"Seriously? No court procedures, just a straight verdict?" Ryo asked irritably.
"You are a wanted criminal. The law decided your fate a long time ago, so shut up and just come with us," the guard said with a grin. Two guards held Ryo by the arms, and in no time, they were teleported to the arena. Ryo's eyes dilated in surprise as he took in the scene—dead bodies of goblins scattered all over the stage.
The guards immediately vanished, leaving Ryo alone with a familiar warrior.
"Roja... So you're the one who's going to execute me," Ryo thought.
Roja shook off his blade to remove the blood from his sword, then turned around. He looked at Ryo with pity, while Ryo shifted his eyes, searching for a weapon among the dead goblins.
"You don't need to look for a sword—I'll give you back your katana. That's what you call your blade, right?" Roja asked.
"Yes," Ryo replied.
The barrier around the arena vanished as General Sylvaris stood from his seat, holding Ryo's katana.
"Ryo!" General Sylvaris shouted into the microphone.
Ryo looked back at him just as Sylvaris threw the katana toward him. It spun through the air, but Ryo effortlessly caught it.
The magic barrier reactivated around the stage. Then, General Sylvaris, holding a microphone, began announcing the battle.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the main event is here! Ryo, the savage rogue—who killed five hundred thousand Birgan soldiers and has been wanted for two years—is finally captured! Now, he will face his final verdict against his executioner… Roja, the Flame Master! Let the death sentence begin!!!"
As General Sylvaris finished his announcement, the spectators erupted into applause, screams, and cheers of excitement.
"Ryo," Roja said in a calm voice, communicating through telepathy with Ryo.
"Huh?" Ryo was confused. He knew Roja had called his name through telepathy but didn't understand why.
"I will not kill you, but once you get knocked down, I don't want you to try standing up. Just stay down and pretend you're dead."
Ryo smirked. He didn't understand Roja's intentions. He still had doubts about Roja; however, his intuition told him to just relax and see what would happen.
"Princess Jewel, don't worry about this. I will make sure Ryo gets out of Lenor City alive," Roja also communicated with Princess Jewel through telepathy.
"I trust you, Roja," Princess Jewel replied, with tears in her eyes.
Ryo!! Draw your sword!!" Roja shouted in rage, then moved his sword, which erupted with flames.
"Burning Phoenix Feather Blades!" Roja aggressively swung his sword, sending a myriad of fiery feathers shooting toward Ryo.
"Shining Scars!" Ryo swung his katana, sending countless wind slashes flying toward Roja.
The fiery Phoenix Feather Blades clashed with the wind slashes, colliding against each other. while a strong gust rapidly swirled around Ryo, shielding him from the incoming fiery feathers.
Roja was surprised as he felt the sting of the wind slashes. He hadn't expected Ryo's attack to land on him. "If he were on the same level as me, his skill could have overtaken mine." Roja thought. He checked Ryo's status on the screen in front of him. He looked at the skills Ryo had, and his eyebrows raised when he saw that Ryo's Swordsmanship level was at 100%.
"100 percent? That means swordsmanship is his natural talent. We, Sylvaris, Dawn Blade, and Moon Veil, only have around 92 to 93 percent in swordsmanship. If we were on the same level, fighting without using mana-based skills, it's highly likely that he would defeat me.
Hmmm… I can't imagine what kind of warrior he would become if he reached my level. Allowing him to live—would that not lead to devastating consequences?
We only recently discovered that he was responsible for killing five hundred thousand Birigan soldiers in the Ahaz Drylands. But he did it only to save himself, not out of malice or personal gain. Although he is considered a criminal, I can sense that he is not entirely evil. There is something else, a purity in his intentions.
Whatever that may be, I will take full responsibility for my decision to let him live. But after this, I must promise myself to become stronger. So that if we ever meet again, I can be certain that I will still be able to strike him down."
"I need to make this fight interesting—let's see just how good he really is."
With a sly grin, Roja took a few measured steps forward before suddenly bursting into a sprint, charging straight at Ryo.
Ryo quickly shifted into a defensive fighting stance, his katana poised for a swift, decisive draw. However, Roja suddenly vanished.
Ryo's eyes widened in shock—where did he go? Before he could react, Roja reappeared on his right, his blade already slicing through the air. Instinct took over. In a flash, Ryo drew his katana, steel meeting steel with a sharp clang as he parried the attack just in time. Roja pressed the attack, his blade a relentless blur. Blade clashed against blade, the sharp clangs echoing as they exchanged blows. For several intense seconds, Ryo held his ground, deflecting each strike with precision. But then—Roja found an opening.
In a flash, he slashed Ryo three times in rapid succession. The force of the final strike sent Ryo flying through the air, his body twisting before crashing to the ground.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
"I can't believe they're selling fish balls here in Birigan. But these fish balls are about two inches bigger than the ones in my world," Wei said while munching on his food.
He also noticed that the elves in front of the coliseum were gathered, watching the big screen mounted on the wall. "They're probably watching some fights. Let me check it out," Wei said to himself. He hurriedly made his way to the crowd. When he got close to one of the elves, he asked, "Hey, are there any good fights going on?"
"Yeah, there is. Roja, the Flame Master, is currently having fun with a rogue," the elf replied, grinning cheerfully.
Wei looked at the screen. The flying eye camera was focused on Ryo—he saw him bleeding and in pain, struggling to stand up."
"He is a human!" Wei exclaimed.
"With all the attacks I've made, I can say he truly has 100 percent swordsmanship—he blocked 70 percent of my strikes. But the gap between our levels is just too great. That's why he can't even handle the power of my 30 percent normal attacks." Roja thought.
"Do you have any healing potions? Go ahead and use them now. I need to prolong this battle for the elves' entertainment," Roja said. Then, he followed up through telepathy.
"I will tell you when not to get up, okay? Just be a little patient—I just have a show to perform. But I promise I will let you get out of here alive."
"I don't need your mercy," Ryo replied, struggling. "Healing Wind."
A green light swirled around Ryo, instantly healing his wounds and restoring his life points.
"All right, I think we're ready again. Let's go!" Roja said, preparing to attack.
Suddenly, a strong wind rushed through the arena. Roja immediately sensed that it was magic coming from Ryo—a preparation for an attack. He dashed backward to create distance. A dark gust swirled ominously around the battlefield. Roja knew it was Ryo's magic, but he had no idea what effect it would have on him.
"What is this? An odd wind blowing through the arena?"
"Physique: Dark Scar!"
As Ryo swung his blade, multiple dark gusts slashed at Roja all at once. Long cuts appeared on Roja's armor and various parts of his body after the attack, but he merely smirked.
"800 damage points? Not bad… no, probably around 2,400 damage. The attack was just reduced because of my armor. I think that was already your ultimate skill. So if you have any other abilities left, they probably wouldn't do much damage to me.
You know, Ryo, I really don't like getting hit—I was just going along with this for the sake of this wasted show. If this were a real battle, you would've dropped long before you even drew your sword.
Now, let's play again."
Roja wore an evil grin.
A strong, dark gust still roamed the arena as both warriors rushed toward each other. When their blades met, Roja was unable to parry Ryo's second attack, allowing Ryo to strike Roja multiple times. However, since the damage from Ryo's katana was only 30 percent of Roja's sword damage, the attack had little effect on Roja, especially due to his armor, which reduced the impact of any melee weapon attack. Roja easily recovered and retaliated with a powerful swing of his sword. Ryo quickly evaded the strike and dashed backward, creating a significant distance between them. Ryo swung his katana. "Black Scar!" A single dark gust slashed Roja, stunning him and leaving him unable to avoid Ryo's follow-up attack. Ryo swung his blade again. "Shining Scars!" With a single swing of Ryo's katana, the wind slash from his blade multiplied in the air, flying toward Roja. Unable to move, Roja took the full force of the flying wind slashes.
Ryo quickly leaped into the air, aiming to land on Roja and deliver a fatal strike. When he got closer, he swung his blade toward Roja's neck, but to his shock, Roja effortlessly caught it with his bare hand.
Suddenly, Roja vanished. Ryo landed on the ground, his eyes darting around in confusion, unaware of Roja's whereabouts. He didn't notice that Roja was crouching on the barrier wall.
Flames began to engulf Roja as he powered up. Then, in a flash, he dashed toward Ryo at lightning speed, his body ablaze. As he swung his burning sword, a massive, fiery phoenix wing erupted from his blade.