Chapter : 376
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Chapter : 376
It was Sayma. The brilliant Vice-Captain of the 13th Unit landed perfectly on the grass right in front of Ken. She wore her dark blue combat uniform. Her dark hair flowed beautifully behind her. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her face was totally calm and completely focused.
Sayma thrust both of her hands forward.
"Absolute Hexagon!" Sayma commanded clearly.
A brilliant, glowing golden honeycomb barrier snapped into place. The shield of solid light covered the entire space in front of them. The massive, raging wave of water slammed directly into the golden barrier.
CRASH!
The impact was incredibly loud. Water splashed wildly in every direction. It rained down on the surrounding trees. But the golden shield did not crack. It did not even shake. Sayma held her ground effortlessly. She completely blocked the lethal attack. The massive wave of water dissolved into a harmless, muddy puddle on the grass.
Scott lowered his rapier. He panted heavily. He stared at the golden barrier in pure shock. He saw Sayma standing there. He saw her protecting the messy boy.
Sayma lowered her hands. The golden hexagon shield vanished into thin air. She stood perfectly straight. She looked directly at the exhausted, jealous nobleman. Her dark eyes were polite, but they held a very sharp, brutal honesty. She was ready to end this ridiculous duel once and for all.
---
Sayma stood in front of Ken. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dark blue uniform. She looked across the muddy clearing at Scott. The wealthy nobleman was breathing very hard. His gray combat suit was completely soaked with water. He looked totally desperate.
"Scott," Sayma began. Her voice was incredibly calm and perfectly polite. "You must stop this foolish attack immediately. You are wasting your magical energy. You are embarrassing yourself on national television."
Scott gripped his rapier. His knuckles were white. "I am fighting for your honor, Sayma! I am proving my worth! I am showing you that I am vastly superior to this lazy commoner!"
Sayma let out a soft, very disappointed sigh. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She looked at him with absolute pity.
"You do not understand anything at all," Sayma stated smoothly. Her polite words were a brutal, devastating blow to his massive ego. "You believe that raw combat power dictates a person's value. You believe that throwing giant waves of water makes you a better partner. That is a very shallow, very narrow way of looking at the world."
Scott blinked his brown eyes. He looked genuinely confused. "But I am a noble! I have wealth! I have flawless magical training! He has absolutely nothing!"
"He has my respect," Sayma countered firmly. She did not raise her voice. She simply spoke the undeniable truth. "Even if you managed to land a hit on him today. Even if you somehow managed to defeat him in this arena. My answer to your marriage proposal would remain exactly the same."
Sayma took a small step forward. She delivered the final, crushing rejection.
"I would still choose him," Sayma declared proudly. Her voice echoed clearly across the quiet garden. "I would choose this goofy, messy farm boy over you every single time. My choice proves my total independence from the strict rules of your high society. I do not want a shiny knight. I want someone who makes me laugh."
Scott’s jaw dropped wide open. His magical rapier trembled in his hand. The blue light around the blade flickered and died. His romantic pride was completely, entirely shattered. He stared at Sayma in pure disbelief.
Behind Sayma, Ken Eliot listened to the entire speech.
"I will not lose to a commoner!" Scott screamed furiously.
He raised his rapier high into the air. He completely abandoned all logic. He charged forward in an absolute, jealous frenzy. He sprinted across the muddy grass. He wanted to strike Ken down with a single, powerful physical slash.
Ken saw the angry nobleman charging. The goofy smile remained on his face.
He needed to end the fight. He needed to escape without doing any actual cardio. He used his omniscient, god-like power. He executed the maneuver with flawless, absolute perfection.
He secretly tapped into his magic. In a fraction of a millisecond, the fabric of reality bended around his body. He smoothly swapped his physical body with a fragile, magical clone. The clone looked exactly like him. It wore the same wrinkled suit. It held Sayma's hand. The swap was entirely secret. Nobody noticed the shift.
The real Ken instantly teleported a few feet away. He safely slipped into the shadow of a large, leafy green bush. He leaned against the tree trunk. He crossed his arms and watched the show.
Scott closed the distance. He roared in anger. He swung his silver rapier in a wide, vicious horizontal arc.
The sharp blade sliced right through the middle of the fake Ken's chest.
"I win!" Scott shouted triumphantly. He thought he had delivered a crushing blow.
But the clone did not bleed. It did not fall over.
The magical clone instantly popped.
POP!
The fake body exploded into a massive, thick cloud of bright white mana smoke. The harmless smoke billowed outward rapidly. It completely engulfed Scott.
"What is this?!" Scott yelled. He coughed loudly. He waved his hands frantically in front of his face. The thick smoke filled his eyes. He was completely, totally blinded. He stumbled around in the white cloud, swinging his sword blindly at the empty air.
The real Ken watched from the bushes. He let out a quiet chuckle. "Smoke bombs are the best. Zero effort, maximum confusion."
Sayma did not hesitate. The intelligent Vice-Captain knew exactly what to do.
She stepped smoothly out of the thick white smoke. She remained perfectly calm. She raised her right arm. She summoned a small, highly concentrated golden hexagon shield right around her forearm.
She moved with flawless, polite precision. She swung her arm in a tight, fast arc. She delivered an incredibly satisfying, completely brutal shield-bash directly to the side of Scott's head.
Smack!
The solid golden light hit the nobleman with a loud, ringing sound.
Scott's eyes rolled back in his head. His magical rapier slipped from his fingers. The sword fell into the mud. Scott collapsed entirely. He hit the grassy ground with a soft thud. He was knocked out completely cold. The lovesick, arrogant nobleman was officially defeated.
The thick white mana smoke slowly faded away into the afternoon breeze.
Sayma lowered her arm. The golden shield vanished. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She looked down at the unconscious man. She let out a soft, polite sigh of relief. The annoying romantic drama was officially over.
Ken casually strolled out from behind the green bush. He slouched his shoulders and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. He walked over to Sayma. He looked down at Scott sleeping in the mud.
"Wow," Ken said casually. He offered a lazy smile. "That was a fantastic hit, Sayma. You really knocked some sense into him. Literally. He is taking a very deep nap right now."