CRUSHING THE SECOND STAGE 2
1339 Words
The matches continued as the disciple ranked eighth placed her challenge, the match up was tense and lengthy. Her opponent ranked seventh was not much stronger and she also fought with determination. Matero was impressed, it was the first match up he would observe in the second since the start of the second round.
As soon as the match ended, he returned to meditating, he had no idea that Saru closely observed his actions. He was even being discussed by the masters present, they believed his level of cultivation was too low for the skills and expertise he displayed. Some of them suggested he used pills, others claimed he was a son of the heavens, it didn’t matter what they said, the explanations were just not satisfactory.
“I challenge the disciple ranked fourth.” Matero opened his eyes to see who challenged him, it was the disciple ranked sixth, she was referred to as Pinpin.
Matero sighed, he wanted to avoid challenges as much as possible but somehow, the others saw him as an easy target. He briskly walked up stage towards his opponent, he had no idea what she was capable of anyways but he could tell she was also at the first step of the second realm.
“Begin!” As soon as the verdict was given, Pinpin moved. She swiftly threw darts at Matero, they appeared out of nowhere and travelled at an unusual speed. Matero was startled, he was relaxed due to the distance between him and his opponent and he had no idea that she had long ranged assaults.
“Move!!!” Matero screamed in his mind, in that split second he pulled his sword and deflected the darts. Beads of sweat formed round his forehead, he took a deep breath. If he didn’t react quickly, the darts would have injured him terribly. Matero moved closer to Pinpin, trying to close the gap between him and her, his speed was near inhuman.
“Ah, that won’t do.” Pinpin chuckled and threw more darts, they moved like they had a mind of their own, travelled in curves and striking Matero’s flanks. Matero had to stop his advancement to properly defend himself.
“These darts are not normal after all.” Matero quickly analysed, the darts went in curves and even switched trajectories. “They are very similar to Kelena’s strings.”
Pinpin snapped her fingers and something happened, the darts Matero already deflected began to vibrate. Matero froze and glanced around warily, he gripped his sword tightly and gently took a stance. The vibrations lingered for a second and suddenly the darts all shot towards Matero, like a swarm of flies, they moved with perfect sync.
“Damn it, there is no end to this, I really have to get closer.” Matero deflected with all the speed he could muster, some began to rip through his garment.
Pinpin gave a smile but quickly stopped, right before her eyes Matero disappeared. Reappearing just beside her, he slashed out. He had always wanted to close the gap, her assaults were long ranged. It was logical that cultivators who used long ranged weapons were weak in close combat. They most likely had to spend years honing theirs skills and had no time to develop close combat techniques.
“Nice strategy.”
“The darts are of no use when he is that close.”
“Although she wears a sword, I don’t think she can use it.” One of the spectators chuckled.
Pinpin slashed out before Matero could react! It was like she expected the latter to close the gap in that manner. Matero had to block the hit in one swift motion, he already struck out any way. Pinpin edged closer, she defied their logic, she was excellent in close combat.
“She fights well close up too.” Matero dominated the exchange but he was surprised at how Pinpin moved. So far, he had stayed ahead of her, but he couldn’t defeat her right away too, Pinpin was calm and she made only rational decisions, it was like she had solely practised for the match up.
“Arrgh, what now.” Matero could hear the darts around vibrating, he knew what happened the last time, he hard a tough time deflecting the darts the first time and he wasn’t even wrestling Pinpin.
“She is within the range of her own attacks, she is in danger if those darts rain on Matero.” Xiao evaluated the situation. A lot of the observers also noticed this and without a doubt, Matero thought the same.
“The vibrations then, are they just a bluff.” Matero couldn’t think of a scenario when someone would unleash such an assault on themselves.
“You are wrong again!” Pinpin easily guessed everyone’s thoughts, she loudly announced with a smile. One of the darts shot towards her, it travelled with a speed greater than the previous assaults. Everyone gasped as it lodged itself perfectly into her skull. What dropped was not blood, it was the pin, it bounced back oof her like a ball.
“She is immune to the darts!”
“Matero is in trouble, he fell for her trap.”
“Now she can keep Matero engaged and strike him with her darts. This was all a trap.” The spectating elders analysed, the stands broke into discussion, for everyone, Matero would lose.
“So this is a trap.”Matero sighed as soon as Pinpin smiled, she played him perfectly. “It doesn’t matter where I go, far or near, she can always reach me.” Matero quietly analysed. “I guess I have to do that.”
The rest of the darts moved, they closed in like a cloud, approaching from every corner. The tension rose as they drew closer and Pinpin already had victory in her sights.
“What will you do little one.?” Saru questioned in his mind. Xiao’s eyes shone with expectation, this moment would determine the victor.
Just as the darts were about to make contact, Matero smiled. Pinpin could feel a chaotic aura bubble within him, it was a storm that ravaged the wild. It grew more condensed and more condensed until it burst forth.
The entire process was under a second, a powerful breeze burst forth with Matero has its centre. It swept everything it came across backwards, including Pinpin and her darts. She was thrown out of bounds and this meant Matero was victorious.
The spectators went wild, the cultivators in particular understood what Matero did. It was a feat that was near impossible, not because it was difficult but because it a product of extremely chanced events.
“He stepped up!”
“Wonderful, using that effect to his advantage.” Koi was impressed. “His talent and luck are both off the charts.”
Stepping up in the cultivation path came with various effects, some occurred with no physical prove, others couldn’t go without a bang. Crossing into the second step of the second realm was in particular famous for such explosiveness, it travelled with a force that could easily dominate anyone under the step. Pinpin was still at the first step and Matero was just able to step up whenever he wanted, he had saved it for other times but he was forced to reveal the trump card early.
“Matero wins.” The presiding judge announced and the spectators cheered, it was a natch up filled with twists and turns. The events were unexpected, a thriller from start to finish.
Matero smiled in relief, he gently returned to his seat among the fifteen, just as he was about to seat, a voice came from behind.
“I challenge the disciple ranked fourth.” Turning to face the voice, Matero was startled. It was Kelena.
- Writer
