Chapter 31: Third Exam — Navigation! (4)
Dashing at Hunter with all of her killing intent flooding his senses, Seraphina thrust her sword at his other weak spot. This time, she wanted to take off his arms, her sword's end going for the joint, joining his right forearm with his elbow.
Just one slash here would be enough to take off his right arm — a significant portion of Hunter's strength! And then, she would go for left, completely gaining an advantage over him!
Alas, even in this deluge of killing intent, Hunter somehow read her movement and avoided the fatal blow by shifting his right arm behind, receiving a slash on his tough forearm instead.
This much was expected by Seraphina, as Hunter had done a similar feat before.
Which meant that she was ready to just follow him like a ravenous snake. Changing the grip of her sword and going for one-handed style, Seraphina slashed at Hunter's torso, encased in battered leather armor full of gaps.
Sneaking her sword into one of them and going into his organs would leave Hunter in deep agony.
However, once again, he had a read of her movement, avoiding the fatal strike and instead sacrificing some of his armor's durability points.
Those were on the verge of getting depleted, though.
Still, that much wasn't enough to trouble, let alone intimidate Seraphina. She was still drawing wounds all over him, after all, meaning it was only a matter of time before he fell and became her prey. Moreover, she didn't mind playing Hunter's game, either.
If he wanted to survive as much as possible by receiving her slashes with tough skin and flesh, looking out for a gap in her swordsmanship, she would gladly go for it and show him how vast a chasm of experience and strength separated them.
She inwardly said, 'A cockroach… about to mindlessly get lured into my trap.'
Giving him that gap, Seraphina sneered at heart, waiting for her victory to grasp her.
And it soon did, for Hunter extended his hand and gripped her sword.
"Burn, you fool."
-
BOOM!
The white sword of the crimson-haired woman burst out with flames as though there was a monster hidden inside her blade. A cloud of devastating and hot flames zoomed at Hunter, swallowing him.
His right arm, chest, and face were drowned in this corrosive and merciless element, leaving the crowd distressed.
Her pale face and dark eyes bathing in the light of her fire victory, Seraphina silently stared at him, waiting for a chance to take back her sword.
A few breaths later, she tried to yank her sword free, only to feel Hunter's strength stripping her of her weapon. That much was… absurd but not impossible.
He was a cockroach, after all.
However, as she kept adding more strength to set herself free and regain the victorious ground, Seraphina was troubled by the fact that Hunter's right hand, coated in a black glove… didn't let her sword go, becoming even stronger.
At last, the flames subsided and turned into mere tongues of feeble flames before dispersing like cheap fireworks.
Hunter remained anchored to the ground, and his hand was still extended and clenched around Seraphina's blade, having an edge over her.
But at what cost? Hunter's armor was no longer usable, and some pieces slid off him. As for his skin and flesh, it was crisp and burned, looking absolutely horrendous. In fact, his forearm was black!
Just the sight of it was begging for someone to heal it.
At least Hunter's face still appeared fine, even though the flames had also licked him here, leaving behind burnt scars.
For many ladies from the crowd, those were marks of strength and bravery, to say nothing of those scars getting rid of Hunter's young appearance, at least partially.
His face couldn't be called just cute.
Hunter strained his lips and… eyelids, shaking off some burnt skin.
And then, his blue eyes glaring into Seraphina's dark eyes… silenced the entire crowd.
Coldness blossomed from his body, mainly the burnt arm. More and more strength flooded Hunter's right arm and a lot of cold steam unfurled and billowed alongside it. It felt soothing and exciting, yet no moans left Hunter's mouth.
As the pleasant cold cloud swathed him and Seraphina, he curved his lips up and declared what he was proud of and confident in.
"You see… I seem to have an unlimited stamina."
He smiled, his pearly teeth flashing amidst the swaying coldness.
And then, something cracked within that cold world, drawing a painful scream.
"If you want to know why… and why I know your name… you ought to work hard on your relationship with me. It can't be one-sided, right?"
-
A few seconds after the cold steam gobbled up Hunter and Seraphina, the blue-white cloud swayed to the crowd's excitement, spitting a person out.
It was a beautiful crimson-haired woman… whose right arm was broken, dangling inert by her side. She could no longer use it… or wield her sword in her dominant hand!
The slender and long arm… was purple and far from tempting. In fact, it hurt all male viewers following this battle, including Hunter.
But Deathless was far from a naive and stupid man! Amidst his power and coldness soothing his wounds, he was already preparing his Death Blow to finish the battle!
At the same time, Seraphina glanced at her left hand. She bent her fingers to make her hand appear like a claw, and then her nails turned white: within them, the raging flames of a red salamander roared.
At last, the white-blue cloud flew in Seraphina's direction, threatening to overwhelm her.
To fight back, she clawed at it with her left hand, drawing five fire trails.
Which caused a chain reaction between fire and ice, causing a small explosion.
For a reason, Seraphina overwhelmed Hunter's element, her body safely rooted to the ground.
A second later, something fell onto her head.
It was Hunter's flesh trap, which once again became like a poop crown on her head!
Raising her eyes warily, Seraphina… found none up there.
As she revealed her chin, Hunter was already below her, his movement inspired by Aimee's flexible moves, with which she wanted to win against him!
Twisting his left wrist once he got the best footing below Seraphina, Hunter hoisted the rest of his body toward her chin, his right foot guiding the way!
And in that foot, The Strength Origin dwelled, leaving cold steam and streaming blood in its wake!
"You're mine!"
The declaration became… valid once Hunter struck Seraphina's chin, sending her flying and unconscious.