Chapter 379: Sword Emperor VS Sword Emperor!
Similar to Luke's deduction, Stella indeed was not disqualified.
According to the rules of the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, if a competitor was late for a legitimate reason, that match would be postponed.
This time, it really was an unexpected incident.
After confirming the situation, the operating committee decided not to punish Stella for the time being.
Therefore, Kyomon's Tsuruya Mikoto naturally could not win by default either.
However, in order to prevent this kind of situation from happening again, the recommendation to "arrive two days early" would probably be added to the formal rules.
Because Stella's match had been postponed, the matches in Block C continued next.
No similar accidents occurred afterward, and the matches proceeded very smoothly.
Until the fourth match of Block C.
That was…
Kurogane Ikki VS Moroboshi Yudai!
It was hard to say whether Ikki's luck was good or bad.
Because of Akatsuki Academy's intrusion, although one more school had joined this year, the overall number of participants had decreased.
The reduction in the number of competitors caused the seeded competitors, who originally should have advanced unconditionally, to lose that privilege.
As last year's champion, Moroboshi was clearly a true seeded competitor.
In an ordinary Seven Star Sword Art Festival, the Sword King appearing early would be unfair to the other competitors.
No matter who encountered him, they would almost certainly have no path but defeat.
However, this year was different.
Luke went to watch this match.
As expected, the battle was extremely intense.
Moroboshi's Blazer ability, which could bite apart magic power, had limited effect on Ikki.
Even though he had further developed a new ability this year that could bite apart Devices, it still did not help.
Ikki, who had already seen similar abilities from Luke during their regular sparring sessions, had a complete method of dealing with Device destruction.
After losing the advantage of his Noble Art, Moroboshi faced Ikki after Luke's training.
Under Ikki's flexible use of the evolved Seven Secret Swords, last year's Seven Star Sword King, Moroboshi Yudai, ultimately lost.
…
At this moment, after Ikki and Moroboshi's match ended, Luke sat inside the competitors' waiting room.
Aside from the postponed final match of Block B, all matches in Blocks A, B, and C had already ended.
What remained were only the four matches of Block D.
And Luke's match was the first match of Block D.
To be honest, even now, he still did not know who his opponent was, because he had not paid attention to this matter at all.
After being dragged around by Edelweiss, he had only selectively watched a few of the previous matches.
However, to Luke, it did not really matter who his opponent was.
The only two people who could make him pay a little attention, Ikki and Stella, had already been confirmed not to be his opponents in this match.
Beep—!
"Hagun Academy, competitor Luke, please prepare to enter."
Before he could think much, the speaker in the waiting room quickly transmitted the notice for him to enter.
Hearing the notification, Luke smiled, stood up, loosened his body a little, then walked toward the entrance passage.
…
"Ooooooh! He's here, he's here, he's here!!!"
The moment the gate rose, the commentator's feverish scream rang out.
"This moment! This instant! This match!"
"Without a doubt, this is the most eye-catching match among all the first-round matches of this Seven Star Sword Art Festival!"
"To be honest, even now, I still doubt my own eyes. After all, the fact that these two met in the first round can be called beyond everyone's imagination."
"Ohhh! The first competitor has already appeared!"
It was not only the commentator cheering.
The entire audience also boiled over along with him.
At this moment, the audience seats were packed full.
Among this year's first-round matches, there were four matches that everyone focused on.
One happened to be in each of the four Blocks, A, B, C, and D.
Block A's Touka, Block B's Stella, and Block C's Moroboshi Yudai.
The number of spectators for these three matches far surpassed the other matches.
Even Stella's match, which had not begun, had been like that just from the number of spectators waiting at the time.
However, even those three matches could not compare to this one.
Because the reason this match drew attention was not one person, but two!
"Entering from the red gate is one of the three A-rank knights in this Seven Star Sword Art Festival!"
"He comes from that mysterious heavenly nation of China, and like the other A-rank knight, Her Highness Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion, he is an exchange student at Hagun Academy this year!"
"The powerhouse of last year's Sword Art Festival, Raikiri Todo Touka, was defeated by him. There is even information saying that many of the sword techniques used by Kurogane Ikki, who shone brilliantly in the previous match and defeated the previous Seven Star Sword King, originated from his guidance."
"Let us welcome Hagun Academy first-year, Falling Star Sword Emperor Luke Ashburn, onto the stage!"
Accompanied by thunderous cheers, Luke passed through the gate and entered the arena.
Such a massive audience lineup did make him somewhat surprised.
But after his surprise, Luke began to form a guess about his opponent.
At present, this level of sensation was not something he could cause alone.
It had nothing to do with strength.
The main problem was fame.
And when it came to fame, among those who could match him, after excluding Stella, Touka, and the others, the remaining candidates were basically fixed.
The blue gate that opened immediately afterward, as well as the commentator's fervent scream that rang out once more, instantly proved Luke's guess.
"After competitor Luke's appearance, the blue gate has also opened!"
Under Luke's gaze, a swordsman dressed in a black kimono walked out.
"As the eldest son of the prestigious Kurogane Family, he shook the entire country with the name of genius when he was young."
"I believe many people should still remember his former brilliance and glory."
"But! Contrary to us, this genius grew tired of it!"
"In pursuit of a higher goal, he disappeared from before us…"
"However, today, this genius has finally returned to the stage once more!"
"In his final year of high school, he has stepped onto this battlefield of the seven stars!"
"He is an A-rank knight our country takes pride in. His opponent is a genius from the nearby powerful large nation. The clash between them is enough to draw the attention of the world!"
"Let us welcome Akatsuki Academy third-year, Wind Sword Emperor Kurogane Ouma, onto the stage!!!"
Thunderous cheers rang out once more.
Compared to when Luke appeared earlier, they were even more enthusiastic.
Clearly, the audience's support for a local competitor was somewhat higher.
"A-rank versus A-rank!"
"Sword Emperor versus Sword Emperor!"
"Star versus Storm!"
"This battle between dragon and tiger is something no match in the past decade can compare to!"
"This is the first A-rank clash to finally appear again after World Clock and Yaksha Princess!"
"I truly cannot believe that the two of them would meet in the very first round."
"Is it manipulation, coincidence, or an arrangement with deeper meaning?"
"No! None of that matters now!"
"What matters most now is that the match is about to begin!!!"
…
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