[A/N: Thanks for the great support this month. I appreciate every single golden-ticket and powerstone. Y’all are the best!]
After Annabelle used her Soultrait, the situation over the battlefield changed.
Whenever one of them released an arrow, the other one would follow suit and shoot an arrow in the air. Their arrows always collided, and none of them could cross half the distance to their designated target.
To be able to shoot three arrows precisely and near-simultaneously was extremely difficult. It required great aim and a ridiculous amount of practice to smoothly shoot one arrow after another.
However, it was even more difficult to hit the three arrows in mid-air. Not only was it necessary to quickly shoot three arrows, and to have precise aim, but it was also necessary to predict the trajectory of the arrows mid-air.
But Michael made it look like it was as easy as taking a walk in the park. He was already Tier-1 with high agility and perception. Michael also had the Eagle Eyes Soultrait and the Siltang Bow with which he could follow the trajectory of arrows quickly and create an arrow nocked on the bowstring the moment the previous arrow had been released.
These advantages allowed Michael to achieve many things that were supposed to be hard for someone like Annabelle. She was not yet a Tier-1 Lord and didn’t possess a Bow Artifact like the Siltang Bow either. Yet, Annabelle was able to keep up with him after she activated her Soultrait.
This shocked Michael quite a bit. Annabelle was extremely proficient with the bow, and her archery talent was clearly better than his. Given her capabilities, she certainly had more experience with the bow than Michael!
Michael could only compete with her due to his higher Tier, the Artifacts in his possession, and the combination of his Soultraits.
‘She is so strong…what kind of training did she undergo, and what Soultrait is she using?!’
Michael was impressed seeing how strong Annabelle was and was curious to find out more about her.
However, he couldn’t allow her to emerge victorious. He manifested two arrows simultaneously, aimed and released them. Afterward, he released three arrows swiftly within three seconds. Two of these three arrows targeted Annabelle’s upper body, while the third aimed to hit her vital spot.
In response, Annabelle moved swiftly. She shot the three precisely aimed projectiles in mid-air and proceeded to counterattack. Her movements were rapid, yet she noticed too late that Michael had changed his tactic.
He restricted her movements by rapidly firing left and right to her while striding ahead. Michael inched closer to her while continuously condensing arrows and releasing them.
Annabelle reacted by releasing arrows that targeted Michael’s body instead of his projectiles. He was easier to hit than the projectiles, after all. The closer he came the greater the difficulty of evading the arrow. Michael was aware of that, but he didn’t care. He continued to release one arrow after another while evading her attacks as much as he could.
After a few more minutes, Michael couldn’t evade any more attacks. He twisted his body and used his shoulder to protect his vital spots from the arrow’s impact.
The Onyx Dragon Armor Set, further strengthened by Lesser Enhancement, blocked the attack easily. Due to the protection enchantment, the Onyx Dragon Armor set didn’t even sustain a scratch.
Despite that, a loud bell rang through the surroundings, indicating the end of the battle between Annabelle Claire and Michael Fang.
“Why did the battle end all of a sudden? It was just about to get interesting!” One of the onlooking combatants complained. He was absorbed in the archery face-off and would have loved to see more.
“Didn’t you see? Michael Fang was hit by an arrow. It was the first time one of them had been hit. Maybe, the referee chose to end the battle because of that!” Another combatant said as he looked over to the referee.
The referee was sweating profusely and a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he looked over to Annabelle.
Three arrows condensed from origin energy were hovering in the air, millimeters away from Annabelle’s throat, heart, and eye.
If one looked closely, one could see three semi-transparent shields blocking the arrows from impacting – and killing Annabelle.
The referee manifested the shield as late as possible to make sure that he wouldn’t influence the result of the battle yet ensuring that Annabelle wouldn’t die or be seriously injured.
“Victory goes to Michael Fang!” The referee said after the condensed arrows dispersed.
Michael turned to Annabelle, who had lost control of her legs when she realized that she escaped death by a hair’s breadth. She looked at Michael with shock and confusion.
“If we were at the same Tier, you would have defeated me,” Michael acknowledged in a serious tone, “But I will grow stronger to make sure that you won’t be able to defeat me even after you advance to the 1st Tier!”
After he said that, Michael walked out of the arena. He returned to sit on the bench, where he closed his eyes to rest and review his fight against Annabelle Claire.
He didn’t have to fight for a while since there were many combatants in front of him, waiting for their turn. This gave him enough time to determine the mistakes in his battle and simulate what would have happened if he had chosen other tactics to fight Annabelle.
However, one thing was sure; he would have lost against Annabelle if he had fought with Tigerfang. In the best case, he would have won by a hair’s breadth and with several arrows stuck in his body.
Michael watched some of the remaining battles after he finished reviewing his fight against Annabelle. He saw her third and last fight and analyzed it in his mind. He tried to find out what her Soultrait was, and how the activation of her Soultrait gave her an upper hand in the battle.
The result was quite interesting. Annabelle’s presence changed when she activated her Soultrait, and her movements turned smoother. Simultaneously, she grew faster in predicting the attack pattern of her opponent and coming up with counterattacks.
It was quite interesting, but so were the fights of the other combatants. After watching Michael’s first fight, the remaining applicants realized that they couldn’t afford to hesitate. The final assessment was called Real Combat, not friendly sparring.
How disastrous would their score look if they continued sparring lightly instead of fighting as if it was a life-and-death battle?
Michael saw the change in attitude among many combatants which was a welcome change. They used their full power from the start of the battle and began to inflict more or less serious injuries on their competitors.
However, Michael was sure that it was already too late for most of them. The hesitation in their first battle marked the end of their aptitude assessment.
That was what Michael thought before he started to practice the Sun Soldier’s Breathing technique. The Sun Soldier’s Breathing technique was more efficient and easier to practice with origin energy in the surroundings, but it was possible to replenish his stamina quickly even if there was no origin energy in the surroundings.
Michael’s stamina was fully replenished when he was called up for the third and last time.
It was already evening and the Real Combat assessment was in its last leg. Not many combatants were left with one or two fights.
Yet, oddly enough, Michael faced a familiar face when he entered the arena.
“Michael Fang versus Frederik Kolbenheim. Enter arena two and prepare for battle!”