Chapter 400: The One to Determine Fate (1)
Never had Leinster’s streets and alleys been so empty before.
The tickets for the colosseum ran out within seconds, forcing people to acquire tickets at the other broadcasting locations instead. The betting houses and taverns were packed tighter than sardines in a can.
Tension could be felt in the air as everyone waited with bated breaths for the finals to begin.
Majestic music played as Leinster’s colosseum welcomed the stars for today with great fanfare. Four chariots entered the field under the accompaniment of magnificent music, prompting roaring cheers from the audience.
Selina, Kurt, Brittany, Juliana, and the others watched the chariots with solemn looks from the challengers’ sector. At the teaching staff’s sector, Alicia clenched her fists tightly out of nervousness, and Chris couldn’t hold back her urge for a smoke.
Paul and Geralt sat amongst the members of the Bluerose Faction as they led the members on resounding cheers. Next to them sat Charlotte and the members of the Redrose Faction. On a rare whim, she decided not to divine the results of the match but instead witness its proceedings with her own eyes.
It started off with Lilian and Teresa’s battle.
This time around, there was no sudden bout of luck from either side. The chosen field was an ordinary forested terrain, and the results were as the crowd expected.
With greater ground to maneuver around, Lilian was able to effectively deploy her army around the field and put them to good use. In response, Teresa maneuvered around the field with great finesse, launching frightening spells every now and then.
It was just that Lilian’s army was far too much for a single person to deal with. While Teresa was busy kiting the knights, the magician platoon was able to channel a large-scale military spell that ended the battle with its overwhelming destructive might.
The crowd might have anticipated the outcome, but the battle was still a thrilling one to watch. It piqued everyone’s interest, and both fighters received resounding applause from the crowd when they were teleported out of the dungeon.
The Austinean spectators were exhilarated to get one over the Knight Kingdom after the previous infuriating defeat, and the crowd looked forward to the next battle.
Under everyone’s gaze, a black-haired young man and a fully-armored knight walked onto the field. Deafening cheers immediately broke out from the supporters of both sides, overpowering even the voices of the referee. The referee had no choice but to wave his hands in an attempt to calm the crowd down.
Roel appeared to be unfazed by the huge commotion around him. He locked his eyes on William and spoke words that surprised the latter.
“Cast away your reservations and give it your all. This is a once-in-a-lifetime tournament. No matter what, we shouldn’t leave any regrets here.”
After saying those words, he turned his sights toward the spectator stand. He didn’t know whether his conversation with Teresa had stirred any changes in William’s thoughts or not, but they were now standing at the most prestigious dueling ring with countless eyes on them. It was only basic manners for them to bring out everything they had, be it to their supporters or their opponent.
William agreed with that too.
“… I’ll give it my all.”
“Let’s decide everything with this fight then,” declared Roel with an air of indomitability.
William’s fighting spirit also blazed.
When the spectators finally calmed down, the organizing committee began announcing the rules once more.
The finals of the Challenger Cup had always been the most heated battle for the tournament, such that it wasn’t uncommon for injuries to occur. As an additional safety precaution, the organizing committee had decided to double both of their substitution magic tools from five to ten.
After a quick explanation, the crystal ball placed in the center of the field lit up once more. Countless spectators found themselves holding their breaths in nervousness.
This time around, it was not the referee but a respected old man who was in charge of drawing the field. Antonio walked down from the VIP stand with his robe and stepped onto the field. He first smiled at Roel and William before placing his hand on the crystal ball.
“I’ll be selecting the field now,” he said.
The scenery in the crystal ball projected outward and swiftly changed. In the end, it stopped at a crimson mountainous terrain.
“32nd Field, Charred Mountain.”
“Oooooh!”
Most of the spectators cheered aloud, gladdened that there was no overwhelming disadvantage for both sides with the choice of terrain.
Roel began recalling the traits of Charred Mountain.
Charred Mountain was known for its hot climate and red soil. Its land was barren, and the lack of greenery meant that cover was limited. Similar to the field between Roel and Kurt, this terrain allowed little room to lay an ambush.
There were some boulders scattered sporadically around the area that could be used as cover, but of course, those boulders couldn’t hope to fend against the sheer piercing power of William’s Swordheart. Attempting to hide behind these boulders would only hinder his own vision, making it harder for him to deal with William’s attacks.
Ironically, the safest option was a frontal confrontation.
Roel narrowed his eyes as the two of them were transported to the battlefield.
…
A battlefield that was so red that it looked like it was burning—it was a fitting battlefield for their showdown since it reflected their feelings as well.
The fighting wills of the two fighters were crackling quietly.
William had been conflicted between the values repeatedly instilled into her over the years and her own personal desires, and she sought an answer from Roel. On the other hand, Roel had resolved himself to sever the chains shackling William.
It was his fundamental belief that a person should govern their own fate.
The restrictive traditions of the old era should be done away with, and those who had been shackled should be liberated. It should all begin from this instant.
The two of them stared at each other from afar across the charred land. None of them were moving a step, but their mana pulsations gushed outward like massive waves and collided at the center point between them.
It was impossible to see William’s expression under her full-body armor, but her presence felt piercingly sharp.
This must be the so-called ‘Sword Intent’ I’ve read so much about in the novels from my previous life,
This was the first time Roel was experiencing something like this, and it was terrifying. He felt like a guillotine was looming above his neck, and it heaped so much pressure on him that he actually felt phantom pain all over his body.
This showed just how far William had polished his Swordheart.
I can’t let him draw his sword.
Such a thought arose in Roel’s mind upon sensing the dangerous vibe coming from William. He immediately channeled his mana and called for his companion.
“Artasia!”
“Am I the first one up, my hero? I must say, this is a nice change of pace since I’m usually reserved for the finale… though this does pose some trouble.”
A white-haired witch answered his summon with a merry smile. She assessed the enemy with her madder red eyes before making her move.
The moment the Witch Queen raised her hand, the surroundings started to go crazy.
She manifested a blinding mana sphere in her hand and tightly compressed it. It was a perfectly ordinary action, but the sheer mana she was manipulating was so great that it raised a violent whirlwind around her. It was a formidable feat that won her excited cheers from the crowd in the colosseum.
Despite the cheering from the crowd. Artasia didn’t release the deceptively simple spell she was manifesting on her palm. In truth, this was nothing more than the first step of her preparations.
As she slowly raised the blinding mana sphere, a reversal occurred.
The blinding light retreated into the mana sphere as the darkness hidden at its core took over and began expanding outward. This darkness was destructive in nature, and it bared its fangs at the knight who stood in its path.
The emerging darkness brought terror and death to the world with it. It was incomprehensible and fear-inducing. Those who laid their eyes upon it were inevitably intimidated by this sinister phenomenon. Even the spectators at the colosseum gasped in shock.
Yet, the knight who stood in the face of the darkness showed nary a reaction at all, almost as if he had fallen asleep.
It wasn’t because William had chosen to give up or was putting on an act. Instead, she was in the midst of tempering her own Swordheart.
What is Swordheart?
It is the manifestation of one’s will, a sword created by one’s intentions.
William was using her burning fighting will as a furnace to further temper her Sword Intent.
In her subconsciousness, she could vaguely hear the sound of a hammer striking down on a sword. Those words Roel had spoken that night flashed across her mind, and her raging emotions and heart gradually calmed down.
She reaffirmed her will to protect, and her Swordheart resonated in response to her feelings. Under the influence of her Swordheart, her disposition underwent a sharp change.
The darkness was still swiftly pressing in her direction, reminiscent of a humongous mouth seeking to devour everything. Right before it was about to reach her, she made a move.
Chapter 400.5: The One to Determine Fate (2)
William drew her sword and slashed it upward.
A sliver of light appeared in the face of the darkness. She had concentrated her Sword Intent to an extreme degree, focusing its might on the tip of her sword. With her slash, she unleashed a brilliant arc that sought to split the world into two.
That very instant, her previously pulsating mana vanished without a trace. It was as if everything had been harnessed into this single slash. The brilliance of her Swordheart seemed to brighten up the sky for an instant, only to vanish right after.
A white arc flashed across the rush of darkness, as if someone had drawn a line on a massive blackboard. Awfully insignificant it appeared before the massive congregation of darkness, yet it induced a magnificent explosion that collapsed the darkness.
Boom!
The humongous explosion from the clash of manas had the crowd gasping in shock, but it didn’t slow down the pace of the battle at all. Despite the hindrances from the powerful shockwaves and blinding light from the earlier explosion, William had already rechanneled her mana back to the tip of her sword, ready to launch a second attack toward Roel.
Roel’s body stiffened. He could vaguely sense a lethal threat coming his way.
William swung her sword sideward.
Weng!
There was a crisp reverberation of her sword, and it was instantaneously followed by a terrifying white arc that sliced through the lingering shockwaves, heading straight toward Roel.
In response, Artasia closed her eyes. Mana cloaked around her body and vines began extending from her hands. Flowers in the colors of black and deep blue competed to bloom on the vine. They swiftly interweaved with each other to form a beautiful flower wall.
The light arc swiftly struck the flower wall, the impact causing many of the flowers to fall lifelessly to the ground. Yet, the light arc was surprisingly unable to pierce through the flower wall.
It looked like a swordsman slashing at falling leaves. The flowers were left in a disarray, but hardly any damage was dealt at the end of it all.
“How barbaric. It might be unnecessary for me to point it out, but my hero, things could get troublesome at this rate.”
Behind the flower wall, Artasia turned to look at the black-haired man beside her with a smile, and the grave look on the latter’s face showed that he already knew.
From the failed first strike to the defensive flower wall used to block William’s attacks, Roel was expending his mana at a frightening rate. There was no doubt that the spells of the Witch Queen were formidable, but they consumed a lot of juice. At least in terms of mana capacity, Roel was at a huge disadvantage compared to the Origin Level 3 William.
He had known from the start that he would have to rely on Peytra’s Blessing to forcefully raise himself to Origin Level 3 in order to win the battle, but now was not the time for that yet.
On the other hand, William had already realized that it was impossible for her to defeat Roel through long-ranged attacks. So, she decided not to squander her mana on meaningless exploits and instead charge forward.
She had a good grasp of Roel’s strengths and weaknesses. In terms of burst power, she couldn’t confidently say that she would be able to best Roel 100% of the time, but in terms of quality and capacity of mana, she definitely wielded the advantage.
The explosive start to their battle was so intense that even William had to catch a breather, and that was why she knew that Roel was definitely in a worse state than her.
This spelled an opportunity.
While Roel was recovering from his earlier exertion, she could close the distance between them and overwhelm him with her close-combat skills. This was a strategy she commonly used when fighting against transcendents with high burst power.
Without any hesitation, she charged through the cloud of red dust cloud floating on the battlefield toward Roel’s location.
Just as she had expected, Roel was still anxiously trying to recover from his earlier overexertion. His mana had already stalled to a halt, to the point that Artasia was no longer by his side anymore.
With the affirmation of her deduction, William further increased her speed. The sword in her hand began to glow in preparation for her next wave of attack.
It was also around then that Roel finally turned his gaze toward her, seemingly attracted by the sudden light. To her surprise, there wasn’t any fear in his eyes at all.
“You’re finally here,” he murmured.
The long-awaited blessing from the Primordial Earth Goddess traversed across space-time to fall upon him, imbuing him in a pale yellow aura. His stagnant mana immediately erupted like a furious volcano.
The silhouette of a humongous serpent manifested behind him, but more importantly, his mana began to rise to greater heights, eventually reaching the level of an Origin Level 3 transcendent. This unbelievable sight had William widening her eyes in disbelief.
A commotion broke out amongst the incredulous crowd in the colosseum too.
“Origin Level 3? How could this be?”
“It’s a long-lost spell from the ancient era!”
The commentators were excited by the turn of events. The transfer students from the Knight Kingdom all had their mouths agape.
This was the first time since the start of the tournament that Roel had used a spell to forcefully raise his Origin Level. Such a deed should have been impossible, but that was precisely the reason why the crowd was so agitated.
No one could have thought that the finals would turn out to be a showdown between two Origin Level 3 transcendents. The odds had previously been in William’s favor, but this sudden development rattled everything up, making it no longer possible to predict what would happen next.
Thunderous applause broke out in the colosseum.
Meanwhile, in Charred Mountain, Roel’s golden eyes started glowing like faint candlelight. With his surging mana, he was able to complete his deadly trap in a mere instant.
Crimson mana suffused Roel’s body as pale white bones swiftly manifested around him. Grandar’s towering skeletal body appeared amidst a layer of mist. Crimson lightning crackled around his tightened skeletal fist, bestowing it with absolute destructive might. With the prowess of his Strength Origin Attribute, he hurled his fist toward William’s incoming sword.
This was the display of what extreme physical strength was capable of.
The falling fist looked like divine retribution, a comet descending from the heavens to punish those who had incurred god’s wrath. It felt impossible to stand against a force of such extent.
At the same time, loud rumbling echoed behind William. A golden serpent rose from the earth. Peytra had brought with her the hottest lava from the depths of the charred land, which she channeled and released as a calamitous surge of flames.
Two ancient gods from different eras were collaborating with each other to launch a pincer attack against William.
The rapid depletion of mana caused Roel’s face to pale, but he knew that he had to quickly end this battle.
Peytra’s Blessing came with severe side effects, so he couldn’t afford to fight a prolonged battle. On top of that, William’s Origin Attribute spelled great trouble too.
The Cambonyte’s Courage Origin Attribute was the most suited for battle amongst the Three Main Origin Attributes. There was nothing better than it when it came to large-scale battles and attrition fights. Possessors of the Courage Origin Attribute were known to get more fearless and unyielding over the course of a battle, which, in turn, granted them even more power.
I must end this battle as soon as possible!
With such a thought in mind, Roel further increased his mana output.
Finally, Grandar’s fist collided with William’s sword.
It was the clash between two warriors who had reached the peak of their field.
Grandar’s fist harnessed the will to tear down all obstacles that stood in his path. William’s Swordheart represented her unyielding spirit. It was a battle of wills as much as it was a battle of strength.
Ultimately, the clash ended with the skeleton giant’s victory.
How could William overcome an existence that had tempered his strength over countless years? The light arc she had released shattered, and she was sent flying from the impact.
At the same time, Peytra’s surge of calamitous flames shot straight toward her, and it all culminated in a devastating explosion.
Boom!
The compressed mana formed a towering pillar of flame, and William was sent flying into the distance. Many in the colosseum cheered excitedly, thinking that the battle had been decided.
However, on the battlefield, Roel kept his eyes firmly on William’s silhouette, not easing up at all. He could still clearly sense William’s aura and his pulsating immense pool of mana.
—-
I know that I keep alternating between him and her for William.
William is a girl but she’s concealing her identity, and much of the narration in this story is spoken from the perspective of the character.
What’s weird is how the perspective keeps changing every few sentences as the author slowly paints on bits of details to the characters interacting. This is the typical writing style for Chinese web novels. This means that the pronouns end up changing every few sentences.
In William and Teresa’s narration, I’ve kept William’s pronoun to female because the two of them know of her real gender, but when it comes to Roel’s narration about William, I kept her pronoun to male because that’s how he perceives her.
It’s confusing and affects readability, and I considered standardizing to just male or female too… but that comes with its flaws too. It brings about other confusion. It would be awkward if the female pronouns are used in narrations where Roel thinks William is a male.