On the day when Kahn’s qualifiers matches were scheduled, he returned to Xaphar city but this time, his weapon of choice was different and so was his attire.
The arena matching system only registered the token given to the fighters and not their classes, appearances or levels.
More accurately… nobody cared for the first five rounds. If you’re the person registered with proper identification, you can fight in any way you want. This was one of the rules since ancient times.
For today, Kahn had to win both matches to qualify for the second round. And today was the day he would practice his spearmanship skills while limiting his ranks and level to improve his weapon mastery and combat techniques that he had been rigorously training in from the past two months inside the training facility.
He wasn’t ignorant anymore to rely on only one fighting style or just use swords for fighting. He had the blessings from the War Deity himself so it’d be a waste to not use them to become a warrior who was well versed in all weapons and combat techniques.
Improving his efficiency through practicing was one thing while actually using them to fight in a real-life battle was another. And hence this was also one of the three main reasons why Kahn chose to register for the competition.
After hours of wait, his turn finally came and he faced his next opponent.
In front of Kahn who dressed in gray armor and a long spear in his hand, stood a woman who used a whip made of metal chains and bones.
Three red horns on her head and a long tail coming out of her back identified her as a demonkin female whose long and violet hair fluttered in the air.
And just like her fiery red skin, her eyes also gave a hint of fierceness.
[[Author : Reference Art for both Kahn & the Female Demonkin warrior in chapter comments. Check them out.]]
Since no one remembered him from 3 days ago and he was previously an archer, no dots were connected when his name appeared on the scoreboard.
This time, the odds were 2:1. One was for Kahn while 2 for the female Demonkin.
So in other words, if anyone bet on Kahn to win, they’d double their money.
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When the referee signaled the match to start, Kahn quickly adjusted his strength to a beginner master rank just like the opponent and dashed in the direction of the opponent while avoiding the past and extremely lethal whip that could rip a big chunk of flesh with a single strike.
Swoosh!
Kahn jumped high in the air while maintaining a proper stance as he avoided a horizontal strike from the opponent.
But before he could close the distance, the red demonkin woman pulled back her whip and jumped backward, instantly creating a long distance while threatening her opponent by hinting an attack coming from his back.
Clang!
Kahn quickly parried a strike as soon as he landed. The whip suddenly changed its direction midair and almost got him.
[She’s good. Infusing her mana with her weapon at the last moment when the opponent has left an opening while thinking that they dodged the first attack from the whip.
Anyone would think that they have a wide opening and chance to land a fatal blow but in reality, she has the best opening available.. The back of the opponent which is wide open. Just one strike to the head and she can knock them out.] thought Kahn as he carefully approached the opponent while taking a defensive stance.
For the next 3 minutes, all Kahn did was get himself familiar with her attack pattern and look for an opening.
He used a few skills to attack and defend while trying to create an opening using brute force.
[Gotcha!] he thought and what he did next was something that caught the female demonkin and the thousands of audiences who were watching their match on the projection screen.
Swoosh!
Instead of trying to close the gap, Kahn quickly threw his spear like a javelin with full speed towards the female opponent and aimed at her head.
Clang!
The opponent used her mana to reinforce the whip and created a protective shield around herself to defend against this attack.
BOOM!!
The mana shield broke up and Kahn’s spear broke the mana shield easily. Showing how lethal his strike was.
“Argh!” groaned the woman as her wrist felt a shock after the impact.
Her body felt disoriented from the aftershock and her grip on the weapon loosened the next second.
Only 2 seconds passed since Kahn’s attack and all her defenses were broken in a flash.
But before she could even turn her head towards the approaching enemy..
THWACK!
A strike landed on the female warrior’s neck as Kahn knocked her out with a simple but effective strike with his bare hands.
During the three minutes he was attacking and defending, he notices a key flaw in the red demonkin woman’s attack pattern.
That whenever she attacked, there was a 4 second window where she had no choice but to either pull back her weapon for another strike or use her mana to control the weapon and change its direction to land a proper attack against the enemy.
And that’s why Kahn threw his spear towards her head and forced her to use the whip to either defend herself or deflect the spear midair.
And when she used it to defend her, the impact forced her to lose control and there was a lot of time delay before she could regain her composure and make another attack.
That is how Kahn quickly closed off the distance and a simple strike to her neck did the job.
“Winner is candidate number 1,03,762!” declared the referee and Kahn won the first match.
Although he didn’t get to use many skills during the fight, him quickly adapting in such a short time and creating an opening was something worth counting for him.
It was the little things that helped you gain experience and become a good warrior.
So Kahn welcomed this small gain and gazed towards the scoreboard again.
But the next second, he felt a killing intent directed at him from one of the battle rings in the arena.
Instead of worrying, Kahn kept his calm demeanor and spoke in a mischievous tone..
“Looks like someone wants to pick a fight with me.”