Chapter 199 - Blade vs. Blade (1/2)

”You're done!” Mafeng Rong shouted while showing a triumphant smile. His victory was now certain.

The reason for his confidence was because the attack before had not only caused a substantial injury to his opponent. No, the most dangerous aspect of his attack was the poison attached to the blade of his dagger. This poison, potentiated by the activation of the Giant Hornet's Bloodline, had penetrated William's flesh and, in a short time, would flood his circulatory system, expanding throughout his body.

In ancient texts, it was said that the Divine Beast Giant Hornet possessed a powerful poison, capable of creating the necrosis of the flesh where it struck. It also increased the perception of the enemy's pain, making him unable to move correctly. Lastly, if it were to spread through the body reaching the organs, it could have caused their collapse, including the heart.

Obviously, Mafeng Rong or the other members of the Mafeng Family didn't have such a brutal poison, or rather the power of their poison was related to their knowledge of the Poison Law. However, since they possessed the Giant Hornet's Bloodline, when their bloodline was active, they could use some features of the Giant Hornet's poison.

Therefore, all Mafeng Rong had to do now was waiting - waiting for his poison to spread to the organs of his opponent. At that point, even if William didn't want to surrender, Song Yazhu would declare him the winner.

'Even if you're one of the imperial guards, you're only a guard in the end. The only reason you got this far is because of your relationship with Long Tian. But now the time has come for you to face reality and leave room for the real protagonists.' Mafeng Rong thought as he waited for his victory to arrive.

However, unexpectedly, William didn't seem to be in the throes of pain at all. No, the young imperial guard had stood up now. He was feeling due to the shoulder injury, but other than that, he didn't seem to be as distressed as Mafeng Rong thought he would be.

”What?!” Mafeng Rong couldn't believe his eyes. ”No, it's not possible. Even if I hit you once, my family's specialty is to concentrate as much poison as possible to wipe out the enemy in one move. Although it isn't enough to kill you instantly, you should be affected. ”

Listening to Mafeng Rong's words, William looked up from his wound to look at him. ”Before I proceed, I want to ask you - did you forget what my Elemental Law is?”

A simple question, but it changed everything.

Suddenly Mafeng Rong realized the mistake he had made. He had been so absorbed in his plan and confidence in his poison that he had neglected the enemy's abilities. In his eyes, regardless of how strong William was or what techniques he possessed, the fight would end once his poison was injected. But this didn't happen.

”The Blood Law! You are manipulating your blood to stem the circulation of the poison. How is it possible? How do you get control like that when you don't even have a bloodline?!” Mafeng Rong couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could have accepted it if William had been another bloodline user, but this wasn't the case. Did that mean that, on equal terms, he was inferior to this imperial guard regarding the understanding of their respective Elemental Laws?

”I am the imperial guard of Imperial Prince Long Tian. To protect him and make his dream come true, it is only natural that the four of us have this ability. Otherwise, we won't be able to walk by his side. Either way, it's time to finish it.” William replied as he extended a hand.

Yes, in the same way that Mafeng Rong left a lethal trap in his attack, William did too. To be precise, instead of being poison, it was his blood.

”Blood Branching!” William said aloud, activating the technique he had kept hidden. Suddenly, the blood content that had secretly crept into Mafeng Rong's body exploded 360°, thinning as if it were tree branches.

Cough!

Mafeng Rong started coughing blood as his body was devastated from the inside. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop the advance of that foreign blood that was tearing his body apart. During his life, Mafeng Rong had never found himself in such a situation. Even against other users of the Poison Law, he would always find a way to strike first. It was the first time he had fought something foreign in his body; as a result, he didn't have the experience and lucidity necessary to actively manipulate his spirit power and block the advance of blood.

Whoosh!

William then moved from his position. In a few moments, he found himself right in front of Mafeng Rong; the blades of his Katar daggers were a few millimeters away from his opponent's throat.

”The clash is over. The winner is William!” Song Yazhu announced. Had it been a fatal fight, William certainly wouldn't have stopped his blades. In that precarious state he was in, Mafeng Rong would not have survived.

William then moved his hand, and the blood inside Mafeng Rong's body came out to return to settle in the Katar daggers of the young imperial guard. With Song Yazhu's awarding his victory, there was no reason to further infer on his opponent.

William thus left the stage under a shower of applause to return to where the other fighters were while Mafeng Rong was promptly medicated. As Song Yazhu said at the beginning of the clash, the strength of the imperial guards shouldn't be underestimated at all. Even without a bloodline, they were able to make up for this disadvantage with their skill and hard work.

”Let us, therefore, proceed with the next battle. The first fighter is Sean Fisher, a talented young man accepted during the second recruiting session. The second fighter is Xinya, another of the Imperial Prince Long Tian's imperial guards. ”

At the announcement of Song Yazhu, the two fighters came forward. They both had a serious look on their faces as they walked down the open corridor that separated them from the fighting stage.

The previous clash revealed that Long Tian's imperial guards hadn't reached the tournament's main stage just by luck or by using the Imperial Prince's authority. Their strength was undoubtedly first-class. As for Sean Fisher, despite being part of the group of newcomers, he had shown with the facts that the gap with the old first-year students wasn't insurmountable. Indeed, his qualification was a clear sign of his abilities.

”Let the battle begin!” Song Yazhu started the fight.

At the start, given by Song Yazhu, Sean Fisher drew his weapon - a pair of twin swords that he held with both hands. The weapon used by Xinya also was a pair of swords, although they were Urumis, a particular type of flexible sword used in the Kalaripayattu Style.

”Intent of the Sword, Water Law, Burst of Aquatic Blades!”

Without wasting a moment, Sean Fisher moved first. His spirit power was condensed in his pair of swords, which were shaken at high speed, sending slashes forward, cutting only the air in front of him. Yet with every blow that he threw, a blade of light would come out of the swords to head against his opponent.

Seeing this, Xinya's eyes lit up as he, too started waving his Urumi swords. ”Intent of Urumi, Poison Law, Poisonous Cutting Dance!” His flexible swords began to move like wh.i.p.s creating thunder noises. It seemed as if he had awakened the storm itself.

The blades of light created by the Water Law collided against the Urumi's swords, creating a concert of rumbling noises and splinters of light. Like before, this clash also began with a demonstration of one's weapon skills. The two fighters, therefore, began this cutting blade dance that quickly caught the public's eye.

”Their sword skills are first rate. Swords attacks are being thrown relentlessly, and there is no sign of a drop in the intensity of their attacks.” Leon said he was carefully watching the fight. Although he used a broadsword as a weapon, the basic fencing was attributable to that of a standard sword. Observing this exchange of sword strokes had aroused his fighting spirit.

”Yes. It isn't surprising that they call him the Slicer. He's even keeping up with Xinya, and we all know how strong he is.” commented He Fen, who had heard of this new student.

”However, even if they are on par, for now, it won't last long. Xinya has a longer range thanks to the structure of his Urumi swords. In addition to that, Sean Fisher is using blades created with his spirit power. Its consumption is greater than Xinya's. If he doesn't come up with something, then he's bound to lose.” Lang also added her analysis in the confrontation.

The three, having been part of the Hei group, had had the opportunity to spend some time in the company of the four imperial guards of Long Tian. Therefore, they knew well how strong these imperial guards were ano knew that they would be formidable opponents during the tournament. So they were watching these matches even more closely.