Battle Frenzy

There was already a sea of humans present in the arena. Being the opening match for the second day, the atmosphere was not one bit inferior to the spectacular showdowns that happened yesterday, with Laura’s rallying power contributing a considerable amount to that.

”Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I’m Chen Yu’er, and I’m extremely happy and excited to be able to cast this match for everyone! I’m also extremely excited to be able to be the co-host alongside brother Ruo Zhi!”

”Although I’m very handsome, I’m already taken. You better not forget that, hehe.” Ruo Zhi continued over with a smile. ”I’m just joking. Let us return to the match. Today’s the second day of the round-of-16, and this match is between the Copperfield squadron and the Blazing Angels squadron. How are your thoughts about both squadrons, Little Yu’er?”

”Both sides have twin cores within their ranks. As for their main lineups, Copperfield has a slight advantage in this aspect. However, the group battle capabilities of the Blazing Angels are even more terrifying. Therefore, if Copperfield wants to obtain victory in this match, I feel that they should end this match before it reaches the group battle phase.”

”It’s unexpectedly Karkel VS Oli! Both sides have sent their number 1 figure to be their vanguard! Both squadrons have really made a considerable gamble!””That’s right. With both squadrons having twin cores, I really want to see exactly which prince will devour the other, and obtain the selection advantage for this match. Haha! In the end, both sides have thought of the same idea.”

”This is likely to be embarrassing for both of them! On one side, with have the Blazing Angels’ strongest ”shield”! And on the other side, with have Copperfield’s strongest ”spear”! Mo’s List ranged soldier VS Mo’s List heavy soldier! I can’t imagine exactly how this situation will play out and affect the outcome of this match! Without a doubt, this will definitely be one of the most spectacular matches within this entire CHF!”

The voices from the casters weren’t able to affect the two people standing on the stage.

Rather than attributing the current matchup between as an unexpected result of the strategic arrangements made by both squadrons, it could be said to be a deliberate act by both parties; with the desire to snatch the victory for the first match in order to gain the selection advantage the following match, it was inevitable for the both of them to face off here.

Karkel sized up the well-known lady standing before him.

She was an absolutely beautiful lady. Dressed in a full set of golden coloured armour, her entire body seemed to be enveloped by a golden brilliance. The perfect lines present all along her figure allowed her tall and large frame to appear exceedingly aggressive. This was especially when coupled with her long golden hair fluttering about in the wind as well as the pair of eyes that sparkled with brilliance and radiated resolute willpower from within. Admiration surfaced in his heart upon seeing her, as anyone who pursued strength would not be able to walk far if they didn’t possess sufficient willpower and resolution.

”Please.” said Karkel.

The reply he got was her clapping her hands together in a sincere manner. There was no sign of her planning to give up or defeatism present in Oli’s eyes. To her, her god would definitely lead her towards victory.

A golden greatsword and giant shield were set before her, while a silver coloured unique looking crossbow had appeared in Karkel’s hand. The body of the crossbow appeared to be considerably hefty, while its bulbous shape was unlike the dexterous and handy shape that most crossbows had. Runic patterns were engraved throughout its surface, allowing people to immediately feel the massive explosive power contained within.

”Oli! Oli! Oli!”

”Karkel! Karkel!”

Earth shattering cheers and shouts erupted throughout the arena; the duel had officially started!

A ranged soldier VS a heavy soldier, with both of them being on the Mo’s List. This would generally be a classical to-and-fro contest for distance. However, the outcome had surprised everyone, as Karkel had did not have any plan of turning this into a kiting game.

Upon the commencement of the duel, both parties advanced rapidly towards the centre of the stage. Were they really planning on entering close combat range? Although Karkel had displayed extraordinary prowess in his close combat capabilities, his opponent was Oli, one of the 5 great Mo’s List heavy soldiers! A ranged soldier actually wanted to play the close combat game with a heavy soldier?

Was it due to the insufficient range of his crossbow? That wasn’t likely. Just a look at the body of the crossbow would allow one to spot the potential firepower it possessed, having an effective range that exceeded that of normal crossbows.

Whoosh!

Both parties moved at incomparably quick speeds, causing the distance between them to drop down to 10 metres in the blink of an eye.

Just at this instant, a silvery ray of light shot out fiercely from Karkel’s hand as he unleashed his crossbow!

In most situations, when a ranged soldier was of the same distance away from his opponent as the distance between Karkel and Oli, he would have already lost any advantage he had. With such a close distance, enduring a single attack and breaching the gap would only take an instant for a heavy soldier.

An unfathomable thought process and combat tactic! Against a defensive-type heavy soldier as tyrannical as Oli, it was basically no different from offering oneself to the opponent on a silver platter, causing everyone’s minds to get blown by what they were witnessing.

However, Oli’s response had equally blown everyone’s mind. Not only did she not choose to advance, she had also retreated half a step back while raising her shield to block the incoming attack.

Oli had retreated, while Karkel had advanced. It wasn’t much, with the change in the distance being a mere half step, while a silvery glow appeared once again on the latter’s crossbow.

Once against, she blocked and retreated, followed by a block and yet another retreat. This was exceedingly peculiar, as the ranged soldier was unexpectedly the one who was taking the initiative to close the gap, while the heavy soldier was continuously retreating backwards in response.

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!

Both of them were moving exceedingly quickly, while their fight unfolded in an extremely strange and incredulous manner. Furthermore, their attacks and actions gave people a feeling as though they lacked substance. Karkel’s crossbow bolts didn’t possess the might a Mo’s List ranged soldier should possess, while Oli was utterly lacking the overbearing dominance that a Mo’s List heavy soldier should possess. This spectacle stupefied and baffled of the laymen in the audience.

There weren’t many experts present in the arena for this match. Tianjing was one of the more unexpected presences, while the usually present Dicaprio wasn’t around this time. To Wang Zhong, observing the match in person was beneficial for everyone within his squadron. The Tianjing squadron had a very simple goal in mind, just like a grassroots alliance. Therefore, they did not have too many worries or other additional thoughts and goals in their minds when coming here to watch the match. Wang Zhong’s goal was to help everyone in his squadron make progress and improve on their strength. Although it was uncertain as to on how much they could absorb and progress, it would definitely be helpful for Grai and the rest.

Scarlet had locked her eyes onto the match happening on the stage. ”From the 4 shots loaded in his crossbow, Karkel is only unleashing 1 bolt every time he opens fire. The other 3 are always accumulating Soul Power, waiting just for Oli to advance. From the blueish Soul Power glow radiating from them, they clearly aren’t just normal bolts accumulated with Soul Power. Oli definitely has noticed this, and did not advance recklessly as a result. Instead, she has taken the initiative to enter a battle of attrition against Karkel. However, such attacks are completely useless against Oli.

”The 2 of them are being rather vigilant of each other, and are quite apprehensive of each other’s actions. To them, a 15-metre distance can be said to be a relatively safe distance to be at while testing each other’s strengths and limits. What a battle of distance! The true flames of war are actually brewing under this appearance of tranquillity! However, this observation-based situation won’t continue for long.” said Grai with a smile; no matter who his opponent may be, he always appeared so relaxed.

The brilliance radiating out from Karkel’s crossbow disappeared as he crouched down. With a ferocious stamp, he rocketed straight towards Oli like a cannonball.

There really was no other ranged soldier out there other than Karkel who would care so much about entering in a close combat fight against others! What’s more, his opponent was Oli, one of the 5 great Mo’s List heavy soldiers!

A wave of astonished cries rang out, as Karkel’s instantaneous burst of speed was too quick! In the blink of an eye, he had appeared right before Oli, with his crossbow already placed right before her eyelids!

Oli’s eyes narrowed in response, yet she did not choose to evade. Instead, she lowered her legs and widened her stance, while her giant golden shield instantly covered her entire frame. At the same time, the greatsword in her hand was raised to chest height before the sword and shield were shoved forward like an armoured battering ram! BANG!

Oli’s reaction was within Karkel’s expectations. With a twist of his body, Karkel relied on his opponent’s momentum to grab hold of the side of her shield with his left hand. Pulling himself forward, he lifted the crossbow in his right hand and aimed it right at Oli’s temple. The deft movements he had just executed were no different from those coming from top class assassins!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

Successive rays of silver light shot out, followed by an even more dazzling burst of golden brilliance, as a golden defensive layer of light instantly appeared around Oli’s body. Loud bangs rang out as the crossbow bolts smashed against the golden layer. Despite Karkel’s strength and such a close distance, he was unexpectedly unable to do any damage to the golden shield! At the same instant, the greatsword spun around in the air, before the terrifying sword intent cleaved down towards Karkel.

What an accurate judgement of time! What’s more, the sudden change in movements from her forwards thrust clearly showed that she had already considered Karkel’s possible actions and moves, while grasping the opportune moment to exploit Karkel’s inertia as he spun around in the air. However, due to Karkel’s greater speed, Oli’s attack had missed. With a graceful slide, silvery rays of light shot out successfully from his crossbow. Rolling on the ground, he unleashed a rapid fire of shots, firing 17 to 18 bolts in the blink of an eye!

Oli’s response was also extremely quick, as she raised her giant shield in time to block all the incoming shots.

Having unleashed his full strength, the power behind Karkel’s attacks were on a totally different level than before! The rapid string of silver crossbow bolts unleashed by him in this attack appeared to have merged together to form a thick ray of silvery light!

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!

The torrent of attacks shook the giant shield, while the figure behind the shield continued to slide backwards from the successive impacts.

BANG!

”May the holy light shine onto me!”

Even someone as powerful as Oli had started to feel the strain from defending against Karkel’s incoming attacks. With a soft mumble, giant golden barrier 5 metres in radius suddenly sprung out with her at the centre. This was the reason behind Oli being inducted into the Mo’s List. The gold attribute glow radiating out from her eyes were from a special ability tied to the ”Golden Light bloodline”, a mysterious constitution hailing from the dark era. Its unique trait was that it would allow its inheritor to manifest its power in the form of various kinds of unfathomable talents, and was extremely rare to awaken. Coupled with the unique environment of the City of Blazing Angels, it had resulted in Oli manifesting her impregnable defence.

Unlike the ordinary glowing barrier that had appeared around her body, this barrier of holy light was maintained in a spherical shape. With all of her power perfectly concentrated in it, it had allowed her body to hover within the centre of her holy light sphere. Karkel’s successive attacks had unexpectedly become just like a light tickle; they weren’t even able to cause any ripples to form!

The clear pinging sounds ringing out sounded just like bullets being shot at a metal plate.

At this moment, the audience were dumbfounded by what they were witnessing, while cheers and shouts rang out from the Blazing Angels supporters. In the earlier stages of the CHF, she had already used this ability to prove to the world how much of an BUG existence she was in the Casted Soul Stage.

”Faced against Karkel’s attacks, Oli has unleashed her trump card!” Ruo Zhi shouted out loudly. ”This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this terrifying impregnable defensive skill from Oli! In the group battles from the past matches, the combined firepower from the 5-men groups from some squadrons were unable to even put a scratch on this ability of hers! Even against a Mo’s List ranged soldier, even when the crossbow was placed right before her Holy Light Barrier, it’s unexpectedly unable to achieve anything at all! What’s more, the Holy Light Barrier can be maintained for a considerable amount of time! From Oli’s performances in the past few group battles, she was able to keep it up for 10 minutes or even more! Therefore, it isn’t that simple as waiting for it to disappear by itself.”

When actions were done to the extreme, they could only move in the opposite direction. In the hands of Oli, the golden attribute special ability, well known for its extreme offensive capabilities, had been turned into a kind of defensive special ability. Such a defence would cause many of her opponents to be at a loss, as they were simply unable to find any weaknesses. Being completely different from the defences created from an earth attribute special ability, the dazzling golden light radiated with an awe-inspiring radiance that added a sense of invincibility to it.

”Karkel’s already starting to distance himself from Oli! With his considerably deft movements and shocking speed, looks like he’s planning on dragging time! And yet, Oli’s unexpectedly not starting any pursuit or advancement to stop him from widening this gap!”

Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang!

As he moved about at a high speed, Karkel never stopped sending attacks. Despite the perverted defensive capabilities of Oli’s Holy Light Barrier, and how useless his crossbow bolts seemed, he continued to maintain a steady rate of attacks at her, while not showing any fluster in his movements. Furthermore, everyone could see that every single crossbow bolt sent out by him was radiating with a silvery brilliance.

At this moment, wrinkles had appeared on Oli’s forehead. Her opponent’s attacks were too accurate! He’s somehow able to make every single bolt strike the same spot on her Holy Light Barrier! Although she had a great deal of confidence in its defensive capability, she still wasn’t able to maintain a firm defence against such precise and accurate attacks. He was truly on a different level as compared to any of the opponents she had faced before.

Experts always had a plan when they took action. Despite knowing how tyrannical she was in close combat, Karkel still actually dared to rush towards her. There was no ridicule or disregard; instead, all she felt was his confidence and his tranquil emotions. How to describe this... Karkel didn’t seem like a person from the same age group.

One had to take note that both parties were not only making fast and rapid movements across the stage, Oli was also controlling the rotation of the Holy Light Barrier around her body. Due to the golden light radiating from its entire surface, anyone else would be completely unable to see the traces that would normally be visible in rotating objects. This was the other reason why her Holy Light Barrier was able to withstand against the combined firepower from 5 people in the group battles. Truthfully speaking, her Holy Light Barrier wasn’t strong to the extent of being completely impenetrable. It was only due to her showcasing the might of her other defensive capabilities coupled with it, was she able to split up the attacks she received to manageable levels which she could negate.

However, Karkel was able to see that! Perhaps ”seeing” wasn’t the right word; it was ”feeling”!

Just to maintain a sufficient distance from Oli, he didn’t even have the time to turn his head around, and was now completely relying on his intuition and feeling to launch his attacks! Just from that alone, he was able to sense the Soul Power revolutions present in the Holy Light Barrier, as well as the exact location his bolts had struck. Whether it was a straight or arcing shot, regardless of what speed the Holy Light Barrier was revolving at, he would always be able to send his crossbow bolts to strike the exact same point!

He was able to show such a performance even with his current situation! Not only did this fellow possess astonishing strength, his character was also calm to the point where it was frightening!

Regardless of how strong her defences were, they were unable to endure an endless amount of attacks focused at one precise point.

Nevertheless, Oli was also maintaining her cool-headedness. She knew that she was up against an expert. Having used her Holy Light Barrier so many times, it was impossible for people to not spot the underlying traits it possessed. This was also within her expectations!

All of a sudden, Oli pointed her golden greatsword forwards, before what seemed like a ray of golden light shot out. Nonetheless, it didn’t seem to contain much Soul Power. Despite keeping his vigilance up, Karkel wasn’t familiar with this insubstantial thing that came from her, resulting in his reactions being a little slower... This caused a small golden Soul Power Lock On target to appear on Karkel’s forehead.

Soul Power Lock On!

This was a targeting combat technique that only experts with an extremely acute control of their Soul Power could pull off!

Upon seeing this, Papada and the other members of the Blazing squadron could finally take a breath of relief. they had been maintaining a solemn attitude since the start of the duel. Finally, she had stabilised the fight!

Soul Power surged and blossomed from every inch of Oli’s body. Despite still being quite a distance from Karkel, pointing her greatsword, her entire body shot straight towards him like an arrow...

Golden Light combat technique --- Judgement!

Regardless of what she did, Oli would never be able to match up to Karkel in speed and agility. However, for some godforsaken reason, the current Oli seemed to have placed a target seeker on Karkel’s body... No, it was more like a magnet, with the two appearing to be of opposite poles. As long as Oli activated her Soul Power Lock On, her entire being would immediately fly at a high speed towards Karkel.

BANG!

At the critical moment, Karkel displayed an extraordinary level of speed as he forcefully made a right turn, widening the distance between him and Oli. Landing on the ground like a cannonball, Oli appeared to not spare even an instant before rocketing straight towards Karkel once again. Taking advantage of the fact that her Soul Power Lock On had yet to disappear, she flew right towards him. With her golden shield guarding her body, she had nothing to fear at all.

Having already regained his calm, Karkel shot a look at the incoming Oli, while sending successive shots towards her. When the distance between the 2 shortened to the 3-metre mark, he suddenly made a sharp 90-degree turn to widen the distance once again. All this while, the crossbow in his hand never stopped pumping bolts out towards her.

Oli had smashed into the ground, with her golden shield enduring countless attacks from Karkel, create a spectacle that stupefied everyone. Anyone being targeted by such a indestructible monster with such mysterious lock on ability might very well turn flustered. However, Karkel gave an impression as though there was nothing out of the ordinary as he continued to calmly pump out attack after attack at Oli. Furthermore, he would specifically wait for the instant when Oli was about to close in on him to suddenly change his direction and widen the gap.

”Karkel’s combat experience is really too abundant.” said Grai. ”They’re on completely different levels.”

”Relying only on basic skills to deal with innate combat techniques. He’s indeed formidable!” said Wang Zhong as he nodded his head. Both of them were able to clearly see the minute details in the proceedings of the fight.

Grai nodded his head in agreement to Wang Zhong, with both of them being able to the sense the vigilance present in each other’s eyes. Karkel was still hiding his strength, but it clearly wasn’t for the sake of putting up an act. He believed that the strength he was displaying right now was more than sufficient to obtain a victory over his current opponent, while taking his future opponents into consideration for this decision. Anything that was displayed on stage, be it Spiritual Soul or dimensional techniques, would get analyzed and broken down in a matter of time. Although every academy would advocate and teach this value to all of their students, the pretentious hearts within youths was something that could not be suppressed. However, those who had experienced lots of real combat are unlikely to possess such childish thoughts. Having an additional hidden combat technique would give one an extra lifeline to use during critical moments.

After 5 successive evasions, the golden cross on Karkel’s forehead grew increasingly dim, while Oli was still unable to obtain any benefits from it. On the other hand, Karkel was pumping out a stream of attacks at a constant pace towards Oli’s golden shield. The patience he was showing caused people to feel sorry for Oli.

”Oli’s extremely talented. However, it’s a pity that the City of Blazing Angels doesn’t have any famous teachers. This caused her to be overly reliant on her talents, with all of her offensive and defensive moves being completely dependent on them. Such moves are too easy to read and break. Karl, you better take a good look and see how fantastic of a performance your ”brother” is showing! You better do a good one in our match, okay!” said Divian. She couldn’t help but add in ridiculing words towards Karl.

Hearing her words, Karl rolled his eyes. ”I’ll end my life if I end up looking like him. He actually dares to copy my name, and even adding a stutter in the middle.” There was naturally no relationship between the two of them, though this reinforcement from the Potter Family truly was too different from their other members. I’ve heard that they love to toss some of their talented new members to get nurtured over at the empires. This Karkel should have been brought back from the empires. If not, there would be at least some news available about him. That deadpan calm expression of his definitely has to be cultivated from the environment he was living in.”

Finally, after Karkel’s successive attacks, a clear cracking sound rang out, as a small crack finally appeared on the surface of the so-called invincible Holy Light Barrier!

Despite the appearance of an opportunity to gain an advantage in this fight, Karkel still did not make any impulsive movements, though the crossbow in his hand was still causing despair as usual. Similarly, this was the first time Oli had bumped into such an opponent. The cracking of her Holy Light Barrier was just a ruse she had set up to lure her opponent to make the first move. However, her opponent’s eyes were as deadpan and calm as a cobra. If this continued on, she would be the one to get finished off!

Only those who have undergone strict and arduous training would be able to make such firm, resolute judgements in a fight while not getting flustered. The specialities between both parties’ occupations were now exceedingly clear. As long as Karkel could avoid being entangled in close range combat against Oli, he would be able to stifle her to death. Although the process would appear boring, it was the most pragmatic approach, and one that would definitely use the least amount of energy to accomplish.

Just at this moment, Oli appeared to have entered a vicious cycle as she rushed towards Karkel once again with her golden greatsword raised high into the air. From the looks of it, she appeared be itching to enter a life or death struggle against Karkel. However, the problem now was that she would need to be able to reach him before that could happen. The movement skills and reaction speed he was displaying now was on par with a Mo’s List assassin. How much confidence must a ranged soldier possess to dare to utilise such close-ranged evasion like what he was doing right now!

Admittedly, the members of the Blazing Angels possessed firm and resolute willpower. However... there were times where they were too frank and obstinate.

However, unlike before, Karkel did not immediately take action. On the contrary, he proceeded to rapidly increase the distance between him and Oli. Nevertheless, it was still slightly too late. Instead of pointing her golden greatsword, Olig gave a loud roar, before chopping it down in the direction of Karkel.

This… was she trying to chop the air up?

Right at this instant, a 10 metre golden halo, composed of needles pointed towards its centre where Karkel was, blossomed on the stage. Despite of his speed, he was still pierced by this needle-shaped halo, causing his body to come a halt!

Golden Light combat technique-- Dazzling Lotus Needle Stab!

It was an omnidirectional Soul Power combat technique that was aimed at preventing any counter attacks. There was nothing that could rival it during group battles, and there was no way to properly defended against it in a duel.

Golden brilliance surged forth from Oli’s body as she rushed straight towards Karkel. Once she reached a close combat range, the explosion of her Holy Light Barrier would invincible. In this current CHF, anyone being targeted this explosion would not be able to overcome their fate of being defeated.

This was the essence of the legendary Golden Light bloodline.

It could be said that despite her training completely revolving around her special ability, Oli’s special ability indeed had no equal. The legendary Golden Light bloodline had only appeared in a handful of people within mankind’s records of history. Furthermore, all of them had grown up to become top class experts in their prime, without any outliers.

Regardless of how strong Karkel was, he was only at the Casted Soul Stage. The more deft and agile one was, the weaker their defences would be. He was aiming to use his skills and techniques to win the fight, while Oli was resorting to her ”brute strength”. Once she made contact, her strength would be able to overcome all adversaries!

What’s more, the judgement she had sent out was a non-solution move! No one would be able to escape from her!

The Blazing Angels supporters were already so excited that they were on the brink of shouting and cheering out. With how this fight had progressed, once Karkel was caught by Oli, there would be no one who would be able to stop her. This was the domineering aspect of her Golden Light constitution!

Despite being stopped by her move, Karkel proceeded to calmly initiate a slide. However, this slide was somewhat different from the earlier ones he had did. In a flash, his entire body turned dark, appearing as though he had turned into turned as shadow. At the same instant, Oli’s Soul Power Lock-On lost its target, coming to a stop 3 metres around Karkel’s last position. Already halfway through her motion, Oli had no other choice but to explode her golden shield. All of the attack power and her Soul Power it had absorbed blasted out in all directions in the from of needle shaped attacks.

However, right at this instant, Karkel did yet another monstrous slide without any unnecessary action, causing the explosive golden light energies to pierce harmlessly through his initial location.

In the next instant, Karkel’s crossbow had already arrived right before Oli’s face. Not moving an inch, she stared at the sharp crossbow bolts resting just inches before her face, while her towering chest heaved up and down. How much, how much she desired to obtain a victory for her squadron! However… the only thing she could do now was to lower her head.

The simplest of slides, yet it was a dimensional combat technique!

The simplest phasing slide was enough to waste all of Oli’s efforts.

First duel, Karkel, victory!