Chapter 110 110 – First Match

“That belt is magically enhanced to protect you from attacks.” An official explained to Yua, who was sitting in a small room. “And that will cancel all magic protection from your clothes. So, you and your opponent will get the same protection.”

“I see.” The kunoichi tightened that leather belt in her stomach. “Thanks.”

“Wait until your name is called.” The official bowed. Since being there, he had a hard time turning his gaze from Yua’s body. “Good luck.”

As soon as the official came out of the unfurnished brick-walled room, Yua leaned her back and sighed. Her ears could hear the strains of trumpets and drums outside.

“Are you nervous, Yua?” Raymund asked. “I saw that Anja was more nervous than the previous missions, even though the previous missions were more dangerous.”

The kunoichi wore a crooked smile. “Of course, I’m nervous, sir. Did you see the stadium? Its size is on par with those in the modern world.”

There was a knock on the door, followed by an official’s voice. “Yua Nakagami. Please come out.”.

Yua sighed a second time, then stood up and walked out of the room accompanied by several officials. The passage leading to the arena was short, but the kunoichi felt that it had taken too long to walk towards the exit.

Getting a signal from an official, Yua stopped in her tracks. From the gate only a few feet away from her, she could see that the arena was packed.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!” The voice of the host was greeted with thunderous cheers from the audience. “Welcome to the first-ever Kozlov family tournament! Thank you also for the representative from the kingdom….”

The kunoichi didn’t listen to the opening and chose to focus on herself. She memorized every move she knew and replayed the plan she had made in her head.

“The winner is the one who clears the opponent’s magic barrier first and makes the opponent bleed.” The host began to explain the rules of the match. “Or if your opponent surrenders, or when your opponent is still unconscious at the count of ten! Without further ado, let’s welcome the first participant. She was a warrior with unique abilities. Besides using melee weapons, she also uses magic to fight! The first fighter, Renee Emilian!!!”

The sound of the music being played was muffled by the audience’s roar. The feud between Renee and the kunoichi had spread like wildfire. Therefore, the stadium was full, and the crowd was so excited. That’s why the match was highly anticipated, so the organizers moved it to be the first.

“Apparently, they don’t know the concept of the main event,” Raymund commented. “They should have put your match last so that the anticipation from the audience is even higher, Yua.”

The kunoichi just flashed her smile again.

“Next fighter. She is a ninja who came all the way from the east to fulfill the invitation of the Kozlov family. She stole the audience’s attention with her speed and cleverness in taking advantage of the situation! Please welcome, Yua Nakagami!!!”

The music played sounded like a series of notes from a traditional Japanese song, but without stringed instruments. Yua came out of that gate. She immediately saw a giant crystal ball floating on the top of the arena. She could see her own face in that thing.

“It functions like a big screen for the audience, huh? So that they can enjoy the action too even though it’s far away?” Raymund guessed. “This country is quite sophisticated, it turns out.”

Amidst the cheering support, Yua could hear ridicule and insults towards her. However, the woman did not care and focused on seeing her opponent instead.

The match referee was Igor. He signaled the two participants to come closer, then explained the rules of the match.

“I will embarrass you in front of these people, Yua Nakagami.” Renee’s tone was sharp. “I’ll shut your rotten mouth.”

The smile still lingered on Yua’s face. “If it weren’t for the tournament, I wouldn’t want to fight you. People who leave a family that loves them are far below me. It’s not worth my time.”

Renee was about to reply, but the referee said. “You guys will fight, not argue. Now, you two back off until I say enough.”

Both contestants followed the referee’s orders. They moved until they were quite far apart. Then, the referee raised his hand high.

“Fights!!!” As the hand moved downwards, the cheers from the stadium became even more deafening.

Renee had just raised her battle hammer, and Yua was advancing at maximum speed. This immediately sparked the cheers to become even crazier.

Renee stayed where she was, swinging her weapon at the kunoichi. However, what she saw next was pitch black. Explosions of black smoke seemed to be coming out of Yua’s body.

Using his small sword, the kunoichi gave several slashes to Renee’s body. Since Yua already knew the location of her opponent’s body, she could easily do it in the dark. Meanwhile, the shocked Renee didn’t have time to dodge.

The blonde-haired woman chose to dispel the smoke with wind magic. Yua’s stomach became an easy target for Renee’s battle hammer thrust. The kunoichi was forced to jump backward, clutching her stomach.

Even though the attack didn’t have much effect, thanks to the magical protection of the belt she was wearing, Yua still grimaced as if she was in immeasurable pain.

The scene that only lasted a few seconds was enough to make the audience applaud.

The hammer that Renee was holding started to burn orange. “I will beat you in no time.”

She stepped forward and gave a combination hammer swing, and Yua only avoided all of that, not doing counterattacks. Those swung look erratic to the commoner’s eye, but they were deadly.

The kunoichi continued to retreat until her back was against the arena wall. Renee didn’t waste the opportunity and gave the most brutal swing.

However, the kunoichi was able to jump upwards, then landed behind Renee. The blonde woman turned around, but Yua spun in the air and kicked her opponent’s chest hard. Renee stumbled backward, and now it was her back against the wall.

“Huh?” Renee was about to go forward, but she was stuck. Her back could not be separated from the wall.

“The body pocket skill you have is convenient, Yua.” Raymund clapped his hands. “Your skills are limited, and you have little experience as a ninja.”

But she can insert various things into her body, like a dark smoke bomb or magic glue.