Child of Destiny

BOOM!

A massive explosion erupted right after the colossal spear clashed against the rising castle.

There was even a humongous mushroom cloud rising to the sky, covering the entire place. The platforms were also swept by the explosion, making the barrier protecting them tremble intensely.

“That was some intense explosion,” commented Arthur in a somewhat nonchalant manner, seemingly unimpressed by that collision.

“It seems like he is planning to go all out from the start,” commented Riko after seeing this scene.

This was the first time Aoki used such a powerful move during the entire operation.

Even Ryoto could not help but look forward to this since it would be the first time that he would see this young master take it seriously.

…

Puff!

Back on the battlefield, the thick cloud of smoke and dust that was still rising and growing was suddenly split in two.

Below, everyone could see Gunner standing in the same spot where he stood earlier. He was neither harmed nor affected by the earlier collision.

He was even holding a huge glaive that he just used to cleave through the massive mushroom cloud and split it in half.

On the other hand, Aoki was nowhere to be found. He seemed to have disappeared out of existence, especially when everyone could not lock on his aura, which was supposed to be in an extremely strong state after the earlier attack.

Swoosh!

While everyone was looking for his traces, a blurry silhouette slowly manifested right beside Gunner, who was also looking for his opponent.

Swoosh!

A tip of a spear was almost right beside Gunner’s face when he sensed that there was something wrong with the situation.

He swiftly leaned to the side while turning his head and ducking in the same direction to dodge the incoming attack.

Shing!

He also managed to raise his glaive to redirect the course of that spear at the final moments, barely escaping the deadly strike by the skin of his teeth.

Clang!

Right after, he suddenly kicked the ground with a flick of his ankles, sending himself sliding away from his opponent.

Aoki raised his brows a little after seeing his opponent avoiding that ambush. It might be a simple spear technique that did not count as a killing move aside from his unique mana manipulation technique, but landing such an attack was more than enough to deal serious damage, especially when it was targeting his opponent’s head.

Bang!

After twirling the spear around him, he immediately kicked the ground and quickly gave chase.

Swoosh!

Seeing that his opponent was chasing after him, Gunner swiftly spun his body while twirling the glaive with both of his hands to generate a strong momentum.

Bang!

Immediately after, he suddenly kicked the ground behind him, propelling himself forward.

Swoosh!

He flew straight back to where he came from, greeting his opponent with a powerful strike from his glaive.

Seeing this, Aoki casually turned his spear, deflecting the glaive of his opponent and sending it toward the ground beside him.

Clang!

Bang!

Immediately after, he borrowed the momentum of his actions to toss the spear behind him. The spear circled behind him while his other hand was already waiting for a catch.

Swoosh!

Immediately after, he suddenly threw a quick stab, targeting his opponent’s chest, which was currently exposed due to his earlier action.

Shing!

Gunner, who got his balance off due to his opponent’s earlier actions, stomped into the ground to forcefully stop his forward momentum.

The muscles of his arms also bulge when he tightened his grip over the glaive in his hands. He then swiftly and forcefully twisted his stance while strongly swinging the glaive alongside it.

Bang!

The blade of the glaive, which was supposed to be embedded in the ground, was suddenly pulled out while sending debris in the process.

While the tip of the spear was about to reach its target, the blade of the glaive was also rapidly approaching Aoki and seemingly planning to cleave him in half.

“You want to strike my heart? Then I will cut you in half!” shouted Gunner as a form of war cry, despite the opposing side not hearing him.

He seemed to be challenging Aoki for such a trade, risking his life in the process.

Unfortunately, the trade that he was thinking of did not occur since Aoki seemed to have already seen such a situation ahead of time.

Swoosh!

With a brief glow of his eyes, the spear seemed to have suddenly accelerated, overtaking the speed that his opponent’s glaive had.

Gunner did not need to guess whether his opponent would take the ‘trade’ that he was presenting, since he could already tell that he would most likely lose just by the sudden acceleration of the spear.

Gritting his teeth, he forcefully altered the trajectory of his glaive while also kicking the ground to send himself skidding back so that the spear would not reach him, and his glaive collided with it instead.

Clang!

Right after their weapons clashed, both sides swiftly followed the momentum that came from the collision, borrowing it before continuing with their next move.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The spear in Aoki’s hands seemed to have disappeared before turning into a bunch of shadows that lunged forward during his advance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

On the other hand, Gunner repeatedly brandished his glaive, accepting the challenge for a frontal confrontation.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of intense collisions occurred, sending metal sparks into the air with every clash between their weapons.

Gunner attempted to overpower his opponent by repeatedly brandishing his glaive with all his might, seemingly attempting to cleave his opponent with it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Unfortunately, his opponent was able to repeatedly and casually ward off each of his attempts by simply relying on the fundamental techniques of spearmanship.

Aoki even threw quite a lot of counterattacks, basic spear movements such as poke, stab, and thrust. He then relied on snatch and swipe to throw his opponent off, messing up with the latter’s rhythm.

With all these, Gunner had to acknowledge that he was no match for Aoki when it came to polearms, especially when the opposing side’s spear was much faster and had more versatility compared to his glaive.

He had to change his approach to this fight.

Clang!

Right after being forced to retreat for another time, Gunner threw away the glaive in his hands before taking out another set of weapons.

Clank! Clank!

This time, the metal box gave him a pair of sabers, which he was planning to use to compete with his opponent when it came to speed.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Right after catching the pair of sabers, Gunner immediately readjusted his breathing technique before swiftly charging forward while swinging the sabers that he just gotten.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

His arms seemed to have disappeared right after he swung the sabers, which then turned into multiple flashes of light surrounding him.

Aoki slightly raised his brows when he saw this, especially when he could feel that the air around his opponent suddenly changed.

However, he still kept his calm and continued with his pace. He swiftly raised his spear and continued to throw a series of attacks that matched the speed of his opponent.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

This time, their collisions looked like a pair of violent storms due to the strong gusts of wind that they generated with each action they took.

The speed of their actions was also reaching extreme heights, destroying the surroundings with those gusts alone.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The spear had the advantage when it came to reach, but Gunner wielded a pair of sabers, which somewhat filled the gap between their weapons, especially when the sabers he held were meant for pursuing the pinnacle of speed.

After seemingly hundreds of exchanges, the two finally slightly slowed down their respective paces, seemingly waiting for the right opportunity to strike.

Unfortunately, such an opportunity would not immediately appear if they did not force a mistake from each other.

Knowing that he could not wait for his opponent to commit such a mistake due to Aoki’s steady form, Gunner understood that he had to force it himself.

Distancing himself a little, his mana manipulation technique seemed to have changed a little before turning into a storm of blazing mana that infused itself into his sabers.

A demon asura had also briefly manifested behind him before engulfing him with his entire body during his forward charge.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

This demon asura with multiple arms repeatedly swung its sabers, which then turned into demonic serpents that charged straight at Aoki.

‘Heavenly Arsenal Method: Saber Series – Asura Destruction’

Seeing this, Aoki did not back down and accepted the challenge.

He fixed his stance while releasing a flood of mana around him, which then transformed into a manifestation of a divine general that engulfed him.

The divine general wielded its divine spear, mimicking his actions.

A moment later, he suddenly stepped forward while thrusting that spear with all his might, generating a powerful momentum along with a spiraling flow of energy surrounding his spear.

‘Spear of Divine General: The Setting Sun’

……