In terms of combat skill, Thrax was definitely the most talented one among the five of them. Immortal Gate Stage 5 really was no joke. The double battle power given came with very difficult requirements to unlock.
With this, the fight quickly turned in the Thracian favor, with Julian being pushed to the side by Thrax's fierce spear attacks.
Clank! Clank!
[Vicious Barrage]
Thrax's special battle art quickly allowed him to carry out half a dozen piercing strikes towards Julian.
The roman tried his best to defend from such barrage attacks that were coming his way.
Unfortunately for him, Julian was only able to parry some of Thrax's assaults with his sword. Due to the sheer amount of strikes that were being directed at him, one managed to hit him in the shoulder.
Crackk!!
The force of the blow had been so powerful that Julian could see his [Stone Skin] begin to crack. It all happened so fast, he barely had any time to react; he took a couple of steps back, while dodging more attacks when the pain finally settled in. The sensation came so suddenly it caused him to double over, spitting out blood.
Once more, cheers reverberated around the arena, as people screamed out their support for Thrax. They practically leapt out of their seats to cheer for their champion, who had proved himself in battle yet again.
"Spartacus!! Spartacus!!"
Julian struggled to get back on his feet. As he slowly got up, he began to speak through the blood in his mouth.
"I understand now… Spartacus! This is the real reason why you do it, huh?! Who doesn't like being worshipped like this! This is it, isn't it! Everything else, justice, revenge all just lie!"
Upon hearing this, Thrax's expression abruptly soured. His previously triumphant grin was now downturned. He wished to charge towards the Roman right away, but he suddenly took a moment of self control and returned to his defensive stance.
"Good try, Julian, but no!" He shouted over the roar of the crowd. "I will not be lure to fight by emotion and be defeated the way you did in the Academy.. not again!"
Thrax ultimately ignored Julian's silver tongue and prepared his attack once again.
"Very good, Thrax," Julian remarked. "Aaa...You make me miss the old barbarian, really."
Again, Thrax began to charge violently towards Julian with his 20 extra points of battle power. But Julian was somewhat prepared this time and he quickly planted the palm of his hand on the ground, a wall of stone immediately erupted between them.
"This wall won't stop me!" Thrax shouted, as he swung his elbow across it. The stone wall crumbled to the ground, completely destroyed.
When the wall was cleared, though, he realized Julian was already gone. He frantically looked around, wary his opponent was going to attack him from the back. All of a sudden, a shadow descended upon him.
"Up!" Thrax saw that Julian had already jumped in the air, his body was completely engulfed in flames, as he cast his [Fire Aura] spell. It was a Tier 3 fire element spell that provided the user with extra power and speed.
He swung the gladius sword towards Thrax at full speed but the thracian gladiator did not panic
"Not good enough Roman!!"
Thrax cast [Mighty Swing], another battle art that was thrown forcefully at Julian who was still in the air.
CRACCKK!!
The blade of their respective spear and sword met with full force and with such a strong hit, Julian's sword shattered into a pieces and he himself was thrown a dozen meters back once more, landing on his back with a painful thud.
And with that, the spectators went crazy. They understood the fight that was unfolding before them right now could be a comparable to the battle between gods.
The two that stand watching in the corner also get excited watching the duel.
"Emery, let's bet! Who's going to win…?" Klea said to Emery. They were both perched in the corner of the stadium, with front row seats to witness their former classmates' gruesome fight.
At the moment, Emery was just basking in the warmth of their company. Wishing to simply see the girl to be happy, he gave a nonspecific answer to satisfy her. "I don't know, what do you think? Which one do you think will win?"
Klea pursed her lips in thought for a second. "I don't think Julian will win this time. I chose the mad gladiator."
In actuality, Emery did genuinely think the same, but he decided to accept her proposal for a bet and chose Julian instead. "What do you want to bet on...?"
Klea suddenly broke into a grin. "I want one whole day spent on a romantic date with you!!"
Emery could only shake his head, the girl could not have been more obvious about her intentions with him. He nodded, agreeing wordlessly.
Klea quickly turned gleeful and shouted.
"Yo!! Thrax!! Hurry, beat that Roman ass down!!"
While the two of them were conversing, Julian had just lost his sword and was now cornered. Hearing such words spoken by Klea only made him more depressed.
"Urggg!! you guys are just the worst!! Now see the new and improved me!"
The unarmed Julian breathed out a long sigh and once more gave a surprise to their friends. He raised both his hands to concentrate on a skill and, suddenly, his body exploded with new power.
[Immortal Gate Stage 5]
[Battle power increase - 32 points]
[Battle power - 86 (68)]
Apparently, it wasn't just Thrax who had gone through extreme physical training during the past year and a half. All those battles he fought with the legionnaires, all the near-death defeats, gave Julian much experience and the push he needed to break though this battle art thought by Lord Izta.
Both Emery and Klea were surprised to see this. Especially Emery, who started sulking, as he was reminded of the fact that his battle art training skills were quite lacking and that he was still in the fourth stage.
With this, Julian was now able to close the gap between them up to less than 10 battle power points, a number he was quite comfortable with.
As for the Thracian, he didn't run away just yet. He stood in place, piercing his spear into the ground as he cast [Fire Aura], his body also starting to glow just like Julian's.
The warm up was done, It was time for round two.
----------------------------------
Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,