“Mister, who do you think will be the strongest over there?”
“Hmm… I think that bald guy looks the strongest.”
Judging by how calm and composed he is while observing the situation, he seems to have a lot of experience in these kinds of matters. Even though he’s wielding an unnecessarily large axe, he doesn’t seem weak.
The best size for an axe is one that can be thrown comfortably.
Deputy Jerold was remarkably skilled at throwing axes. He’d reached a level where one might as well say he had created an art form.
He would often split the heads of enemies accurately, even if they were fifty meters away, with a thrown hand axe.
It was practically sniper-like precision. No wonder he was called “Francesca’s Demon” by the enemies.
Back when I was new, I often owed my life to that axe…
…but he was killed in the final battle when an enemy’s axe embedded itself in his neck.
“Mister?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I got lost in some old memories…”
“Let go of the gloomy thoughts and come watch with us!”
“Yeah, yeah…”
I looked forward again because the preliminary Group 8 matches were about to begin.
“The referee has arrived! It seems we’re about to start…”
Do not stick too closely.
“Now we will begin the Group 8 matches!”
Familiar lines were heard, and the Group 8 matches began immediately.
“They’re just looking at each other cautiously again.”
“Well, it’s difficult unless someone is truly confident in their abilities!”
“Maybe they’re trying to find allies; they might have coordinated beforehand…”
In the spacious Martial Arena, 50 warriors stood with weapons in hand, cautiously observing each other. This deadlock would seem boring to casual spectators but was quite interesting from a warrior’s perspective.
“Group 8 doesn’t seem to have exceptionally strong warriors compared to the previous group.”
“Group 7 had a strong guy called Mokyung Ho…”
Indeed, he was skilled enough to make it to either the quarterfinals or semifinals. I think he eventually joined the Cheongryong Team or the Baekho Team.
He was clearly someone with potential.
“How long will this one last?”
“Even if it drags on, it should be over before the thirty-minute mark. If the forces are evenly matched, the moment someone loses momentum, they could rapidly fall.”
What is the most important thing in a chaotic battle?
First, you must avoid becoming the main target.
Second, you must fade into the background.
Without accomplishing these two things, survival in a chaotic battle is difficult. Otherwise, one could equip themselves with chain armor like knights and use Aura Armor to reflect aura and arrows, pounding away at enemies with brute defensive strength in a chaotic fight.
“Ah, they’re finally starting to move.”
“They must have run out of patience.”
A man who looked like he had just become an adult swung his sword. Judging by his technique, he seemed like a beginner who had just entered the second tier. As his sword swung toward the person beside him, other warriors began to respond with their own weapons.
The bald guy that I had chosen didn’t join the chaos. Instead, he stepped slightly back while emitting a commanding presence.
He must be some seasoned veteran. A fight with Hye-ryeong might be difficult for him.
About the time I was contemplating this, twenty people had already been eliminated within the blink of an eye.
Most had been disqualified for losing their weapons or receiving critical injuries. The disqualified either left somberly or were carried off on stretchers.
“They’re finally moving.”
“Indeed! That bald guy is moving!”
…I thought he looked at me just now, but maybe it was a mistake.
Anyway, the bald man picked up the axe hanging from his shoulder and started eliminating his opponents one by one in the chaos.
The axe, swung with his muscular arms, was breaking weapons and sending them flying. It was a spectacle of raw power.
“Wow, he wiped out ten people in an instant…”
“Group 8 only has mediocrities…”
There were no unexpected strong contenders showing up, which wasn’t surprising since I already knew the results. Fortunately, the original story hasn’t strayed from here yet.
“The winner of Group 8 is… Song Muhan from the Force Division!”
“Mister, it’s your turn now!”
“Alright. I’ll be back.”
“You have to win!”
“Of course.”
I wouldn’t be able to face people if I lost in the preliminaries, right?
With light stretching, I headed toward the waiting room.
—
“Now, the Group 9 matches are starting!”
‘Finally, it’s beginning.’
William stood in the corner of the Martial Arena with his arms crossed. The early rounds were certain to be nothing but a fierce contest of wits. William had no intention of revealing himself this early in the preliminaries.
Being a colored-eyed person already made him stand out, and if he caused a commotion, someone might just prepare some kind of countermeasure against him.
Although longsword techniques aren’t easily countered with mere countermeasures, there are always unpredictable geniuses in the world.
There was no harm in being careful, so William took a deep breath, centering his mind.
‘First, I’ll observe the situation.’
Just like the last group, the warriors hesitated and surveyed each other cautiously. William felt the many eyes on him while slowly drawing his longsword, which was different from the swords commonly used in Central Plains.
‘Heavily armed.’
‘If someone carelessly approaches with that length, they’ll…’
‘Given his build, that sword doesn’t exactly suit him.’
Among the black-haired warriors, there was one with yellow hair.
Naturally, both warriors and spectators couldn’t help but focus their attention on him. With a silent sigh, William gripped the sword in both hands, lowering its tip to the ground.
‘Alber.’
This lower stance, one of the four representative postures of the longsword, was adopted quietly as William closed his eyes.
An invitation to come and try, almost taunting. But the warriors hesitated to approach him.
‘What kind of presence is this…’
‘To feel such pressure even from a distance, who is this master…’
‘I can’t confront someone of this caliber…’
“Mr. Jeahyun, look at that. They’re completely terrified and unable to move. These so-called righteous warriors…”
At Namgung Hwi’s comment, sounding like a grumpy old man, Zhuge Hyeon-sang chuckled before responding.
“Mr. Namgung, how can wolves puff themselves up in front of a lion? By merely standing silently with his sword lowered, this one has claimed control of the arena. Moving recklessly would spell elimination.”
“Haha! A truly great warrior! I can’t wait to fight him!”
With hearty laughter, Peng Jeoksan drank directly from his bottle. Although clearly drunk, it seemed his behavior was expected. Zhuge Hyeon-sang, fanning away the alcohol fumes, replied:
“This might very well be the preliminary match where the most alliances are formed.”
As Zhuge Hyeon-sang predicted, the group started to turn their bodies towards William. Clearly an attempt to get rid of the most threatening target.
But William, amidst all this, remained calm, his face unmoving as he stayed in the guard position.
‘If I can’t kill, then roughing him up will have to be the limit.’
Since this isn’t a battlefield, the brutal actions one could perform there aren’t applicable here. William pushed aside the memories of the battlefield that resurfaced and slowly opened his eyes, glaring at the warriors moving closer.
‘Surrounded attack, it seems.’
Though crude compared to the coordinated formations of trained warriors, fighting one against many still meant that every swing of his sword might meet four or five attacks.
Regardless of skill, one must never let their guard down.
So William suddenly stepped forward.
His target was one of the surrounded warriors who appeared the least skilled. Startled by the sudden charge of the towering colored-eyed man, this warrior swung a powerless sword in panic.
Such an attack wouldn’t stop William’s advance.
Pushing the blade aside with the inside of his sword edge, William’s fist brutally struck the warrior’s face, sending him flying about ten feet before convulsing and collapsing. Medical personnel swiftly appeared to carry the fallen warrior away.
“To send someone flying such a distance in one hit…”
Understanding the tense atmosphere, William immediately swung his sword horizontally toward another warrior standing unsteadily. The blow was straightforward and clean.
The warrior hurriedly raised their sword to block, feeling as if a hammer struck them.
The sword trembled, and so did the warrior’s body. Clenching their teeth, they bore the impact. Just a moment longer and the other warriors would attack the tall colored-eyed man.
At the same time, William’s body became vulnerable to attacks from behind.
But William paid no mind, stepping closer to the blocking warrior and nimbly moving around them, using their body as a shield to stop the incoming attacks from the back. Then, using an aura-infused kick, he struck another second-tier warrior who hadn’t expected this sudden attack.
The warrior flew away similarly to the first one, prompting the medical personnel to rush forward again.
“You go too.”
“Aaaah!”
The warrior who had unwittingly become a meat shield after trading blows, was grabbed by the neck and flung out of the arena.
‘Already three in an instant…’
‘If you get too close, you might be disqualified before you even get to fight!’
Not wanting to embarrass themselves in the preliminary rounds, the warriors stepped back again, cautiously resuming their observation. William, witnessing this, rotated his neck to relieve tension.
‘I should start by dealing with the moderately strong ones.’
As William moved, more attention was drawn to him.
This was the moment when the Blue-Eyed Lion’s presence was fully revealed to the martial arts community.
