Ch.33Arena (2)

“Phew, you can’t just stand there frozen, you know? Try to come at me using numbers.”

I looked ahead as I said this.

Perhaps because of what happened to one of them who couldn’t put up any resistance, I could see their bodies becoming even more rigid with tension than before.

Just when I thought this might lead to event failure, I felt a chilling sensation at my neck.

Clang!

I quickly drew my sword to defend my neck, and the sound of blade meeting spear rang out.

‘He was hiding among the frightened ones, waiting for me to approach.’

Even with my heightened sensitivity to gazes and emotions, I couldn’t detect every single stare. Especially when a few were hiding among many.

Scraaape…

The spear wielder pressed his weapon against my sword, as if testing my strength.

‘That level of power won’t be enough.’

I had killed all those Apostles and consumed the elixir that was there. In terms of physical ability alone, I had grown nearly twice as strong as before I left. Considering I had also awakened my sword energy, I was even stronger.

So there was no reason I should be pushed back by this level of force.

I lightly deflected the spear pressing against my sword, creating an opening. Simultaneously, I turned my body to close the distance and swung my sword through that gap.

Clang-!

Was it because I didn’t imbue the strike with sword energy? Or because I held back? The spearman quickly recovered his weapon and managed to block my sword.

But when I started applying pressure to my sword just as the spearman had done earlier, he quickly became overwhelmed and shouted to the others.

“Ngggh… Attack!”

No sooner had the spearman finished speaking than several others who had been hiding among the frightened ones, watching and waiting, sprang out.

‘The quick ones total 7 people.’

I took in the sight of those rushing toward me, not allowing myself to be intimidated. These would be the main figures driving today’s event.

Whether they knew my thoughts or not, these seven, who could be considered the most skilled, swung their weapons at me with all their might.

‘They’re not particularly coordinated.’

They were trying not to get in each other’s way, but there was no fluid teamwork as a single unit.

Most of them were probably meeting each other for the first time, so this was understandable. Still, I controlled my strength and swung my sword to help create something more.

I pushed them back but never attacked with enough force to finish them. Threatening but not lethal attacks.

‘My one-sided domination might be entertaining in its own way, but I won’t always be showing my face in this arena.’

I needed to establish myself as the owner of this arena, but I shouldn’t create the impression that I’m the only attraction.

Clang-! Thud! Crash!!!

As I clashed weapons with the seven warriors, the rest of them gradually began to regain their senses.

“Uwaaaaah!!!”

Had they gained courage from the desperate resistance put up by the seven warriors? They charged at me with strange cries that could have been either battle cries or screams.

With all the planned participants now in motion, the battle began to heat up in earnest.

‘Since there are so many people, and to create some tension, maybe I should start reducing their numbers.’

I looked at a swordsman who was charging at me with his sword. Coincidentally, he used a sword similar to mine.

I struck his sword before he could complete his swing, canceling his attack.

“Huh?”

Perhaps he hadn’t expected his attack to be disrupted before it was even fully executed. He made a momentarily stunned sound.

He seemed quite shocked, but that wasn’t reason enough to spare him in battle.

First, one down.

Slash-.

After cutting diagonally across the swordsman’s upper body, I followed through with a kick that sent him flying far away.

“At this distance, you can’t swing your blade..!!”

In the gap created while I was sending my defeated opponent flying as far as possible, a new opponent slipped in.

An opponent wearing gauntlets. I could tell he was an in-fighter who specialized in close combat.

Given the extra time he had, he had somehow managed to get within a comfortable fighting distance.

“Indeed, it’s difficult to use a sword at this distance.”

I stabbed my sword into the ground. Simultaneously, aura began to concentrate in my right arm. The aura soon took the form of battle energy and enveloped my arm.

“With bare hands, I can’t perform fancy techniques like with a sword. I only have raw power.”

“What the-!”

The boxer belatedly sensed something was wrong and raised both arms in a defensive stance, but it was already too late.

Crack.

I shattered the guard he had formed by crossing his arms and sent this opponent flying far away as well.

The boxer who was sent flying finally stopped when he crashed into the arena wall.

‘Maybe that was a bit much, but it shouldn’t be life-threatening.’

Just before sending him flying, I felt like I had broken the bones in both arms as he tried to guard.

Still, trusting that the prepared healers would rush in, I refocused on the battle.

“I’ll increase my speed a bit more, so try to keep up.”

Retrieving my sword that I had momentarily stabbed into the ground, I increased the amount of aura flowing through my body by one level.

“Kuhak!”

“Kwaak!”

The rate at which warriors fell accelerated, and before long, more than fifty had been cut down by my sword and were rolling on the ground.

Meanwhile, the seven warriors I had initially marked continued their struggle.

Being the most skilled among the 100, they had the best timing from beginning to end. Thanks to that, their coordination, which had been awkward at first, was now somewhat presentable.

Of course.

“Kugh..!”

“Hey, spear guy, you okay?”

The fact that they were still far from being able to touch me remained unchanged.

Still, I hadn’t dealt enough damage to force them to retire, so they would quickly recover and return after resting a bit in the back.

‘Though I don’t plan to just wait while they recover.’

The current battle pattern was simple.

I continued fighting as if I was barely holding on when all seven warriors attacked together.

The seven warriors, while taking hits, either improved their individual skills or their teamwork to keep up with my movements.

Once they seemed to be keeping up, I would increase my speed to create the same situation as before.

If someone temporarily dropped out, other warriors would rush in to fill the gap, even if just for a moment.

When they rejoined, the seven would again withstand my attacks while other warriors looked for openings to strike at me.

From their perspective, I was constantly pushing them beyond their limits, and then beyond those limits again.

This extreme battle would end either when the seven warriors collapsed first, or when all the warriors filling in the gaps were defeated.

If they achieved explosive growth enough to defeat me in the meantime, that would be another way… but thanks to my War God trait, that was nearly impossible.

I wasn’t expecting that level of achievement from them anyway.

‘Go ahead and imprint in the audience’s minds that you’re promising talents worth watching.’

Although this arena was created because of my beauty, it shouldn’t exist solely for my beauty.

I wouldn’t be staying in the arena permanently; in fact, I would be present far less often.

‘Though this arena was created unintentionally, it would benefit my reputation more if it thrived.’

Around the time I sent another ten warriors flying, the spearman who had temporarily withdrawn returned and swung his spear at me.

“He’s back!!”

Hope appeared on the faces of the exhausted fighters at the spearman’s return. It was fascinating how they had built such camaraderie in such a short time fighting together.

Still, as that bond grew stronger, their cooperation became smoother, which wasn’t a bad thing.

In fact, despite my increased speed, they once again managed to balance themselves against me.

“Then… let’s increase the speed even more!”

Once again, the output of aura supplied to my body increased by another level.

The faces of those who had expected this to be the end now showed emotions close to disgust, but strangely, no one gave up.

Instead, they charged at me with even stronger determination, burning with fighting spirit.

For a moment, I wondered if they might be masochists who enjoyed pain, but that probably wasn’t the case.

“Indeed, there’s a certain satisfaction in fighting, clashing, and growing.”

Although I was clashing with those much weaker than me, it wasn’t as if I gained nothing from it.

Each person’s unique movements and martial arts were definitely accumulating as experience for me.

“We’re dying from exhaustion here!!”

Of course, I didn’t receive complete empathy from them.

It was unavoidable since they felt they were making progress despite the difficulty.

And after what seemed like an endless battle, the end gradually came into sight. Despite the improvement in their skills and teamwork, their stamina was visibly running out.

Eventually, all the other warriors collapsed, leaving only the original seven I had marked standing before me.

“Good job, everyone. You kept up better than I expected.”

They all looked like they might collapse at any moment, but they were still standing before me, using the last of their strength.

They were in such a state that a slight push would make them fall over.

Everyone was too exhausted to speak, so the spearman stepped forward as their representative to respond to my words.

“I’m not sure if we kept up… or if we were dragged along. But… I’m glad we lived up to your expectations…”

Perhaps because he was the first to swing a weapon at me, he seemed to be treated as the leader by the other six as well.

As I was thinking this while observing them, my gaze must have been too obvious. The spearman spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

“Um… why are you staring at us so intently…”

“Oh, I was just thinking that if the seven of you formed an adventurer party, it would make quite a nice picture. Though you’d need additional members for other roles.”

“Really? Do you mean that?”

Upon hearing my words, all seven simultaneously showed expressions that seemed to ask, “Should we really try it?”

It seemed they were actually going to form a party.

“Well then, let’s have each of you introduce yourselves, receive some cheers, and then come down.”

“What? What do you mean…”

As the battle was coming to an end, I gestured to the host who had been watching from a distance, timing when to speak, asking for the microphone.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you.”

Taking the microphone, I slowly began to release my magical power. It wasn’t as much as when I first displayed it, but it was enough to draw attention.

“Ahem, ah. I hope you enjoyed today’s event battle. I hope your journey here was worthwhile, and I’d like to dedicate today’s victory to these warriors.”

At my words, both the warriors and the audience didn’t quite understand what I meant.

“Aren’t they young people with bright and promising futures? Of course, I’m also a fresh young person myself.

Still, please remember them not just as warriors swept away by Frey, but as young people who brilliantly bloomed with their potential.”

After saying this, I returned the microphone to the host.

“Don’t even think about just walking off stage. Make proper introductions, and if you have anything to promote, promote it properly.”

Especially that party you’re going to form.

After making sure they understood and wouldn’t just exit after I had set the stage for them, I could finally put my robe back on with peace of mind.

Although many in the audience were still looking at me since the robe lacked perception-hindering functions, their attention would shift to the warriors once I left this place.