Progenitor Vampire: I Have Many Skills!-Chapter 679: A Different Martial Art
When they finished arranging the combat arena, 32 tiles were laid out on it, as large as a small combat arena.
Each of these tiles was prepared for the first 32 to achieve it in the first test, so Matthew had his place there on the first tile.
Not many knew who he was, but he sat quietly in that spot and closed his eyes.
’The seal they put on this place is quite good and powerful. Although I could easily break it, it would be quite difficult for a person with 60,000 power to do so,’ he thought.
Among the leaders of this city, several stood out with around 120,000 vampire power. They were as strong as several clans from the City of Clans, but those here were more physically prepared, making them considerably more powerful than they appeared. Removing a restriction from them would be complicated, even if it were inside your own body.
Between 5:30 and 6:00, all the contestants arrived.
The top 32 took their places, which started the second phase at the appointed time.
Finally, Matthew stood up. Juliet, who was second, greeted him from afar, while many others gave him provocative looks. He didn’t care; he just looked under his tile.
Sixty-eight contestants were studying the different tiles to decide which one to start with. It wasn’t certain that the first one would be the most powerful; sometimes the most powerful ones are in the last positions, trying to pretend to be something they are not to avoid too much attention.
That’s why studying their rivals was the first step toward conquering a tile.
Soon, the battles began.
Most people ignored the top positions. Although the first is not always the most powerful, it is still the first, so it could be synonymous with power. Especially if the second is someone as prominent as Juliet, and the rest of the top 10 belong to her group of distinguished young masters in the city.
Therefore, of the 68, more than half challenged those between ranks 15 and 32, and few concentrated their forces on the top positions.
’It’s hard to beat the leader. That guy seems calm and reserved, but he couldn’t be in first place if he wasn’t talented,’ thought one of the contestants below, William, a foreigner who had come from faraway lands. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
’But whoever finishes first in this phase will receive a substantial improvement in the rewards they earn. It’s not a bad idea to try, especially since we’re both foreigners and we finished in the top 25.’ He finally approached the first tile and looked at Matthew.
’I have a feeling this guy is dangerous,’ thought William, taking several deep breaths before stepping onto the tile.
"I’m William, from Dark Spring City," he said. "I hope to challenge you."
Matthew nodded. "Is Dark Spring that city near Madness City?" he asked.
Among his destinations during this trip would be the City of Madness, although he would not visit it for practical purposes.
William nodded. "That’s right. We are the ones who contain the madmen of the City of Madness."
"Oh." Matthew nodded. "I always thought that no one contained them, since they are quite... insane and do crazy things freely."
William smiled, shrugging his shoulders.
"Containing them so that their chaos does not spread outside the City of Madness is our mission, as those born in those lands. What they do inside is none of our business."
Matthew simply nodded.
"I heard that the martial arts of the Dark Spring are the closest thing to magic. I wonder if that’s true." He drew his sword and made it shine in the artificial lights of the combat arena. "I hope to see it today."
William smiled. "Good. Since we’re the only foreigners in the top 25, I hope you surprise me."
His sword also glowed with a particular, darkened hue, as if it were water, and seemed to contain strange pearls inside.
’Pearls and water? It’s an evolution of sword art...?’ he thought.
William immediately jumped toward him and quickly closed the distance between them, swinging his sword hard with a horizontal motion.
Matthew quickly moved his sword and stopped it.
CLANK*
The first impact did not delay the combat. Suddenly, William’s sword shone alongside the pearls in the strange aquatic aura that enveloped it. Immediately, the sword seemed to transform into something solid, impossible to resist, and highly versatile.
Each pearl that reached its maximum brightness transformed into a sword attack that struck Matthew at an impressive speed.
In the next moment, the pearl would fade, and another would light up, creating an additional powerful sword attack coming from the direction of the pearl.
It was as if the pearl was a portal, and the sword moved between them, looking for the best places to attack!
It was a sudden and surprising attack, forcing Matthew to retreat...
"He’s the son of the Dark Spring." Richard, in the distance, had not taken his eyes off Matthew’s arena; he wanted to see how good this boy was.
"It seems that a son of the Dark Spring will once again be the talk of the town," his subordinate replied with a wry smile.
"Well, that’s normal. Their martial art is too special. Do you think it’s really a magical evolution and shouldn’t be considered a martial art?"
"Mr. Richard, I think you know better than I do that it’s an entirely physical art that doesn’t use a shred of vampire power. If that’s not a martial art... then fists could never be."
"Hahaha, then the elders of the city who oppose it are idiots."
"For our race to be balanced, it is necessary for there to be a few idiots for every certain number of inhabitants, Mr. Richard."
"Hahaha." Richard laughed heartily; he couldn’t agree with him more. "But what will little Lewis do then? Will he be able to counter that martial art?"
"Well..." His subordinate scratched his nose a little. "I don’t think he’ll even make it through that first charge. We all know that when you have no idea about that attack, his first charge can be deadly."
"You have so little faith in him..." Richard shook his head. "Let’s hope he knows him, at least that he’s seen him once; it will help him avoid a good deal of the damage. I don’t want him to fall so quickly."
"Are you rooting for him, Mr. Richard?"
"Quite a bit, yes. Recently, I’ve been rooting for the underdog, as you can see."
"Hahaha, I’ll go with the idea that you’ve seen something I haven’t and continue watching the fight."
"Who knows." Richard smiled curiously... although he was just trying to be mysterious.
