The eleventh match had come and finally, it was Arran's turn to step onto the stage.
This time, the whole audience perked up as soon as they realized that it was Arran who was going to fight in this match.
If there were any participants that everybody was looking forward to seeing a fight in the ceremony, the top ten participants in the ranking listed slated to have the highest chances of winning the final tournament would definitely be among them.
Apart from the top ten participants, there were only a few other participants who naturally drew the attention of the audience. Among these few people, it was mainly those who originally had a considerable reputation of their own in different circles but didn't make it in the seeded rankings, the rest of the participants in the seeded rankings or those who had performed relatively well during the other elimination rounds so much so that they gained the attention of the audience with their remarkable display of prowess
All that is actually beside the point...The point here is that the last kinsman of the Nero Kingsman family who was responsible for passing on the Kingsman bloodline to the next generation although he was more than three thousand years old and had had many offsprings by this point had still not managed to create an offspring possessing the Kingsman bloodline before he had gone missing four hundred years ago.This meant that the Nero Kingsman family has effectively had their bloodline cut off by this point, as they were no longer able to produce a Kingsman anymore!This was a tragic result that affected not only the Nero Kingsman family but also the other six Kingsman families and the Aeth civilization in general.As for why nobody wanted to consider the fact that Arran was actually the child of the lost Nero Kingsman and why they were more willing to believe that he was an artificial creation through genetic modification, it was mainly because it would b
Arran and Hyde exchanged blows for a few minutes straight without using any essence energy in their moves or employing any of their special abilities. They only used the raw strength of their bodies to fight as they both pushed their bodies to the limit.In this one minute, because of their weapons, Arran had gradually fallen into a disadvantageous state.Facing Hyde's strange weapon that was like a cross between a Longstaff and a flail, Arran found himself dodging more than ever.Faced with the powerful swings of Hyde's weapon, Arran did not dare to receive it at all. It was not because Hyde's swings were very powerful. Instead, it was because every time Arran was about to block or parry Hyde's strikes, Arran would have to watch out for the three long whips attached to one end of the weapon.Don't look at how thin those whips are and think that they were not a threat, because then you would be in for a big surprise. Not only are those whips very powerful
In a battle of pure strength, skill, and technique, Hyde lost to Arran...It was a very unsatisfactory outcome to Hyde. He felt like he could have done better!Hyde blamed himself for his loss.For giving Arran the opportunity to take advantage of his momentary distraction. Although from how things were going then, Arran was already putting a lot of pressure on Hyde, and sooner, or later Hyde may have made a mistake that would eventually lead to him losing... even as Hyde understood this, he was still unreconciled by his loss.To Hyde, it was more than just losing to Arran that made him unreconciled; it was that he lost at something he thought he was best at.Although Hyde did not believe he was the strongest among his peers, when it came to battles of pure skill and technique without any powers at all, Hyde did not believe that he would lose to any of his peers.Even if it were people like Renee or Theodore "End" Snatch who were renowned as
Arran's aura soared like a thunderstorm on a cold winter night!It was wild and unrestrained, seeming to carry frenzied charges of lightning in it that rampaged in an unreserved manner.Standing in the midst of Arran's aura, one would feel like they were a piece of driftwood at sea facing a ferocious thunderstorm as the heavens rampaged in anger letting out lots of lightning to strike down on everything with the sea tossing and turning in its fury.Compared to Hyde's aura, which was filled with the majesty and noble bearing of the earth, Arran was like a raging storm, callous and unfeeling.As the two of them stood up against each other, a storm blossomed between them, surprising the audience watching the match.The sudden change from the slow but visually pleasing martial arts competition to this all-out clash between auras left them shocked and astonished.All of a sudden, there were frenzied wails of excitement coming from the audience as
The clash between Arran's and Hyde's auras was still happening on the stage. At this point, it seemed like none of them had the upper hand over the other and they were quite evenly matched... at least in terms of how mighty and imposing their auras were. Neither Arran nor Hyde seemed to be superior to the other.This caused quite a few brows to be raised among the audience.Those people that had recognized Hyde's heart talent and knew the exact implications it carried in this fight were surprised to see how Arran was behaving right now.As it stood, having a heart talent was not as simple as it seemed.It was more than just being able to augment your abilities with the force of your talent, instead; it was about commanding the force of the world to do your bidding.This was a whole other level compared to simply supplementing your attacks. In this case, it was more like how a general commands an army.A general on his own was nothing more th
Everybody was wondering what the reason was that made Arran immune to the effects of Hyde's earth heart talent's suppression. Some of them naturally thought that Arran had a heart talent of his own, or at least a similar talent that gave him that ability.With how wide and expansive the universe is, there were a lot of talents out there that had not yet been discovered and remained undocumented.But was that actually the case...!Was it really a talent of Arran's that made all that possible?If it was, what kind of talent was it, and in the case that it wasn't, what then enabled Arran to remain unaffected facing Hyde's suppression?Well, the answer to all these questions is really quite simple...The reason why Arran was fine even while being suppressed was not because of a kind of talent that he possessed or any reason like that. Instead, it was because of a very special power that he was able to borrow.This was a power that did not
The dust settled and everybody could see Hyde kneeling on the stage, using his natal weapon to prop himself up.On Hyde's face, cold sweat could be seen dotting the lines of his forehead, and there was a look of shock and surprise in his eyes.Right now, Hyde was in disbelief...As he looked at Arran up in the air, it was like he was looking at a monster in Aeth skin.A storm was going through his head right now as questions filled his thoughts."How is that possible!""That sword strike was so fast that I was barely able to react at all! Just how powerful is he?"Hyde could not believe just how much power Arran was displaying now.Currently, Hyde was thinking about how he had just been in danger a few moments ago. Just then, after he had broken the force field around Arran and was about to hit him with his weapon, Hyde had not expected Arran's attack to arrive just at that moment.In fact, that was not what concerned Hy
Hyde was surprised when Arran addressed him and for a minute he didn't know how to respond. He had always thought that Arran was the serious type who was only focused on winning the match, which was why he had never spoken before.Hyde thought that Arran was the same type as he was, since that was how Hyde really was like.All Hyde could be concerned with right now was to win this match so he didn't have any other thought to make idle talk with his opponent, who trying to defeat him.After being stunned for a short moment, Hyde quickly came back to his senses and looked at Arran seriously. He was thinking about something as his eyes looked Arran up and down. It was as if Hyde was trying to figure out if Arran was trying to trick him by talking to him.After thinking carefully and realizing that there was no harm in telling Arran the name of his natal weapon, Hyde finally spoke."You're right. This is my natal weapon. It is a snake staff and its nam