Chapter 82: Clash of Wills
The moment the words left the referee's mouth, Liam vanished and appeared at Aaron's back. His movement was sudden and sharp, like a flash of light. His speed was far superior to Aaron's because Aaron had a support-type element.
Because of that, Aaron could not use many offensive spells, nor could he increase his speed, no matter how much he trained his body.
Liam pulled his punch back, gathering strength into his arm, and then hurled it forward with full force. The punch landed directly on Aaron's back. A dull sound echoed through the arena as the impact struck flesh and bone.
However, the punch did not send Aaron flying. Instead, Aaron planted his feet firmly into the ground, his boots digging into the surface as he endured the pain caused by the punch.
Pain exploded through Aaron's body, spreading from his back to his chest, but he did not cry out. His face tightened for only a brief moment before he forced himself to stay steady. The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the pressure as he resisted the force.
Then suddenly, Aaron twisted his body to the side. In one smooth motion, he grabbed Liam's right hand with his left hand, locking it in place.
Before Liam could react, Aaron punched straight toward Liam's stomach with all the strength he had stored.
The punch landed cleanly.
A loud impact rang out as Liam's body bent slightly from the hit before being sent flying backwards. He crashed across the arena floor, rolling several times before finally stopping. Aaron had learned this fighting style from Aiden.
Aiden knew that Aaron could not increase his speed even if he trained his body continuously. No matter how hard Aaron tried, speed was not something his element could give him.
Because of this, Aiden had mainly trained Aaron in endurance. He trained him to withstand pain, to keep standing even when his body was heavily injured.
Aiden also told Aaron that if he ever fought an opponent who was faster than him, then he should let that opponent land the first strike. After that, he should counter immediately.
This strategy was extremely dangerous. Letting yourself get hit was never safe. But it was the only way for Aaron to fight strong and fast fighters who outmatched him in speed.
Liam landed far away and groaned loudly as he lay on the ground. Pain spread through his stomach and chest. The punch was far heavier than he had expected. His breath came out unevenly as he slowly tried to understand what had just happened.
He did not know how strong Aaron was and had always underestimated him. In his mind, Aaron was only a commoner with a weak support element. But now, as pain throbbed through his body, his thoughts changed.
'When did he get so strong?' he thought in shock. 'It feels like I was hit by a boulder.'
Liam pushed himself up from the ground. His expression hardened as lightning mana began to surge around him.
A lightning sword slowly began to appear in his hand, crackling with energy. This time, he was no longer holding back. He was now fighting Aaron seriously.
In the next moment, Liam vanished again.
He appeared right in front of Aaron, his lightning sword raised high and ready to slash downward. But the scene he saw before his eyes suddenly changed.
Everything turned pure white.
There was nothing else in his sight. No ground. No sky. No opponent.
Aaron had seen Liam conjure a lightning sword, so he had already prepared. He had quickly conjured many stun spells around himself, releasing them all at once. The light from the spells flooded the area, blinding anyone caught inside.
Aiden knew that Aaron's fighting strategy was dangerous, so he had come up with another plan. He had told Aaron that if someone was using a sword or blade, then he did not need to take that strike. Taking a weapon strike directly would be too dangerous and could easily end the fight.
Instead, Aaron should use multiple stun spells around himself. When the opponent used deadly attacks, they would not be able to see properly. That moment of blindness would give Aaron a chance to strike.
Aaron had followed Aiden's plan perfectly.
Liam could not see where Aaron was. Panic slowly rose in his chest as his vision remained white. His breathing became heavy as he tried to sense Aaron's position, but everything felt wrong.
Then suddenly, a kick landed straight on his chest.
The force was overwhelming. Liam was sent flying once again, crashing backwards through the air before slamming onto the ground. Dust rose around him as his body skidded across the floor.
But this time, Aaron did not stop.
Aaron chased after him immediately because he did not want to give Liam any time to recover. He ran forward despite the pain still lingering in his body, his eyes locked onto Liam.
The moment Liam landed on the ground, he slowly tried to stand up. His body trembled as he pushed himself up, but before he could fully rise, a knee struck straight into his face.
A sharp cracking sound echoed.
Liam fell to the ground again. Pain filled his entire face as blood began to come out of his nose. His nose had been broken. Tears formed in his eyes from the pain, and his vision blurred.
Just as he was about to curse, another punch landed on his face. Then another followed. Aaron had gained the upper hand and began to pound Liam with heavy punches as he lay helplessly on the ground.
Each punch landed with force. Liam's head snapped to the side again and again as pain spread through his body. He tried to raise his arms, but his strength was fading.
After a few punches landed, Liam suddenly disappeared.
He was then seen standing far away, his body full of bruises as he breathed rapidly. His chest rose and fell sharply as he struggled to recover.
A lightning sword was once again conjured in his hand, while small bolts of lightning began to form around him.
He had used Lightning Rain.
Lightning crackled around his body, forming a dangerous aura. His eyes burned with anger as he stared at Aaron.
He then said, "I let my guard down right now, but I won't repeat the same mistake. I am going to make you feel ten times the pain you inflicted on me."
But as he said this, suddenly something passed by his shoulder.
He did not even sense what it was.
His eyes widened as he turned his head slightly. He looked at his shoulder and saw a small hole in it. Blood slowly began to drip down his arm.
His hand suddenly fell to his side as the lightning sword in his hand dispersed into nothing.
Then he screamed.
"Aaah! Aaah! Aaaah!"
Aaron had used a condensed light beam. It was the only offensive spell that a Stage 1 light mana cultivator could use. The beam was small, fast, and deadly when aimed correctly.
Aaron looked coldly at Liam as another light beam was conjured in his hand. His breathing was calm, and his eyes showed no hesitation.
He then said to Liam, "You should have focused on fighting instead of talking."
The moment he finished speaking, the light beam left his hand and pierced Liam's other shoulder, rendering it completely useless.
Liam screamed in pain as his body shook violently. He shouted, "AAAH! You bastard, I will kill you!"
But before he could do anything else, two more light beams pierced through both his legs. His knees gave out as he fell heavily to the ground, unable to stand.
At this moment, the referee suddenly appeared beside Liam.
He looked at Liam, then at Aaron, and said firmly, "Stop. It's enough."
Aaron nodded. He turned around and began to walk toward the tunnel without looking back.
The referee then announced loudly, " The winner is Aaron"
The crowd burst into cheers as Aaron left the stadium. His name echoed through the air as people shouted in excitement.
Meanwhile, Joshua, who was sitting in the waiting area, saw everything through a screen. His face twisted with anger as he cursed Liam.
"Damn that useless piece of shit. He couldn't even beat that commoner."
He was extremely angry. He had thought that Aaron would be defeated easily and that Liam would destroy him, making Aiden furious. But his plan had utterly failed.
Aaron had defeated Liam, and he had done it with ease.
As Joshua cursed inside his room, another match was about to begin.
It was between Kyle and a student from the parasitic department. His name was Jefry Nicola. He was the fifth-ranked student of the Parasitic Department. He had climbed his way up by defeating everyone he faced.
Now, he stood opposite Kyle.
The referee raised his hand and said in a loud voice, "Begin."
The moment those words were spoken, Kyle suddenly summoned all his puppets. His mana surged outward as figures formed around him.
Kyle was still annoyed by how Olivia had rendered his most powerful element useless earlier. Because of this, he had no intention of letting Jefry touch him even once.
The puppets surrounded him as he commanded them to attack.
He was angry because of Olivia, so he had decided to take all his anger out on Jefry.
The puppets swarmed Jefry like an army. They attacked from all sides as Jefry began to dodge their strikes carefully. His movements were sharp and controlled.
Suddenly, many wind cutters were conjured in the air.
They sliced through the puppets, cutting them in half. Broken pieces fell to the ground, but before Jefry could relax, an earth spike formed under his feet and pierced his left foot.
Pain shot through his leg.
Suddenly, more and more spikes began to conjure beneath him.
Jefry quickly floated into the air, barely dodging the spikes as they continued to rise from below. His breathing grew heavy as he stayed alert.
Then suddenly, an arrow flew straight toward his neck.
He barely dodged it.
He turned his head and saw Kyle holding a metal bow in his hand, still surrounded by puppets. Kyle had a cruel smile on his face as he launched more arrows, one after another.
Jefry dodged many of them, but some arrows still landed, injuring his body.
Then, in an instant, a powerful windstorm formed around Kyle and his puppets. The storm lifted them into the air, tearing through the puppets. Some of them shattered apart.
Kyle himself suffered injuries as he escaped the storm, his body scraped and bruised. He quickly created more puppets from his surroundings to protect himself.
But before he could gather enough puppets, a wind cutter flew toward him.
Kyle dodged it, but it grazed his shoulder, drawing blood.
Suddenly, many puppets gathered around him to protect him.
Jefry landed far away, but then his leg was caught by something. He looked down and saw a puppet gripping his leg tightly.
Before he could break free, earth spikes pierced his feet.
Pain surged through his body, but he endured it.
Then an army of puppets swarmed him one after another, attacking him ruthlessly. Jefry tried his best to block and defend, but it was not enough to stop the endless attacks.
Suddenly, the referee appeared inside the army.
The puppets began to burn and turned into ashes.
The referee looked at Jefry, who was still standing despite being heavily injured. He then looked at Kyle and said, "It's enough."
He then announced loudly, "The winner of this match is Kyle Hawthorne."
Kyle did not want to stop because Jefry had injured him, but he had no other option. He turned and left the stadium unwillingly.
The crowd clapped for Jefry because he had not fallen despite his injuries. He had fought like a true warrior.
Jefry was taken to the healing room.
While the third match was announced.
It was a match between Victoria and Sandra Barlow, a girl from the Fire Department.
She was ranked sixth in the Fire Department and was good at fighting.
Author's Note: The matches continue as Aaron and Kyle secure their spots in the top 32. Will Victoria be able to win and join Aaron in the next round? Stay tuned for more.