430 Chapter 430: Duel between Tiger and Dragon

By the way, the title is a Chinese idiom or proverb, referring to the colossal rivalry between the tiger and the dragon. One represented hard power, the other embnodied soft power, and the both of them symbolize the balance between the perpetual opposite powers of yin and yang. The tiger was all ferocity, raw strength and brute force, whereas the dragon was respected for its wisdom, unending patience and unwavering calm. The dragon also represented Heaven, while the tiger was the scion of Earth.

Well, theoretically, anyway. It was meant to be symbolic, an idiom that was rarely manifested literally. Even so, it was quite the coincidence that our auras had taken their respective shapes. Honestly, I could have summoned White Tiger instead, but I was terrible at lightning magic, so…yeah. No go. It was either ice magic or wood magic, and since I had more practice with the latter, the choice was an obvious one.

\"Ugh…!\"

My razor leaves were incinerated instantly by a surge of holy lightning, which was followed up by a riposte from Charles. The point of his blade grazed my cheek, and I countered with a stab from below, which he deflected by withdrawing his sword and using the pommel to knock my blade away. I then swung my other sword, but he bent his arm and parried my strike, only to be sent staggering when I kicked him in the midriff.

\"Not bad,\" he murmured, impressed. His smile widened. \"This is it…this was what I've been searching for all this while! A worthy opponent!\"

He then spun about with a kick, which I dodged, and then followed up with a series of blinding strikes that were almost too fast for me to see. My glasses compensated, the motion detectors calculating the trajectories and highlighting them in blue for me, anticipating the place where his sword would be so that I could block his attacks preemptively.

\"Huff…\"

I found myself knocked backward by another ferocious strike from him, and I could almost see an ethereal image of a tiger roaring as it swiped at me with its claws. Instead of physical violence, his strike exploded in a burst of holy lightning that seared through my defenses and scorched me. Breathing heavily, I jumped back to widen the distance between us, but Charles sent a lightning bolt in my direction.

Clang!

Crossing both of my swords, I parried the immense lightning bolt. My arms went numb from the intense voltage and I was sent skidding several meters backward, leaving a scorched trail in the ground. Heaving, I kicked off the ground and circled him while retaliating with a barrage of razor-sharp petals, leaves and entangling vines.

Boom!

With a single stroke, Charles called forth another colossal blast of lightning and disintegrated my spells immediately. Ashes and black, burned matter fell around him, a rain of singed soot and dust that gave the environment a deathly tinge.

Spinning around, he swung his sword and launched a second lightning bolt. I managed to block that with a wall of wood and petals, which immediately split apart and divided into yet more petals, before directing them at him. Yet the King of Knights was able to slice all of them apart without much effort, his glowing, golden blade weaving intricate patterns in the air. He then kicked off the ground and lunged at me, swinging his sword fiercely.

Despite crossing both of my swords to parry his strike, I found myself overwhelmed almost completely. My legs buckled under the immense impact, and the ground around me cratered, turning into a cracked crater. With a yell, Charles put in more strength behind his blow, driving me deeper into the disintegrating concrete.

Gritting my teeth, I forced him back with a desperate swing of my swords, gathering more black and pink petals around me. Thorny vines whipped out, attempting to ensnare him, but Charles hacked them apart with nary a thought before driving me back with another powerful blow. Golden mana, combined with white lightning, surged out and enveloped me, causing me to curse as my arms and legs grew numb from their deadly electrocuting effects.

Another forceful strike sent me hurtling backward, my swords clattering at my side as my arms flopped down helplessly. Sucking another breath into my abused lungs, I tried to rally myself and return to my feet, but first I had to purge the electricity out of my body. Those holy buffs were increasing their debilitating effects by several magnitudes, and proved to be crippling.

\"He's strong…!\"

I already knew that, but even so…being forced to confront Charles directly like this was sobering. I was aware of the gulf between our strengths. In terms of swordsmanship, the King of Knights completely surpassed me.

He was overwhelming me almost too easily.

\"Ugh…!\"

Heaving, I pressed a hand onto the ground and discharged all the lightning within my body in one go, earthing it.

\"Ho…\"

Charles had been approaching me this entire time, and he watched, impressed. He brought a hand to his chin as he observed me.

\"So you've figured out how to get rid of the electricity in your body. I must admit, very few people are calm enough to think of a solution in the middle of a battle. But it's a good move. Otherwise my electricity will continue to clog up your mana circulation, hinder your magical flow and prevent you from casting any spells.\"

That was exactly why I did it, even at the risk of being hit when executing the process.

\"I'm curious. How did you come up with that trick?\"

\"By reading a Korean manhwa. Never heard of Veritas? The protagonist of that manhwa has similar abilities to you.\"

\"Ho…\" Charles raised an eyebrow skeptically, but he didn't protest or demand for a more serious answer. Unfortunately, that was the truth. I learned that by reading about how a level 8 Traditionalist martial artist countered the lightning techniques belonging to the protagonist of Veritas through an identical process. \"I won't pursue the question further if you wish to keep the truth from me. Oh, pardon me. We're still in the middle of a match. Of course you wouldn't be amenable to telling me everything about your techniques and skills right now…not while we're still competing.\"

Without wasting any time on any other dialogue, he leaped forward. Huge gusts of wind billowed around him as he descended upon my position, his glowing holy sword swinging down like a guillotine. I instinctively dove to the side, rolling away from his powerful blow.

Somehow I knew that I did not want to receive that attack head-on. Given Charles' overwhelming strength, he would have obliterated me in that single exchange.

Turning around, Charles fired off another lightning bolt in my direction, after my retreating figure. This time, I understood that I couldn't evade it and I was forced to whirl around to intercept the spell. The lightning blast detonated upon contact and sent me sailing a few meters away. I skidded to a stop and rolled back to my feet, but Charles was already upon me.

\"Taurus!\" I shouted.

The gigantic bull materialized in midair and charged at the stunned holy sword wielder. Charles had great instincts and combat sense, however, and he quickly spun away from the charging Constellation spirit. In a single stroke, he cleaved Taurus in half as the metallic, armored bull passed by him, turning the poor guy into dissipating mana.

\"You've got to be kidding me…\" I murmured. Charles had just taken out Taurus with one fucking slash. I knew he was strong, but this was ridiculous.

The holy sword wielder didn't seem to care, and without pausing he had already hurled himself at me. I could feel the destructive mana emanating from him as he swung his blade down. The sword of promised victory, it possessed tremendous power – enough to completely annihilate our surroundings, along with me if I hadn't chosen to dodge.

Even as I evaded his heavy blow, I was battered by the immense shockwaves that followed, my body thrown about like a hapless doll. I hit the wall and slumped down, groaning from the impact. Fortunately, after using such a big move, Charles wasn't in any position to take advantage of my prone figure, and the both of us took the time to recover and reform our stances.

As Charles closed in on me, I summoned a pride of lions with a single shout.

\"Leo! Leo Minor!\"

First, the pride of smaller lions surrounded and pounced on Charles, their claws outstretched. The holy sword wielder twisted about, hacking the closest one into pieces before lashing out to discourage a second. He parried the claws of a third before turning his defense into an offensive riposte that tore the poor lion apart.

\"!!\"

A claw caught him by the temple, grazing his flesh and sending a trickle of blood down his face. Undaunted, Charles continued fighting on, his movements sublime. His figure moved fluidly, a destructive whirlwind of energy. His blades lashed out like lightning flashes, almost too fast for even my Leo Minor to follow. More than a few of them lay at his feet, cut apart by his deadly skills and superb swordsmanship, even before I could register what had just happened.

\"Such speed…such power…\" I shuddered just from watching him, but I didn't dare to waste any time on being discouraged. I had a spell of my own to prepare.

\"?!\"

Not that Charles was going to generously give me the chance. A maelstrom of whirling destruction, he swept through the remnants of my pride of Leo Minor and continued onward. With the last of my Leo Minor slain, he had an unimpeded route toward me.

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I smiled.

\"?!\"

Before Charles could reach me, a golden blast of destructive energy engulfed him. He barely had the time to pull his sword up to defend himself before his entire body was enveloped in a golden glow. Beside me, Leo strode forward, unleashing Regulus.

\"Ugh…!\"

Even as Leo's Regulus dissipated, Charles dropped to his knees, his body and armor smoldering. However, he plunged his sword into the ground and kept himself upright, forcing himself back to his feet. Shaking off the devastating effects of Leo's spell, he lunged at me again, only for my Constellation spirit to swipe at him.

Clang!

He easily parried the claws of Leo, and responded with a riposte that forced the majestic beast back. I watched as the two kings fought – one of knights, and one of beasts – a primordial duel where humanity struggled to establish his supremacy over the wilderness.

Fortunately, unlike the late Taurus or the lesser lions, Leo was holding his own against Charles. The two of them were locked in a ferocious duel, their bodies little more than blue and silver blurs and a golden smudge in a storm of violence. Flashing blade met gleaming claws, and holy mana exploded against wild magic.

Charles relied on his sublime skills and impeccable swordsmanship, whereas Leo was the very embodiment of natural force and bestial violence. The two of them clashed repeatedly, blade against claws, holy magic versus natural spells. Golden-white lightning detonated against the constant bursts of Regulus, leaving cracks and holes in the crumbling ground. Neither party yielded any ground, each of them desperately defending their territory with a terrifying possessiveness that only intensified their efforts. Both were the very manifestation of nobility and majesty, each of them a king in his own right.

However, there could only be one king.

\"Amazing. You're much stronger than Shawn Franklin, or even Kureha Franklin, that's for sure.\"

No wonder Charles Lacroix and his Pendragon Academy triumphed over Kureha Franklin and her Saint Teresa Academy last year. It was not hard to see why. He was more skilled than even the Sword Saint herself.

During the clash for the crown, I wisely kept my distance. There was nothing I could do – I would only get in Leo's way if I tried to attack Charles from behind. That tactic wouldn't work anyway – the holy sword wielder had flawless combat sense and innate instincts, which made him a naturally gifted swordsman. Unlike me, who had to hone my mind's eye after countless hours of practice and hard work, Charles possessed a keen intuition that was almost as if it was bestowed upon him by the gods.

He was the man chosen to be king, after all.

The struggle for the throne was nearing its end. Leo dropped back, blood dripping from his wounded haunches and flanks. Despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to avoid being nicked or grazed by Charles's dazzling attacks and precise sword strikes. Fortunately for me, the king of knights didn't get away unscathed either. There were parts of torn armor and fabric that hung from his chest or arms, or even thigh, much to his fangirls' delight. I could hear them sqeualing in delirious joy even when down here. At least I made him bleed.

But it was over. As Leo pounced on Charles, the latter swept under him, bringing his sword up and piercing the lion's heart. My Constellation spirit bellowed in frustration before disappearing from existence. Huffing, Charles turned to face me, bringing his sword up to point directly at my throat. I wasn't afraid, given that I was quite the distance away.

However, there was no mistaking that challenge.

\"Anything else to throw at me?\" he asked, somehow still able to smile despite the situation. Battered and bleeding he might be, but his spirit remained unbroken.

Fortunately, mine remained unyielding as well. Returning his smile, I raised a sword into the air, my right hand holding Hei Yue high up.

\"It's your turn, Draco.\"

The enormous dragon materialized behind me, but this time, instead of his usual black form, he was made entirely out of ice. Searing red eyes glared out from a crystalline, draconis face, and my newly redesigned Draco let loose a thunderous roar.