"Captain Xavier, please!" Ramon said nothing more except gesture.
"It appears I have underestimated you, Captain Raman. I knew you could win one or two rounds at most, but I never expected you to achieve them all in one go. That’s no easy feat!" Xavier admitted dismally.
"All I did was give it my best during the battles. I thought about nothing else," Ramon replied calmly.
"Good for you. However, that’s where you’ll have to stop. You’ll certainly lose this round. Don’t even think about securing the spot of Security Hall leader. You’re not qualified for it!" Xavier exclaimed with disdain.
"Captain Xavier, since we share the same title, wouldn’t that make you just as unqualified?" Ramon retorted.
"Don’t you dare compare me to you!" Xavier replied arrogantly.
"Cut the crap. Let’s fight!" Ramon exclaimed with a cold scowl.
Xavier’s disrespect was no surprise. He quickly unsheathed the Blood Sword behind him as it morphed into a red shadow that rushed towards Ramon.
Unlike all their previous confrontations, Ramon wasn’t passive this time with Xavier’s attack. He knew that the latter’s power wasn’t that of a newcomer’s as their strengths were evenly matched. Since he was able to break through into his current level in half a month, he knew that Xavier could have also made great improvement. Moreover, Xavier’s master was one of the elders of the Sword Spirit Sect whose status was next in line to the sect leader and sword guardians. Ramon knew he needed to go all out this time or he’d have no chance of defeating his opponent.
Just as Ramon expected, Xavier’s movements became more fluid and flexible. They were nothing like the furious and impulsive flows from before. His blows also came at tricky angles that were hard to defend against.
Fortunately, he had received secret training back at the Black-devouring Swamp which allowed him to easily dodge and avoid multiple attacks from various angles.
In theory, Xavier should’ve had the advantage. However, it was now a well-matched battle. Now the real fun began with both of them reaching levels of power that surpassed those of the senior warriors at the King Realm.
An hour had swiftly passed but the two of them remained evenly matched. The rules stated that Xavier had to defeat Ramon in two hours. Otherwise, Ramon would successfully defend his position as the current champion.
So when Xavier realized that Ramon was harder to deal with than he initially expected, he decided to use his trump card—the bloodthirsty body technique. When this body technique was used, his strength surged swiftly and his sword-wielding skills became quicker than before.
On the other hand, Ramon had expected such a stalemate. Observing Xavier’s power increase tenfold, he avoided a direct attack and took a roundabout tactic instead. This would allow him to avoid his opponent’s sword while trying to exhaust his power to a lower level too. Xavier wouldn’t be able to maintain the body technique once his power became insufficient.
Yet, Xavier knew exactly what Ramon was thinking. So, the former wouldn’t allow the latter another chance to buy time.
"Seal the sky!" Xavier suddenly ordered. The Blood Sword was shoved less than a meter away from Ramon into the ground. Out of nowhere, eight streams of sword auras rushed in various directions and left eight sword marks on the ground.
This was just the beginning. Not long after, the eight more sword marks gushed out of surging sword auras and intertwined with each other. Together, they formed a dense sword aura that quickly sealed off everything within a hundred meters.
Even when he realized he was trapped, Ramon didn’t panic. Although he was in the middle of the violent sword array, he remained calm and focused on defending himself from what would come next.
However, the sword array was created by Joseph—a powerful elder of the Sword Spirit Sect. Also, even a more powerful spirit warrior was highly unlikely to break the array.
The resulting impact of the sword aura left Ramon covered from head to toe in wounds. However, his will and determination weren't as damaged. He would not give up.
Due to the powerful impact, the Blood Sword whirled into an arc before it was embedded into the ground not far away.
Xavier looked up at the figure that stopped him. Once he was able to see clearly, he was furious upon realizing it was no one else but Rocky.
All the onlookers thought what happened between Xavier and Raman was reasonable and acceptable. So, when they witnessed Rocky's sudden intervention, they began to boo as a sign of their dissatisfaction.
"Basil, what are you doing? Why did you stop the competition abruptly?" Harrison asked him with a frown. He too felt that his interference in the battle was unnecessary.
"I apologize, sir. Captain Ramon was in danger, so, out of habit, I stopped everything to defend him," Rocky replied with clasped hands.
"Really? Well, I think Captain Xavier knows what he’s doing." What Harrison didn't know, however, was that Xavier was ready to slaughter Ramon.
"It appears I just worried too much. But Captain Ramon has been seriously injured, so I will be admitting defeat on his behalf. I will battle Captain Xavier instead!" Rocky replied as he gazed back at Ramon.
The crowd fell silent as his words fell on their ears.
No one had expected Rocky to challenge Xavier so openly after the sudden intervention earlier. He had undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. With his current strength, he wasn’t exactly in the best state to challenge Xavier.
"Well, carry on then!" Harrison said nothing more. Once Ramon was attacked by Xavier's sword array, he undoubtedly lost the battle. So it was reasonable for Rocky to challenge the new champion, Xavier, in the next round.
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