Chapter 124: Chapter 124

Meanwhile, in a certain corner of the square, Ron’s close friends were chanting his name over and over. Their fervent enthusiasm seemed to ripple out and infect the surrounding crowd.

Ron’s name was shouted by more and more people, echoing repeatedly across the square.

Although there were only about a thousand people in the square at this moment, Ron felt as if he were hearing a deafening tsunami of cheers. The sensation even left him slightly dizzy and entranced.

And this was merely a thousand people. What if it were tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more?

Exactly what kind of person could maintain a peaceful state of mind amidst such an overwhelming roar?

Although somewhat reluctant to admit it, Ron genuinely enjoyed the feeling. He fought down the urge to wave to the crowd, striving to maintain his usual calm expression as he stepped into the arena.

Afric had already arrived. Seeing everyone in the square chanting Ron’s name, his expression grew rather stiff. Could it be that everyone actually thought he was going to lose?

“Ron, I’ve heard your name more than once before today. I admit you have exceptional talent, but talent alone isn’t enough to cross the chasm of time. You are no match for me!”

As the fight was about to begin, Ron’s surging emotions finally calmed. His opponent’s verbal provocations failed to move him in the slightest. The man had the advantage of time and experience, but did Ron not have his own advantages?

Was Afric just going to run his mouth instead of crossing swords in a real fight?

“Let the sword do the talking!”

Ron delivered his signature opening line once more, simultaneously leveling his sword toward his opponent for this match, who was potentially the strongest adversary he had encountered since stepping onto the Knight’s Path!

Wastelanders, naturally, were the exception. Given their monstrous physical attributes, let alone a quasi-Knight, even a Formal Knight would probably have a hard time taking one down.

Not every Formal Knight possessed the terrifying strength of an Apprentice Instructor.

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Afric let out an angry roar and copied Ron’s previous strategy, charging straight in. But Ron was not Jude or Edmund, who could be so easily overwhelmed.

Even though Afric’s physical stats were superior to his, which naturally meant greater strength and speed, Ron was now countering movement with stillness. Afric’s speed was not yet so overwhelming that it could outpace Ron’s reactions.

Ron merely tapped his left foot, erupting with explosive power under his Whole-Body Force state to instantly launch his body to the right.

At the same time, in the instant Afric sped past him, Ron’s sword-wielding right hand lashed out, matching his opponent’s movement speed and stabbing straight into Afric’s right rear shoulder.

Fortunately for Afric, his armor offered protection, and his own immense speed meant Ron’s longsword couldn’t build up enough of a velocity differential. Afric merely stumbled before rapidly recovering his balance.

After continuing forward in a slight arc, he curved back and launched a second attack. This time, instead of a “savage charge,” he leveled his sword directly at Ron’s vulnerable neck.

“Hmph!”

Seeing this aggressive offensive, Ron couldn’t help but frown. It wasn’t that he was worried about being unable to block the strike; rather, he was infuriated by the man’s sheer recklessness. Afric clearly couldn’t fully control such extreme speed, yet he still relied on it to strike at a vital point.

This was merely a tournament match, not a life-or-death struggle against a true enemy.

If an accident happened, a wound that meant nothing to a Knight could easily cost an apprentice their life.

“You want to use me to trigger a moment of sudden enlightenment? Sorry, but you’re going to be disappointed!”

Ron immediately pulled his sword back to evade, completely abandoning his previous straightforward combat style. His movements became incredibly agile. He refused to clash directly with Afric. Whenever the distance between them closed, he would merely burst into extreme speed once more, widening the gap and resetting their positions.

This tactic left Afric completely bewildered. He had originally thought he was in for a thrilling fight, or at least a chance to vent his frustrations. He never expected to be led in circles by a mere apprentice, unable to even touch the hem of his clothes.

“Do you dare fight me head-on? Coward!”

“You’re not a Formal Knight either. How many more times can you burst with that kind of speed?”

Ron completely ignored the bluster, stubbornly sticking to his strategy. In a match between an apprentice and a quasi-Knight, constant evasion wouldn’t be criticized. In fact, because he consistently disrupted his opponent’s combat rhythm at the critical moments, it drew waves of cheers from the crowd in the square.

As for Afric, as a quasi-Knight, failing to take down a mere apprentice for so long even carried the risk of being overturned. While his status as a quasi-Knight shielded him from outright mockery, a few discordant whispers still inevitably reached his ears.

This only made him even more anxious.

“No, I can’t panic. Even if I can’t advance in rank, I need to take him down first!” Afric gritted his teeth, and his fighting style instantly grew measured and steady, abandoning his attempts to force a head-on clash through sheer speed.

Instead, he began using more proficient sword techniques, richer combat experience, and his inherent physical advantages to slowly gnaw away at Ron’s edge.

Just as Ron had pointed out, Afric indeed couldn’t sustain those bursts of extreme speed. But could Ron continuously sustain the explosive bursts he used to evade the combat rhythm?

Likewise, he couldn’t sustain them either.

Only a Formal Knight, who had completely unified their body’s Whole-Body Force and condensed a Life Seed, could explosively utilize the Whole-Body Force state without restraint, at least relative to apprentices and quasi-Knights.

Only now did Ron truly feel the terrifying suppressive power of a quasi-Knight, much like how he had overwhelmed Jude earlier.

Compared to him, Afric’s only disadvantage lay in his Whole-Body Force progress. In every other aspect, he held the advantage, including swordsmanship, physical prowess, experience, and technique.

“Damn it, he’s caught on. I can’t let this drag on any longer. I need to end this quickly!”

Ron’s concept of a quick victory at this moment was completely different from his matches in the apprentice division. Back then, he wanted to end things swiftly to conserve stamina and secure his winning streak. Now, a swift resolution was his only chance at victory.

The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would be for him!

Naturally, there was a technique for forcing a quick resolution. A head-on clash would almost certainly end in his defeat against Afric. Therefore, this rapid engagement was essentially another war of attrition, just a highly accelerated one. That in itself counted as ending the fight quickly.

…

As his figure darted across the arena, a plan crystallized in Ron’s mind. After another clash of weapons, he suddenly erupted. Just as Captain Monte had instructed, he seized control of his Whole-Body Force, diverting a portion of his focus to regulate the flow of power, gathering maximum strength only in the precise areas where it was needed.

While this meant the raw power of any single burst might not match a full-force strike, the energy efficiency was vastly higher. It minimized waste and, in actual combat, allowed him to endure much longer.

With that, Ron unleashed a relentless barrage of ferocious attacks, catching Afric completely off guard. This was Ron’s opening.

If Afric refrained from erupting with his own Whole-Body Force, Ron would rely on his superior strength and speed within the Whole-Body Force state to secure the win. It would be difficult, but far from impossible.

Naturally, Ron’s greatest hope was that Afric would be provoked into erupting with his Whole-Body Force just like him. Doing so would drag the fight into a war of attrition, and an incredibly fast-paced one at that.

With Ron’s current brimming Life Energy reserves and the combat techniques personally taught by an Intermediate Knight, it was entirely possible to completely exhaust Afric.

This, too, would be difficult, but not impossible.