Chapter 99: Get Out of Here
Priam saw new windows appear.
[First victory!]
[Continue the victory streak to multiply your gains at the end]
The hall sank into sepulchral silence.
The people from the Omniscient Heart Clan hurriedly ran to the center and supported Gadcu in panic.
Internally, her organs were badly damaged! How was that possible?!
They took out an extremely expensive healing pill and made her swallow it.
Priam remained standing in silence, expressionless.
Even though it was the anomalous power of that race’s Ancestral Art, it was still energy. The moment he touched her, he used the System to suck away part of that power and create an opening in her defenses. Then, he sent his own energy inside her.
Against Mages who depended on energies and powers to defend themselves, Priam was the absolute nemesis. But if he faced a truly physically powerful Mage, with a more solid defense, that ability would not be as effective.
After several minutes, Gadcu finally stopped bleeding.
She raised her still slightly pale face and stared at Priam, completely taken by frenzy.
Priam held her gaze, smiling faintly. "Oh? I asked repeatedly if you were sure. Then I warned you to be careful. Then I hit the place I thought would be softer... okay, I was wrong about that part."
"YOU!" she roared, standing up hurriedly.
Everyone from her clan was startled, not knowing what to do. The moment they had stepped in to help her, it was like making it official that she had lost. If she attacked now, it would go against the rules and be extremely disrespectful.
Everyone in the hall was also stunned, unable to react. Just moments before, they had laughed mockingly again and again, but now, they looked like they had swallowed a pile of shit.
Shione, Lumiere, and Orlaith were shocked, but they clenched their fists, feeling their blood boil. Flaris was the only one whose eyes shone intensely.
Seeing Gadcu’s furious gaze, but realizing she still did not want to attack, Priam snorted.
"You still want to fight, huh? Okay, I accept your challenge and allow a second round. Take your weapon and attack me. Go on."
He spoke, throwing her earlier words back at her, waving his hand. "Come at me with everything this time and spare me the waste of time. Like before, I don’t need any weapon; much less preparation."
Everyone in the hall sighed. He really would not use a weapon? What was arrogance? This was arrogance!
The people from the Omniscient Heart Clan were left speechless, but seeing Gadcu’s gaze, they quickly moved away from the center of the hall.
At the Omniscient Heart Clan’s table, the leader let the air out of his lungs. "This brat thinks he’s hot shit? Haha... just because he had some surprise weapon that got him that victory. But now that immaturity has gone to his head, he’ll suffer bitterly!"
The people in the hall nodded. He had already won "by luck"; fighting again was just stupidity.
The young ones from the Omniscient Heart Clan relaxed, then laughed heartily. This setback, which could have stained their honor, would now be erased immediately.
"Just wait to see the show! Lady Gadcu won’t give this effeminate brat any chance to surrender. She’ll cut off one of his arms as fast as possible, and even give him free plastic surgery on his face!"
The people in the hall relaxed, smiles forming on their faces again.
Gadcu’s mouth curled into an icy smile. "Very well."
Before, she had barely lost any Ether. Besides, her internal injuries had recovered by 80% thanks to the extremely high-level pill she had received.
Because of that, she could fight practically with everything she had. Thus, Gadcu drew a short curved blade, and in an instant, her body was swallowed by a vibrant purple aura.
A few centimeters from her body, a subtle red aura appeared around her, mixing with the purple. She was a Fighter Mage.
Without any warning, Gadcu launched herself forward, becoming a blur.
Almost everyone in the hall nodded. That was the peak of her power, and her race’s Ancestral Art was almost completely focused on destruction and speed.
For people at the same level as her, defending was already impossible. Even ninth-level Disciple Mages from her clan would have difficulty keeping up with the speed of that movement; much less a young man like Priam.
Priam saw the blade tear through the air toward him. It was a fierce attack, loaded with all the Ether Gadcu possessed. But...
He tilted his body by a hair’s breadth, feeling the displacement of air graze past him.
The people in the hall almost jumped.
"He dodged!"
However, Gadcu was experienced; in the next instant, she redirected the strike in a violent upward arc...
The tip of the weapon aimed for Priam’s face.
Priam’s eyes narrowed. This bitch really wanted to ruin his face!
People could say whatever they wanted about his appearance. But he had infinite pride in being who he was, because he had inherited it from his mother. He owed everything he had to her, and if he and his mother walked side by side, people would say they were siblings because of how alike they looked.
So, trying to destroy his face was intolerable and unforgivable!
He lowered himself in a fluid movement, and the blade cut only the empty space above his head.
"!"
Those who knew Gadcu’s true potential were catatonic. He had dodged twice?! And without using anything, only pure reflexes?!
In the next millisecond, Priam did not retreat. He exploded forward like a projectile and advanced with his elbow directly toward Gadcu’s abdomen.
"Damn! This guy wants to die!" someone shouted in the hall, shocked by his recklessness.
A clan leader snorted, shaking his head. "This boy has gone crazy. Gadcu only needs to lower the blade and split his skull open. He’s too inexperienced."
Everyone believed she was so fast that she would attack with the blade before Priam’s blow reached her.
However, what happened next made everyone’s blood freeze.
*Woooooosh*
Suddenly, Priam exploded in a gust of wind, moving a hundred times faster out of nowhere.
*Bang!*
The impact of Priam’s elbow did not produce a loud sound, but a dry crack, as if something vital had broken inside her.
Gadcu’s blade, which should have descended to finish the fight, remained suspended in the air.
Priam straightened his posture and took two steps back.
*Clang*
Her blade finally slipped from her fingers and hit the floor.
"Ugh... ug..."
Hoarse, bubbling sounds escaped from Gadcu’s throat. Her eyes were wide open, her veins bulging, and her pupils dilated to the extreme, as if they were about to burst from their sockets.
Once again... she slowly collapsed, falling to her knees.
Her hands desperately gripped her abdomen, trying to contain an agony that words could not describe. She curled up on the floor like a wounded worm, her entire body shaken by violent tremors.
Cold sweat poured from her forehead while fresh blood, mixed with thick white foam, overflowed from her mouth and ran down her chin.
Again...
This time, using 100% of her strength, Gadcu was not merely defeated.
She was shattered.
Priam looked down at her from above, his eyes cold and devoid of any trace of pity.
"Get out of here. You don’t have enough to be arrogant in front of someone from the Ylisse clan." He spat arrogantly, his voice resounding through the hall.
"As for my cousin... I guarantee you that, in less than two years, she’ll be able to beat you with a single casual move. You were only lucky to be born in a golden cradle and never had to truly work to earn what you have. Your start was faster, but life isn’t about speed. It’s about who has the ability to advance with their own hands, without ever stopping."