“Clang!” Jayad struck Alicia’s round shield with his sword again, forcing her back a few steps. A sword mark was left on the shield’s surface.
At this moment, Jayad was giving it his all, radiating a brilliant light. This was the only way to counter Alicia’s Minerva power, the power of the goddess symbolizing wisdom, war, and victory.
As he tried to pursue, Alicia braced herself on the ground with her spear, halting her retreat. The wounds Jayad had inflicted on her began to heal.
Jayad then pointed his sword to the sky. Sunlight broke through the dark clouds, and the scorching sun caused the accumulated snow around the venue to melt. The audience felt the heat as if it were summer, the intense temperature difference forcing them to remove their clothes.
The weather had changed three times during this battle: suddenly it was a fiery inferno, then in the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour, and now it was unbearably hot. Such a battle, let alone for these spectators, even many of the strong individuals present had never witnessed a fight of this caliber, leaving them stunned.
“I didn’t expect Older Brother Jayad to use the power of Atar The Merciless so quickly. I always thought that power was suspicious and evil, and that it was best not to use it too much, but it also shows how much pressure Alicia can put on Jayad.”
Facing the direct glare of the scorching sun, Alicia plunged her golden spear into the ground. Her appearance became considerably more mature. The land, already scorched by the holy fire, quickly began to sprout green grass, golden ears of grain, and dense forests.
This time, the goddess was a beautiful woman with a gentle and mature appearance. She should be Ceras, the goddess of harvest, fertility, seasons, and nature, corresponding to the Greek deity Demeter.
In such a small area as the venue, the seasons began to change rapidly. Atar The Merciless’s scorching sun wanted to dry everything to sand, while the power of the harvest goddess made the land fertile, and the air humid and moist.
The two sides continuously competed in their divine authority. The land was salinized and then became fertile again; plants withered and then sprang back to life. At this point, the two sides were not just competing in divine power and martial prowess; their concepts and domains were incompatible.
Seeing that the scorching sun was not enough to kill her, Alicia directly charged into the cluster of plants and fought Alicia directly in the forest.
This time it was even more intense. Large swathes of plants were torn apart by the shockwaves of the combat, only to grow back again.
During the exchange, both sides had exhausted their skills. Alicia’s fair and toned skin showed traces of sunburn after each clash, which quickly healed.
Plants also continuously grew on Jayad’s Hawk Armor, from wheat and weeds to vines. However, holy fire would quickly emerge from within the armor and burn them away.
Both sides were fully engrossed in the fight. All other matters, such as proposals, identities, and negotiations, were disregarded. They just wanted to fight to their heart’s content.
When both sides were sent flying back and retreated a step, Alicia still appeared to be in control. She looked at Jayad and said, “It seems we cannot determine a victor in ground combat. How about we fight in the sky?”
“Can do, it’s exactly what I want,” Jayad replied. He also felt that continuing to fight on the ground was meaningless. After fighting for so long, Alicia still showed no signs of fatigue, indicating that a war of attrition was pointless for her.
“Oh oh? The two contestants seem to be taking a halftime break. They seem to be discussing switching to aerial combat and are currently communicating. Ah! the organizers have agreed! Everyone, please wait a moment, take a break, and the match will resume later!” the host shouted loudly.
In fact, there were no restrictions on mounts for the competition. The two contestants could have directly summoned their mounts and switched to aerial combat. However, they had already fought for too long, and Alicia’s Steel Dragon fighting directly in the venue might cause a disturbance.
Therefore, both sides gracefully stopped their attacks simultaneously and applied to the organizing committee to change the venue and combat format. Considering how intense and exciting their battle was, and that the audience also needed a rest, the organizing committee directly approved this request, which was not against the rules, but stipulated a halftime break for the two contestants.
So, the two sat down at the edge of the arena simultaneously. Their respective support teams immediately rushed over. Alicia’s knight attendants doused her with cold water, creating a lot of steam. One could imagine how much heat she had endured under the scorching sun.
Then, they busied themselves giving Alicia water and wiping her down. The water bottles they took out were all artistic crystal bottles containing liquids that shimmered with a soft glow, indicating they were undoubtedly very valuable holy water.
Jayad’s side was no less prepared. He took out the Magic replenishment elixir concentrate I prepared for him and drank it in one gulp. The previous battle had been a great pressure for him, with such intense close-quarters white-bladed combat being rare.
Workers and blacksmiths from the factories, holding small tools, adjusted his Steam Armor, removing quite a bit of debris from the seams.
During the previous battle, Alicia had used her fertile divine authority to grow many strange plants inside his armor. Although the holy fire had burned away these plants in a timely manner, the residue still affected the normal operation of the armor.
Several workers were also using gas tanks to replenish the steam in the armor. During the battle, Jayad had been continuously using steam propulsion for acceleration and sudden changes in direction, even depleting his steam reserves, which theoretically should have been enough for an entire battle.
They also brought towels to wipe Jayad’s sweat. The attendants on both sides were as busy as pit crews during a boxing match’s halftime break.
At this moment, I transmitted my voice remotely to Older Brother Jayad: “Brother, how are you feeling? Is Alicia putting a lot of pressure on you?”
“She’s quite formidable. I haven’t encountered such a difficult opponent in a long time, but I should be able to win,” Jayad said confidently.
“It’s good that you can win. Don’t push yourself too hard. However, there’s something I don’t understand. Clearly, the gods favor you, Older Brother Jayad, with five deities, while Alicia has only passed trials with four gods. Why is she still fighting so evenly matched?” I asked with concern. I had initially thought Jayad would easily defeat her.
“There are many reasons. For example, her control over the four gods is better than mine. She should have systematically studied divine spells and combat. And although she has only received the favor of four goddesses, the remaining two have also given her their blessings. Most importantly, not only are her fundamentals better than mine, but her physique and bloodline are also very strong,” Older Brother Jayad summarized.
To be able to gather so much intelligence in a fierce battle, Older Brother Jayad is truly amazing.
The last point is the most crucial. Alicia is the daughter of the Bourbon family. She was born with the excellent bloodline of the Bourbon family. This bloodline, through generations of meticulous selection by doctors, has enabled the descendants of these ancient families to run faster and think smarter than others from birth.
