Chapter 216 (1/2)

Kishta Darth was the nurtured chosen disciple of the Blooming Flower Style. This Style wasn't particularly powerful in the Northern Region, but it had affiliations with the leading Style of the Eastern Region, which was eyeing the relatively less competitive Northern Region. This Style was the first probe, and Kishta was the chosen poster child.

If she were able to achieve exemplary results in the tournament, the Blooming Flower Style would earn prestige, and finally be able to step out from the periphery to be one of the more well known Styles in the Northern Region.

However, the elders of the style were realistic, although Kishta was an extremely talented seed, she hadn't yet come into her true skill as  a Spear user. She had rushed up in levels too quickly to improve her strength, not focusing on her skill levels.

Still, the Eastern forces wanted to still make a splash, so they had ensured that recently, Kishta had spent quite a bit of time training in less mainstream arts, giving Kishta a weapon the elders were sure to catch her opponents by surprise.

Which was why it rankled Kishta that she was forced to use it so early. But results outweighed methods. She could not lose to a prelim cretin, especially when he so clearly was the type to overinvest in strength, earning himself a ridiculous power, regardless of his true skill. In Kishta's mind, she knew that if it became a battle of endurance, this fool who invested so heavily in the physical attack stats would run out of stamina and lose.

But that would take some time, especially if he realized her plan, and also it wouldn't achieve the splashy results that the Eastern Style demanded. She had no choice.

”You forced me to this...” She spat out, glaring daggers at her opponent, ”Consider yourself proud!”

To Kishta's disappointment, the man simply hesitated, and then advanced towards her, his face blank. He was a tall man of lean muscles and dark hair to his shoulders. He was strangely pale of skin, but otherwise he seemed like an unimpressive spear user. The only detail that revealed his infuriating strength was his vivid emerald eyes. Those eyes had dispassionately looked at her the entire fight, calmly analyzing, not even seeming to recognize her for her well admired beauty and prestige.

That moment when she attacked, and his emerald eyes widened with panic.... Kishta was looking forward to it.

A wave of mana spread outwards, as she marshalled her forces, and then the spell kicked in. Thin, extremely numerous roots crept upward from the ground. They were thin and weak individually, but when several dozen wrapped around your legs, their strength was more than enough to slow a spear user down.

That was the secret weapon they had worked so hard on these past few months. She had refined the rather useless skill Entangling Roots into Root Manipulation, allowing her to rather simply seal off the movements of other spear users.

Kishta had become extremely proficient at using and controlling these roots while attacking. So she lowered her spear and rushed forward, pouring all of her mana out in a huge explosion of roots from the ground. Hundreds of these thin roots surged upwards, wrapping around her opponent's ankles and knees. More surged forward, heading for his arms.

As Kishta prepared to execute her Blooming Strike Skill, she glanced very quickly at her opponent’s eyes, searching for that fear. Instead, she found that his gaze was filled with a strange.... pitty.

”Is this... a joke...?” Her opponent whispered, seemingly talking to himself, and Kishta flushed. It was true, this wasn't honorable. And also, based on the fact that her opponent hadn't used many movement skills, he could still rely on his superior strength without changing his battle style overmuch. But once he was locked down, she could slowly slice this fool to pieces, for the glory of her Style.

”A win's a win! Prepare to be crushed-”

Boom.

Kishta blinked. Three huge roots, gnarled, monstrous things that seemed strangely gold and luminescent ripped out of the ground and flailed back and forth, ripping through all of her roots.

Kishta froze, which was a mistake; in a huge swing, one of the three roots whipped outwards and smashed into her thigh, and she heard the bone crack.  With a low cry, she fell to the ground.

”What.... what was....?”

Kishta was at a loss, her perspective rattled. Her opponent shook his head and looked to the referee, who shrugged. ”Technically she still has the capacity to fight, and she has not given up. The match must continue.”

Sighing, her opponent turned back to her, his emerald eyes lightening to fresh cut grass in summer. ”Fine. Stand up and raise your spear. It is only in spear skills that you have the strength to fight me.”

”You!” Kishta hissed, leaping to her feet. This method was carefully considered by the elders of her Style., and it would carry her to a high finish in the tournament! They had lauded her as a genius when it came to combining battle strategy with spells. Her mastery over Entangling Roots gifted her with Root Manipulation faster than they had ever seen! And now this foolish preliminary trash dared mock her?