Chapter 613: Opening Ceremony (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 613: Opening Ceremony (2)
What in the world is happening? And is everyone just going to act like the Main Hall suddenly floating in midair is normal?
There was no time for further thought.
As the Hearts of Light of Jin and Ban resonated and triggered the Fighting God Union, a spear came hurtling toward Jin’s eyes.
It was Teto’s.
Damn, I’m too late—! No, wait. I have plenty of time?
Normally, he would have certainly shed blood. At the very least, he would have suffered internal injuries from a forced parry.
But now, the cold blue spearhead flying toward his face seemed impossibly slow.
It felt as though he would have to put in effort just to get hit.
So this is why the Fighting God and my brothers told me to rest until I could perform the Fighting God Union before coming to the Main Hall. And the reason they showed such genuine killing intent the moment the opening match began is because a half-hearted fighting spirit is meaningless against Brother Ban.
He didn't even need to draw his sword.
Well, I did want to try using the Fighting God’s power in actual combat at least once.
Jin thrust his fist toward the spearhead at a speed that was nearly blinding. From Teto’s perspective, he couldn't even perceive the moment Jin moved.
Clang—!
A strike imbued with the soul of a Fighting King collided with a human fist, but it was Teto who was sent reeling.
No, "reeling" didn't do it justice.
“Cough!”
Teto coughed up a mouthful of blood from the shock transmitted through his spear and was sent flying across the Main Hall. He soared like an arrow, like a fragment of stone blasted from a demolition site.
As soon as Teto was cleared away, Jin’s vision opened up, only to be filled with all sorts of weaponry flying his way.
Swords, spears, bows, and even an unidentified net that looked like it was meant for capturing giant monsters.
The fact that all of it felt so utterly non-threatening made Jin feel an involuntary surge of exhilaration.
It was this much…!
He had known for a long time that Ban’s martial prowess was as vast as the ocean.
However, wielding that power himself was an experience on a completely different dimension.
Flash—!
With a single explosion of energy, Jin repelled the brothers who were swarming him like a pack of starving ghosts.
Baltirok’s longsword, Rumora’s spear, Palem’s longsword, Linpa’s greatsword, Boras’s fists and hand cannons, Dalpir’s twin swords, Belize’s greatsword, Garmund’s greatsword, Baba’s longsword, Kaio’s bow, Nata’s kicks, and Teto’s spear as he lunged back into the fray.
And even the countless weapons of the common warriors. Not a single one of their attacks could pierce the energy Jin radiated.
On the other hand, Jin could land his attacks with ease. The mere pressure from his powerful punches swept the common warriors away like fallen leaves, forcing the Fighting Kings to ramp up their own energy.
The entire sky vibrated, threatening to shatter under the weight of their battle cries.
Lightning energy, so blue it appeared white, instantly formed a tidal wave of thunderbolts, and the distorted space around them emitted a screeching, tearing sound.
In an instant, the scene looked like a herald of the apocalypse.
Already, several common warriors were collapsing, unable to withstand the storm of lightning.
As naturally as if it were his own power, Jin sent lightning arcing toward those who had fallen, forming protective shields to prevent them from being further injured.
It felt as though he had more than enough power to protect every single common warrior in the same manner.
“Haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped him. To think this was the power of the Pluto Tribe’s "Fighting God."
“Kaaaaah!”
The first Fighting King to break through Jin’s lightning was Nata.
Kaio had cleared a path with his arrows, and she had leaped through it with a roar.
That was when Jin drew Sigmund.
The blade was shrouded in a lightning energy far denser than ever before. The moment it left its scabbard, Jin felt a single, absolute certainty.
If he willed it, he could cut down the charging Nata with a single stroke.
Jin didn't say it out loud, of course, but Nata sensed it instinctively.
“If you were the real Fighting God, you wouldn't have hesitated, Brother Jin!” she roared.
Whoosh! Lightning energy swirled and gathered into her fist.
A mistake? No, it’s a variable. One created by Sister Nata.
The moment he felt that certainty, he should have struck anywhere. Even if he had, Nata would never have died; she would have found a way to push forward one more step and throw her punch, just as she was doing now.
She was a Fighting King of the Pluto Tribe.
Though she might not reach the level of a Fighting God, she was not someone to be defeated by a single strike. Even the real Ban would have to get serious if he wanted to kill her—especially in a situation like this, where all twelve Fighting Kings and the entire body of common warriors were attacking at once.
Nata’s fist whistled past Jin’s ear. He momentarily lost his balance from the shockwave, but it wasn't enough to hinder his counterattack.
He parried her fist with his hilt and followed through with a vertical slash.
Just as Nata’s blood was about to evaporate in the lightning energy, Belize’s greatsword—the second to arrive—came swinging in.
He dodged and thrust, fired off sword energy while parrying Kaio’s lightning, twisted the trajectories of Palem and Rumora’s attacks, pushed back Baltirok, tripped Dalpir and Garmund, repelled Linpa, struck Boras in the jaw—I should control my strength here, he’ll be busy later—and struck down Teto’s spear.
All of that took exactly three seconds.
Jin had yet to take a clean hit. Instead, he prepared to launch a counteroffensive while their formation was broken.
However, one person remained.
The 9th Fighting King, Baba. A direct descendant of the former Fighting God, Nana. Her blue blade was rushing toward him through the chaotic battlefield.
This is dangerous.
A chill ran down his neck, an instinctual warning. A sense of crisis, which he thought he would never feel while in the Fighting God Union, snapped his mind into focus.
Meeting the attack head-on was the only way to overcome this crisis.
The eyes and senses of the Fighting God allowed him to swing his sword without a hint of wavering, even in such a desperate moment.
However, if he countered this, Baba would either die or be crippled.
If not for the previous encounter with Nata, Jin would have hesitated again. They were siblings sparring, not enemies.
Responding half-heartedly out of fear that Sister Baba might get hurt is the true insult to them.
As if by magic, Jin’s lightning energy, which had been scattered in all directions, gathered into Sigmund in the blink of an eye.
Before their blades could touch, all of Jin’s power concentrated at the very tip of his blade for a fleeting moment.
Cr-crack…!
Baba’s sword distorted. Her arm twisted as well, but Jin did not stop his momentum even after seeing it.
Immediately, a shockwave erupted that felt as if it would demolish the Main Hall.
The nearby Fighting Kings were blown away haphazardly, but Jin did not withdraw the power he had unleashed.
Instead, he amplified it further, as if he truly intended to slaughter every Fighting King there. The explosion turned his entire field of vision white, and because the impact was so massive, he couldn't immediately grasp the situation even with the senses of a Fighting God.
But the one thing Jin feared did not happen.
Through that massive explosion, he saw Baba’s sword falling like a thunderbolt once again. Tearing through the white storm of lightning energy, her blade threatened him once more.
It wasn't as threatening as the first time.
Jin leisurely parried Baba’s sword and slammed her into the floor, giving her no chance to get up. He lunged like a beast and leveled his blade at her throat.
Just before he could thrust, Kaio’s arrow flew in and knocked Sigmund aside.
The subsequent coordinated attacks from the Fighting Kings carried an even fiercer momentum.
Furthermore, some of the common warriors were finally managing to break through the path the Fighting Kings had opened.
At that point, a look of exhilaration returned to Jin’s eyes.
The fact that he could be placed in such a suffocating situation even while using the Fighting God Union, and the fact that such tenacious and powerful warriors were his very own siblings, made his heart pound.
The emotion Jin was feeling was the pride of being part of the greatest combat race in history.
“Cover the Fighting Kings!”
“He’s charging! Never face him one-on-one!”
“We need to buy time for the 9th Fighting King to recover!”
As the fight dragged on, scratches began to appear on Jin’s body. Even though many of the other Pluto Tribe members had broken bones and crushed muscles, their momentum didn't falter in the slightest.
If anything, they grew more ferocious. It would have been impossible alone, but for the Pluto Tribe fighting in coordination, individual injuries were not an issue.
They moved as one, regardless of whether they were Fighting Kings or common warriors. While there were differences in martial prowess, anyone could become the center of the attack whenever an opportunity arose.
Jin charged through them frantically, breaking their formations.
But no matter how much he broke them, his siblings showed no sign of collapsing.
High in the sky, Ban watched them fight with a look of satisfaction, sitting on the back of a now-gargantuan Ling Ling.
[Hmph… Seeing that brat fight so well is annoying for some reason. He’s already strong, but with Ban’s power added, it’s like he’s grown wings.]
“Ling Ling, why do you act like that when you don't actually hate Jin?”
[Why are you asking when you can read my mind anyway, Ban?]
“That is true.”
[…More importantly, are you really okay with giving that guy everything you have?]
Ban chuckled, a small smile on his face.
“I am ready to give my all to Brother Jin, and to all my other brothers, at any time.”
[Tsk. How can you say things like that so sincerely?]
“And the same goes for you, Ling Ling. You aren't a brother, but you are a part of me—no, you’ve become family.”
Ling Ling didn't answer, instead flapping its wings rapidly as if embarrassed.
Huu…
Ban let out a breath as if exhausted.
It was time for the Fighting God Union to end.
Since he had already performed it for the maximum ten minutes earlier, this union was causing even greater fatigue.
The moment the fight ended.
Jin was panting heavily with his blade held to Baba’s throat, while the Fighting Kings had their weapons pointed at his body.
Jin had dominated at first, but as the synchronization rate of the Fighting God Union gradually dropped, he had ended up being pushed back.
The Pluto Tribe members stopped all attacks the moment the Union ended.
It had been a short battle of less than ten minutes, but everyone, including Jin, looked as if they had been living on a battlefield for days.
“Heh, you’re strong, Brother Jin!”
“Strong? If it weren't for Brother Ban’s power, I would have been finished in an instant.”
“Well, that’s a given. Anyway, it was an enjoyable fight!”
As they always did whenever Jin achieved a great feat, the Pluto Tribe members suddenly opened their mouths toward the empty air of the Main Hall.
Then, like young beasts trying to eat falling snow, they began to gulp down the air.
Though it was a bit embarrassing to watch, Jin burst into laughter at the sight of his siblings, who had become so simple and innocent again, as if the brutal fight had never happened.
“Splendid. With this, I shall conclude the opening match of the Fighting King Tournament.”