Chapter 154: The Match is On: Cain’s Outburst

Chapter 154: The Match is On: Cain’s Outburst

In the first round, Arthur gained the upper hand but didn’t rush into a second attack. Instead, he steadily faced off against Cain, taking a moment to get himself into prime condition before launching his assault.

At this point, Cain had also steadied himself.

As Arthur charged at him, Cain decided not to take the brute force approach head-on.

Getting hit wouldn’t be in his favor.

Moreover, retreating was out of the question.

If he backed down, Arthur would seize control of the battle’s rhythm, dashing all hopes for a comeback.

So, Cain chose an unorthodox path.

As Arthur charged straight at him, he quickly maneuvered to Arthur’s side.

In his sprint, Arthur noticed Cain’s movement and adjusted his direction, continuing to dash toward Cain.

However, thanks to that brief pause, Arthur’s momentum had noticeably waned.

Suddenly, Cain halted his evasive maneuver.

Planting his feet firmly, he executed a sudden stop.

At the same time, using his momentum, he struck out with his long sword toward the charging Arthur.

Clang!

Arthur blocked the attack with his own long sword, held firmly before him.

Despite Cain’s swift movement, it was still slightly slower for Arthur.

Some minor tricks couldn’t escape his sharp eyes.

Since both were executing surprise moves, their power was limited.

After a moment of stalemate, they didn’t revert to their previous posturing of taking steps back.

If they did retreat, it would be a tactical withdrawal to regain their stance.

After taking a couple of steps back, they charged toward each other once again.

Clang clang clang!…

This time, their exchange wasn’t limited to just one strike.

Their long swords danced, clashing together in a symphony of ringing sounds.

In mere minutes, they engaged in dozens of rounds of offense and defense.

The speed of their swords was so fast that the onlookers could barely track their trajectories, only catching glimpses of blurry shadows.

But that very spectacle is what the audience loved to see.

And they were absolutely engrossed.

After dozens of exchanges, the two withdrew slightly, both slightly out of breath.

In the moments spent catching their breath, Cain seized the opportunity and charged directly at Arthur with both hands on his sword.

Arthur stood his ground, ready for the challenge.

He appeared flawless.

Halfway through his charge, Cain veered off course and accelerated, appearing behind Arthur.

Leaving only an afterimage to distract Arthur.

However, for Arthur, seeing through this afterimage was still manageable.

He quickly turned to face Cain head-on.

At that instant, Cain once again changed direction and accelerated, finding himself at Arthur’s right side…

This continued for several loops, leaving multiple afterimages around Arthur.

With the number of afterimages increasing, and Cain constantly on the move, Arthur struggled to pinpoint where Cain truly was.

He could only estimate his position based on the air currents, essentially the wind.

In other words, for attacking Cain now, merely relying on sight wasn’t enough.

In the stands, the audience was completely enthralled.

They felt their visit was worthwhile; such a thrilling fight was rare in a lifetime.

Now they were witnessing it live.

Especially with Cain’s current display of high-speed movement, the vibrant scene would make anyone gasp in amazement.

However, all of this might only be fascinating to the average spectators.

Someone like Airael saw deeper into the spectacle.

While it appeared that Cain was showcasing his might, it was clear he had been performing for quite some time without making a move against Arthur, let alone inflicting any damage.

Airael found it completely perplexing what Cain was thinking.

In reality, Cain wished to strike soon.

Maintaining this state was exhausting.

But the attack had to be a deathblow.

If he missed the first strike, he’d find it much harder to succeed against a foe like Arthur the second time around.

Observing Arthur’s composed demeanor, Cain felt a growing uncertainty in his heart.

Even though he had made a name for himself in the Grand Arena, the opponents he faced here were of a much lower caliber than Arthur.

Thus, he lacked experience fighting someone of Arthur’s level.

This left him with little understanding of Arthur.

His assessment of Arthur’s strength was merely based on hearsay, knowing only that Arthur was remarkably strong, a widely recognized figure across the continent.

Despite appearing calm and collected, Arthur’s heart raced underneath.

While he could sense Cain’s movements through the wind, it wasn’t something to do lightly.

He could feel that Cain was actively trying to counteract this.

As he dashed, Cain would deliberately disrupt the nearby air currents, obscuring his exact position.

This was the greatest challenge.

You could use the wind to sense your enemy, but your enemy could also use the wind to conceal his movements.

Consequently, after feeling around for a while, Arthur could only estimate Cain’s approximate position.

During such moments, he couldn’t afford to act recklessly; mistaking a dummy for the real target would land him in immense trouble.

Time passed slowly.

After a while, noticing Arthur still steely calm, Cain gritted his teeth and decided it was time to go for broke.

He waited for the perfect moment and charged at Arthur from his left.

Although Arthur sensed an enemy on his left, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location in that fleeting moment.

He turned to see a somewhat blurry figure hurtling toward him, and then his chest took a heavy blow.

A long sword grazed against his armor, creating a shower of sparks as he was sent staggering back.

With newfound determination, Cain seized the chance to continue his attack.

However, Arthur’s condition was not as dire as Cain had imagined.

He hadn’t lost his ability to respond; the previous moment was merely a surprise attack that caught him off guard.

Stabilizing himself against the continuing advance of Cain, Arthur hastily retreated.

Cain’s momentum was like a raging tide, while Arthur’s was still building.

In this aspect, he couldn’t match Cain, increasing the likelihood of losing.

Seeing Arthur pull back, Cain pursued immediately without a second thought.

With one retreat and one advance, the two soon found themselves clashing once more, igniting an intense battle.