Chapter 173: Ro32 II
The first bout between The Rising Heroes and Order of the White Pike had come to an end. Doran's victory had given his team a 1-0 lead, and the momentum was clearly on their side. The crowd was still buzzing from the intense clash when the attention shifted to the next fight.
Ifa's voice roared across the arena, full of energy as always. "And here are your fighters for the next bout! From the Rising Heroes, Sera, The Verdant Bloom! And from the Order of the White Pike, Petralis, Brawl-Beast!"
Cheers erupted instantly.
Shai followed in a calmer tone, "On one side, we have a composed and tactical nature mage. On the other, a ruthless and aggressive close-range fighter. This is going to be a clash of styles."
The fighters stepped into the arena.
Petralis stood tall, rolling her shoulders as she cracked her gauntlets, a wild grin on her face. Her presence alone felt heavy, like a predator ready to pounce. On the other side, Sera held her wand tightly. Her expression was calm, but the tension in her body was clear. She steadied her breathing, keeping her nerves in check.
The referee signaled the start.
Petralis moved first.
She didn't rush blindly, but her steps were heavy, deliberate, like a beast stalking its prey. Sera immediately took a step back, maintaining distance, her guard already up.
And then, Petralis exploded forward.
"Terra Smash!"
Her gauntlet slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave forward. Sera reacted instantly, summoning vines from the earth to absorb the impact. The vines trembled but held.
Petralis didn't stop.
"Rushing Beast!"
She dashed forward with immense speed, closing the gap in an instant. Sera created wooden barriers in front of her, layering them quickly to block the incoming strike. Each hit from Petralis shattered parts of the defense, but Sera kept rebuilding just as fast.
The battlefield quickly turned chaotic.
Petralis kept attacking non-stop, chaining "Terra Smash" and "Rushing Beast" again and again. Her fighting style was relentless, pure offense, no hesitation. Sera, on the other hand, stayed defensive, using vines, roots, and wooden shields to hold her ground.
But Petralis wasn't slowing down.
"Terra Crusher!"
She gathered energy into her gauntlet and struck with overwhelming force. Sera responded immediately.
"Verdant Hand!"
From the ground, a massive wooden hand rose up, intercepting the attack. The impact echoed loudly, but the hand held firm. Petralis clicked her tongue and attacked again.
"Terra Crusher!"
And again.
And again.
She spammed the attack repeatedly, trying to break through. Each strike chipped away at the wooden hand, cracks forming across its surface. But Sera kept repairing it, pouring her mana into maintaining the defense.
Petralis grinned wider.
Her movements suddenly changed.
She became faster, more unpredictable, almost playful, yet even more dangerous. She darted around, attacking from different angles, forcing Sera to constantly adjust.
The pressure increased.
The Verdant Hand began to fall apart little by little.
Sera stepped back again, retreating while healing both the hand and small injuries on her body. Her breathing grew heavier, but her focus didn't break.
"Come on, fight back!" Petralis shouted, her voice filled with excitement.
She was enjoying this.
With every passing second, Petralis grew more aggressive, more wild.
Another "Terra Crusher!"
This time, the impact was so powerful that chunks of the arena floor broke apart and flew outward, some even heading toward the audience. The protective barrier around the battlefield activated instantly, stopping the debris mid-air.
Even Petralis's teammates shouted at her, telling her to calm down. There was no need to go that far.
For a brief moment, Petralis paused.
But only for a moment.
She continued anyway.
That was when Sera changed her approach.
She took a deep breath.
Her grip on the wand tightened.
"Verdant Guardian."
The ground trembled.
Massive roots burst upward, and from them emerged a colossal wooden guardian, rising up to its torso. Its presence alone shifted the atmosphere of the fight.
Petralis cracked her neck, clearly amused.
"Blistering Fury!"
Pillars of rock shot up from the ground. Petralis grabbed them one by one and hurled them at the guardian with incredible force. Each throw was stronger than the last.
The guardian moved.
With heavy, controlled motions, it deflected the incoming rocks, smashing them aside. The battlefield filled with dust and rubble, but the guardian stood firm.
Petralis threw faster.
Harder.
Stronger.
But it didn't matter.
The guardian endured everything. And behind it, Sera continuously healed and reinforced it, boosting its durability again and again.
Petralis stopped for a second.
Her eyes locked onto Sera.
Then, "The Hungry Beast."
The sky above darkened for a moment.
A massive chunk of rock, large enough to cover half the battlefield, descended rapidly toward the guardian.
The crowd gasped.
Sera didn't hesitate.
She poured even more energy into the guardian.
The guardian raised its arm.
And with a powerful motion, it punched upward.
The collision was massive.
A loud crack echoed across the arena as the guardian's fist met the falling rock. The impact shattered the massive structure into countless fragments, sending debris flying everywhere.
The guardian's arm, however, wasn't unharmed.
A deep crack ran from its hand all the way to its chest.
But... It still stood.
Tall.
Unyielding.
Petralis stared at it.
For a moment, the wild grin on her face faded. "Heh… yeah… I'm not breaking that, am I?"
Then, she raised her hands. "I give up."
Silence.
The entire arena froze.
No one expected that.
Without another word, Petralis turned around and walked away from the battlefield, leaving everyone confused.
Sera stood there, breathing heavily.
She hadn't taken much physical damage, but the cost of maintaining the guardian and constant healing had drained her mana significantly. Her body felt heavy, her legs slightly trembling.
The referee stepped forward and signaled the result.
Ifa spoke, still trying to process what had happened. "And just like that, it's 2-0 for the Rising Heroes! What incredible destructive power from Petralis! Though her decision to give up… that's left everyone confused. But it feels like a calculated choice."
Shai nodded. "A strong performance from both fighters. The Rising Heroes may have entered the Round of 32 from the lower end, but it's clear now, that ranking does not reflect their true strength. With two victories, they have almost secured their place in the next round."
Sera slowly walked back toward her team.
A small, tired smile appeared on her face.
"I did it," she said softly.
The moment she reached them, her body finally gave in to exhaustion. She sat down, and almost immediately drifted into sleep, exhausted.
The Rising Heroes now stood just one step away from advancing.