Chapter 232 Rolands Struggle (1/2)

The announcer soon shouted ”The next battle, will be between Roland and Terens! Welcome our warrior, and the challenger, as they enter the Fighting Platform!”. The crowd burst into cheers, while I said ”This guys should not be so difficult. He won with the Lizard back then, but it was a close call. You should be alright”. Roland nodded his head, and replied ”I know”.

Roland went for a quick fight this time, to conserve his energy. He defeated his opponent without much of a problem, and returned to our waiting area. ”I guess, it's going to be my turn now. Let's see what I get” I said, and waited for the announcer, to call out my name. I didn't have to wait long, before I heard ”We continue to the 6th round. There are only two warriors left. Will they manage to pull through, and defeat all the challengers? Or will they fall, and the challengers will take the ultimate win?! We will find out soon!”.

He then continued ”The next battle, will be between the Dark Traveller and Niel. Let's hear it for the warrior and the challenger!”. The crowd erupted, while I looked at Roland for any hints. He shook his head, and said ”I don't know that guy. Whether he is strong or not, we will find out, after you fight him”. I nodded my head, and entered the platform.

To my surprise, the opponent was a human. Not any human either, he was one the guys from Fox's group. 'Well, I was warned that I will meet them on this platform. I don't think that this guy will be a problem though, but you never know' I thought. Niel looked at me, and said ”Even though you are strong, I don't intend to lose either. Let's see who is better!”. I nodded my head, and the battle began.

Niel was a sword and shield user. I already dealt with shield wielders in the past, but the problem was, I couldn't use my Art of Hidden Weapons. It was the biggest restriction, I had to place on myself, in order to stay unrecognised, as well as prevent humans trying to kill me. 'Anyway, I will try with a bow' I thought, and took out my bow. The Niel guy just smiled, and moved forwards. I started shooting one arrow after the other. There was a problem though, and I realized why he had that smile. My arrows not only bounced back when they hit his shield, they bounced back so much, that they flew towards me at an increased speed.

I managed to escape just in time. Otherwise, I would get hit by my own arrows. Not only was that counter dangerous, it would be embarrassing as hell. 'Just imagining getting hit by me own arrows… fortunately it didn't happen' I thought. I hid away my bow, as it wouldn't be very effective against that guy. He attacked me immediately, when my bow disappeared. I could only fight with my fists now. 'It's a shame, I didn't buy any rubbish weapon… wait a minute!' I thought. I still had some different weapons with me. I forgot about them. For one, I used my daggers, but also the weapons were rubbish, compared to my daggers. 'I should have that sword still' I thought. A sword which I made, when I was learning more about smithing. I made couple of them, just to practice, and I used better materials as well. My final creation was still rubbish, but it was made from Purified Steel.

'This is better than nothing. I just have to watch out for that shield of his. It seems to have a Formation, that can bounce back attacks, and even at increased speed' I thought. While distancing myself from that Niel, I rummaged through my bag, and finally found the sword. The sword was out of balance, it was crooked a bit as well. The sight alone… was simply a disgrace. Niel looked at my sword, and laughed ”You want to fight with this? If you don't have a sword, just say one word, I will lend you one. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA”.

The crowd laughed as well, but I wasn't angry. 'The sword may look like this, but it was created by my hand, and I know it's a solid piece of steel' I thought, and started walking forwards. Niel stopped laughing, and prepared to attack as well. We met halfway, where he used his shield, in order to ram me with it. I evaded it easily, but to my surprise, when I attacked with my sword, he managed to block it.

'He must've used a shield for a long time. He is quite proficient at defence, and aware of his surroundings' I thought. Proficiency was one thing, but what if he couldn't see his enemy? I decided to test the Camouflage Formation. 'Even if it fails to work properly, I can always try one more time' I thought, andfocused on activating the Camouflage Formation. After a while of waiting, nothing happened. 'Oh well, let's try again' I thought, and avoided the attacks.

I tried again and again, until finally after 5th try, the Formation worked. To my surprise, it worked as it should, at least at that moment. Wasting no more time, I used my Natural Path skill, and appeared behind Niel. He didn't expect my sudden disappearance, and looked around him for clues. I stuck to his back, and then slashed with the sword.

”ARGHH!”