“Cheating?”
A huge question mark appeared on Watson’s face. He had won with his strength, so what right did she have to say that he had cheated?
He noticed Elvira’s solemn expression when he gazed at her subconsciously. She did not frame him on purpose. Instead, she appeared to believe that he had cheated, rendering him helpless.
He realized he had just employed a diamond-tier special ability. Elvira did not even know anything about platinum-tier abilities, so it was reasonable that she suspected him of cheating.
“If I had known earlier, I would have used magic or fighting skills to defeat her.”
Watson sighed and waved at Elvira. “We won’t count that then, Miss Elvira. From now on, I won’t restrain your combat aura. Let’s start again.”
“You said it yourself. Tens of thousands of Torch Town residents, the astrologer, and the two mayors are watching this duel. I hope you’re not lying.”
Elvira shook the dust off her body solemnly. Her body burst in a strong fire-elemental combat aura, which condensed into blazing red wings. The scorching heat caused the rowdy audience to close their dry mouths. She employed the gold-tier combat method, Flame Dragon Descent, once again. She had morphed into a fire dragon, rose from the earth, and flew into the sky.
Unlike before, she did not attack Watson directly. Instead, she rose higher into the clouds. She used the flames to burn the clouds into a red color. Amidst the crimson color, the clouds slowly rotated and sank, gradually turning into a giant sword that stretched for hundreds of meters.
That massive sword was formed of flaming clouds, but it gave the illusion that it was stronger than steel. Elvira was in the heart of the blade. She was descending quickly as if there was a giant in the sky wielding a weapon capable of splitting the ground. She slashed down on the entire arena with her sword.
“Peak gold-tier fighting technique, Heavenly Fire Unsheathing!”
That was a fighting technique that Elvira had yet to master completely. It required her to burn herself and the clouds in the sky to turn into a giant sword. If she did not perform it well, it was very likely that she would hurt herself. However, that move was also more powerful than the Flame Dragon’s Descent.
When the clouds in the sky collapsed, a massive sword engulfed in flames descended to the ground. The entire arena was on fire.
Many of the spectators backed away in concern that it would have an impact on them. They were applauding and chanting for Elvira at the same time. Even though they were in the audience seats, they still had the illusion that the hair on their bodies, including their clothes, was burning, not to mention Watson, who was at the center of the attack.
Crack!
The rough rocky ground beneath Watson’s feet cracked with a succession of crunching sounds before Elvira’s sword crashed onto his skull. Rocks flew everywhere.
Watson opened his arms as he raised his head to stare at the flames that fell from the sky. Thick vines grew from his flesh. Those were the World Tree’s branches, and they took root in the dirt. They expanded into thick tree trunks that twisted together to form a massive and tenacious barrier.
Boom!
With a loud bang, the enormous flaming sword and the giant wooden shield collided. The tree shield emitted a mushroom cloud that combined with streaming flames. The shield was in perfect condition; only a portion of it had been burned black. The impact sent Elvira’s body flying. She landed on the ground and slid away; she used the thin sword to support her body.
“What a strong defense! To be able to summon so many trees in an instant, that must be a gold-tier spell. Is that young man a gold-tier mage?”
Elvira was taken aback since she had not expected Watson to be able to block a move that was beyond her capabilities. It was not the same as before that. She had been able to employ all of her strength, and she also performed admirably. Watson’s ability to block her strike was enough to demonstrate his strength in such situations. A gold-tier mage at that age shocked her even more.
She had not understood why Antonio had taken Watson as his disciple before, but she came to a realization then.
Elvira gathered her thoughts swiftly. A battle does not always imply that the strong will triumph. It was all about skill in a fight. She believed that with her many years of war expertise, she would be able to beat a stronger opponent.
“Gold-tier fighting technique, Flame Dragon Descent!”
Elvira abruptly halted her retreat and dashed at Watson at a breakneck pace. She transformed into a swift flaming light and flew through the dense forest. Every branch of the World Tree called by Watson was as thick as a python; it was chilling to look at, but the thick branches had a drawback. Elvira used the branches as a deterrent to make Watson’s onslaught more difficult.
Watson muttered, “Stargazing Tarot Cards, activate.”
Elvira’s shield of World Tree branches cracked. It caused starlight in the sky to fall and shrivel in the light before transforming into palm-sized golden cards. Those cards zoomed right at Elvira the moment they appeared.
There were 24 cards in total, each engraved with a different image and loaded with diverse energies. Some cards were encased in lightning, while others were covered in a layer of invisible gauze. There were also cards that were surrounded by the phantom of a golden chariot. They were filled with power.
The 24 cards surrounded Elvira like a storm, causing her to frantically use the thin sword in her hand to bounce the cards away. Fortunately, the sword in her hand was a gold-tier weapon called the Waltz Blade. Otherwise, it would have been damaged in that fierce collision.
Watson and Elvira engaged in a heated fight. The audience in the adjacent stands held their breath, and their eyes were bright with anticipation.
They were there to see Elvira win, but they were also ecstatic to be able to see such a great fight. Watson, who was only a little more than ten years old at the time, was able to fight Elvira to a halt, which impressed them.
That was the way the world was. The powerful would be revered no matter where they traveled. Watson had used his power to gain the respect of everyone there.
The audience felt Watson and Elvira were evenly matched, but Elvira, who was in the middle of the fight, did not feel the same. She had only fought the 24 golden cards for a few dozen seconds, but she felt as if she had fought for days and nights with dozens of people with big hammers. Her shoulders ached, and she could not even grasp the hilt of her sword.
“Those cards appear to be gold-tier weapons. Watson must be a mage. How does he know how to create weapons and use advanced swordsmanship to control them for an attack? Is he more than a mage?”
Elvira swung her sword around and pushed a few cards that went at her in a graceful curve. The more she moved, the more she was startled. The mechanism for managing those magical cards was magical, but it was more than that. Watson was obviously skilled in combat as well. It was difficult to believe that a ten-year-old child could learn both magic and combat tactics.
At that moment, she realized the wide gap between her and Watson. If it had been a talent competition, she would have conceded loss long ago.
Elvira clutched her small blade and charged left and right under the siege of the 24 astrology tarot cards for a full ten minutes. She utilized all of her abilities but was still unable to charge forward. “Watson, other than these small tricks, do you dare to meet me head-on?” She had no choice but to put down the sword in her hand as she panted. “Do you have any fighting skills? It is too unpleasant for a warrior to battle with tricks.”
She found the fight to be extremely suffocating. She would prefer a chance to hit Watson.
“Alright, Miss Elvira, as you wish.”
Watson nodded as he stood outside, controlling the astrology tarot cards, and watched coldly from the side. The temperature decreased a few degrees when he stretched his right hand outward; an ice-condensed weapon was in his palm. A tangled ice wolf and ice dragon sculpture were at the end of the weapon. It appeared for a split second before exploding, transforming into translucent ice crystals and vanishing from Elvira’s sight.
That was the fighting technique that Watson had fused with the North Wind mercenary group’s leader, Ron. He had obtained the peak gold-tier battle technique, the Thousand Blade Ice Soul Blade. It had the ability to combine within a range of 100 meters freely.
Watson had limited his power to the gold tier when he fought against Elvira. That was due to his fear of displaying more powerful strength. Elvira would not understand and would suspect him of cheating again. At the time, he did not oppose Elvira’s suggestion. He did that to test how much of a difference his combat level made when compared to a battle-hardened leader of the same level.
Watson waved his hand and let the 24 tarot cards leave Elvira’s body. He seized the hilt of the Thousand Blade Ice Soul Blade and converted all of his combat aura to the ice attribute; he kept it at the gold tier. Two ice crystal wings erupted from his back.
Watson transformed into a stream of light as his wings flapped, arriving in front of Elvira. “Miss Elvira, how about using the swords to determine the winner?”
“Come on!”
Elvira abruptly raised the sword in her grip. The blade was engulfed in raging flames. The flares descended to the ground, forming a flaming serpent that swirled and soared at Watson as if it wanted to rip him apart. Ice crystals appeared around Watson and combined to form a massive ice dragon.
Ice and fire, dragons and snakes; everything collided and turned into a melting white fog and drowned Watson and Elvira’s figures.
“Who won?”
One by one, the audience in the stands rose to their feet. Even the mayors, like Lubin and Gerant, stood up. The combat was tremendously exciting, and their blood was boiling. Many of them had placed bets on Elvira. However, they did not care who had won or lost. At that point, they only wanted a conclusion for the battle.
After a few minutes of waiting, the ice fog dispersed, revealing Watson and Elvira’s figures. They stood with their backs against each other. Elvira’s armor was unscathed, while Watson’s clothes on his shoulder had been cut open. Two shallow sword wounds appeared, accompanied by scorch marks left by the flames.
Watson dispersed the ice crystal sword condensed from the gold-tier fighting technique as he released his right hand. He laughed as he lowered his head to examine the wound on his shoulder.
“It seems like there is a gap between me and the experienced commander in terms of fighting techniques, especially among those in the same level. Miss Elvira, you have won this match.”
