Chapter 27 : Chapter 27
Chapter 27 : She’s About to Break Down
At almost the exact same moment, the air above Eleanor’s head—not her body itself, but that small patch of space—was viciously compressed and forced downward by an invisible power! The violent wind pressure condensed into a pale green hammer of air, visible to the naked eye, and came crashing straight down!
Mud trapping her footing below, crushing wind pressure descending from above!
Eleanor’s grand and forceful Gale Slash instantly lost its perfect balance and power! The spinning wheel of fire veered off course, and the blazing sword light swept past Ryan’s body, scorching a few strands of his hair with its searing heat but failing to injure him directly! Meanwhile, under the simultaneous assault from above and below, Eleanor’s body lurched uncontrollably. Her perfect attacking posture revealed a fatal opening!
It was as if Ryan had calculated every bit of it in advance. Borrowing the impact from the edge of the wind pressure and the inertia of his own forward rush, his body bent and twisted sideways with a flexibility that almost defied reason, like a shadow skimming low across the ground. By the narrowest margin, he “slid” past the skewed edge of the flaming wheel!
At the same time, the right hand he had kept restrained until now suddenly shot out. His index and middle fingers were joined like a sword, and at his fingertips was a point of wind-element mana compressed to the extreme, a deep cobalt blue in color. It moved so quickly that it left only an afterimage as it struck with perfect precision toward the vital point exposed beneath Eleanor’s right ribs, where her balance had faltered and her defense had opened wide!
This thrust was silent and utterly soundless, yet it gathered within it a piercing sharpness and speed that seemed capable of tearing through anything.
Eleanor’s pupils contracted violently!
She had never imagined that within what had looked like pure evasive defense, Ryan had already laid down such a vicious chain of traps—and that at this moment he would launch such a deadly counterattack! In her haste, she could only barely pull her sword back across her body while gathering mana beneath her ribs into a thin layer of green-and-red shield light.
Screech—!
The cobalt-blue wind thrust collided with the hastily raised sword spine and the fragile shield, producing a high-pitched grinding sound that made the teeth ache. The wind mana, compressed to its absolute limit, exploded in an instant, bursting into countless fine, razor-sharp currents!
Eleanor gave a muffled groan. A viciously sharp force slammed into her ribs, as if a red-hot iron nail had been driven through her side! The pain made her vision darken, her blood and breath surged chaotically, and she could no longer maintain her balance. She staggered backward, nearly losing her grip on her sword, while the dazzling magical and martial radiance around her instantly dimmed.
Having landed his blow, Ryan showed not the slightest hesitation, nor any intention of pressing the attack. Borrowing the recoil, he leapt lightly backward and widened the distance once more. At the same time, with both hands raised level and palms upward, his ten fingers trembled rapidly as though playing an invisible instrument, while a short incantation of strange cadence spilled from his lips.
“Lightning Net: Heavenly Snare!”
Crackle-crackle—!
Blinding silver-white lightning burst from both his hands, but instead of striking Eleanor directly, it spread and interwove across the path of her staggering retreat. In the blink of an eye, it formed a dense net of electricity covering several square meters! The web crackled and snapped, its light dazzling to the eyes. Its power had clearly been controlled—not enough to kill, but more than enough to rob her completely of mobility and plunge her into temporary paralysis!
At that moment, Eleanor’s old force had already been spent, while new force had yet to rise. Her ribs throbbed with piercing pain, and her body was unsteady. She was about to stumble headlong into that flashing lightning net! At last, shock and unwillingness flashed through her eyes. She could only force her trembling sword up horizontally in front of herself for one final resistance.
“Stop! The winner has been decided!”
Instructor Barton’s thunderous roar exploded across the field. With a sweep of his thick arm through the air, a heavy, solid wall of earth-yellow mana slammed into the arena like a tangible barrier. BOOM! In an instant, it not only dispersed the crackling lightning net, but also raised a brief magical wall between Ryan and Eleanor, cutting off any possible follow-up attack.
The chaotic surges of mana and the lingering elemental afterglow throughout the field gradually subsided, leaving behind only heated air and the faint scent of scorching.
Eleanor braced herself on her sword, nearly dropping to one knee as she gasped violently for breath. Cold sweat mixed with the dust of battle streamed down her forehead.
The clothing at her right side had been torn open by the wind thrust, revealing a swollen bruise underneath. She raised her head, her silver-gray eyes fixed on Ryan across from her. Within that gaze were mingled intense pain and fierce unwillingness.
Ryan also let out a long breath, his chest rising and falling slightly. The continuous high-intensity dodging, precise trap arrangement, and final decisive strike had cost him dearly as well. He looked toward Eleanor, and there was no victor’s smugness on his face—only the calm stillness of a deep pool.
At the edge of the arena, there was utter silence.
Almost every student had their mouth hanging open and their eyes wide, as though they still had not recovered from the lightning-fast reversal they had just witnessed. A moment ago, Eleanor had been dominating the field in a blaze of flames—how had she suddenly… lost?
Instructor Barton strode forward, first giving Eleanor a quick look. After confirming that it was only a superficial injury and mana shock, nothing serious, he turned around to face the crowd. His voice boomed through the hall like a great bell:
“The combat demonstration is over! Both sides performed well! Eleanor Astrea!”
He looked toward the girl, who had only just managed to steady herself.
“Fierce offensive, solid fundamentals, and your fusion of magic and martial skill is already taking shape! Given time, you will surely become something great!”
Then his gaze shifted to Ryan, and there was undisguised interest in his eyes.
“Ryan Velt…”
“Sharp combat instinct, vicious timing, and a godlike command of basic magic.” He grinned, baring his white teeth. “He won this fight with tactics. He won it with his head!”
Whoosh—!
With the judgment delivered, the training hall was instantly drowned beneath a wave of sound! Gasps, exclamations, and disbelieving voices erupted all at once! Instructor Barton’s words placed the final seal on this duel of surprises and calculated schemes.
Ryan had won again.
He had won once more in a way that looked perilous and ragged on the surface, but in truth had been step by step, trap upon trap, until the final strike decided everything.
Eleanor slowly straightened her body and wiped away the thin line of blood that had gathered at the corner of her mouth with the back of her finger.
Silently, she sheathed her sword. The scrape of metal against scabbard rang out with unusual clarity amid the noise. She cast Ryan one final look. The fire in her eyes had not gone out. Rather, it had sunk deeper, settling into something darker and more profound.
She did not leave behind a single word.
Turning, she strode straight through the automatically parting crowd, her steps still steady, though now carrying the faintest hint of stiffness, and left the training hall. Her fiery ponytail flashed once in the light at the doorway, then vanished.
Ryan watched her departing back, and there was not the slightest sense of relief in his heart.
So, that is my level now, he thought.
Barton walked over and slapped a heavy hand onto Ryan’s shoulder. The force was so great it made him sway.
“Kid, you are pretty interesting.”
The instructor leaned in slightly, and there was a grin in his lowered voice.
“The dual cultivation grounds are always open to you. Come and play anytime.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned around and roared at the still-buzzing students:
“What are you all staring at?! Group training continues! Move it!”
The uproar quickly filled the training hall again, but countless gazes—curious, probing, wary, unconvinced—remained fixed on Ryan like something tangible, lingering for a very long time.