The Eternal Debauchery's

second round

My second opponent is an eighth-tier practitioner. He was a large young man in his twenties with a huge sword on his back.

Its aura was stable like a mountain, but at the same time, its muscles hid a powerful force that was ready to erupt like a volcano.

When the two of us appeared on stage, the arena exploded with lively cheers.

We could be considered as two favourites to win the tournament. Although of course, the main favorite remains Louis.

I stared at my opponent for a moment, quickly realizing something.

Mm? He wasn't poisoned.

I'm not sure if it's because he noticed the poison and didn't eat the snacks or because he accepted Alan's proposal, but I can see he wasn't poisoned.

However, I don't have time to think about it. When the emperor realized we were both ready, he swung his hand down.

"Start!"

Again, the young man was the first to make a move. He stepped on the ground and launched himself towards me.

With each step he took, the stage shook violently. It was as if an earthquake shook the arena.

Then, he raised his greatsword and swung it diagonally.

The attack was so powerful that even before reaching me, the wind she was carrying had pressed my clothes onto my skin.

When the attack was about to arrive, I jumped to the side, dodging it and unleashing a punch towards the young man.

*BOOM!!!* the great sword struck the ground, causing the entire arena to tremble. The young man in front of me then used the recoil of the attack to raise his sword again and block my punch.

*delivery!*

The punches and swords collided, creating a metallic sound that echoed on the stage. It was then followed by several other metallic sounds caused by the countless collisions between my attack and the greatsword.

The young man's fighting style was very steady, but at the same time it was explosive. He maintained an airtight defense, stopping my every attack from reaching him, while at the same time noticing the opportunity to attack me.

To him, he only needed to land a punch. With just a single blow, it was already more than enough to cripple most of the enemies he fought.

Of course, I'm not in there. But the young man did not know.

This time, I did not defeat the young man so easily. Instead, I held back and showed that I struggled a little.

I was playing to fool Alan. To make him believe he's in control.

Alan thinks he poisoned me, right? Then, I would act like that, only to shatter his hopes at the very last second.

I'm sure his expression will be very interesting.

With the course of the fight, my movements started to become wider and a little slower. Most of the audience paid no attention to anything, but those with sharp eyes could see it.

Soon, most of them came to the conclusion that I was tired.

In fact, Dina and the empress were looking towards the stage nervously, while Alan was smiling confidently, as if everything was within his grasp.

"What's going on? You're getting slower! ” The young man who fought me mocked me with a smile. "It looks like you're nothing more than this!"

I didn't say anything, just frowned a little as if thinking about the situation. From an outsider's point of view, I was like I was worried about that battle.

And, I wonder in my heart how long I need to extend this.

If I wanted to fool Alan, I had to make it look as if I was just winning by chance, and I could lose by just a small mistake.

So, I continued to slow down my movements, making them even more rigid. Immediately, my punch became less, and the young man's attacks increased in intensity.

His great sword made a swoosh sound as it cut through the air in an attempt to crush my body under its weight. At the same time, the grin on the young man's face turned even fiercer, as if he had already seen his victory.

Even the audience began to realize something was wrong. They could see I was being suppressed by my opponent.

At that moment, the young man shouted.

"Hhhh!"

The vibration was very strong and sudden. Besides, I had just repositioned my position back then.

For a moment, I staggered.

The young man's eyes sparkled happily.

With a wild expression, He raised his greatsword once more and swung it towards my head.

Gasps rang out from the stands, and many people closed their eyes unable to see the horrifying sight that was about to happen next.

But to their surprise, they did not hear the disgusting sound they expected.

Instead, they heard a soft thud.

When they opened their eyes in curiosity, they saw the big-bodied young man looking at me with an expression of disbelief as my right hand leaned against his chest.

As for my left hand, it had pushed its greatsword, making it miss the mark.

"You ..." The big-bodied young man tried to speak, but then, blood spurted out of his mouth, falling to the ground.

Finally, he fainted unconscious.

I gasped and took a deep breath. Then, I stood firmly and looked towards the stands.

The Emperor spoke up at that moment.

“Winner, Clark!”

For a moment, silence filled the stands.

But suddenly

“Waaaahhhh!!”

Harsher cheers than the previous ones erupted from the crowd.

Smiling softly, I bowed once more and left the arena.

Mm... this much acting should be enough, right?

…

At the same time, in the booth of the Imperial Family.

Alan frowned softly when he heard the empress and the emperor discussing the battle just now.

"This battle is pretty good, yeah." The empress spoke up while looking at the arena. “The young man, the way he turned the situation around at the last second was awesome.”

"You're right," the Emperor nodded. “However, he tired himself during this battle. I'm not sure if he will be able to win next time.”

"Who knows? Maybe he'll do it.” The empress said with a small smile.

However, without him noticing, his words made Alan's frown even deeper.

Alan then called a servant nearby and whispered something in his ear.

"Bring him out in the next round."

The waiter nodded, leaving immediately.

Coincidentally, he was the same servant that spoke to Claus.

In fact, he talks to each of the favourites to win the tournament.

Of them, only Claus and others rejected the crown prince's offer.

One of them has been eliminated. Now, he needed to make sure the others came out as well.