Swords, magic, and martial arts

Rod used to think he was a coward, but now that he's met Miles, he feels like he's belittling himself.

"How are you going to fight with two shields?" Baron asked with a smile.

"Don't make such a fuss. You haven't seen enough. I'll show you my true strength in a moment," Miles replied calmly.

"Contestants may now enter." A man's voice came from outside.

Following the instructions given by the management, Rod and his companions exited through a door.

The golden sun hung high in the sky, making it difficult for Rhodes, who had just emerged from a relatively dark room, to open his eyes. He looked around for a while; the stands were filled with enthusiastic civilians, cheering and shouting incessantly. For the first time, Rhodes experienced what it meant to be the center of attention, and he felt a little nervous. He took several deep breaths to calm himself down.

He felt the stadium resembled a giant circular stadium, the kind that hosts concerts and football matches, with a prominent stand in the very center, standing out starkly from its surroundings. This must be where the nobles sat; the glaring sunlight made it impossible for Rhodes to see the people there clearly, only their general outlines.

The arena was quite large; even with five hundred people inside, it didn't feel crowded. The surrounding teams, seeing two such strong individuals on their side, quietly moved away from them.

I don't know if using martial arts that mixes magic and internal energy is considered a foul. If I can handle it, it's best not to use it, lest I be judged as a foul and removed from the field.

A middle-aged man sitting in the very center of the stands stood up.

"The match begins!"

Several guards around him picked up horns from their waists and began to blow them. As the horns sounded, the shouts from the arena grew louder and louder.

"We'd better stay together." Miles was a little nervous after hearing the horn, and his face turned pale with tension.

Several teams nearby had already begun their battles, and none of them chose to face them. Even those confident in their own abilities opted to leave the tougher opponents to others.

"I came to this competition to win honor, Baron, shall we go?" Hammer was also a little excited, but it was just excitement.

"Let's go!" Baron shouted back.

Then, Rhodes saw two strong Nords rush past him, heading straight for the nearby battle group.

The two men wielded their greatswords with sweeping, powerful strokes, causing several teams to engage in chaotic battles like a tinderbox. Those teams must have hated them to death.

Rhodes was speechless. Shouldn't teams cooperate well in team competitions? Why didn't they discuss it beforehand? He just rushed out.

"Why don't you just lie down on the ground to avoid getting hurt? We'll still give you a share of the bonus," Rhodes said to Misel while observing the surrounding situation.

"Don't worry about me, I can handle it," Misell said confidently.

A group of contestants nearby noticed that Rhodes and his group consisted of only three people, and they walked over to them and approached them.

Each of the five men was carrying a sword and a shield, and their attire and demeanor suggested they were mercenaries who had experienced war.

"Step back a little," Rhodes reminded Misel one last time, then approached the five mercenaries with his half-sword.

"Okay, good luck," Miles replied to Rod from behind.

Rhodes was speechless after hearing Miles's words, but he didn't have time to pay attention to him. Two mercenaries approached him, while the other three approached Miles and Misell.

He raised his half-sword with both hands and slashed at a long-haired mercenary in front of him. The long-haired mercenary raised his shield to block, while another goatee mercenary circled around to Rhodes' side and swung his one-handed sword at his head, while the mercenary in front of him thrust his sword at his eyes.

"Go to hell, kid," the long-haired mercenary said menacingly.

Even a blunt sword can kill. For example, the attack from this long-haired mercenary, even if he stabbed someone in the eye with a wooden sword, would most likely kill them.

Even with his Iron Shirt and Iron Head Technique, Rhodes wouldn't dare let anyone stab him in the eye with a sword. Rhodes used the White Rainbow Sword Technique to deflect the sword aimed at his eye, but was then struck on the back of the head by the goatee mercenary to his side.

After being enhanced by various martial arts techniques, the blunt sword did not cause Rhode any harm, but it made him somewhat angry. He quickly turned around and kicked the goatee mercenary who had been standing next to him with all his might. The mercenary raised his shield to block.

boom!

With a loud bang, Rhodes' foot slammed into the mercenary's shield. Having trained in the Mighty Vajra Leg technique, Rhodes possessed astonishing leg strength, and his legs were as hard as steel.

The immense force caused the goatee mercenary's left hand and shield to slam into his face, sending him staggering back several steps. He noticed the shield glaring fiercely at Rhodes, his lips bleeding from the impact, and blood dripping from his nose.

Rhodes quickly moved closer to the goatee mercenary, first feigning an attack with his half-sword. The goatee mercenary easily parried the half-sword with his single-handed sword. Then Rhodes released his half-sword and delivered a powerful punch, striking the goatee mercenary in the side of the face and knocking him to the ground unconscious.

While Rhode was attacking the goatee mercenary, the long-haired mercenary took out his blunt sword and stabbed at Rhode again.

Rhodes dodged to the side. He loathed this long-haired mercenary who came up to kill him right away. This was in a tournament, and there was absolutely no need for them to kill each other.

The long-haired mercenary's attack missed, and he swung his one-handed sword at Rhodes' head. Rhodes grabbed the mercenary and pulled him towards him. The mercenary stumbled as Rhodes pulled him, and then Rhodes delivered a knee strike to his abdomen.

The long-haired mercenary, struck hard in the abdomen, screamed and collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach and rolling around on the ground, blood still flowing from the corner of his mouth.

What if I kick him to death?

Forget it, if he had encountered those people who were just there for the fun and didn't know how to fight, he probably would have already killed them. People who kill in competitions like this are probably not good people outside either. Maybe kicking him to death would even increase his chivalry points.

After seeing the long-haired mercenary on the ground enveloped in a layer of blue light, Rhode turned around and picked up the half-sword he had chosen earlier. He then discovered that the goatee mercenary on the ground had already been moved away by the mage, indicating that they were quite efficient.

Rhodes picked up his one-and-a-half-handed sword and ran to Messiah's side to support her. Despite being attacked by the two mercenaries, Messiah, wielding a one-handed sword and shield, held her own.

As for Miles, Rhode didn't see him and didn't know where he had gone. He guessed that he had been moved out, but Rhode didn't find the shield on the ground either.

"Has Miles already gone out?" Rhode asked while attacking the mercenary.

"He took one and ran off to another place," Messial replied.

"Are you two treating us like we don't exist?" one of the mercenaries said angrily, struggling to withstand Rhodes' attacks.

The next moment, he was kicked away by Rhodes's powerful leg...