"Why is that Velar playing around when I explicitly told him to finish this quickly? Does he take me for a fool?" Count Philip murmured in anger.
In everyone's mind, a newly advanced 4-star Knight should not be able to dodge so many attacks from a 5-star unless it was the 5-star knight's intention to let him dodge in the first place.
Furthermore, this kid's aura was like a 2-star which would mean that his foundation was unstable and he just rushed to become a 4-star by unnatural means.
"That youngster is really lucky to have Velar in a playful mood, else he would be dead by now!" The noble lady said with a smile
"True, when I first saw him reveal his aura, I thought he was some genius to have become a 4-star at this young age, however, it seems he is only a fake aura knight!" Another noble added.
"Why can't I hit him?
Although I have become slow due to my injured leg, it doesn't mean a 4-star kid can dodge my attacks.
It's as if he knows where I will strike and intentionally dodges a second before my attack connects. But that can't be possible at his level," Velar thought.
"It looks like I have to use my final technique to finish him. I doubt he'll be able to dodge that. No one will be able to discern what happened when I'm finished with my attack. Though my leg will be useless for a month or so, that's definitely better than humiliating myself in front of so many people," Velar pondered, a grin appearing on his face.
"Kid, you should be honored to die by this technique! No one below my level has ever survived facing this move!" Velar yelled, informing Kaen about his upcoming attack.
"This is it! The moment I've been waiting for!" Kaen thought with a smile on his handsome face.
Velar crouched, channeling all his mana toward his legs and the soles of his feet. He enveloped his sword with a blue aura that seemed to flow like a razor. It truly felt like he was giving his all at this moment.
He vanished from his spot, reappearing in front of Kaen before vanishing again, but this time appearing at the end of the ring behind Kaen.
Kaen coughed out a mouthful of blood before clutching his chest and falling to his knees. A surprised and terrified look crossed his face, and he seemed to be shivering with fear.
"W-What just happened?" the noble lady questioned, seeking answers from the other spectating nobles.
"I couldn't see it either. Everything happened too fast for my eyes to follow," one of the nobles replied.
Everyone had the same question. Only some people managed to catch a glimpse of what truly occurred, however, even they couldn't be too sure due to the distance from the ring.
This was the trump card of a 5-star knight, and it wasn't possible for someone of lower level to follow from a distance. With questions in their minds, everyone collectively turned their attention to Velar Jon, who stood at the end of the fighting ring with a victorious expression.
Everyone assumed that Kaen had lost the duel and would fall at any moment. However, what happened next left their minds reeling.
The triumphant expression on Velar's face vanished abruptly as he clutched his neck. His expression twisted into one of agony just before blood spurted from his neck like a fountain, his head detaching from his body and plummeting onto the arena, life being drained away from him.
"W-What?" everybody shouted in unison, rising from their seats with shocked expressions.
Now let's see what actually happened -
Velar charged towards Kaen, keeping his aura-enveloped sword at a right angle for a horizontal slash before Kaen could react. His attack progressed smoothly until he reached in front of Kaen.
To his surprise, he encountered a grin on the boy's face, as if Kaen had him in his grasp. Velar slashed with lightning speed, but something unexpected occurred. The boy, who had been clearly struggling to dodge at normal speed, reacted to the attack with astonishing speed.
Kaen took a step back, skillfully evading Velar's attack at the right moment, before returning to his original position at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. Then, with a swift motion, his sword curved towards Velar's neck. However, Velar activated his trump card once again, vanishing from Kaen's reach and reappearing at the far end of the ring.
He believed that he had escaped the attack. therefore, had a triumphant and relaxed expression. However, what followed was witnessed by everyone.
Now back to Present...
"W-What?" everybody shouted in unison, rising from their seats with shocked expressions.
"Did Velar Jon just lose to a kid?" a noble asked, finding the situation unbelievable.
"But how did his neck get cut off? Did that kid do it?" another noble questioned.
"I doubt that. Even those 5-stars couldn't react to that speed. Do you really believe a 4-star kid could react to his attack with that unstable foundation he has?" one of the clever nobles inquired
"Then what happened? I want to know!" an impatient noble yelled, curious about the situation.
"We would've to ask that kid about it, but what's important is that Count Nadino has won this duel. We should announce the result of this duel First" The clever noble suggested.
After this, the announcement regarding Kaen's victory in this duel was made. Count Nadino received congratulations from various nobles. Kaen left the ring and arrived at the Count's side after receiving the ten thousand gold coins.
Everyone's curious gaze fell on him, asking for answers as soon as he got close. Count Nadino, noticing the gazes, decided to ask on their behalf.
"Sir Kaen, can you explain how you defeated Sir Velar? We weren't able to follow what transpired in the ring. I was able to follow somewhat, however, from here, everything was too blurry!"
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)