Lars furiously erected countless defensive layers at the point of impact - based on his count, he had managed to place at least 8 casts of nearly instantly triggered Level 1 spells: Ghost Armour, s.h.i.+eld, Basic Hardening, Minor Mantle of Deflection etc. And at the moment the hook punch connected, he saw all his defensive efforts shatter like dried leaves before the incoming attack!Reshmont"s sizable fist slammed straight into Lars" ribs, eliciting a heavy "Oof!" sound from the magic swordsman!
Lars flew through the air, dizzy from the pain and shock of having his ribcage compressed. It was a good thing that he still had the presence of mind to trigger his budding s.p.a.ce-laws and create a buffer of void-s.p.a.ce between himself and the t.i.tanic punch. If not for that fact, he might have been pulverised right there and then from the hulking giant"s aura suppression and the following attack!
Even then, so great was the weight of that one blow that he was wincing in pain. His bruised ribs felt like they were on the verge of cracking and he would not be surprised if he had suffered some minute fractures.
He flew through the air and headed for the limits of the ring but gradually came to a halt, floating in mid-air while his hands released a green glow of healing onto his wounds. The skin over the left side of his sternum had ruptured from the pressure, bursting open and oozing blood.
While Lars was recovering from the heavy damage he had suffered, Reshmont remained in the position of throwing his punch. His shoulders moved up and down heavily with each breath and he was panting as sweat beaded on the surface of his skin.
"H-how strong is that kid"s physique?!? It took so much of my aura to restrain him! And... H-how could he have survived from that blow...!?? R-ridiculous!!!" Reshmont felt dizzy as he had burst out in power to secure that one opportunity that he thought would determine the fight.
He still had more than 60% of his reserves left, but still, consuming almost half of his energy in one move left him winded and weary. He slowly retracted his extended fist and stood in a neutral stance, recovering and regaining his strength.
Lars did not miss that as his sharp eagle-eyes noticed the condition Reshmont was in.
"Looks like that move just now was a trump card, huh...? If that"s so... And if he"s not just pretending to be tired right now... Then he should only be able to use it one more time..."
And neither did the audience miss the fact that Reshmont was low on gas. They shouted out both encouragements to Reshmont as well as to urge Lars to finish off the giant"s descendant!
"Come on Lars! Give him all ya got!"
"Reshmont! Reshmont! Wake up!!! Figh-ting!!"
Lars considered for a moment what his next move would be, then he slowly floated back to the surface of the arena and landed lightly on solid ground.
And he smiled gently and waited for his muscle-bound opponent to recover!
"W-what??? What"s Lars doing?!?"
"Stupid! NOW"s your chance! Do it!! Do it quickly!!!"
But Lars turned a blind ear to the crowds and merely stretched a bit as he kept one hand applying pressure and healing his painful ribs. Based on the current rate of healing, it would be fine in less than 15 seconds!
And based on Reshmont"s breathing pattern, the giant would also be back to full force in that span of time!
"What are you doing? Are you looking down on me right now?!?!!" Reshmont was the most shocked to see his counterpart give him a chance to recover. But after just a few seconds of recuperating, his face turned red with shame and anger as he roared loudly at the golden-haired boy before him.
Lars shook his head, expecting this reaction and antic.i.p.ating how to answer him. He opened his mouth and said, "No, my worthy opponent. That"s not the case... Instead, it"s the opposite. Your strength... It"s impressive; so impressive that I can"t help but think... I want to face it head on! Come on! Let"s both use our trump cards and see who prevails! No p.u.s.s.y-footing or gallivanting around anymore, let"s show these boys and girls how REAL MEN fight!!! COME ON!!!!"
Lars bellowed out wildly as he held his sword in his right hand and prepared to resume the fight while Reshmont"s eyes opened wide in awe of the words he heard.
Then he smiled a rakish grin and had a pure and simple look on his face as he laughed.
"HAHAHA!!! Heh...! What a boor! What an overbearingly arrogant boor!"
Then he smiled with a sharp look in his eyes as he continued.
"...But I like you!!! COME ON!!! JUST BRING IT!!! I"LL SHOW YOU MY FULL POWER RIGHT NOW!!!"
Reshmont returned the great bellow, as if though he were competing in terms of who could shout louder. The members of the audience were shaken by his sudden shout and pressed their hands against their ears to dampen the rumbling noise.
But even as they did so, their hearts pumped crazily and their eyes turned berserk with pa.s.sion!
What a match between two real men! Two red-blooded, hot-blooded, insane and battle-crazy real men!
"OOOOOHHHHH!!!!! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!"
"SHOW US WHAT YOU GOTTTTTT!!!!!"
The audience responded with roars of their own and filled the entire Gorun Stadium with a maniacal din, prompting the n.o.bles and the members of the ruling cla.s.s to shake their heads in disdain at the raucous display.
And Vignis who was up in the stands lifted up a corner of her mouth in a sneer and sighed, "Men... So brutal and violent... How uncomely!"
But her father just smiled and continued watching the battle, as he looked forward to seeing the outcome of this fight that reminded him of his exciting adventuring days.
Reshmont stayed where he stood, about 15 metres away from Lars who was almost at the edge of the ring.
He breathed in deeply and his chest expanded as he began to stimulate the limits of his blood energy and mana - and his chest did not shrink back down even when he let out the deep breath, while the rest of his body swelled up a full size!
If before he looked like a gorilla in a human"s skin, now he looked like a rhinoceros, bulging with armour-like muscles all over! He had grown to almost 3 metres tall and the muscles on his were so thick, it almost looked like there were tumours growing all over him!
As this transformation progressed and he stimulated his bronze giant"s bloodline, Reshmont"s skin changed to have a bronze sheen, then the sheen seemed to extend to deeper within his flesh as a golden glow seemed to emanate from within his bones!
Within a few seconds, the changes in Reshmont"s body slowed down as he continued to solidify his metallic aura and body. His head reflected the rays of the sun as the smooth round surface glinted brightly.
Lars watched this with curiosity and wondered if his bloodline would eventually give him such a transformation.
The only thing he hoped for though, was that he wouldn"t turn bald when he transformed...
Then as he saw the transformation complete and could sense an intimidating and ancient aura, a dominating scent that exuded from the bronze giant"s body, Lars eyes gleamed with excitement.
He slowly planned through the dozens of moves and counter moves he could make before discarding them all and finally settling on one move: A head-on collision!
And he prepped his sword, slipping it back into its sheath and angling his body downwards in order to demonstrate his killing move - Sword-drawing Arts: Iaijutsu, Battoujutsu!
Reshmont drew himself up to his full height and lifted up one hand to point at Lars.
"ARE YOU READY... TO BE DEFEATED???!" He spoke so without any sense of mockery, it sounded like he truly believed he would not be defeated.
Lars grinned and said, "No...! Because... It"s YOU WHO WILL BE DEFEATED!!!"
Reshmont did not reply, only flas.h.i.+ng his teeth with a wide smile in reply. Then his body suddenly disappeared - no! He was just moving so fast that he disappeared from where he stood!
And in a flash, he had already closed the 15-metre distance to merely 5 metres - he was almost upon Lars!
Feet planted in a wide posture, Lars stood, stable and awaiting his opponent. Then to the shock of his supporters in the crowd, he closed his eyes!
They gasped collectively and exclaimed in panic, "LARS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! OPEN YOUR EYES!!! QUICK!!!!"
But Lars only lowered his face and his stance further towards the ground and with his left hand, slightly nudged his sword out from the sheath, just the slightest bit.
"LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT TRUE POWER IS!!!" He heard a deafening howl blast his ears and focused his senses for just the right timing.
The crowd then saw Reshmont"s magnificently huge body cover Lars" entire figure, then they gasped in terror as the hammer-like fist descended mightily as if Thor"s mighty hammer Mjolnir were cras.h.i.+ng downwards!
And it was time.
"Now!!!" Lars" eyes snapped open and he roared out loud.
"Blotting out the Stars!!!!!!!"
A great flash of sword light exploded outwards while a cras.h.i.+ng golden cannon-ball detonated, clas.h.i.+ng with the sword light.