Chapter 733

Neidhart continued dodging Hilt's long-range barrage for a bit, but then launched his counter attack.

「Shaaaaaah!」

Neidhart screamed, and in less than five seconds both of his arms had changed shape.

They took the form of a mantis' scythes. Everything from the forearm onward was turned into that of a giant mantis. They were long enough to easily reach the ground even while he was standing.

Moreover, the shape of the scythes was more vicious than that of natural mantises. They were completely covered with short and thick thorns, and the edges of the blades looked several times sharper than any knife I've ever seen.

His green shell, glistening in the sunlight, seemed to be as hard as metal.

Like I thought, Bugform could be applied to his whole body if necessary.

Neidhart enchanted both of his scythes with magic power and swung them in succession. At first glance, it looked as if he was swinging them randomly, but this was not the case.

He was able to sense Hilt's Air Grasp and intercepted them before they reached him. Moreover, his movements were also an attack of his own.

A blade of magic had shot out from his arm at Hilt.

「Tch!」

In order to avoid the attack, Hilt was forced to move from her spot. She takes several steps to avoid Neidhart's flying blades, while still firing off her Air Grasps.

The two exchanged long-range attacks for a while, but after a ten seconds or so, they ceased simultaneously.

Both sides must have understood that nothing would change if they continued to chip away at each other like this.

From the two opposite sides of the arena, they exchanged glances.

After a moment of silence, the audience exploded with cheers.

『A-Amazing! So fast that we can't catch it at all! But we could still understand that a tremendous exchange of blows just occurred! At first, it seemed that Hiltoria, the successor of the Dimitris School and rank A adventurer, had the advantage, but the mercenary captain, Neidhart the 'Sudden Edge', proved not to be outdone!』

After a shout from the commentator, Neidhart mutters something.

「Hmm. I'm not the captain anymore though.」

「That so? Did you get let go?」

「Hahaha, it was my own decision mostly. I actually wanted to quit before I left for this tournament, but everyone was against it. Even so, I forced in my resignation. I got a message yesterday with everyone's acknowledgment, so I'm officially a freelance mercenary now.」

His voice was drowned out by the cheers of the audience, so they didn't hear him. I'm the only one who can pick up on it.

But you say you're not the captain anymore? Why? Hilt seemed to be thinking the same thing I am and asks Neidhart back.

「Why? There's no reason you have to retire to compete in the tournament, am I wrong?」

「Well, I'm getting a bit old. I think it's about time to give up my seat to the next generation.」

「That's a good point.」

Hilt, who was being groomed by Dimitris to be his successor, must have had something to consider in Neidhart's words. I could see her mutter her response with a slightly complicated expression on her face.

At first glance, they seem to be making small talk, but of course that is not all.

It is clear that they were gathering their strength while looking for an opening during the conversation.

「I didn't want to go any further than this, since it's a bit uncouth, but…… I have no choice.」

Neidhart was the first to move. A few seconds after his mutter, his back expanded upward. Then, something large burst out of his clothes.

It was his wings, which looked similar to the wings of a beetle. Like his previous orihalcon armor, his current armor also has a large opening on the back so as not to get in the way when growing these wings.

Furthermore, his body, which can be seen through the gaps in the armor, is also now covered with a green shell. The lower half of the body has also become much larger, and the pants, which were supposed to be loose-fitting, are now bulging out.

But the biggest difference was his aura. He had certainly become more intimidating, but there was something else mixed in with the sharp killing intent emanating from his body. It felt like he had a hunger for the prey in front of him.

The aura he gave off was similar to that of a violent monster wetting its lips.

「Ggyiii…… Shaaaaaaah!」

「…!」

Hilt's expression of surprise appeared for a moment as Neidhart roared like a mindless monster. She must have been bewildered by the gap between his previous gentlemanly appearance and the current appearance which looked more like beast than man.

The audience, too, gasped at the transformation.

Silence enveloped the arena, and at that moment, Hilt was smashed into the wall of the barrier.

Neidhart had approached Hilt and attacked her with his scythe before anyone could see.

Fast doesn't begin to describe the speed of the attack. By the time the onlookers realized what was happening, he had already moved from one end of the stage to the other.

After the complete activation of Bugform, Neidhart's speed had reached such a level that even Fran and I could not completely see him.

「Gwah……」

Hilt's left arm was sent flying into the air. It looked she was unable to react to the one-sided slaughter, but that was not the case. Neidhart's attack should have easily been able to cut a defenseless opponent in two.

The fact that she lost only her left arm indicated that she was able to react, however slightly.

However, without showing any surprise, Neidhart moved again. He appeared right in front of Hilt as if he had moved instantaneously, and then he raised both his arms.

Hilt does not move. Will this be the end?

No, Hilt did actually respond.

「Gyshii!」

Without warning, Neidhart was sent flying backwards. She had somehow countered Neidhart's otherworldly speed with her ki.

She must have predicted Neidhart's movements.

However, she could not completely nullify Neidhart's attack. The tips of both scythes had gouged Hilt's shoulders, and a lot of blood poured out.

Neidhart, on the other hand, immediately leapt up using the momentum of his wings.

「Ggyiigi…… Ggyiiiiiii!」

A deep hole had been drilled into his chest, piercing his adamantite armor, and caving in the shell beneath it. But he didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest.

「Don't tell me you bugs have no sense of pain. Fine, then I just have to keep crushing you until you stop moving.」

She had lost her left arm and a lot of blood, and yet Hilt showed no signs of weakness. In fact, she was wearing a confident smile.

「Hah! Dimitris Style Secret Art - 'Heaven'!」

Hilt shouted, and I could feel a tremendous amount of ki enveloping her entire body. It was as if she was wearing an armor made of compressed and materialized ki.

Was this a defensive ability? That's what it looked like, but I was wrong.

「Ggyiiii!」

「Haaaaah!」

I could see her moving at a speed close to Neidhart's. No, I couldn't even see it fully, but I could feel it.

It seems that this secret art is a technique that boosts all of one's physical abilities many times over.

Neidhart's movements are on a level that we honestly can't even comprehend… even faster than Fran with her Brilliant Lightning Rush active. Rapid braking and acceleration during flight were made possible by the use of his wings.

If we were in that arena and had no countermeasures, we might have already lost. No, it is more than likely that we would have lost at the first blow.

Against Neidhart, Hilt's movements were not to be out done. In terms of point-to-point speed, she was a little inferior. However, her quick turning and finesse were extraordinary.

I don't know how she did it, but she was able to perfectly respond to Neidhart's tricky movements with his wings. She sometimes even pulled off feints with a mysterious speed that was adjusted to trick her opponent.

The battle between the two intensified, looking like shadows darting around inside the barrier. They appeared from time to time, and then disappeared again. It was like they were in a dimension that could not be followed with the naked eye.

Hilt, despite the loss of one of her arms, dealt a significant number of hits. The sharpness of her kicks proved to be as extraordinary as her fists.

The impact of their attacks caused numerous roars and blasts, causing the stage fell apart little by little.

The higher dimensional battle between the two superhumans continued for what must have been several minutes. The end of the battle, however, came abruptly.

「Guh……!」

Hilt reached her limit first. The ki armor covering her entire body disappeared, and she fell down on the spot. It seemed that her legs could not endure the load from the endless high-speed maneuvering and the kicking techniques she had been using. The bones in her legs looked to be broken and she was showing no signs of being able to stand.

Neidhart, on the other hand, also looked to be exhausted. His wings were in shreds because they could not withstand his own speed. If given another ten seconds or so, Neidhart might have been the first one to fall.

「Gyigi……」

Neidhart moves in front of Hilt and raises his twin scythes. At that moment, he seemed to be wearing a calm demeanor like the original Neidhart.

Even though he looked like he had lost his sanity, he is still Neidhart after all.

「Gyisha!」

Neidhart's arm swung down and Hilt's head… did not fly off. Her two arms had prevented the scythes from hitting her.

「Eh? Why?」

「W-Woof!」

Fran and Urushi are also surprised. Hilt's arms had grown back in an instant. This is the effect of the Pendant of Regeneration that Hilt was equipped with.

Its power was simple: it heals damage, including loss of limbs, only once. It is a consumable item, however, and causes severe pain for several minutes after use.

Hilt had saved it. By leaving her left arm cut off, Fran, Urushi, and even Neidhart assumed that she had no way to recover it.

She then used her recovered arms to defend herself against his final blow.

Hilt gripped the blades that were half lodged into her palms and held on tightly. Neidhart tried to pull back the scythes, but could not escape.

More blood pours out as the blades are lodged further into her hands, but Hilt has succeeded in blocking her opponent's movement as intended. She had a fierce smile.

「Garuda!」

Hilt suddenly stood up, surprising us. From a position of lying on the ground, she instantly flew upright with an extraordinary movement like a rewind of someone falling down.

She seemed to have used the momentum of magic power released from her back. Is this the power of the 'Garuda' technique?

「Ahhhh! Yakshaaa!」

Hilt, without killing her momentum, slammed her head into Neidhart with all her might.

The head of a human versus the head of a mantis. At first glance, Hilt seemed to be at a disadvantage, but there was an enormous amount of ki swirling around her head. It was so dense I had to wonder where it came from.

Was that the effect of the 'Yaksha' art that she had just shouted? Or maybe a different skill?

Crash!

As the thud echoed throughout the stage, Hilt's forehead is cut deeply with blood flying everywhere.

And Neidhart's head had exploded into pieces, like an overripe watermelon hit with a stick. Red and green chunks splattered everywhere.

『I-It's over! The match is over! Just when it looked like the game was decided, there was a huge reversal! This is amazing! Oh no, Hiltoria fell down as well! Medical team! Please hurry!』

Several healers can be seen rushing toward Hilt, who is not moving and is bleeding profusely from the head. It really must have been a last-ditch effort.

「They're both strong.」

Both of them were clearly stronger than us. We would have to do everything in our power to win. Still, Fran didn't seem intimidated in the slightest.

『You look happy.』

「Nn! Next up is Hilt and…… I'm looking forward to it.」