Chapter 142 - The Falling Stones

In the VIP area of the Municipal Arena, the Matriarch of the Strogueher family was quite proud that her daughter managed to show coolness in battle. For everyone who watched the fight between Nathalia Strogueher and Kaga, it was clear that the young Elf was a placid warrior who showed no desperation or hesitation at any time.

Wang Strogueher, who was watching the battle from the other side of the exclusive area, was pleased with what he saw. He had always been a man who greatly admired Ayumi Yamazaki for having the coolness to make tough decisions, and he was glad that Nathalia had apparently inherited this trait. 

Nathalia's presentation also moved Nico Sallow, but she had more interest in the half-wolf.

"Do you believe that your protégé, Luke, will make it to the quarterfinals?" She asked, with her right index finger running over her lips.

"He will definitely win the Tournament." Ayumi answered her confidently, without looking at the other Matriarch.

"Don't you think you're putting too much trust in this man?" Carter Strogueher asked from the back seat. He was cross-legged and smoking a small cigar, which he lit with his flame skill.

"You will have your answer before the end of this evening, Carter. Wait and see."

Nico Sallow locked eyes with the blond Elf and smiled in a thought-provoking manner. 

By the irony of fate, among the sixteen remaining participants, 'The Half-Wolf' was once again randomly selected to be the first to battle in the next phase of the playoffs.

This time, Luke Lange would have to face a beautiful woman with short honey-colored hair. Everyone in town knew her as Hanemiya Sallow, a very talented young noblewoman who graduated from the Oukiwa Academy as one of the most promising a few years ago.

Hanemiya analyzed Luke from head to toe, and with a serious countenance, she asked:

"Where did you study half-beast? I never heard of you until last week."

"You don't need to know anything about me," Luke replied and summoned his axe. The half-wolf hated people like Hanemiya, who usually asked unnecessary questions.

Hanemiya smiled when he heard Luke's answer and then drew his dagger.

The beginning of the fight hadn't even been decreed, but the half-wolf had watched the Sallow girl's previous battle and knew he couldn't take it lightly, so he summoned his axe. As soon as Mikaela announced the start of the fight, the audience screamed in euphoria again as they pounded their feet on the ground. 

The blond woman ran in the opposite direction from Luke, out of the empty center of the Arena and into the forest of rocks. She had watched Luke's battle with the Golem God and Suiyan carefully, so she knew that he was not weak in direct combat and was unlikely to be pushed, but with this new scenario, Hanemiya was confident that she could win if she sneaked upon him.

However, Luke's hearing was very sharp; moreover, he could smell the noblewoman several meters away. In short, she would never be able to hide from the half-wolf.

As soon as he saw Hanemiya run for cover, Luke looked closely at the rocks and had an idea.

Luke made the one-handed sign to use <Vind> and propelled a stream of wind at a rock that seemed the largest but also the thinnest among them all. That single stone was enough to create a domino effect, knocking over other stones.

The falling stones caused a high-pitched noise and a seismic tremor, which lifted the sand. Gradually, the high-pitched sound began to chase Hanemiya. Tum! Tum! Tum! She heard the rumbling coming from her back until her patience ran out, and she stopped in front of a rock that was about to fall.

Then Hanemiya used her blue dagger, whose blade was slightly curved. This dagger exuded sapphire-colored particles, and when she cut a stone three meters in diameter in the middle like butter, the blade of this weapon left blue marks on both parts of the stone.

"Haa... What the fuck... was that? Did he knock the stones over on purpose?" She wondered, panting.

At that moment, the young Sallow found herself lost in the forest of rocks. She ran so hard that she couldn't quite memorize the directions, and now all she could hear was the muffled noise of cheering and the falling of the grains of sand that were on her shoulders.

'Where did that guy go?' she wondered. 'Is he still at the center? No... it would be dumb to stay there.'

Hanemiya's only mistake was to have pre-judged the half-beast's abilities and limitations because it made her create a hasty strategy. 

In the middle of that small clearing that she created herself, Hanemiya heard a noise coming from her back. This sound resembled a snap and, at the same time, a stomp, but when she turned quickly and attacked with her dagger, there was nothing, only rocks.

A few moments later, the same noise was repeated. Again she tried to advance an attack, and again she hit nothing. 

"What the fuck... I can only be crazy..." Hanemiya spoke as she sighed. Slowly she lowered her dagger. 'I have to climb those rocks to gain vision so that I can gain an advantag—"

"Not another move." Luke whispered in her ear in a serene, unfriendly voice.

'Where did this guy come from? I'm pretty sure I looked that way less than a minute ago.' She thought with wide eyes and goosebumps.

Hanemiya tried to move her arms to react, and as a result, she was pierced in the region of the internal oblique. Her grunt of pain from being pierced in a simple region like her lower back alerted Luke that she was not used to pain.

"If you dare to move again, it won't be hard for me to drag my hand up your spine. It would be pretty bad for you if you became a paraplegic, wouldn't it? So, give up and save everyone's time here."

Proudly, she still tried to move her left arm, which wielded her dagger. Luke felt it but was afraid of seriously hurting her and just spun his hand a little more, tearing a few more nerves.

"Arghhh! Son of a bitch..." Hanemiya spoke through gritted teeth to keep from screaming and humiliating herself. "All right... all right. I give up!"

As soon as she gave up, Luke withdrew his left hand from inside her muscles so fast that the woman didn't even feel it. As Mikaela announced the winner to the audience, who were confused because they could see practically nothing, Luke opened his inventory and picked up a healing potion.

"Take this quickly... I don't want any trouble for myself, and I hope you don't hold a grudge." He said and threw into Hanemiya's hands a vial with a wine-red hue.

The blonde woman didn't know how to react, after all, it was only a simple potion, and she could buy dozens of better-quality potions, but since it was the first time an opponent had been kind to her, Hanemiya smiled at Luke. A moment later, magic circles appeared below the feet of both of them.

However, while things proceeded well in the Municipal Arena for the half-wolf, near the suburbs of Oukiwa, the S-Class found more and more obstacles to continue with the search for information on the whereabouts of Meredith and the others.