Chapter 998: The Second Holy Beast Festival 19
The final match came down to a showdown between Almeida and Anzeros. ……But surely fighting back-to-back matches has to be too much. Especially since Almeida’s battles require an immense number of moves. Wouldn’t it be unfair not to give her some time to rest? That’s what I thought, anyway.
“If you say you’re tired after something like this, you don’t belong on the battlefield”
Almeida declared this with a defiant look on her face.
“……No, but your last opponent was Black Arm Sgaron, right?”
“Back in my days as a Paladin, I’ve spent entire nights fighting my way through hordes of enemies. No matter how formidable the Knight Chief may be, one battle shouldn’t be so draining that I can’t handle the next. Besides……”
Almeida slammed the pommel of her wooden spear into the ground and stood tall. The elves watching the match erupted in cheers.
“Right now, the whole crowd is on my side. It evens things out perfectly”
“……If that’s fine with you, then so be it”
Almeida seems to believe that the cheers from the excited crowd more than make up for her fatigue. Or rather, perhaps the main effect isn’t that Almeida grows stronger from the cheers, but that Anzeros gets intimidated. This kind of hostile atmosphere seems to really affect one’s performance. ……Though that’s not really something I have much experience with.
“……I see. That’s clever”
Dianne muttered under her breath.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s making sure to save face, for both of them”
“?”
“If Almeida wins, they can say Anzeros couldn’t perform because of the pressure from the cheering crowd. Conversely, if Anzeros wins……”
“……So, fatigue from back-to-back matches, is that it?”
“I doubt they’d need such an excuse among themselves, though. Almeida has been entrusted with the authority of the Forest, primarily by the Green Clan. Anzeros, on the other hand, is both a Dragon Knight and a member of the White Clan. It’s not as if there’s no one whose reputation would be ruined by a loss”
“……I see”
A match between two people who both carry such weight on their shoulders is a difficult one. Still, I’ve laid out the groundwork for this. All that’s left is……to fight.
“Well then, on to the final match”
Irina stepped forward calmly and extended her hand.
“……Begin!”
She swung her sword up with a whoosh. Reacting to this, Anzeros and Almeida seemed poised to clash in an instant……but surprisingly, both slowly maintained their distance, glaring at each other and shifting sideways inch by inch.
“……They’re not charging in”
“No, for them, they’re already within one-step-sword range. ……They’ve read each other’s intentions through their stances and gazes, and are exercising restraint”
“……I don’t really get it”
“They’re using their movements to threaten, I’m going to move like this, while simultaneously showing they’re prepared for the opponent’s next move. And, realizing it’s difficult to land a effective blow with the first strike, they’re waiting for each other, determined not to give up the next turn. That kind of back-and-forth was exchanged in an instant. They’re not just fumbling for the right timing”
“…………”
W, Well, if Dianne-san says so, I guess that’s how it is. I don’t get it at all, though.
“Of course, Almeida is fast, but this stalemate is only possible because Anzeros’s lunge distance and speed have also increased significantly. ……Sharon let Almeida hold the initiative the whole time, but Anzeros won’t let that happen now”
“……Has Anzeros really gotten that fast?”
“Just by a step. If the distance were a bit longer, the difference would be clear, but in a contest of pure burst speed, she’s on par with Almeida……well, maybe not quite, but she’s close”
“To match that in speed, doesn’t that mean she’s approaching the ranks of humanity’s fastest……?”
“It’s strictly a matter of 『Rank』, mind you. ……Among my knight girls, her balance is the most similar to mine. I have no intention of going out of my way to name a successor……but Anzeros might be the closest”
Just as Dianne was saying that, the situation shifted. Anzeros unleashed a shockwave with minimal movement, attempting to force Almeida off balance. Almeida couldn’t let it hit her head-on, so she sidestepped to dodge it. However, seizing that opening, Anzeros finally struck. It was truly a single-step sword technique. He closed the distance of nearly 10 meters in a single step and delivered a sharp, powerful blow. There was a thud, a sound you wouldn’t expect from two wooden weapons clashing. Almeida managed to block it. ……However, even from a distance, you could see her wooden spear bending and beginning to crack with a creak.
“Isn’t that bad?”
“It is bad. ……But last year, she kept fighting even after her spear broke and still won the championship, so we can’t stop the match now”
“……Naris”
Sure enough, Almeida continues to attack boldly even with her spear on the verge of breaking. She gave up on fighting with the spear’s full reach and began wielding it more like a two-section staff or flail, yet she still unleashed fierce thrusts on Anzeros, engaging in a spectacular exchange. However, Anzeros possessed a combination of power, technique and speed and above all, mental tenacity. That might be the strength that sets her apart from the other knight girls, such as Aurora, Sharon, Naris, and Tetes. Both Almeida and Anzeros frequently participate in Fiona’s training sessions, so they know each other’s moves inside and out. Neither can tip the scales of the battle in an instant with an unexpected technique. If that’s the case, it comes down to a test of endurance. It becomes a contest of how much one believes in their own skills and how long they can hold out until they find an opening in their opponent’s defense. Even if she can’t outpace her opponent, she absolutely refuses to take a clean hit. She relentlessly parries attacks for tens of seconds, waiting with bated breath for Almeida to run out of steam. Anzeros is capable of turning the battle into exactly that kind of contest.
“……Ha, aa……!!”
“……I’m going to make full use of the head start you gave me……!!”
Even Almeida, for all her prowess, cannot sustain a barrage of attacks at top speed for several minutes on end. With her spear on the verge of snapping, her options for striking are even more limited, leading to monotonous attacks that lose their effectiveness. On top of that, the fatigue from consecutive battles gradually reduced the intensity of Almeida’s attacks. Anzeros kept pace with this, maintaining a distance that wouldn’t let Almeida catch her breath. She never strayed from the range where even the slightest lapse in concentration or pause in her strikes would result in an immediate effective hit, instead aiming for the moment Almeida’s arms reached their limit. Even with the stamina to keep moving all night while in combat, if she isn’t allowed a single moment’s rest, she’ll eventually reach her limit.
“Ugu……!”
Almeida kept moving her feet, trying to abandon the exchange, but Anzeros wouldn’t let her escape. Though there was a difference in speed, she couldn’t let her get away. It’s easier and faster for a person to move forward than to move backward. That said, turning her back to flee would make that split second of turning fatal. If her weapon were in perfect condition, she might be able to break free, but that’s, of course, a futile assumption. Almeida’s weakness, her limited range of attack, is gradually taking its toll.
“Back in her home country, Almeida was recognized as a Lord……she had the skill to be considered on par with a Great Sword Saint. On the other hand, since the Kalwin Incident, Anzeros has gained strength that’s more than a match for a Great Sword Saint. Combined with Sharon, depending on their condition, the outcome could go either way……”
“So you’re saying the odds have shifted in Anzeros’ favor?”
“That’s how it’s shaping up. ……At this rate, even if she doesn’t lose her temper and make a judgment error, Anzeros will eventually prevail. I doubt Almeida made that proposal just to lose on purpose……”
“It’s hard to imagine Anzeros being intimidated by the hostile crowd, after all”
In fact, there were many voices cheering for Almeida. If she were the type to be daunted by that, she would have conceded something long ago. Anzeros possesses the mental fortitude to resolutely ignore that kind of external pressure. ……Will Anzeros win like this? That’s what I thought.
“You thought she’d won, didn’t you?”
In an instant, the noise fell silent. In the midst of a fierce exchange of blows with Almeida, Anzeros suddenly swung and missed, her eyes widening. It shouldn’t have been a matter of distance or stance. Yet Almeida was nowhere to be seen right in front of Anzeros. She had vanished without a trace.
“……!?”
Up, left, right. Anzeros scanned the area for Almeida. But from where we stood a short distance away, we could see her. As if ignoring everything around her, Almeida had slipped right past Anzeros and was crouching behind her, back-to-back. Then, the very instant Anzeros turned to look behind her, she rammed into her back with all her might. Thud, Anzeros’s small body was sent flying into the air.
“Baa……!”
Was she about to say, you idiot? Anzeros took a fierce blow to her side; unable to break her fall, she was sent flying several meters and slammed into the ground. Without missing a beat, Almeida closed in like a tackle, bringing the tip of her spear, which was about to snap……no, had already snapped, to a hair’s breadth from her face.
“That’s enough!!”
Irina shouted. Most of the audience, myself included, couldn’t comprehend what had just happened and fell deathly silent. ……A few seconds later, realizing from the scene before them that Almeida had won, the elves erupted in cheers.
“What was that all about……?”
Watching Almeida being honored from a distance, I asked Dianne for an explanation. Dianbe smiled as she explained.
“It’s sort of like a magic trick. There’s a specific 『Way to vanish』 that’s only effective at close range. You show your opponent your movements, close in, draw out a reaction……and then counter. Well, it’s probably hard to understand just from hearing it”
“……I don’t get it”
“Basically, Anzeros pinpointed the 『Moment』 when her opponent was certain of victory, then threw her vision off with an unexpected move and slipped right through. The only ones who could try to imitate that and actually pull it off are Becker, my sister-in-law Nancy……and maybe Meteor Lister, though I’m not sure about him”
“……So that was her trump card?”
“She must have been planning this from the moment her spear became useless. With a wooden spear that’s gone all limp, it’s impossible to win in a head-on clash, so……she had no choice but to go for a grapple, just like when she fought the Baron. Just for that one chance, she made it look like she was pushing her arm to the limit and putting up a desperate fight……”
“……So she’s capable of that kind of strategic maneuvering, huh?”
“I guess that just goes to show her long battle history isn’t just for show. ……No, maybe the cheers gave her strength”
……Come to think of it, considering her circumstances, is it really that unusual for her to enter a match receiving that much cheering? In Afilm, it seemed she was treated a bit coldly compared to her skill and fame. When she first said, 「Since the crowd is on my side, back-to-back matches aren’t a burden」, it wasn’t just an excuse, she might have actually meant it.
“I lost”
“No, you did great. You’ve really got the air of a Great Sword Saint now”
Anzeros offered words of encouragement and ruffled her hair. Anzeros looked happy, giggling, ehehe.
“I’ve really gotten the hang of the footwork Almeida taught me, so I thought I had a shot”
“There are still plenty of chances. Next year, or the year after”
“That’s true”
Considering that Anzeros had withdrawn last year, thinking she had no chance of winning, she must have been that confident this year. But this time, the momentum swung in Almeida’s favor by the skin of her teeth. I’m in no position to say who should have won, but I hope Anzeros doesn’t get discouraged and keeps giving it her all.
And it was a bit striking to see Fiona intently watching those matches and mulling over the movements.
“That move……was it……like this……?”
“Don’t ask me, okay? Honestly, those guys moves are so inhuman I can’t really tell”
“You’re the defending champion, aren’t you?”
“Could you please stop acting like it’s only natural for the champion to be able to analyze them!? Honestly, last year was pretty much just luck, you know!?”
I think it would be better for Naris to have a little more confidence, for the sake of everyone else’s pride, too.