Chapter 724

『Well here comes the final match of the day! Both contestants are facing each other in the arena, but who will remain standing when it's all over? Neidhart, the mercenary! Will his twin blades reap the lives of his opponent today? Against him is Felmus, the 'Dragon Hunter', a former rank A adventurer, who has also won his way up the tournament with overwhelming strength! Will his ever-changing threads be able to capture his prey?』

The commentator was hyping them up, but the mood of the male audience was a little more subdued than before.

This may be because it was a match between a cool old dude and a mantis man, as opposed to the previous showdown between the two beautiful ladies, Hilt and Klikka.

However, from our point of view, this match was more worth watching, because we could not predict the winner at all.

Abarb lost to Diaz, Klikka lost to Hilt. They were strong, no doubt about it. However, the stronger ones won the previous two matches, as expected.

In contrast, the difference in power of the contestants now was not so clear.

「Who will win?」

「Arf……」

Both Fran and Urushi seem to be trying to enjoy the match rather than trying to figure out their moves. Well, leave the analysis to me, or rather, leave it to Announcer-san inside of me.

「I'm with Felmus.」

「Woof?」

「Strings are amazing. You can't outrun them in a tight spot.」

「Arf…… Woof!」

「Urushi says Neidhart?」

「Woof woof!」

Urushi raised his upper body and lightly set both paws on the ground. His wrists are bent like a beckoning cat's, probably to resemble the legs of a praying mantis.

Urushi seemed to think Neidhart has the advantage. Indeed, his speed was tremendous, I'd say it is one of the best among all the participants.

However, like Fran, I think that Felmus has the advantage.

I don't know exactly why, but the battle of strings versus bug reminds me of a predator and prey. If a mantis is entangled in a spider's threads, they cannot escape no matter what.

Just my own image though.

「Fran-chan, can I sit next to you?」

「Elsa? Okay.」

「Thank you.」

Apparently, he's here to watch the fight of the guy who beat him. He excitedly sat down with a wiggling motion.

His passionate gaze was completely focused on Neidhart. After seeing that, Fran tilted her head.

「Hey, weren't you afraid of bugs?」

「Oh, you mean Neidhart-sama's face?」

「Nn.」

「He may look like a bug, but he's a darling on the inside, so it's no problem. I like that he's a gentleman with a dark side. What I don't like is those creepy crawlies that scurry all over the place. Just terrible, I can't even handle them if they're dead……」

Apparently, insectkin are not a problem. That's Elsa for you, I guess the inside is what's important.

While we were talking about our predictions, the match started.

「Sheeeya!」

「String wall!」

The beginning of the match unfolded as expected. Right from the start, Neidhart was on the offensive, and Felmus was building up his strings while fending off the onslaught.

Knowing that Felmus' position would be troublesome once it was completed, Neidhart attacked with the same super-fast speed that he had used to take out Elsa instantly.

I could see that there was a huge amount of magic power in his legs. That must be the effect of the unique skill "Skanda". It is a simple but very useful skill that allows one to maneuver at ultra high speeds for long periods of time.

It's impressive that Felmus is able to react to it. He must have been sensing the movements in advance through the countless warning threads he placed around himself.

He evades Neidhart's twin swords and accumulates damage with the thread traps. Even though it looked as if the twin swords landed a direct hit, they should not have caused any damage.

Those defensive walls of threads gave us a lot of trouble too. By absorbing the impact, they can deflect both slashes and blows.

「Felmus is strong as always.」

「You can say that again. He's on the same level as the guildmaster, just so strong.」

However, Neidhart was not so weak as to be done in like this. He pushed forward, ignoring some minor wounds, and began to inflict damage on Felmus with his ultra-fast thrusts.

He instantly realized that his slashes would be nullified and switched to thrusts that would target the gaps in the strings. The power of each thrust combined with Skanda's leg strength must be extraordinary. It seems that every single blow can do considerable damage.

Felmus, who is inferior in physical toughness, would not like this very much. He would be the first to fall if the two fighters were to inflict the same amount of damage on each other.

Still, he kept on rolling out the threads until at last, he finally caught Neidhart.

「Binding of a Hundred Threads.」

「Mwah!」

Throughout the entire fight, there were some seemingly harmless threads that had been mixed in little by little among the countless threads. However, when magic was passed through them, they suddenly became sticky. Before he realized it, several of these threads have tangled themselves around Neidhart's legs.

Although his movements were momentarily impeded, Neidhart quickly slashed at them with his sword and escaped. However, this momentary opening was exactly what Felmus was looking for.

Felmus came to a complete stop in the center of the stage, hands down and defenseless. He even closed his eyes. He was about to unleash a move that would require such concentration to pull off.

「Phew…!」

「Gooo!」

But Neidhart reacted immediately to this opening by throwing his right-hand sword. With muscles as strong as his, the sword would reach ridiculous speeds even when thrown.

The sword landed a clean hit on Felmus.

He didn't seem to try blocking it at all, did he? Even if he was concentrating, the threads that he had put up in advance should have covered the area around him…… It looked like the threads around his body weakened the blow a little, but that was all.

The sword is lodged deep in Felmus' chest.

But Felmus did not fall. Instead, he smirked.

「……Finality of Ten Thousand Threads…… Deathblood Formation.」

From the wound in Felmus' chest, a large amount of blood gushed out like a fountain. It was clearly not only because of his injury.

The blood was absorbed into the threads, and all the threads within the barrier were instantly dyed bright red.

As the name suggests, this was a technique to strengthen the threads by using his own blood as a medium. Neidhart understood this and lamented.

「To think you predicted me……!」

The reddish coloring made it quite visible just how many threads had been placed throughout the barrier. Not only on the floor, but also along the walls of the barrier. They were running through the entire space as if they were countless branching blood vessels.

Amidst the audience's astonishment, all the threads in the barrier rushed to Neidhart in an instant.

Neidhart tried to shake them off with his sword, but he cannot cut through them as before. It seems that the strength of the red threads has increased dramatically.

「Kuh! This is a nuisance!」

「……」

As Neidhart struggled with the thread, Felmus spoke nothing in return. Or rather, he could not say anything back. He looked half-dead, and it felt like he could die at any moment.

This was probably a last resort move that risks his own life. A move that could only be used in a tournament like this where it is possible to be revived.

Will Felmus die from his injuries first? Or will he be able to take out Neidhart before then?

Every second, Neidhart's body was being punctured with additional wounds, and the damage was accumulating. Felmus, on the other hand, was already on one knee, unable to stand.

「Kuh, dammit……」

Finally, the red threads landed a direct hit on Neidhart's leg.

The red thread itself did not deal much damage. However, it was extended between Neidhart and the stage, completely tense, and slightly hindering his movements.

If he slows down, he would not be able to avoid additional red threads, and those threads would further impede his movement. It is as if each hit by the red threads causes continuous damage and agility loss.

Moreover, the color of the threads piercing Neidhart's body were turning darker and darker. It looked as if they have absorbed Neidhart's blood and become even stronger.

The number of red threads that had pierced his body kept increasing at an exponential rate. His body, legs, and arms, have all been impaled, staining Neidhart's body in red.

「Gah!」

Finally, Neidhart made a huge failure and the red thread impaled his chest, right in the heart. Several red threads swarmed to his chest at once, and I could see them pierce through his body.

Exactly 30 seconds later.

「Hah… hah…… It seems… I win.」

「I see. So I lost.」

Neidhart declared his victory to Felmus, who had been revived by the cradle of time.

Felmus responded while pouring a potion on Neidhart. But more importantly, why didn't Neidhart die when his heart should have been skewered?

Just my hypothesis, but I think it is because of his Bugform skill. In the middle of the fight, I saw that Neidhart's status had changed to show 'Bugform'. I had thought that his whole body would transform into an insect-like being, but it might be possible to use Bugform only on the insides of his body. The increased vitality must have enabled him to endure the beating.

I've heard somewhere before that insects do not have a heart like humans do. Insectoid monsters may have an organ similar to a heart, but if the Bugform is more like a normal insect, his heart probably doesn't work like it does for most mammals.

What I learned from watching this, is that Neidhart has not yet revealed his full strength.