As both of them kept clashing their swords, Asta thought, He’s actually a good swordsman. Not just that, that sword is something else. My attacks, my flying ice spears, he’s dodging them precisely. Why is he keeping up with me? Or is it me who’s keeping up with him?
I’m not good when it comes to close combat, Asta admitted to himself. I’ve learned swordsmanship, but I don’t have much experience in real battle. He’s actually strong, but I won’t lose. I’ll go all out—but no, I have to keep my distance.
Their swords clashed again, sparks flying with every strike. Asta sent a flurry of ice spears toward Zevric, but Zevric dodged them all, slamming and blocking each attack with precision. Asta consistently recreated his ice sword, its power far exceeding a normal blade, yet Zevric’s sword was no ordinary weapon either.
I have to keep my distance, Asta reminded himself, and instantly conjured fifty ice spears, sending them at Zevric. Zevric skillfully slammed each one away.
Now it’s my chance, Asta thought, creating more ice as the barrage pushed him back toward the far end of the arena. As Zevric finished deflecting the spears and prepared to move forward, Asta sent an even faster wave of ice spears, some shaped as sharp ice pikes.
This is bad, Zevric muttered, slamming them away. There’s no opening. I need a way to reach him, but if this keeps up, it’ll be a problem. He can maintain this all day, and he’s taking almost no toll on his body. His stamina is incredible.
Zevric continued slamming the relentless ice spears that came his way, fully aware that every second counted in this high-stakes duel.
I didn’t expect this battle to take this long. It’s actually a pain. Should I end it now? Or what? Let me show off a little, let everyone hear my name and know why I am the Ice God, Asta said with a smile as he sent ice spears toward Zevric, not giving him a chance to close the range between them.
Then he raised his other right hand. "Let me use most of my mana into this. This usually takes a toll on my body and consumes a lot of mana, but I will recover before my next fight," Asta said as he activated his technique.
The ice spears broke into massive shapes, each the size of four sumo wrestlers and 20 feet long. He created a hundred of them, all flying through the air. The arena was completely filled with them.
The audience erupted in cheers. "What is this? This is outstanding! Magnificent!" one shouted. "What do you expect? It’s the Ice God, Asta," another said. The barrier around the arena kept the chill of the ice from affecting the spectators.
"Wow! Magnificent! They have shown us the reason why it’s called the Ice God. This is truly outstanding. How do you think Zevric reacted to this? No one expected this," the emissary said as the audience kept cheering. "Cheering! Wow! Amazing! Magnificent! This is really cool. How did they do it?" the crowd exclaimed.
"Wow! This is truly outstanding. I’m so shocked. This moment... so this is one of the reasons it’s called the Ice God. Even being an S Rank doesn’t mean you can reach this feat. Because now I realize... S Rank... there are people who have surpassed the stage of S Rank. Like him. It is... and we also hear that he’s blessed. From the day he was born, he was blessed by the Archangel of Ice. That was why he exhaled it," Alaric said.
"Really? An Archangel?" someone asked. "It might just be rumors. But seeing this, you understand the truth. No one can doubt it. The thing I’m most surprised by is his manner. How is he able to still keep up? Still keep sending attacks? Keep up? This battle has taken... a bit of time. And wow! Each and large... what about making a hundred? Will his opponents be able to survive this? Because they filled the arena and there’s not even a single chance for escape," Alvoryn said.
"Yeah, that’s the thing. And not only that... he is... really... calm. I like the way he’s calm. In any situation, if I were myself, if you watch our fights... you could tell that even being a long-range fighter, he’s also good at close range too. What anyone would say... he has mastered the sword, but he doesn’t really use it. That’s why he’s not an expert when it comes to close-range combat," Rovanis added.
"You... you’re really... King of the Empire. How do you know so much about the sword?" Alaric asked.
"Oh, in my younger days, I was a knight. And the reason why I became a king was because of the title I reached. And not only that... the princess at that very time fell in love with me. And before you knew it... boom. We got married and I was a king, taking the throne of my father. I understand swordplay and all this very well," Rovanis said.
"Wow, it’s really impressive. Zevric... will he be able to withstand this? He might lose this one," Alaric said.
"So be sincere, son, what do you think is actually going to happen? Who do you think is going to have the upper hand? Because I’m sure you’re capable of predicting people’s moves in a way. And not just that, you’re capable of imagining the fight between two people and what the outcome will be," Alvoryn said.
"To be honest, I think the one who is going to win... I don’t know about that. But I think Zevric will try his best to react to this in a way that will shock the crowd," Alaric said.
"Well, I don’t think there’s any way he can escape this. This is death. Look at this massive thing. He can’t shatter it all, and there’s no space to dodge or anything. He might be dead. He might die," Dalvin, the hero, said.
"Well, let’s just watch the match. We’ll know," Alaric said, as all of them looked at the arena. Read complete version only at N0veI.Fiɾe.net