[The swords of the two players clash in midair. Boom!]
[That was definitely the Taeguk Hye Sword, right? Wow… What in the world is this player?]
[There are still 3 minutes left until the end of the first half. The players’ barriers are all hovering around 60%.]
[There’s a saying that says never engage in a stamina battle against the Chinese, but it’s clear that NoName looks much more agile!]
[As soon as that was said, Ruohan’s legs give way! NoName presses the attack! Pressure! She continues to swing her sword!]
Suddenly, a recoil hits Ruohan’s body.
Because she didn’t move as her aura intended.
Aura that surpasses the threshold of limits definitely puts a strain on the body.
Like being dragged around while twirling a heavy schoolbag.
Na-me charges towards Ruohan with a smirk.
The Cheonghwa Sword looms in front of her.
Ruohan tries to counter as a latecomer, but Na-me has the perfect counter magic.
[Unique: Adela]
“…!”
Ruohan’s body, honed by relentless training, instinctively adopts a defensive stance.
Na-me arrogantly engraves gears onto Ruohan’s sword.
Clang-!
The mana engraving clings to the Mudang Sect’s sword like barnacles, ominously ticking away.
‘All I need to do is destroy that magic circle!’
Ruohan’s gaze is fixed on the magic circle.
The method of breaking Adela, researched by wizards for the past year.
It involves implanting disruption circuitry into the main magic circle.
Then, all the accumulated energy would turn to null!
However, Na-me noticed her unsettling movement.
Na-me hides the magic circle behind her back and provocatively twirls her sword.
From now on, there’s no retreat for either side; it’s a head-on showdown.
Both swords gleam menacingly.
[Taeguk Hye Sword – Yin Yang Unfreeze]
[Black]
Ruohan drives in on Na-me’s right side, swinging her aura.
Whoosh-
The Taeguk on the ground spins.
“…!”
An abrupt turn that seems to defy the laws of physics.
[White]
A top-tier aura transformation follows.
In an instant, Ruohan appears to Na-me’s left and brings down her white sword.
Slash-!
Amidst the swirling barriers, Na-me’s eyes chill with determination.
From the start, Ruohan’s attack was divided with the aura into two points.
First was the white sword, then the black sword, then another white sword, only for another black sword to mercilessly break Na-me’s barriers.
Crack-!
Na-me desperately slips through a narrow opening to jab her sword in, but Ruohan deflects her attempt.
Just before she was about to implant the disruption circuitry into the magic circle.
[Light]
Na-me quickly retrieves her sword with the same method.
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship 18th Style – Crescent Cut]
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship 388th Style – Sun Evasion]
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship 121st Style – Crow Pecking]
The Imperial Palace Swordsmanship unfolds without a hitch, highlighting the uniqueness of her magic.
[Unique Magic – Estasha Style First Form]
[Adella – 25 Series]
“That won’t do. Do you have any idea how much effort I put into designing this?”
[Break]
Kaboom-!
A cannon-like explosion pierced through the training arena’s barrier, reaching the audience.
[Round of 32 Match 98]
[Time: 15:00]
[NoName (Republic of Korea)] [54% | 83%]
[Lu Ruohan (China)] [45% | 61%]
As halftime arrives, the commentators are electrified.
[That was a respectable clean hit! NoName is truly demonstrating the power of her unique magic! Did you see? This is how Adela is used!]
[It seems she is executing a strategy that can definitely lead to victory. Looking only at the depleted barriers, the difference isn’t huge, but Lu Ruohan must have used a lot of aura, right? This could significantly impair her performance in the second half.]
– Always think, “Isn’t the size difference like David and Goliath?” Haha!
– NoName! NoName! NoName! NoName!
– Multi-Aura is overwhelming.
– For real, it feels like two people are fighting four!
– How did Taeguk Hye Sword do that?
– Chinese players are good too… There’s no easy opponent.
– We were 2nd in the group, but we happen to be in the same group as Katsuhata, haha!
A bottle of water gets poured over Ruohan’s head as she returns to the arena.
As the cameraman captures the veins in her legs, the Chinese audience cheers with tear-filled eyes.
In comparison, Na-me hops around the arena like a rabbit, showing no signs of fatigue.
As commentators noted, the second half began to lean heavily in favor.
As the duel resumes, Ruohan shifted from the Taeguk Hye Sword to focus on Taeguk Sword and Samjae Sword techniques.
She is clearly holding back on using multi-aura as much as possible.
When they strike, they dodge just inches away from each other, engaging in an aura-consuming battle.
[NoName (Republic of Korea)] [50% | 61%]
[Lu Ruohan (China)] [32% | 55%]
Then, with 8 minutes left in the second half, a critical blunder from Ruohan finally surfaces.
Whoosh-
A chilling blade passes just above Na-me’s head.
Her movement was just too exaggerated.
Since she wasn’t activating the multi-aura, she had no radical evasive measures.
Ruohan realized too late and attempted to seal Na-me’s arm with an external manifestation.
[Unique Magic: Tongue Against Sword]
[Delayed Casting: Ignis Respicio]
Zing-!
Na-me opened her mouth wide and shot forth a golden beam towards Ruohan’s chin.
“Ahhh!”
Ruohan screams and goes tumbling down.
At the same moment, the overwhelming brightness blinds everyone.
“Sometimes, you gotta close your eyes to fight!”
Na-me shouts as she charges forward.
Ruohan swings her sword toward the sound, but this was exactly what Na-me intended.
[Retrieval: Ignis Respicio]
Crackling-!
“Ughhh!”
Pure mana encapsulated energy strikes from behind.
Having been blinded by the Tongue Against Sword, she couldn’t see the delayed double casting.
Beeeeee-!
With Ruohan’s sight gone, so was her hearing as Na-me took her stance.
The aura of crimson and deep blue once again formed the Taeguk pattern.
[Cast: Black Aurora]
Plasma ignites the entire Taeguk pattern, unleashing a massive amount of energy.
Na-me drags the Cheonghwa Sword along the ground to absorb aura.
Thud-
She takes a step forward.
Stomp-
Then strides sideways.
Swish-!
On the third step, she leaped up, delivering a fierce strike.
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship 20th Style – Half-Moon Cut]
[Taeguk Hye Sword – One Mind Reaches Heaven]
The aura, now soaring 5 meters high, slices diagonally through the training arena.
The audience finally grasps the significance of the barrier.
Whoosh-
The mana masses burst in all directions, striking the outer walls and creating ripples in the lake.
The audience in the front row, stiff-faced, stared at the heaving barrier of the arena.
From this distance, it must be an astounding display of power.
One could only think that Ruohan, getting hit directly, wouldn’t possibly endure.
In the arena, grass is cut, and sand scatters as Na-me coughs slightly yet frowns.
Rising on her two feet, Ruohan remains steadfast.
She rests her sword on the ground with both hands, not moving an inch.
Among the toughest Taeguk Hye Sword techniques is One Mind Reaches Heaven.
Though Ruohan never truly grasped it, she uttered her regrets as she was swept to the ground by Na-me’s attack.
Thud- Crack-
However, Ruohan’s barrier crumbled like a shed skin, falling to the ground.
Perhaps from absorbing immense shock all at once, the entire structure seems to have collapsed.
[Round of 32 Match 98]
[Time: 24:01]
[NoName (Republic of Korea)] [48% | 51%]
[Lu Ruohan (China)] [⚠10% (Non-recoverable) | 31%]
Not a complete destruction, but a non-recoverable state.
[Lu Ruohan (China)] [⚠10.183% (Non-recoverable) | 30.957%]
The particle barrier never dipped below 10%.
The match wasn’t over yet.
Na-me slowly approached her, raising her head.
Ruohan followed suit, wearily tilting hers down.
“I really hate the phrase ‘I realize things in combat.’ It sounds way too lucky.”
“Ha… Ha…”
“Still, you seem deserving.”
The Mudang Sect’s holy sword, flowing with powerful mana.
Na-me gently placed her small hand atop Ruohan’s.
The transparent barrier that had wrapped around Ruohan’s hand crackled and fell away.
“Was this truly my best?”
Ruohan trembled as she voiced her regrets.
Eliminated in the top 32.
It would seem pitiful for China, rated as a strong nation, to have such a record in the National Exchange Tournament.
“You’ll see when I fight in the future. Walking against me on two feet is way cooler.”
The barrier surrounding the training arena opened.
Within the stadium filled with 100,000 people, there were plenty of Chinese spectators.
Worried they might boo and jeer, Ruohan squeezed her eyes shut.
“Wowwwww!”
“Whosh-!”
“It’s okay! You did well!”
Surprisingly, only rapturous applause and whistles came from Ruohan’s side.
“Hey Ruohan!”
“…?”
From a distance, Na-me strikes a pose.
“Are you trying to take this away from me too?”
Ruohan chuckles in disbelief, returning the favor with a traditional bow of respect from Korea.
*
Both Chinese players were eliminated early from the National Exchange Tournament.
The results of the past cannot be changed.
First, the coaching staff faced a barrage of criticism for inadequate strategic preparation. The fact that they delivered a spectacular match wasn’t enough to absolve Ruohan from criticism.
But would cursing their national team give them back their dignity?
All they wished for was one thing.
That NoName, who defeated Ruohan, rises as high as she can, as much as she can.
[China’s national team head coach remarked, “It’s a pity we faced a championship contender too early. If the draw was kind, the semifinals could have been possible.” The remark sparked controversy.]
