Translator: Radiant Translations Editor: Radiant Translations
Frankly speaking, Cabel had a considerable interest in Barran, and had deliberately requested to be selected for this duel.
During the elimination rounds in Grozny City, Barran had left a deep impression in him, as his evaluation in the offence test had actually exceeded that of Mo Zheng and himself. Although both Mo Zhong and him weren’t serious during the heavy soldier arena, an S rank offensive score was still considered shocking.
Naturally, an evaluation like that wasn’t enough. What made Cabel truly appreciative of Barran was his performance in his duel against the Divine Dragon Academy.
Strength, power and techniques were secondary to him. The most important of Barran’s traits was that never-say-die spirit, standing up again and again after being knocked down, regardless of his injuries, even though his blood had flowed out to form a river! Cabel really liked such a person, as it really fit his taste and aesthetics. In fact, it had even caused him to reminisce about the period of time where he was still a newbie.
They had the same kind of rebellious and unyielding spirit! The radiance and willpower Barran had was once present in Cabel!
At that time, he had pointed towards the broadcast screen while telling everyone around him with high spirits: “Did you all see that! That’s what a man should be like! I like that fellow!”
“Hey!”
Instead of showing a cold glare towards his opponent, a considerably kind smile was present on Cabel’s face. In fact, he had even taken the initiative to greet Barran. “Your performance in your last duel is pretty good, brat. Let’s have a good fight, alright! Make sure to bring out your full strength and see if you can create a miracle in this fight!”
The noisy Skylink and arena instantly turned quiet.
Who was Cabel? He was Bobo Torres’s elder brother! Frankly speaking, the layman audience might not have a definite concept of his level of strength. The only thing they knew was that he was very strong, though the fame of his temper had long spread across the entire Federation. He was just like his younger brother Bobo Torres; for the both of them, their temper was a touchy topic. Stories of them beating people up and had been reported by the news, and these cases weren’t isolated.
This was a man that everyone acknowledged to have the most explosive temper. It was already pretty good for a freshman newbie to not get shouted at and embarrassed by him. However, he had actually taken the initiative to greet his opponent? Furthermore, he had a fucking smile on his face while speaking with such a gentle tone? Why did he appear just like a senior giving ato a junior?
Wasn’t he known to have an explosive temper? That he had a problem with Tianjing? That he was overbearing?
You tell me that I’ve stripped my pants off just to see this?!
“I understand! Cabel’s definitely doing it on purpose! Against a participant like Barran, if you treat him well, he would be confused and disoriented! As a result, he won’t be able to explode on an emotional level!”
“Oh really? Fuck! Take a look at Barran’s expression!”
“Ah! Oh my god! He’s fucking sly!
A clear expression of surprise appeared on Barran’s face.
Ever since the start of the CHF, regardless of how strong or weak they were, every opponent he had encountered would either try to embarrass him, or would proclaim about beating him up. There was nothing to discuss about that. However, this was really an unprecedented occasion, someone had actually treated him so warmly and with respect!
Frankly speaking, he was accustomed to his opponents showing looks of disdain or wanting to beat him up. Therefore, he really wasn’t used to receiving such a gentle and respectful treatment, causing some emotions to surge within his heart.
There was no one in the world who would love being treated horribly. Respect was something that everyone yearned for.
Indeed, Barran become emotional as he replied, “I’ll fight seriously, senior!”
Senior? Cabel withered slightly as he thought, was he really that old?
In an instant, the Torres supporters in the arena, as well as the members seated in their preparatory area, burst into smiles and laughter. Oh my god, he really had offended Cabel!
It had been a sore point for the Torres squadron when dealing with Cabel and Bobo, this pair of weird brothers. Words like “old”, “small”, “big”, “childish” had to be absolutely outlawed in their day to day conversations! Caliban Crowe instantly recalled the joke he had told everyone while in one of the training rooms. In the end, Bobo Torres, who was training in the other room, somehow managed to hear the word “small”, then rushed out and gave Caliban a beating!
Now, when everyone was in the training rooms, they would generally try their best to not speak. God knows when they would accidentally break this taboo! Now, there’s finally someone else to share everyone’s suffering!
“Just call me Cabel. You can also call me heavy Artillery.” said Cabel, as his expression sunk. Heavy Artillery was the nickname he had given himself. However, it was clear that it didn’t sound aesthetically pleasing, and no one in the squadron used this nickname.
“Sorry, senior Cabel!” Barran replied earnestly.
Instantly, the Torres squadrons members were bending over in laughter. Although they had met honest people before, they had come across someone this honest. Truthfully speaking, Cabel was the only one who had any appreciation for Barran. If it was someone else, that person would have already exploded. Torres wanted to obtain victory, and they were not doing it for someone else. They had their own way of doing things.
The veins on Cabel’s face started to bulge as he replied, “Bring out your full strength, brat! If not, don’t blame me for beating you to death!”
The caster’s podium instantly turned speechless, before the killing intent gushing over immediately pulled Barran from his initial mood into one completely focused on the fight.
Cabel had given Barran a deep impression during the elimination rounds. Frankly speaking, Barran had expected to face a mental block in this matchup. However, upon coming into direct confrontation with Cabel, Barran discovered that it wasn’t the case at all.
Faced against a powerful opponent, shouldn’t he be afraid or nervous? However, these feelings weren’t present.
There was no nervousness, and no terror. In fact, Barran even felt a sliver of excitement appearing in his heart, giving him an itch to go all out!
Unlike the state he had been in during the past few matches, this gave Barran a mysterious confidence that he had never felt before.
The life-or-death duel he had experienced in the previous match appeared to have opened new doors, which caused an unsuppressable happiness to rise within him during the past few days of training. Frankly speaking, those changes were massive! It was so massive, to the point where he himself could not believe it! In fact, there were times where he suspected that it was just an error on his judgement. However, now, with Cabel before him, it was definitely the best time to test it out!
Both sides had not chosen any weapons. Originally, Barran had carried a large shield as he walked onto the stage. However, upon seeing that his opponent had not chosen any weapons, he had tossed it aside.
Although a shield might be suitable equipment to deal with a heavy soldier wielding a greatsword, it was definitely not suitable against a barehanded opponent. A heavy and unwieldy large shield would slow his movements. Furthermore, the main effect of bare-handed attacks was impact damage, something that a shield wasn’t good at defending against.
A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling up the corners of the 2 men’s shirts.
“Barran seems somewhat different from his earlier matches. His expression is rather tranquil, and shows some self-confidence!”
“That’s right! He has undergone a qualitative transformation since his last match. Nevertheless, his fundamental strength is still insufficient, and he still bears some injuries from that match. These are things that cannot be changed within the timespan of a few days. The thing to look out for will be the big move Barran had unleashed against Zhao Zixin. That move is rather breathtaking, but would he immediately execute it at the start of this duel? Taking advantage of his optimum condition to go all out is in fact a pretty good tactic. At the very least, he would have a chance to change the momentum of this duel!”
Ding!
As the competition bell rang, it was just like a signal to advance, and a flash burst out from Cabel’s eyes, before he instantly rushed forwards like a ferocious beast when its cage was opened!
The incomparably heavy shining black armour clinked about as he rushed forwards. Although he wasn’t fast, he was definitely not slow in heavy soldier terms. As his speed increased, he appeared just like a black gust of wind blowing by.
Explosive dash!
In the beginning, because Cabel wanted to chat with Barran, he made sure that they weren’t standing far from each other. Therefore, it took only a blink of an eye for him to cross the couple of metres between them, with his fist already barreling towards Barran’s chest!
Barran seemed to be utterly unable to react to the punch. In fact, he had even forgotten to muster any defence, as he stood mutely at his original position.
Frankly speaking, Cabel’s punch wasn’t considered fast, and did not come from a tricky angle. It was just pure, unadulterated, momentum and astonishing power. To the majority of first class heavy soldiers, they should be able to easily defend against a punch like this. However, Barran did not keep his guard up at all. Instead, his lack of resistance was something everyone expected!
Rampaging power burst forth into his chest!
BANG!
Barran was smashed backwards for 14 to 15 metres, landing on his butt!
Was the duel over just like that? Fuck, walking up with so much confidence, along with his eruption in the previous match, most people expected him to have some sort of improvement. Who would have expected that he was actually worse than before; being unable to muster even the most basic of defences! It couldn’t be that the eruption in the previous match had turned him into a fool, right?
“Stand up!” Cabel did not give chase. Anyone who had seen Barran’s performance in the previous match would not believe that a single punch would take him out. Even without considering his other abilities, his pain resistance and desire for victory were definitely top-tier within this CHF. Furthermore, in that instant when Barran had been sent flying, what Cabel saw in Barran’s eyes wasn’t shock or helplessness. Instead, he saw a sliver of excitement!