Ragna and Tarkan entered the stage at the same time, their eyes locked on each other.
The people thought Libation Fiesta was throwing the first match as the result was clear.
"As expected, Libation Fiesta is trying to bait Imemine by sending their vice captain. This way, they will lose the first match while their captain, Clovis, will defeat the opponent’s captain. After that, Jay will easily defeat his opponent."
"Ragna, huh? He is a very weak guy among guardians. In fact, even if he is a Tier 3 guardian, his actual strength is only Tier 2."
"Right? He is such an unreliable guardian."
"Why does Libation Fiesta even recruit him?"
"Right? Even during that last stand, he was being pushed by Gilza. If he managed to stand on his ground, he would be able to stop Tarkan just for a second, which would result in Kanaria shooting Tarkan down.
The people were looking down on him. They didn’t think Ragna could win against Tarkan. Even if he managed to get stronger and become a decent guardian, he would still be a level below Tarkan.
Ragna’s face remained calm and collected. He had expected this kind of reaction, but since it was irrelevant to the current him, he just ignored it.
It was true that if he stopped Tarkan even just for a second, it would change the winner of this match.
However, there was one thing they didn’t calculate.
Gilza’s action was like a suicide. It wasn’t what a normal person was supposed to do. In fact, if this was a life-and-death fight, Gilza would have died alongside Tarkan.
However, they took advantage of the rules’ loophole just to ensure they managed to win.
Tarkan playfully said, "It seems that people from this town don’t like you very much. What do you think?"
"It can’t be helped. How can I deny them when it’s true?" Ragna smiled.
Tarkan knew that it wasn’t true anymore. But Ragna was able to calmly reply to them without any trace of frustration. It would mean that he couldn’t shake his heart off by using people’s words.
Tarkan sighed, asking, "Is that why you join Libation Fiesta even if it means leaving this city?"
Ragna remained silent, but the answer was pretty clear at this point.
"Let’s have a fair match, shall we?"
Ragna nodded in agreement. There were three referees that would stop them in case the battle became dangerous, so they could fight without any worries.
When both fighters were ready, the referees checked on them first before giving a signal to Shion.
"The two competitors are ready to begin the battle. I bet that everyone is dying to find the conclusion to this match, as it will greatly impact the next battle. Any team that manages to gain two wins will advance to the next round. Will the seeded group prevail, or will the dark horse swallow their opponent? Let’s find out." Shion pressed the button for the countdown.
The number appeared on top of the arena as the audience counted together.
"3."
"2."
"1."
"Start!"
Tarkan’s eyes flashed as he was the first one to make his move. They were separated by five meters along with a few pillars, so it would take Tarkan two seconds to cover that distance.
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Meanwhile, Ragna raised his stance, ready to receive Tarkan’s attack.
There was one thing that Tarkan wanted to check first. It was Ragna’s strength. Could he actually block his attack? If the rumors were true, Ragna wouldn’t be able to block this attack.
Tarkan gathered his strength on his right hand using his beast soul.
Ragna skillfully followed Tarkan’s movement. When Tarkan was about to arrive, he slightly tilted his shield up, planning to let the punch slide up.
"!!!" Tarkan noticed that slight movement and hurriedly lowered his center of gravity, forcing his arms to also move down.
Bam!
The punch was connected.
Ragna was actually blown away by the punch.
"Kh." Ragna gritted his teeth as he barely managed to maintain his stable posture.
’His eyes were sharp enough to follow my movements when I originally wanted to confuse him by using those pillars. However, his strength is as rumored. In that case…’ Tarkan immediately chased after Ragna. The latter was sliding on the ground, trying to stop his momentum.
However, Tarkan actually managed to cover the gap between them before Ragna stopped.
With a smile, Tarkan punched forward, only to get a little surprise from Ragna.
Ragna suddenly opened up his shield a bit, allowing his spear to move.
"!!!" Tarkan’s instinct was screaming as his body tilted to the side. "Kh!"
The spear’s movement was swift and deadly. If not for his quick reaction, that thrust would have pierced his throat. Even the referees were on high alert.
’This bastard. He was lying.’ Tarkan gritted his teeth. Despite his tilted body, he actually managed to stomp the ground and use it to make his foundation stable. After that, he struck Ragna’s shield, planning to launch him away like earlier.
Bam!
This time, Ragna was pushed back by two meters, but he still managed to hold on.
Tarkan thought he would be able to gain some distance with that punch, but he was wrong. ’He is actually able to withstand that punch. I might not have momentum anymore, but that punch should have been enough to blow him away. As expected, he is hiding his strength… He might still be hiding a portion of his strength to catch me off guard.’
Ragna was the one moving forward this time, thrusting his spear at Tarkan’s chest.
On the other hand, Tarkan raised his stance and received the thrust like he did with Jay’s swing.
He let the spear hit the back of his hand before knocking it to the side with a flick of his hand.
The thrust momentum would pull Ragna in, allowing him to punch Ragna’s shield once again.
’How about this?’ Tarkan punched the shield with his other hand, but Ragna actually slammed his shield against Tarkan’s body before that punching motion.
"!!!" Tarkan widened his eyes in shock as the shield hit both his head and body before pushing it back by three meters. "Wha—"