One of the spiders at the table clambered up onto the top and extended a foreleg toward Hydie Ahem We are simply some of KharonÆs teachers And I must say madam I find your sinister aura to be quite invigorating If you were a spider I would gladly allow you to devour my body and regurgitate it to feed our offspring
Everyone except the other spiders blinked For several seconds Hydie legitimately didnÆt know what to say
The spider began to rub its forelegs together Ah apologies I have not yet mastered the human art of humor I mean no offense
No that was actually quite sweet Thank you Hydie responded seriously Then she looked at the surrounding people Now that she thought about it she did hear from the Kharon police that the Ghosthound had produced a bunch of strange teachers from somewhere for the Dungeon training So you are teachers ItÆs quite reassuring to have KharonÆs youth educated by you Are you going to watch the first match
Yes This time the tall ogre woman spoke in a surprisingly soft voice I am very excited to watch the fight Say you are members of the Order Ducis right If you had been able to enter the tournament would you have made it to this round How powerful are these people
If I remember correctly Mr Moss is very strong Gertrude offered flashing Derek a shy smile
Hydie was barely able to suppress her urge to nudge him with her elbow and wink at him Derek cleared his throat and did his best to adopt a serious expression Well I think Hydie and I would have at least a 50% chance of getting to this round of 16 But beyond that no one here is weak And everyone is rapidly developing their images
DonÆt they have to Another spider scuttled up on to the table and began rubbing its forelegs together next to its companion The humans Hank Howard and Alana Donal are truly sublime Aside from Mister Randidly Ghosthound and Lady Helen I donÆt know if IÆve ever seen more intimidating humans
The tall ogre lowered her head her eyes still trained on Derek This first match between the Kir Nan and Hoowan two powerful ogre warriors and Glendel and Donny of Donnyton who do you think will win
Gertrude leaned across the table and punched the ogre lightly in the arm Then she turned to Derek and Hydie Illya here has something of a gambling problem Please donÆt bother to answer it will just mean that she runs off to the gambling houses to place one last bet before the match It isnÆt worth it
The ogre snorted and crossed her arms Then Gertrude stood up and smiled at Derek By the way would you like to watch the fight with us
Grandfather are you ready to go to the match Huang Li asked as he knocked on his partnerÆs door
Huang Shou ignored his question but did at least give an answer from within his chambers Please come in
With a small sigh Huang Li opened the door They didnÆt necessarily need to be as early to the match as leaving now would allow them to be but Huang Li wanted a bit of time to adjust his state of mind before the match After creating a new Skill last night he was quite excited to try it out but those emotions would make him hasty He would need to remain steady to have a chance of victory against Richter
To his surprise he found Huang Shou sitting in front of a Go board with a small book in his hand The board was partially covered in the black and white stones The two colors faced off boldly marshaled like armies about to slaughter their foes Huang Shou nodded when Li came in but then he turned his attention right back to the board As Huang Li watched he would place a stone and then study the board for several seconds
Eventually he would be satisfied and glance back over at the book to restart the cycle
Replaying historic games Huang Li eventually guessed As far as mental preparations went it was likely an effective one
Again Huang Shou ignored the question he asked but still replied Do you know how to play Go
Shaking his head Huang Li said I understand the rules But the intricacies of the game are beyond me
Huang Shou placed another stone onto the board This old man will teach you then YouÆve worked hard to reach this point it is time for others to assist you
Huang Li blinked Do you mean
ItÆs been quite a few years but I havenÆt forgotten my roots As he solemnly stood Huang ShouÆs face broke into a surprisingly childish smile The truth is I too was adopted into the Huang Family Heh Now that we have come this far it would be disrespectful to the Ghosthound if I were to remain idle any longer This honor of naming the Earth will belong to Zone 7
Chapter 1448
Then let the match begin The Order Ducis member announced with an extravagant gesture The crowd began to cheer as the third match of the day began
The cloaked Blackhand waved his arm and produced a dozen jet black spikes that hovered in the air above him With the thick cowl that hid all of his features and the meter long needles above him he was a sinister figure Plus the air was thick with his dense Mana and sharp piercing image Richter rolled himself a few meters backward with heaving shoulders Then he raised his head and regarded the Huangs with a steely gaze that demonstrated that he was just as determined to win as they were
Huang LiÆs image dragon roared and swam through the air to surround the stage It wove through air currents and left its infinitely long body binding the air tighter and tighter But the closer to the two opponents his image went the more resistance it encountered Huang Li began to frown There was something strange about the energy they released It seemed somehow to weaken his image innately without needing to attack it
But if it is only at this level I can forcefully withstand it Huang Li lowered his center of gravity and settled into a familiar fighting stance His fingers tightened on the leather wrap of his wo dao
Huang Shou appeared even more fearless leaning on his cane as he walked confidently forward Grandson give this old man the gift of freedom to warm up It has been a while since IÆve gotten serious exercise Then he twisted his torso starting a chain reaction of cracks up his spine as the vertebrae shifted from their settled position The effect was quite impressive
Still Huang Li had no room for distractions Blackhand gestured and the spikes above him shot forward Huang Li pounced forward in response blades of wind forming and smashing against the attacks as they neared Huang ShouÆs position But that same natural suppression in the energy was also present in the spikes LiÆs Skills were only half as effective as he expected at defending
Narrowing his eyes Huang Li blew through one third of his Mana to produce a veritable storm of wind blades that chipped and sliced the spikes to nothing They splintered and shattered After the attacks were defeated Blackhand just snorted and conjured twenty four more gleaming spikes that floated in the air He leaned forward seeming confident in a direct conflict of numbers
Huang Shou straightened and then twisted his torso in the other direction once more creating a cascading series of cracks Huang Li studied his opponents closely Behind Blackhand a large sinister shadow was forming around Richter Leathery tentacles covered in pulsing black veins seemed to rise from his shadow and grasp at the surrounding air
Huang Li focused on Blackhand Seize the initiative now He gestured with his left hand performing a grabbing motion almost casually The image that Huang Li had coincidentally witnessed last night was reproduced on a much smaller scale His fingers stabbed like daggers toward his own palm Cloud Slaying Claw
The attack ripped forward The suppression of Zone 1Æs energy affected it but it still traveled cleanly across the intervening distance Blackhand sent a black spike downward to intercept but that spike and the ethereal claw attack passed by each other without any contact The image of the claw was one that built a connection to a distant point As long as the opponent just relied on their usual image and didnÆt target the weaker image of the connection established it was practically unblockable
When the claw arrived and ripped open BlackhandÆs robes in a spray of blood Huang Li was already shooting forward DragonÆs Dance