Tensions were rising in the arena as Marcus and Mrazivy stared down Ghazi and Aziz while the announcer was giving his usual introduction. The four of them had basically already started the battle, fluctuating their mana towards each other in a show of power.
While all of their interactions up till this point had been cordial, this was the final battle of the tournament, and neither duo was going to back down in the slightest.
For Marcus and Mrazivy, this was their chance to show irrefutably that they could handle themselves in the Desolate Desert, and to take the prizes that the victors would receive. But for Ghazi and Aziz, they needed to win to show off the strength of not only their clan, but all of Aezam. If they lost to a group of foreign guests, it would show poorly on the nation as a whole and weaken the faith the people put in them.
It was all too clear which side held the loftier motivation, but just because Marcus and Mrazivy were doing this almost entirely for their own purposes did not mean that they were not going to give it all they had. They had come to win, and that was what they intended to do.
'I just wish the announcer would hurry this up. Everyone knows who Ghazi and Aziz are and how impressive they are. There is no need to continue to hype them up so much.'
Marcus was becoming a bit impatient and frustrated, as every moment before the start of the match was eating into his mana reserves. He currently had around two dozen buff spells cast on himself and Mrazivy, along with all his other spells conjuring creatures and items.
Unfortunately, the announcer seemed intent on extoling every one of Ghazi's and Aziz's past achievements before the match could truly begin.
Eventually when the crowd started to get a bit restless, the announcer wrapped up his long speech that almost intently focused on Ghazi and Aziz and gave the signal for the start of the battle.
The instant it started Aziz was the first to make his move. It happened incredibly quickly, and Marcus only just barely caught the movement.
Aziz had already used one of his unique skills, called Sonic Toss, to launch a projectile at Mrazivy.
His projectile of choice was an adamantine dart, and it flew towards its target at an incredible speed and was aimed directly at Mrazivy's neck.
However, before it connected with her, the amethros circlet she was wearing that was currently disguised activated its automatic defensive barrier and intercepted the speeding projectile.
The mana barrier lasted for less than a tenth of a second before the dart pierced right through it, showing how powerful the weapon was and the strength of the unique skill behind it.
Nevertheless, it gave Mrazivy enough time to react and she used her sword to turn the dart away.
Its momentum continued even as its course was changed, and the small dart impacted into the stage and burrowed into.
A small seismic event followed, and the entire arena shook for a couple of moments. Showing just how much force had been behind that single dart.
'So, that is what Zilre and Igna meant by his fighting style being unusual.' Marcus thought, watching another dart appear in Aziz's hand.
From all of the intel they had gathered, Aziz had never once used his true fighting style in any of the past Muharib Festivals and simply stuck to his scimitar which was his main weapon. But when he truly fought, he also would launch powerful darts with his unique skill. Making him a menace to deal with at any range.
"Oh, I was not expecting you to block that with it being your first time seeing it." Aziz said, impressed and surprised. Normally when he first used that move it scored big and caught his target off guard.
"Naturally we already looked at your status and knew you were a master with some type of throwing weapon. I am sure you are used to you magic items blocking appraisals for you, but that will not work on me." Mrazivy said, flashing her eyes golden for a second.
Her body then continued to take on more reptilian characteristics as she used her draconic form. This was not a battle where they were slowly going to reveal their powers as it went on. To beat the opponents before them, they needed to go all out.
"Embodiment of Eclipse Dark Form. Soul Burst."
All at once, Marcus exploded with incredible power as he activated his strongest Supreme Skill, and his limit breaking unique skill. He would only have three minutes now to fight at full power, but he knew a drawn-out fight would not be in their favor and was using his best cards right away.
Mrazivy likewise activated each of her limited use powers that massively buffed her abilities. With the rapid Flash Unique skill she became three times faster in all regards, and Apex of Winter slightly increased all of her stats while making the aura of cold around her even more intense. Causing a mini blizzard to form around her.
"Now this is what I have been waiting for!" Ghazi shouted, a massive bloodthirsty smile on his face.
As the grand elder of the Sulb Clan which boasted the strongest warrior, Ghazi enjoyed tough battles above all else and he was thrilled to finally get to engage with new powerful opponents.
Without much of a hint of strategy he took the massive amethros ax off of his back and began rushing towards Marcus like a berserker. His normally calm demeanor was gone.
Except, Marcus did not rush to meet the man charging towards him and instead turned towards Aziz who was patiently assessing the situation and waiting to react calmly to whatever unfolded in the wake of his brother's frenzied attack.
"Keep him busy." Marcus said, before turning into a ball of light and shooting off towards Aziz on the other side of the arena.
He and Mrazivy had already decided to try and take out Aziz first since it would be far easier to focus down on the weaker opponent and eliminate him first.
To that end, Marcus left his conjured creatures to stall Ghazi. He knew that they had no chance of winning, but he figured that they could hold him off for at least a minute.
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om