236 The Children Who Brought Fortune

"By the way, why did Kimura-kun bet on his own victory? He even bet that he could win the match within half a second."

Curious, Mizuki Sugawara stared at both Kimura Kazuki and Tomoya Saito who were standing on the stage. He turned to look for an answer from Ikioi Ito. In his opinion, Ikioi Ito seemed to be relatively closer to Kimura Kazuki as Ikioi Ito appeared to be rather obsequious around Kimura Kazuki. 

"That's definitely because of…" When Ikioi Ito was about to make up a lie, he realized that Mizuki Sugawara's gaze was fixed on the stage. Mizuki Sugawara appeared to be in a daze and his eyes were filled with astonishment. 

Following Mizuki Sugawara's gaze, Ikioi Ito looked at the stage. Immediately, his heart skipped a beat.

The competition had ended within a blink of an eye! He was distracted only for a few seconds to speak to Mizuki Sugawara. But before he could even finish his sentence, the competition had already finished.

However, Ikioi Ito was immediately reminded of something else. He brought out his mobile phone, intending to initiate another wager in the group chat. To his surprise, the group chat was flooded with messages from every member.

"What happened? Did you see how fast Kimura-kun's attack was?"

"What's there to watch? I didn't even catch a glimpse of his action! I have no idea how Saito-kun's shinai left his hands."

"Didn't the game end too quickly? Seemingly, Kimura-kun was really confident in himself when he bet on his own victory, saying that he would win within half a second!"

"How powerful is Kimura-kun?"

"I think that both of them are on equal footing. However, Kimura-kun was practicing the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. The speed can restrain his strength. Therefore, he was able to defeat Tomoya Saito within a second!"

"That's nonsense! So what if he's fast? Tomoya Saito is a participant who relies solely on his strength. Unfortunately, Tomoya Saito failed to protect his shinai. It is evident that Kimura-kun is superior to Tomoya Saito in all the other aspects as well."

"It was probably a surprise attack. I reckon that Tomoya Saito didn't expect the ambuscade, not to mention to be defeated within a second."

Secretly pleased, Ikioi Ito read the text messages that were posted in the group chat. Apparently, most of the members of the group chat thought that Kimura-kun's victory was an outcome from his slyness but not his true ability.

As Ikioi Ito pondered further over the situation, he understood that it was normal for them to have such a perception. After all, Kimura-kun was merely a 17 years old boy who was of similar age as them! Only a prodigy could master the second stage of sword power at this age. Otherwise, there was no way Mizuki Sugawara, Tomoya Saito and Ikioi Ito himself could convince the public.

As the thoughts ran in his mind, Ikioi Ito immediately sent a text to the group chat.

"Alright, alright. Let's stop the discussion. Kimura-kun and Tomoya Saito's match was over. We will find out how many seconds the match took when we watch the replay tonight. Kimura Kazuki is going to fight against Mizuki Sugawara later. You can place your bet now. There are only 15 minutes left. Act fast."

All the younger generation of the Kendo families had taken part in this season of the Jade Dragon Flag Competition. That was why all the members of the group chat were watching the competition closely. However, they went briefly silent after they read Ikioi Ito's message.

The next second, the group was flooded with new messages, nearly causing Ikioi Ito's mobile phone to crash.

"I placed my bet on Kimura-kun to win the match within three seconds. And I'll place another bet on Mizuki Sugawara to win within five seconds."

"Kimura-kun to win within ten seconds and Sugawara-kun to win within five seconds." 

"Kimura-kun, within eight seconds and Sugawara-kun, within eight seconds." 

"Kimura-kun to win within half a second. And for Sugawara-kun, 30 seconds."

As the new messages swamped the group chat, Ikioi Ito realized that someone bet that Kimura Kazuki would defeat Mizuki Sugawara in half a second. However, at the same time, they also bet that Mizuki Sugawara would defeat Kimura Kazuki within 30 seconds. That was rather insulting to Mizuki Sugawara. Ikioi Ito took a look at the name of the sender, it was Katsuki Sugawara. Immediately, he was flustered.

The expression of Mizuki Sugawara, who was standing right beside him, changed. Evidently, he had read the text messages in the group chat as well. My sister has actually placed her bet on someone else to defeat me within a second. Is that what a biological sister should do?

Ikioi Ito gently patted Mizuki Sugawara's shoulder. Then, he heaved a sigh and comforted, "It must be hard to have a tsundere as a younger sister."

Tsundere? Why is my sister a tsundere? However, understanding that Ikioi Ito was trying to resolve the awkward situation, Mizuki Sugawara forced a smile. "Yes. In fact, my sister is pretty attached to me in private."

Ikioi Ito giggled, but gave no verbal reply. He read Katsuki Sugawara's bet again as he discreetly sighed in disappointment. What's wrong with Katsuki Sugawara? Why does she have so much confidence in Kimura Kazuki? He was not pleased, considering that he had to share his money with Katsuki Sugawara.

All of a sudden, an idea popped into his head. He looked at Mizuki Sugawara, who was right beside him, and said in an unvarying tone, "I reckon that Kimura Kazuki's meteoric triumph was a result of his application of Sudden Flash during the match. From what I understand, after one applies Sudden Flash to Yagyu Flying Sword Style, his or her physical strength will be significantly depleted. Don't be fooled by Kimura-kun's appearance. His reiki has actually been exhausted. What do you think? Do you want to place a bet on yourself and vanquish him within one tenth of a second? I believe that you can defeat Kimura-kun. It's a piece of cake for Shinto-Ryu to beat the Yagyu Flying Sword Style which focuses solely on its speed."

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Mizuki Sugawara threw a sideways glance at Ikioi Ito. Suddenly, an idea struck him. He asked Ikioi Ito suspiciously, "Are you working with Kimura-kun?"

"Why would I do that?" Ikioi Ito replied with an awkward smile.

Upon seeing that, Mizuki Sugawara gave a disdainful sneer and then decided to disregard Ikioi Ito completely.

At this moment, Mizuki Sugawara was feeling a little perturbed. It was a wise choice for one to be self conscious. Fortunately, Mizuki Sugawara was very much aware of the level of his capability. Despite the fact that he was usually a Chunibyo and loved to show off, he only flaunted when he was confident that he could execute the sham.

Mizuki Sugawara was already skeptical when Kimura Kazuki staked his money on his own success to beat Tomoya Saito within half a second. 

Based on his observation, Mizuki Sugawara reckoned that Kimura Kazuki was not a conceited person. From the previous match, he deduced that Kimura Kazuki was certainly beyond the second stage of sword power.

As he dwelled in his thoughts, Mizuki Sugawara felt considerably gloomy and resentful.

He wished to win the championship and end the Jade Dragon Flag Competition on a perfect note. However, if he could not beat Kimura Kazuki during the team match, it would be almost impossible for him to defeat Kimura Kazuki during the individual match.

Out of nowhere, Mizuki Sugawara let out an unexpected sigh, appearing rather depressed.

Fifteen minutes went by rapidly.

The next match was played by Meiki High School against Sakura Kyu High School.

When Kimura Kazuki, once again, defeated the Fukushou of Meiki High School, the audience was no longer thrilled. 

Kimura Kazuki, indeed, lived up to his nickname, the One Hit Man. All his rivals, including Tomoya Saito from Gyokutoku High School, were trounced by Kimura Kazuki instantly. Even the commentator of the game did not know how to do his job anymore… Undeniably, it was very difficult for the commentator to describe an instant kill. 

Before long, Mizuki Sugawara entered the arena and the referee announced the start of the highly anticipated match of the competition.

Regardless of who would win, the winner of this match will be the overall champion!

The audience's eyes were fixed on the arena, afraid to blink. Mizuki Sugawara bowed a curtsy before he said softly, "Kimura-kun, they are making a wager in the group chat. My sister bet that you will beat me within half a second, so did Ito-kun. However, I attempt to change my luck and hope that you will finish me only after the 29th second! Nobody has bet on this, the 29th second. What do you think? If you defeat me on the 29th second, I'll give you all the prize I win!"

Mizuki Sugawara's voice was so soft that only Kimura Kazuki was able to hear it. Mizuki Suguwara knew that he had no chance of winning, but he had to protect his reputation. He thought it was worth it to spend millions to protect his image. After all, the millions were sponsored.

Dazed, Kimura Kazuki stared at Mizuki Sugawara silently. 　　

After the bow, Kimura Kazuki promptly took out his weapon. Mizuki Sugawara did not even have the chance to defend himself. The next second, his arm felt numb and the shinai was removed from his hands.

Yet another instant kill.

When Mizuki Sugawara's shinai hit the ground, the entire stadium was in great silence.

The audience did not expect that the Void Swordsman would be defeated by Kimura Kazuki within a fraction of a second.