Chapter 284: Pitched Battle and Departure
Puzzled, Pang Xing and Thuram looked at where Qin Mang was pointing. All they saw was the several dozen meters thick metal flooring, which had been deformed by Xia Fei and Butcher’s fierce fight. There were potholes all over, and only the extraordinary stretch of the metal alloy was preventing it from being split.
“That’s the result of Xia Fei’s fight. What’s so strange about that?” Thuram asked.
Qin Mang smiled. “This fight is very intense, and the two appear to be using all their strength with every blow in hopes of taking the other’s life, but have neither of you wondered why, in this half an hour, the both of them remain unharmed?”
Pang Xing answered seriously, “That’s because Xia Fei is a speed ability user, granting him such a high agility, which enables him to just barely evade the enemy’s attacks many times and renders this battle situation not that perilous. Though Butcher is big and tall, he’s equally agile. There’s hardly a distinction between the two, making it hard for either to come out on top.”
Qin Mang shook his head meaningfully. “You two are merely commenting on what you see superficially. Butcher’s special ability is the fire skill, Lava Gla.s.s, while Xia Fei still has to use his second ability, psychokinesis, beyond his speed. Why have neither pulled out his strongest ultimate move in this thirty minutes of fighting?”
Thuram answered, “Both combatants are very strong, so perhaps the two are keeping it in their back pockets. Martial arts pract.i.tioners pay attention to the element of surprise; they may be unable to achieve the greatest result if they begin with their strongest move right from the get-go. Perhaps either is waiting to familiarize himself with the other’s attack style so that he can take advantage of the situation to launch a powerful onslaught when his opponent is least expecting it, thereby increasing their chances of victory.”
Pang Xing was also nodding his head repeatedly in agreement. Though he was much lower in terms of rank compared to these two bigshots of the Adjudicator Union, he could still understand simple battle logics like this.
Qin Mang shook his head once more. “You’re not wrong. It’s best not to easily show one’s strongest move when taking on someone evenly matched. This is also a very reasonable fighting strategy, but have neither of you realized that both Xia Fei and Butcher are currently circling around a certain area as they continue fighting? In this arena that has hundreds of square meters for them to maneuver about to their hearts’ content, it seems that they’re only occupying that one spot, and every trade of blows has to be done there.”
Thuram then said, “That’s not hard to explain, too. In combat, it’s not just combat techniques that matter, demeanor matters as well. The two men don’t wish to back down at all, so this aggression they have is a demonstration of their uncompromising spirit.”
Qin Mang was apparently very satisfied. He rubbed his chin craftily, looking like a very cunning person. That smirk on his face perplexed Thuram. When he steeled himself to tell Qin Mang about what happened to Xia Fei, Qin Mang pointed at his nose and gave him a good earful. It was only because Thuram knew about his sect brother Qin Mang’s temperament that he endured it. Anyone else, and Thuram would have fallen out with him no matter how much of a good mood he was in.
However, after watching the match for thirty minutes, Qin Mang personality did a complete one-eighty. His face relaxed even as he glowed with an inexplicable sense of pride as if he had discovered treasure.
Qin Mang’s eyes glowed as he said excitedly, “Xia Fei has done well so far, so perhaps what the two of you have said is exactly what he wishes everyone to think.”
Thuram and Pang Xing shared a look of doubt. Qin Mang’s statement confused the two men greatly, unable to make sense of it.
“Let’s just continue watching. I hope that Xia Fei won’t disappoint me. Of course, he’s still going to need that bit of luck,” Qin Mang said.
…
The fight was as intense as ever. Xia Fei and Butcher seemed to be going all out in this fight, still being heavy-handed with their attacks, each and every blow thrown out showing that neither intended to give up until they took the other’s life.
Their weapons clashed once more, neither letting the other off. They were like bulls locking horns, completely relying on their strength to contend with each other.
The two came face to face. Figurative sparks flew when their eyes met.
“How is it?” Butcher furtively asked. The cheers and cries from all around them drowned out any noise, which served as a cover for the two to converse quietly with each other.
“I haven’t found it yet. I’ll need a bit more time,” Xia Fei said in a low voice.
“Five minutes. If you can’t do it in the next five minutes, the deal is off and I’ll go for the killing blow.”
Xia Fei smiled. “Okay.”
With that, Xia Fei spat right at Butcher’s face.
They were nose to nose with each other, and Butcher was unable to evade that shot of spit from Xia Fei .It blurred one of his eyes, causing him to rapidly back away several steps and use his sleeve to wipe the spit off.
…
“You rascal! I’LL F*CK*NG END YOU TODAY!” Butcher bellowed with a show of rage.
Actually, he was saying something else in his mind, ‘This has been quite a good show; I almost got fooled myself.”
Xia Fei stood on that fresh dent on the metal flooring, pointing toward Butcher with one finger. “Come and take my life if you’ve got the guts!”
“F*CK YOU! I’M GOING TO SMASH YOU!”
Butcher raised his greataxe high in the air. Under the harsh light, anyone could clearly make out that the edges of the axe had already been sharpened to the point it was more like a pickaxe due to the Butcher’s overaggressiveness.
Butcher used all his strength and cleaved down madly with it. Xia Fei hurriedly dodged to the side. Because this one blow from Butcher was so forceful, Xia Fei barely managed to evade the edge of that greataxe.
Xia Fet was standing precisely on a depression, which had been created from their previous exchange. Now that Butcher struck this same point again, this depression became even more obvious.
“Die!”
Xia Fei immediately countered with an attack of his own. His Bloodthirsty Screech stabbed toward Butcher, causing the man to roll backward as he scrambled to dodge the attack.
Coincidentally, this stab from Xia Fei ended up landing on the already badly damaged metal flooring.
The edge of the sword was sharp, and a crack formed on the several dozen meters thick metal flooring, revealing the granite block foundation. However, because the metal flooring was too thick, the crack was not particularly large.
“Lord Hook, should we stop the match? Their fight’s far too intense, so much so that the metal flooring itself is getting damaged,” hurriedly mentioned the attendant beside Hook. His sharp eyes had very quickly discovered the crack.
Hook dismissed him with a wave of his hand, unfazed. “Don’t interrupt me from enjoying the match. What’s a bit of damage, anyway? Do you think they can even run off anywhere? Do you know how much we’re making from this fight? Now scram!”
That attendant had no choice but to slink away.
Xiao Yu’s heart was all over the place as she watched from the stands. She was feeling all sorts of emotion—sadness, fear, and nostalgia. Each and every one of these thoughts was plunging in her young heart.
There were several women beside her who were dressed in the same black robes. Xiao Yu could not help but be on tenterhooks at every critical juncture of the fight, causing her breathing and expression to turn irregular from time to time.
A fat, middle-aged woman could not stand it anymore and chastised her, telling her not to get startled, but she simply could not find her inner peace.
That was when a pretty woman seated right in the center of their group opened her mouth to speak. She had an exquisite face, her snow-white skin lacking even a trace of blemish. The air she gave off seemed otherworldly, which made people subconsciously find her reminiscent of a fairy sister from the legends.
“Let’s go.” That fairy sister’s soft voice tinkled.
“No!” shouted Xiao Yu in her anxiety.