Not all of Zone 7Æs population lives within our hive cities grandfather Huang Li said easily He even found the resolve to smile blithely at his adoptive relative Something in his heart had changed after the fight against Thea Glasshammer He was the bright mirror laid over a lake on a clear winter day Perhaps these hardy individuals survived independently and only came here to win honor for our Zone I watch our ambitious fellows with great pride
Of course considering the determined capability that was present on these two very Chinese faces it was much more likely that these were two unregisteredÆ citizens that did not submit to the Glorious Leaders or the mandates Likely they came in part exactly because they had been expressly forbidden by the central government of the Zone to do so
This was an act of civil disobedience The further they rose in the tournament the more livid the conservative faction of Zone 7 would become
Yet even if they seem capable Huang LiÆs expression turned serious as he looked over toward the other entrance to the arena The duo walking down in that darkened corridor seemed to shake the whole of the stadium as they approached They will not pass here These two
But of course Huang Li had thought a lot about fighting the duo walking down the corridor since the final bracket had been released As long as these two existed Huang LiÆs hopes of clinching the honor of naming the Earth would be stopped dead at the quarterfinals Such a confrontation was many rounds away but Huang Li had no doubt that these two would be waiting there
The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers as Paolo and Kayle of Donnyton walked out into the arena Despite the general distaste for DonnytonÆs many entrants to the tournament these two were a special case they had managed to capture the hearts of many with their straightforward mannerisms
And as the twoÆs hands came into view the cheers only intensified Huang Li could feel thousands of people screaming and stomping their feet around them
Kayle glanced sideways at Paolo and spoke with a voice that somehow cut through all the noise His hands were relaxed and hung casually at his sides His body was completely free of his trademark long knives If you feel incapable of grasping victory feel free to admit defeat on our bet
Look who is talking Paolo grinned while striding confidently forward He had a tight hold on the hilt of long knife with each hand the blades pointing downward as he held them in a reverse grip If your soft fingers break you just have to ask and I will toss you these little toys so you can protect yourself
The expressions on the faces of their opponents turned ugly Huang Li did feel a bit of sympathy for his fellow individuals from Zone 7 It was certainly disrespectful that Paolo and Kayle had apparently bet with each other not to use their most powerful weapons in the tournament
Yet these two had the capability to be so domineering Relying on the opposites’ weapons they had already won and reached the third round And the previous fights of theirs had not been close
As the crowd’s cheers turned to excited whispers a member of the Order Ducis stepped onto the arena The woman glanced at both duos Is everyone ready
Both sides indicated that they were ready Paolo and KayleÆs bodies were loose and relaxed while tightly controlled fury made their opponents look as stiff as puppets as they inclined their heads Huang Li tskÆd lightly So much tension before a fight If you donÆt ready your muscles when it begins
Begin The woman announced Both Kayle and Paolo instantly sprung into motion
The space between Kayle and his opponent was instantly slashed in half and the man blinked in surprise as Kayle stood in front of him his hand raised to strike Then he struck with the same brutal efficiency The downward blow was so fast that Huang Li even felt Huang Shou next to him lean forward with a solemn expression
The man receiving the blow jerked backward slightly too late his eyes widening as he looked down at the deep gouge in his shoulder pauldron from the palm strike Still he definitely had the power to back up his presence in the third round After KayleÆs first attack failed the man teleported several meters backward and crossed his arms A dozen javelins of ice appeared and accelerated forward
Kayle walked amongst those javelins with the pointer fingers of his hands outstretched He flourished and twisted looking more like a renowned composer than a warrior But those conjured weapons of ice were sliced and diced into pieces until only a gentle swirl of falling snow reached KayleÆs body
He uses his hands but each of his fingers is just as dangerous as his knives although the range is slightly decreased Huang Li thought as he watched KayleÆs quick advance Before the man could conjure another wave of ice javelins Kayle planted his feet and accelerated forward But even more than his fingers
KayleÆs entire shoulder rotated inward culmination in a spinning palm strike that seemed to tap lightly against the manÆs chest The manÆs mouth twisted and moved likely he habitually released a curse Kayle smiled
A small geyser of blood erupted from the manÆs back instantly he went pale and stumbled several steps backward Just as he regained his footing he shook his head helplessly and collapsed Blood continued to hemorrhage from his back
There was a hole about two fingers thick from the spot that Kayle had hit him Even more impressive was the fact that Kayle had managed to land the strike in a position that didnÆt clip the manÆs lungs or any other organs
Paolo was even more overwhelming charging forward while guffawing uproariously He moved like a boulder bounding down a hill In terms of which of the two most closely adhered to the spirit of using the otherÆs weapons Huang Li leaned toward Kayle Paolo simply held two long daggers in a reverse grip and threw vicious haymakers forward
Rather than using long knives he seemed to be throwing punches while coincidentally holding knives But each time he threw a punch the knives in his hand would leave deep scars on the ground His normally unstoppable punched that could break through steel had now grown claws that could rip a person in half
While Kayle had faced someone who leaned toward Mana Skills PaoloÆs opponent was more of a speed based fighter He wielded two hatchets and seemed like he was used to weaving between his opponents blows Paolo did not allow him to dodge With the addition of the long knives his punches hit a large area
If he avoided the punches the knives would cut so deeply into the manÆs leather armor that blood would begin to seep outward If he tried to meet PaoloÆs strikes directly he would be smashed backward and sway dangerously for a few seconds while Paolo continued to laugh and bound forward The stage shook as Paolo began to gather momentum
It was a match with very little suspense
In short order both of the independent individuals from Zone 7 had been beaten Huang Li checked his watch Twenty three seconds
It is what they deserved Huang Shou snorted We forbade them from participating in this tournament for their own good Perhaps this will be a lesson to them
No you forbade them from participating so you could threaten our Glorious Leaders with our own ZoneÆs international standing Huang Li thought calmly You wanted to cut off the nose so our face would realize that it was powerless if it couldnÆt control both of its hands
But Huang Li didnÆt bother to argue with the older man It was still too early for that And in his current condition
Huang Li smiled showing his sharp canines like a carnivore
Chapter 1442
With a stubborn bullishness that refused to stop in the face of delays Randidly led the Order Ducis in pushing through two more rounds of the tournament and reached the final sixty four teams These in RandidlyÆs mind were the true elites He then announced that a two day break would occur so that the Orchard could clean up the event area and reinforce the actual arena for the following battles
There had been quite a few incidents in the last round where the careful schedule Wolfram created had to be discarded because an arena was thoroughly demolished by a prior fight Specialty marble was being shipped in from the Donnyton mine in order to construct a surface that could withstand a significant beating without shattering Hopefully that would be enough to keep things on schedule for the rest of the tournament