While his foot approached the ground, a red-purple glow covered his right hand and created an ethereal short sword. As soon as Khan restored his balance, he threw the chaos claws spell toward one of the arms still crossed in front of the Ef'i's chest.
Khan had every intention of ripping away one of the Ef'i's limbs, but his red-purple short sword vanished when the spell began to pierce her skin. The alien had forced his mana to disperse again, and her tail promptly moved to exploit that opportunity.
The tail hit Khan's exposed side and pushed him away. He had sensed the arrival of the attack, but he had decided not to deploy the [Blood Shield]. The blow had made him lose his breath for a second, and a metallic taste had also filled his mouth, but the impact allowed him to retreat.
Khan took a few steps back before stopping and bending forward. His side felt numb, and waves of pain spread from where the tail had landed. The pointy limb didn't break anything since it had wasted its mana during the previous attack, but he had still felt it.
The Ef'i stopped playing around. She shot forward when she saw that Khan was trying to find a way to deal with her abilities. Mana moved through her body and lost its features again as she reached him and threw her tail forward.
Khan watched the pointy limb drawing near. The Ef'i could remain outside his range thanks to her tail, but he wouldn't let her exploit that innate advantage. He sidestepped the attack right before it could pierce his head, but a long cut opened on his right cheek due to how close his dodge had been.
Khan didn't care about that minor injury. He closed the distance with his opponent while his cheek left a trail of blood on the tail. The Ef'i prepared her arms to block the incoming attack, but her eyes widened in fear when he pushed his palm forward and made it shine with a red-purple light.
The Ef'i began to retreat out of fear of facing Khan's spell, but a kick landed on her ankle before she could escape his range. She lost her balance and began to fall to the floor, but Khan made sure to raise his leg and deliver another attack.
The alien moved her arms and intercepted the incoming kick. She even dealt with the mana that followed the attack through her peculiar methods. Her feet had the chance to reach the floor after she supported herself on Khan's leg, but she found herself unable to retreat since he had closed his firm grasp around her tail.
The Ef'i began to move her mana while mustering her strength to pull back her tail, but Khan didn't dare to waste that chance. Waves of mana came out of the hand around the pointy limb as he threw kicks to destabilize his opponent again.
The alien couldn't attack Khan when she had multiple spots to protect. Moreover, Khan made sure to sweep her feet whenever she restored her balance, so escaping his grasp became impossible.
A flurry of attacks landed on the Ef'i's body. Khan kicked her right side, waist, legs, and arms violently without forgetting to add his destructive mana to the offensive. His hand also continued to send waves of red-purple energy inside the tail, and pieces of her skin eventually shattered as she grew unable to deal with the relentless offensive.
Then, Khan faked an attack aimed at her side and made her prepare mana on that spot before slamming his raised leg on the floor. He used that limb to spin on himself and lift his other foot. His movement ended up being too fast for the Ef'i, who didn't have the time to protect her face from the incoming attack.
Khan didn't follow the impact with a wave of his mana since he feared what internal injuries in that spot could cause. However, the Ef'i wasn't protecting her face, so something broke.. Cracking noises resounded on the ring as the alien fainted and green blood tainted Khan's shoe.
To be continued