Vol 1 Chapter 4 (2/2)
Although both had good fighting abilities, Ezart’s colossal strength was of no help to Dark Sun, whereas the unpredictability of the boy in the Chinese garb was beneficial for improving Dark Sun’s ability to dodge.
As the aces faced off, the agile boy suddenly turned his hips in a seemingly impossible angle to evade Ezart’s fists, and simultaneously closed the gap between himself and Ezart. The dual sai snuck its way through a gap in the armour, into Ezart's throat and emerged out the back of his head.
Surprisingly, the impaled Ezart was still stubbornly crus.h.i.+ng the tiny waist of his opponent. The boy, unable to break free, forcefully tore his sai free. Torrents of blood spewed in all directions, causing the system to gradually ground Ezart, who was finally forced to release his opponent.
“You just don’t give up, do you? You‘ve already lost, yet you continue to strangle me” the boy in the Chinese garb remarked coldly.
Ezart slowly lifted his gaze towards him, battle fervour still visible in his eyes.
“If you want to fight, you’ll have to wait for the next practice session,” the boy wearing the Chinese garb turned around, speaking to the desolate area of destruction.
Daren frowned, he had thought that he wouldn’t be discovered; had he somehow carelessly revealed himself? Nevertheless, Daren had no intention of hiding. Engaging in battle had always been the only way to become stronger.
“Don’t think that I didn’t notice because I was battling Ezart. You were all throwing daggers at our backs!” The boy continued, with a contemptuous look.
Daren paused, realising that the boy wasn’t referring to him. After a split second's consideration, he decided to let the boy resolve all matters before engaging him in a satisfying heart thumping battle.
However, something strange happened; after the loud declaration by the boy, all the people lurking in the surrounding area were so frightened that they hastily fled regardless of whether they were the back stabbing person in question or not. Who knew who that was? It was simply best not to be the scapegoat...
Daren sensed that the players who had been lying in ambush were being pursued by a group, consisting of members whose fighting potential were greater than his earlier opponents. Within moments, the escaping players had all been dealt with.
Three of the pursuers returned to the boy in the Chinese garb. From the looks of respect on their faces, it was easy to tell that they were his subordinates or minions. Amongst them was a man wielding dual hand guns, an ice queen with long claws and an unreadable dwarfish guy.
“All taken care of?” the boy in the Chinese garb asked woodenly.
“We were unable to locate one,” the girl said as she looked at the him, her icy expression melting slightly.
“There’s still one left?” asked the boy, revealing a displeased expression.
His subordinates became slightly fl.u.s.tered, but they simply could not locate the last remaining person.
Suddenly, a sliver of doubt flashed across the boy’s eyes; he turned towards a nearby crumbling wall and scanned the shadows suspiciously. Was it simply an illusion? He was somewhat uncertain. Yet, he was unable to detect any human presence. Besides, if someone had been hiding there, there should have been some movement when he had scanned the area.
After staring for some time and being unable to discern any anomalies, the boy gradually turned around, dismissing it as paranoia. He had not heard of any specialists from the partic.i.p.ating cla.s.ses having the skills to elude him.
Daren silently observed the boy. Just as he turned away, Daren leapt out, felling the man with the dual hand guns with a single strike. He simultaneously kicked the ice queen aside and after regaining his balance, punched the dwarfish man away.
Although the boy in the Chinese garb was taken by surprise, it was obvious that he had received specialised martial arts training and had to be an expert to have defeated Ezart. The dual sai reflexively parried a blow and the air resounded with the crisp clash of metal. Sai and dagger met repeatedly at speeds that surpa.s.sed both the wielders’ expectations.
Daren was astonished. Although this was not his greatest speed, he should have already exceeded the range of human comprehension and reflex. To think that there was someone who could keep up with his attacks.
The boy in question, however, was having overwhelming amounts of trouble. At first glance, he seemed to have the upper hand, but upon further a.n.a.lysis, it was apparent that the usage of his dual sai required great coordination and thought. Yet, the speed of the incoming blows were not giving him the opportunity to think. He was relying completely on his body’s reflexes for every attack and parry. How long could he sustain this? His expression was grim.
This person was strong, very strong. He had already reached his limit, but it seemed as if his opponent still had further room to manoeuvre...... The boy in the Chinese clothes easily understood these facts.
“Who are you?” He finally could not resist asking. The result of his momentary distraction was a long gash to his forearm.
“Dark Sun.”
In the past, Dark Sun would never be distracted during a battle with such a pointless thing as giving his name to an opponent. But he was no longer just an emotionless fighting machine. He was also Daren Solaris, and Daren Solaris felt that since the other party had asked, and he had the resources to answer, there could be no harm in doing so. In addition, gege had allowed him to make decisions that pandered more to his emotions, therefore Daren answered.
“Your name?” He was even slightly curious about his opponent’s name.
“Shain Baylian!”
Growled the boy through clenched teeth. The movements of his arms had slowed because of his wound, further compromising his situation. d.a.m.n it! How can he execute such complex attacks with such an ordinary dagger?
Although Daren knew that once he increased his speed, Shain would immediately be defeated, he was in no hurry to do so. Shain Baylian’s snake-like contortions were well worth referencing. Daren was happy to observe, even reducing his speed so that the battle would not conclude too quickly.
He decreased his speed? Although it was strange, Shain did not put too much thought into it and instead increased the rate of his attacks. His body struck and stilled like a rattle snake in battle. Unless they were a powerful cyborg, most people would not have been able to withstand his attacks.
This was why Ezart repeatedly lost to Shain and treated him as his greatest rival. Ezart’s naturally gifted monstrous strength coupled with his specialised training made him almost universally undefeatable. This was also one of the reasons he was feared in the academy. Despite all that, whenever he battled Shain Baylian, another freak with snake-like dexterity, he was continuously defeated.
Daren was savouring the moment like precious rain in a drought. Although there had been various battle machines in the laboratory, they had all been modeled after average people. There had never been an opponent with such unique abilities to fight against. Of course, Dark Sun, whose primary objective was to become stronger, studiously recorded the battle data.
But unbeknownst to Dark Sun, while he was recording others, he was also revealing his battle strategies. A ma.s.sive screen for public viewing in front of an empty plaza had been installed outside the YeLan Academy Battledome. It had begun as a mult.i.tude of small screens displaying individual battles.
As the partic.i.p.ants began to die off, the divisions of the screen decreased, with each display gradually increasing in size. Only at this point did it become a spectacle to behold. Every student on the outside avidly watched every battle. Some watched purely for entertainment, others to watch and learn, and of course, a sizable portion was there to support their favourite idols.
At that moment, there was only one battle on screen. Although two of Shain Baylian’s subordinates had yet to die, they did not dare to act rashly. They were both aware that when Shain was engaged in battle, he detested being interrupted by others. Therefore, the screen was focused solely on the two boys fighting.
Everyone was dumbstruck, eyes riveted on the battle on-screen. This was a rare sight. In the past, this audience would be gossiping, a.n.a.lysing battles, cheering for their idols and being as noisy as a market place. But at that moment, a blanket of silence had descended over the crowd.
“Has Shain Baylian finally met his match? The guy, who can’t be defeated, has met his match?” someone mumbled after a prolonged silence.
“Is he at a disadvantage?” another muttered with an unbelieving expression.
“Who the h.e.l.l is Dark Sun? He’s quick, his movements are even faster than Shain Baylian... how can he be so fast?”
When faced with that question, the crowd looked at each other, breaking out in a chorus of questions: “Is he from your cla.s.s?” “Or is he someone from outside the academy who applied to partic.i.p.ate in this battle?” “Does anyone know Dark Sun?”
Even though the scene was like the explosion of a wok that had been left to boil for too long, Ezart was unaffected by the ruckus. He already knew that Dark Sun was strong, and had been trailing him when he unexpectedly met Shain Baylian; the two of them aggravated each other as per normal, and Ezart lost as per normal...
But he was not disappointed in the slightest, because another strong opponent had emerged from the Academy, one who was stronger than Shain Baylian! That’s right! Ezart saw right from the start, that this Dark Sun’s ability was greater than Shain’s...... No, his ability greatly exceeded Shain’s!
“Shain Baylian will definitely lose.”
Ezart’s words resounded in the noisy plaza and captured everyone’s attention, a ripple of silence fanned out from Ezart.
Then, as if to verify Ezart’s words, Dark Sun launched his attacks fiercely. Shain, who had long been worn out, sustained more injuries to his arms. A few more clashes sent his dual sai flying, which then lodged all the way to their hilts in the ground and a derelict wall respectively.
Shain knew that his defeat was imminent. He was neither surprised, nor did he continue to struggle, but instead revealed a sinister smile, saying “Dark Sun, I will remember you.”
The dagger pierced Shain just below his smile, causing vibrant blood to blossom down his throat.
“Yes, Shain Baylian, I will remember you too.” Dark Sun said matter-of-factly; he would definitely create a file in his microchip for Shain Baylian and his martial art techniques.
Shain Baylian revealed a smile that seemed oddly content as he slowly collapsed...
******************** Chapter 4 END ********************
Notes: 1Antonias: Chinese name 阿纳伊, p.r.o.nounced Ana Yi. 2Mazinger: An old mecha manga and anime series. The manga suit most likely refers to robot-like armor. 3Ezart: Izatte's name has been changed to Ezart, according to Yu Wo, this is his official English name. 4Sai: the plural of sai... is sai. For info on the weapon itself check . 6Ice queen: This refers to a girl with an icy expression, rather than an ice wielder 6Shain Baylian: Chinese name 白莲星, p.r.o.nounced Báilián Xīng. 7Wok: is a round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China.
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