Chapter 285: Tiana's first opponent

The Eclipse Battleground's Tournament had finally commenced for Tiana and Christina. The third and the final category was finally going to battle.

The entire stadium was filled with people. The audience was much greater than the previous categories.

The fights occurring in the third category were the ones they truly wished to witness! This was why they paid for those expensive tickets in the first place!

There were various who already had some fame in the world. They were powerful 4 Star Warriors belonging to their respective sects.

Upon seeing those warriors, the crowd immediately cheered on for them.

The cheering and the applaud were a little bit too much for a few warriors as their bodies shook due to nervousness.

Unsurprisingly, Tiana was one of those warriors. The crowd was truly too great.

She looked in Christina's direction and noticed she appeared to be unaffected by the crowd's cheering.

In fact, she was acting naturally even in the presence of the crowd. She waved out at the crowd and probably her fans in them with a large smile on her face.

Soon, Christina sensed someone gazing at her. When she looked in that direction, she saw it was Tiana.

She observed Tiana for a couple of seconds and noticed how Tiana's hands were actually shaking.

Christina immediately rushed towards Tiana's spot and asked with a bright smile, "You are nervous?"

When Christina asked her this question, Tiana instinctively wanted to shout 'No.'

However, the expression in Christina's eyes showed that she already knew the answer. Thus, she asked with a bitter smile, "Is it that obvious?"

Christina's smile widened a bit and suddenly held her hand, "You are worried about really silly things."

Tiana pulled her hand away from Christina's grasps. She then spoke, "It's the first time I will be fighting in front of so many people. So many people will be judging me. It's only natural for me to be a little nervous."

"Hehe… Then there's no need to worry. You are already superior to these individuals since you are here and they are sitting on the other side of this barrier! These folks are afraid to take part in the competition. If they truly had the qualifications to evaluate you, they would be on this side of the barrier."

Tiana was strangely feeling better after hearing Christina's words.

"Always have confidence in your ability. Also, remember that your hard work will never betray you," Christina spoke with a loud and clear tone.

Her motivating words actually made Tiana stop shaking.

She was also aware of this notion. However, hearing it from another person verifies that they were correct. That they should give it a go.

This was exactly what Tiana was thinking.

Soon, all the participants were given a particular number. Tiana's number was 10, while Christina's number was 87.

All the numbers from 1 to 137 were written on small pieces of paper and then mixed together in a large bowl.

After that, one of the Tournament Organizers would pull out two chits from that large bowl.

When those chits were opened and the numbers were revealed. The warriors who were assigned those numbers would have to come up on the stage and fight.

The first chit that was pulled out had the number 17, and the number on the second chit was 61.

The warriors who had been assigned those two numbers immediately came on the stage.

The crowd went wild when those two were on the stage. This was because the individual with the 61 number was a man with some fame in the world.

His name was Gavril Moratos. He belonged to the Night Mountain Sect and was one of their strongest disciples.

Gavril possessed a powerful Water Element and strange martial art forms that worked well with his Element.

He managed to combine his close-combat style with his elemental prowess and created his personal fighting style.

It was a fighting style unique to him that allowed his movements to flow without an issue. He would lead the momentum against his opponent and prevent them from using any technique.

So, his Ardor wasn't considered anything impressive. It was his fighting style that earned him renown.

Meanwhile, this man's opponent was fairly unknown. He was from a newly found sect named 'Heart Shore Gang.'

The announcer suddenly shouted, "On the count of three, start!"

"One." The announcer spoke slowly and allowed the momentum to build up.

"Two." The announcer continued to try and create tension in the air.

Both the participants had taken their stance. They were ready to rush at their opponent as soon as the announcer spoke three.

And soon, the word that the participants and the audience were waiting for came, "Three! Now, start!"

Both contestants ran towards each other as soon as the announcer said that word.

The first one to throw his punch was none other than Gavril. However, his punch was surprisingly blocked by his opponent.

But this shock only occurred briefly before Gavril immediately brought his other fist forward to strike his opponent.

The opponent was even quicker, though. He struck Gavril's chest and sent a strong shockwave through his body.

Just as Gavril was being pushed back by that strike, his opponent sprang to his feet and kicked his chest with both legs one by one.

While Gavril was trying to regain his breath and footing, his opponent was on the move once again.

He immediately covered his leg with Earth Chakra and kicked Gavril.

This time, Gavril was ready as he congealed Water in mid-air and absorbed that kick's impact before it struck him.

With his other hand, Gavril sends a powerful water stream to force his opponent back. This allowed him to gather his breath and energy for the next combo he was about to do.

Tiana watched this fight seriously. She was somewhat impressed by the close-combat skills of these two warriors.

'I can't fight against the warriors in close combat. I am much inferior to them in this. I need to maintain a particular distance and also prepare some attacks in case of an emergency.' Tiana thought seriously.

The fight continued for nearly tens of minutes. It ended in Gavril's victory. However, the audience could see that it wasn't an easy fight.

The audience immediately cheered loudly upon seeing that Gavril had won. Many people had bet on him, and they would have lost an entire fortune if he had lost this match.

Meanwhile, some people were applauding Gavril's opponent. He had fought so well and lost only because he committed a small mistake.

His skill was worth praising. In fact, some people believed that he was slightly superior to Gavril in close range.

The only reason Gavril this battle won was because of his richer experience.

Gavril was nearly 23 years old, while his opponent appeared to be only 19 years old. The difference in their experiences was evident.

After their battle ended, Gavril went to shake that guy's hand, "That was a good fight."

His opponent was somewhat flattered, and he responded sincerely, "Thank you."

The audience was quite happy to see such a gesture. Many people soon realized that they couldn't bet randomly.

Even though Gavril's fame was much greater than his opponent's, he barely won his battle.

Rich folks who were considering using this betting system to make a fortune were now planning to study the combatants for a while before betting large.

This was a prudent decision on their part.

~~

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