Chapter 283: My Preparations Weren't in Vain (2)
Chapter 283: My Preparations Weren't in Vain (2)
Antorius’s expression turned grave.
Oliver Ace?
It was a name he had never heard before.
Judging by the name alone, who would have spared a thought for a man who sounded like a mere extra passing through a play?
However, compared to that trivial name and his faint presence…
‘He has skill.’
In terms of pure swordsmanship, the man might even be his equal.
It might have been his own arrogance to think he could crush him instantly and call out the Double Dragon.
‘Fine. In that case, I shall get serious as well.’
Changing his mindset, Antorius brought his sword to his chest and shouted as if in prayer.
“O, Yupinel!”
At that moment, Divine Power erupted from his body like an explosion.
“Ugh…”
Pushed back by the sheer momentum, Oliver took a step back and steadied his stance.
‘So this is Divine Power.’
It was different from Aura.
Just by being released, it forced him to face a power that was difficult to resist. It was like having to stand firm against a relentless onslaught of crashing waves.
Under such pressure, it naturally became difficult to maintain his advantage in speed.
Antorius pointed his sword at Oliver and spoke.
“Now, things will be different. Knight Ace!”
the moment Antorius said those words…
“Stop calling me thaaaaat!”
Everyone has a button that should never be pushed.
Oliver snapped, lunging forward.
Boom! Bang, bang! Crash!
The flow of offense and defense shifted.
With Oliver’s speed noticeably slowed by the pressure of the Divine Power, Antorius began to drive him back ruthlessly.
“Haaaaah!”
K-boom!
Oliver crossed his twin swords to block a heavy strike delivered with both hands.
However, he didn't meet the force head-on; instead, he kept his center of gravity back and naturally parried the blow while retreating.
“Urgh…”
Of course, that didn't mean he could negate all the impact.
Fundamentally, his opponent held the upper hand in raw strength, and after the release of Divine Power, that gap had widened even further.
The palms gripping his twin swords throbbed with numbness.
Feeling his grip become slightly slick, it seemed his calluses had torn.
‘But so what?’
Oliver maintained his grip on his swords, his fighting spirit burning as he glared at his opponent.
Antorius thrust his fist toward Oliver.
“God Hand!”
A massive fist formed of Divine Power hurtled toward Oliver.
He was finally showing the true colors of a Holy Knight by utilizing miracles.
Crrraaaaash!
“Cough…”
Oliver had loaded his swords with Aura to try and cancel out the attack, but he was sent flying backward by the clear disparity in power.
In the process, he coughed up blood as his internal energy backflowed from being overpowered.
“Ugh… Argh…”
Oliver tumbled across the training ground after being blown away, yet he never let go of his swords.
Somehow, he managed to stand up and level his blades, signaling that he still had strength left in him.
Antorius looked at him and said, “You are needlessly persistent.”
“Heh… Cough… Ahem.”
Environment really is everything to a human being.
Antorius frowned and spoke.
“Do you not see that you have no chance of winning? As long as I am using Divine Power, there is no victory for you.”
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Oliver replied, “So what? You want me to surrender?”
“I am telling you to make the wise choice.”
“Right. A wise choice… Yeah, I should. A person ought to make wise choices.”
Oliver raised his swords and said, “Let’s keep going.”
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
Seeing Antorius’s look of utter disbelief, Oliver let out a long, deep sigh.
‘What… what would you know? You…’
[Hooh… Surrenderrrr? You surrendered? A knight of our great Schneider Grand Duchy gave up before even seeing things through to the end, is that it?]
If he surrendered here, he might actually die.
Even without looking back, he could feel a stinging gaze on his neck.
Heh, Antorius Denar.
You probably have the protection of the merciful and great Yupinel behind you, don't you?
But behind me, a Great Demon from Hell is flicking his tongue, telling me I’m dead if I lose. So…
“Who do you think is more desperate, you bastard?!”
With a wild roar, Oliver charged at Antorius once again.
* * *
“There we go. That’s it. Good job. Great grit!”
Watching Patrick clap in admiration, Matthew spoke from beside him.
“Don’t you feel sorry for him?”
“Sorry? For what?”
Patrick wore an expression that genuinely said, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, friend.’
He continued.
“There aren't many opportunities to fight someone stronger than yourself to the absolute limit without having to worry about dying, especially outside of a real battlefield.”
“Huh?”
“Of course, I could do it for him back at the territory. Sanson or April could do it too, and even Tutan is much stronger than Oliver now. But…”
“……”
“Humans are creatures of adaptation.”
“……”
“Suffering repeated defeats from the same person doesn't serve as training. If you’re not careful, you end up defining your own limits.”
“So you’re saying he gains something by clashing with a new powerhouse to his absolute limit?”
“Exactly. Why? You don't think so?”
“Are you for real? You’re not scamming me, are you?”
“Want to bet? 100 gold?”
“No, forget it.”
If nothing else, when money came out of Patrick’s mouth, it meant he was being quite serious.
Which meant…
‘Does he really think that’s helping Sir Ace? That?’
In Matthew’s eyes, all he saw was Oliver staggering on the training ground, being one-sidedly pummeled by Divine Power.
Yet, even while being beaten, the emotion of surrender was nowhere to be found in Oliver’s eyes.
* * *
Boom!
“Urgh…”
It was a heavy attack, feeling more like a blow from a battle hammer than a sword.
He managed to block it by overlapping his twin swords, but he couldn't stop one of his knees from buckling.
Antorius’s kick flew in and slammed into his solar plexus.
“Gah…!”
With a groan, he was sent flying back. But even though he had fallen, there was no time to rest.
Oliver hurriedly rolled to the side.
And in the spot where he had just been…
Crrraaaaash!
A terrifying strike slammed into the ground.
It was a blow that looked as if a giant had struck down with its fist.
If it had hit, he would have been flattened. Lifting his head to look at his opponent, he saw Antorius radiating a heavy fury.
“You really are needlessly persistent.”
The difference in power was stark, yet Oliver somehow managed to block the fatal blows.
It wasn't a defense of enduring with strength, but a method of dispersing the force by being pushed back.
When the distance grew, Antorius tried to end it with a God Hand strike, but Oliver somehow evaded that as well.
It should have been difficult even to move under the pressure of Divine Power—how was he doing this?
“Your grit is impressive. I’ll give you that.”
“Cough… This is nothing…”
Oliver thought back.
He thought of the training he had endured in the past.
[Is it hard? Are your legs stopping because it’s hard? Don't worry. I’ll make it easy for you. It gets real easy once you’re dead.]
Under the watchful eye of that demon, he had to keep performing footwork while wearing sandbags all over his body inside a gravity field created by the mages of the Tower of Truth.
‘Compared to the training I got from that Great Demon…’
Thanks to that, Oliver was able to keep moving even under the pressure of Divine Power.
But the problem was…
‘I have no chance of winning like this.’
No matter how much he endured, the accumulating impact was eating away at his body.
Ultimately, defeat was inevitable at this rate.
In truth, what shame would there be in losing to a genius called the future of the Holy Kingdom? However…
[You lost, but you fought well. So, let’s die. Knight Ace.]
“……”
“Hmm…? Why are you crying?”
At Antorius’s question, Oliver grit his teeth and spoke.
“Try being in my shoes!”
He had to win.
He had to win no matter what.
Even if it was impossible, he had to make it possible.
Oliver raised his sword and focused his mind.
“Fuuuuuuu…”
Stop dodging.
If he kept this up, he would lose. (He would die.)
To aim for victory against an opponent stronger than himself, he had no choice but to gamble.
‘Giving up bone to cut flesh.’
Oliver’s aura changed as he steeled himself for a desperate struggle. Antorius, who had been one-sidedly pressing him, felt the shift and took a cautious stance, further intensifying his Divine Power.
‘Hmph, it seems he’s finally realized.’
A smile played on the lips of Patrick, who was watching from below the stage.
Yes. That was the way to bite into someone stronger than yourself.
Winning cleanly and cleverly by catching the opponent off guard with exquisite technique and wisdom?
‘What a shameless thought.’
Such things were impossible in reality.
If that were possible, the opponent wouldn't be "stronger" in the first place.
For the weak to take down the strong in a real fight, they must accept losses and stake their fate on a desperate attack.
Just like right now.
‘Try it. Show me.’
Carrying Patrick’s expectations, Oliver’s body surged forward.
The first move was a thrust.
Thrusting his left hand forward as he charged, Oliver looked like a single arrow.
However, there were too many obstacles for that arrow to reach its target.
“O, Yupinel!”
Whooooosh!
Antorius’s Divine Power erupted, slowing Oliver’s thrust.
And without missing the opening created by Oliver’s slowed movement, Antorius’s right hand shot forward.
God Hand.
It was Antorius’s specialty miracle.
A massive fist of Divine Power flew out to crush Oliver.
Normally, he should have dodged this, but…
Grit.
Oliver clenched his teeth and powerfully thrust the sword in his right hand, which he had been holding back.
“Haaaaaaah!”
Crack. Snap.
He poured the maximum amount of Aura a 6-Star Knight could muster into the God Hand.
However, unable to withstand the aftermath of the impact, the sound of his right elbow snapping rang out.
‘Is it broken?’
He could instinctively tell his right arm was gone.
But Oliver didn't stop.
At the cost of sacrificing his right arm, he forced his way through the God Hand and lunged at Antorius, his sword falling toward the crown of the man's head. However…
“Futile!”
Antorius’s sword thrust out powerfully.
Simultaneously, holy white flames erupted from his blade, instantly engulfing Oliver.
Holy Fire.
The divine flame that purifies all evil—this, too, was Antorius’s specialty.
‘It’s no use.’
Oliver could sense it.
With his current strike, he wouldn't be able to withstand those holy flames.
Was he going to lose after all?
He had given it his all, but was he still going to lose?
It couldn't be helped. If he had done his best to this extent, surely the Young Master would understand…
[If you lose, you die.]
‘Dammit!’
As if he would!
His opponent was a Great Demon whose personality had crawled out from the depths of hell.
If he was going to die, he should die peacefully; he couldn't afford a gruesome end at the hands of that Great Demon.
Oliver grit his teeth. And then…
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
He poured every ounce of his strength into his Aura.
More power.
Stronger power.
He needed power enough to not be killed by the Great Demon waiting behind him.
And in that moment…
Vroooooom.
Sympathizing with Oliver’s desperation, the energy in his Dantian surged violently.
That overflowing power rose and reached a new place that had never been opened before.
Another vessel.
The moment the power reached the place called the Middle Dantian, it amplified dozens of times over, spreading throughout Oliver’s entire body.
As a result…
Flash!
A vivid Aura Blade formed on Oliver’s sword. And then…
Slaaaaaash!
The perfectly shaped Aura Blade cleaved through Antorius’s Holy Fire and flew toward the man behind it.
“Wh-what?!”
Antorius was horrified.
He remembered this sight.
The Arcana semifinals.
The moment when the Overlord had seized the momentum and overwhelmed him.
It was exactly the same as then.
That attack, surging forward as it split his Holy Fire…
“Urgh…”
It was too late to dodge.
Oliver’s Aura Blade sliced through the sacred flames and fell toward the crown of Antorius’s head.
K-BOOOOOOM!
A terrifying explosion rang out, and fragments of the Aura Blade scattered in all directions.
And what everyone saw was…
“That’s enough.”
When had he stepped in?
Patrick stood on the training ground, blocking Oliver’s sword.
The blade Patrick had stopped was inches away from Antorius’s head.
“Young… Master…”
“……”
“I won.”
With those final words, Oliver let go of his consciousness.
Patrick supported the collapsing Oliver with one arm. A faint smile touched his lips as he spoke.
“Well done.”