28 Chapter 27

The opponent selection process has come to an end.

Yjhan vs. Ren

Aeries vs. Yves

Idris vs. Kris

Kane vs. Yuri

Jaxael vs. Jin

Aidan vs. Bris

Nash vs. Hans

"Tsk. How come this obnoxious arrogant guy is my duel partner?" Nash whispered, 'Is this... karma?'

"It must be an honor for you to have me as your duel partner. Rest assured that I will teach you in between our matches. I notice a lot of problems in you just by looking at you." Nash squeezed her hand in frustration.

'This guy makes me want to punch his face,' Nash showed him an innocent smile.

Nash looked around to see everyone's partner.

"Whoa! Those two's visuals are superb," She unconsciously said while looking at Jaxael and Jin. Her eyes started to sparkle as she looked at them.

'I feel like sitting on a VIP seat watching them closely like this.'

Jaxael noticed someone looking at him and turned to see Nash's eyes sparkle as he looked at them. He was initially perplexed and tried to follow Nash's gaze. He noticed she was staring at Jin, his dueling partner.

Jaxael furrowed his brows, looking at Jin.

"What?" Jin asked.

Jaxael did not respond and simply averted his gaze, 'He looks normal.'

"You can start whenever you want to" Ren said, "We'll be having a duel a little far from here. You can go wherever you want, I'll just give you a signal when time is up."

Every duel partner began to relocate to other locations. Nash and Hans remained in their usual area.

"I just wanted to remind you that I employ magic abilities with my swordsmanship," he said as he drew his blade and pointed it at Nash.

"Yes, sure," she said, pointing her dagger, prompting Hans to withdraw his sword.

"Wait... Is that what you're going to use?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I forgot my sword earlier," Hans' mouth opened wide in shock, "Well, I guess I'm getting old,"

Nash averted her gaze, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"How old are you?"

"16"

"You're still young!" Hans exclaimed, "Hah... I didn't bring any dagger with me, so I have to use my sword."

"That's fine. You can assist me in training more in this manner."

"Then, let's begin," Hans said. Yellow flame began to surround his sword. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a lot. Just a little."

Nash nodded, unconcerned.

He positioned himself and his smug expression grew more pronounced.

"Ugh. I'm really irritated by his face!" Nash ran towards him, as she grip her dagger firmly.

After the dagger and sword collided, a clanging sound was heard. Nash was the first to take a step back after feeling the hotness of Hans' sword.

Aish. Why did I leave my sword!? I must be the only knight who left her own sword.

"Is it hot?" Nash looked at his opponent's face.

'Ugh! His face is really annoying!'

"Obviously," she pulled back her gloves. Her hands were sweating as a result of the heat produced by the blade. "Now let's get serious."

"Sure," the flame flared larger than before, as did the smile on his face.

...

"Do we have to fight here?" Yjhan asked. They are currently standing in the midst of a grove of huge trees. There were no other knights present since they preferred the expansive grounds.

"Of course, it's more challenging this way," Ren grinned. Without any warning, he ran towards Yjhan and jumped as he prepared his attack.

Yjhan blocked Ren's sword and pushed him back. Yjhan attempted to strike his sides but was blocked.

"Will this fight come to an end?" Yjhan asked, as he kicked Ren's stomach. Ren was able to maintain his balance despite being attacked.

"Who knows?"

Ren swung his sword in front of Yjhan's face, but Yjhan dodged it and slid down. Ren used the chance to wield his sword but ended up getting blocked again.

The routine kept on repeating. Block after block.

Yjhan charged to attack as well as Ren. Before Ren even hit him, Yjhan jumped to the side and thrust his sword to his side, but Ren moved in front of Yjhan and swung his sword towards Yjhan. Yjhan managed to block it and move again then swing his sword. They began to move from place to place while swinging their swords continuously until someone got hit.

They used the trees to boost their jumps to one another. There were times where they rolled through the grounds trying to hit each other's knees but ended up getting dodged.

'This will be a long fight,' the both of them thought.

...

"Shall we begin?" Jin asked. Jaxael nodded.

Jin immediately wields his sword at Jaxael's head, but Jaxael manages to bend his head back before it hits him. After dodging, Jin swings his sword downward towards Jaxael. Jaxael jumped back since that attack couldn't be dodged without moving.

There was no conversation between their fights. Both are focused on attacking each other.

Jaxael swings his sword and Jin swings his sword back to counter. Jaxael tried to thrust straight, but ended up getting hit by Jin sideways, he immediately swung it back, causing Jin to step back. Jaxael rushed towards Jin and swung his sword downwards to hit Jin's head, Jin blocked it and kicked Jaxael's stomach, before Jaxael even managed to stand still he jumped towards Jaxael and swung his sword.

Without a second thought, he used his shadow to block Jin's way and jumped over to hit Jin.

Jin smirked as he blocked Jaxael's attack.

'This guy is good,' both of them whispered to their minds.

...

They fought for more than two hours nonstop. Their swords clanging can be heard from the neighboring areas, causing some Squads who were walking throughout the entire grounds to become aware.

Kane and Yuri, both archers, fight physically rather than with their bows.

"Your fist was quite hard," Yuri says with a straight expression. Kane remained silent and continued to kick and strike.

Except for their faces, which they carefully protect, both of them have bruises on their bodies.

In the midst of their battle, a green smoke was fired into the sky, where Yjhan and Ren were.

Except for Nash, who has yet to punch Hans in the face, they all ceased training. Some of her clothes have already been burned.

'My arm hurts from the time his sword hit my arm,' Nash thought.

"Argh!" Nash threw her dagger away. It wasn't much use because her hands were burned and scarred.

'I just have to use my martial arts skills,' she thought, 'even if it's suicidal.'

"I see..." Hans was about to throw his sword, but Nash stopped him.

"I thought you're helping me train. Just stay like that."

"Then I'll do as you say"

They had already seen the green smoke but continued because they would eventually meet where they were fighting.

Nash charged at Hans, attempting to kick his hands away from her blade, but Hans was able to slide it downward. Before Nash lands on the ground, Hans swings it upwards, but Nash uses his sword to jump behind him and kick his back. She wasted no time in rushing towards Hans, who had re-established his stance after being kicked to the ground.

They both ran to each other. Hans swings his sword, Nash dodges to the left and grabs his arm, attempting to twist his arm to lock his head but fails.

'Again,' she said in her mind.

The other duel partners are getting close to their location.

Nash continued to kick and dodge every time Hans swung his sword. The flame strikes her face, causing it to burn slightly, but she doesn't mind.

Hans charged towards Nash, pointing his sword at her. Nash gave a sly grin.

"Time is up, you two!" But they didn't hear Ren's yell since they were too preoccupied with each other.

She, too, dashed towards Hans, kicking his stomach and face as if she were walking to his body. She flipped in the air and kicked Hans' arm, causing him to lose his grip on his sword. Nash's shirt was half-burned from being so close to Hans' sword.

The others also arrived.

Hans hasn't got the chance to stand back after Nash kicked his face. Nash grabbed Hans' arm from behind and twisted it as she stepped on his back to keep him dropped on the ground.

"Come on... I know it hurts," She whispered to Hans' ears with a sneer on her face.

Kris' jaw dropped open in surprise as she saw a different side of Nash than she had before. 'She looks like a maniac!'

Yjhan stepped in and held Nash's shoulder as Hans endured the pain.

"That's enough," Yjhan pulled Nash away from Hans.

"Oh? You're here!" She tapped Hans' arm and helped him stand up. "Nice, fight!"

She got her dagger and followed Yjhan towards his squad and realized her shirt was burned, "Ahh! It's charred!"

Her stomach is clearly visible to the people around her. She yanked it down quickly, fearful that they would notice her scar. The scar left by her transformation into a vessel. The scar was caused by the blade she was wielding.

All of a sudden a shirt landed on her head, "Oh?"

She removed the shirt on her face and look in front and see Jaxael. "Why do you have an extra?"

"Why don't you have an extra?" Yjhan asked.

"It's needed?! Why didn't I know that?!" The others just sighed at how uninformed Nash is.

She takes her cloak and the other one beside it, "Aidan, hold this end. Idris, hold this. Jaxael, hold this and the other one, and Kane, hold this."

The others had no choice but to obey her commands. "There! A dressing room! Try to look and I'll gouge your eyes."

"As if there's something to look at," Kane murmured.

Nash just rolled her eyes and changed her shirt. "Whoa, it's oversized but it's fine. I'm done. Thank you for your cooperation."

'I'm wearing Jaxael's clothes...'