Chapter 24-1: Shocking Assassination (1)
Chapter 24-1: Shocking Assassination (1)
Chapter 24-1: Shocking Assassination (1)
While Erwin was still in a blissful state of unconsciousness, Onean and Jeff's match in the afternoon was about to begin.
It was quite overcast in the morning, which perfectly complemented the spectacle of snow and ice that Erwin and Lana had put on, but in the wake of their match, the atmosphere was a little gloomy and drab. Thankfully, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds at around noon, and as the day progressed into the afternoon, the sun became brighter and brighter.
The spectators were still very much looking forward to the semifinal match in the afternoon. After all, the two contestants were still yet to encounter any meaningful opposition in this tournament. It was a little disappointing that they didn't get to see a showdown between the princess and Lana, but there was still a chance that the clash could happen. So long as the princess defeated Jeff, they would still be treated to that highly anticipated matchup in the grand final.
Just as the spectators were heatedly discussing which of the two contestants for the second semifinal match had the better chances of coming out on top, Princess Onean and Jeff Lazaar entered the venue.
Princess Onean was a once-in-a-generation beauty, yet at this moment, her golden eyes were so cold and forbidding that they made the beholder unable to suppress the urge to avert their gaze. During the interval between the two semifinal matches, she had changed into a black dress with a suit of hollow golden armor on the outside. The frosty wind was causing her silver hair to flap incessantly, occasionally revealing a glimpse of her delicate shoulders, under the light of the afternoon sun.
However, unlike the average man, who would be completely entranced by Onean's beauty, Jeff was staring intently at her with nothing but killing intent in his eyes. His hand was gripped tightly around the hilt of Black Blaze, and every single muscle and sinew in his body was tensed up as he waited for the administrator to fire their magic blast.
Finally, the magic blast was released, and the match began.
Jeff's eyes were wide open with an intense gaze as he launched himself forward off one foot, raising his sword high above his own head before sending it crashing down directly toward Onean's face.
Onean was quite startled by her opponent's astonishing speed, and she tapped the bottom of her staff against the ground, upon which she was able to elevate herself into mid-air.
As a result, Jeff's attack failed to strike its target, but he was able to immediately come to an abrupt halt. Thus, his extraordinary ability to overcome momentum, which he had already displayed during his match against Larwood, was on full display once again. Immediately thereafter, he also launched himself up into the air without any pause or hesitation before slashing his sword upward.
It was clear that Jeff was far more focused and ferocious on this day. In the past, he always liked to take his time to play with his prey, but in this match, he was applying immense pressure onto Onean from the get-go.
At this point, Lana had already returned to the spectator stands, and she cast a slightly bewildered gaze toward her father, only to discover that Prince Lazaar was also watching the match with tightly furrowed brows. It was clear that both of them also felt like Jeff was being uncharacteristically aggressive.
Onean looked down at Jeff's sword, which was being swung up toward her from down below. Looking at the single-minded ferocity in Jeff's eyes, she was also quite perplexed. To her, it felt like Jeff was treating this more like an assassination attempt rather than a tournament match.
She didn't hesitate at all as she swept her silver staff through the air, sending around a dozen instant-release ice spears hurtling directly toward Jeff.
Jeff made no attempt to evade or decelerate as he retaliated with Black Blaze, shattering several ice spears in an instant before thrusting his sword toward Onean's waist.
From such close range, Onean could see that there were no emotions in Jeff's eyes aside from killing intent, and her brows furrowed even tighter upon seeing this. She hurriedly raised her silver staff in a horizontal orientation to ward off the attack from Black Blaze.
A loud thump rang out as a ball of scorching fire exploded between the two of them.
Onean was sent flying toward the ground, and her feet slid along the competition platform for a distance before she was able to arrest her backward momentum using her staff.
As for Jeff, he was blasted higher up into the sky, and only after performing a few backward somersaults was he able to steady himself, at which point he was already close to crashing into the semi-spherical forcefield above the competition platform, which would've spelled instant elimination.
Even though Onean had managed to force back Jeff, she was panting heavily, and it was clear that she had been severely jolted by the impact of Jeff's sword strike.
Now that some distance had been opened up between the two of them, this was a golden opportunity for Onean, and she grabbed it with both hands. She began to chant an incantation, and bolts of golden lightning began to rise up from the ground around her like a dense forest.
However, Jeff seemed to be unable to see the bolts of golden lightning at all as he descended rapidly from the heavens like a shooting star before lashing out with his sword again.
There were no fancy sword techniques being put on display, he was simply attacking in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.
As a magician of Onean's caliber, she was naturally able to sense the large amounts of elemental matter in the surrounding area surging rapidly toward the blade of Jeff's sword. In response, she immediately activated her lightning array, sending golden pillars of lightning growing wildly up toward the heavens before intertwining with one another to form an enormous golden net, which concealed the entire sky.
Once again, Jeff seemed to be unable to see the formidable pillars of golden lightning snaking up toward him. It was as if he had no regard for his own safety, and he continued to descend from above with reckless abandon. He sliced through one of the pillars of lightning with Black Blaze, and he showed no intention of stopping there as he came crashing down like a wild force of nature. A string of surprised gasps rang out from the spectator stands. It seemed that Princess Onean's spells were completely ineffective against Jeff!
In reality, things were not the way that they appeared. Onean's magic was extremely formidable, and by the time Jeff passed through the giant golden net of lightning, he had already sustained burns on many parts of his body. If a lesser fighter had been struck by these devastating pillars of lightning, which were also imbued with an extremely potent paralysis effect, the battle would've already drawn to a conclusion. However, Jeff's physical constitution seemed to be at a completely superhuman level. To put it more accurately, it was as if he were fighting while using someone else's body.
Onean looked on at her opponent with an incredulous expression. She couldn't see any pain or hesitation on his face, only single-minded determination and killing intent. With each attack he unleashed, he was aiming to kill, and he seemed to have no regard for his own safety. Despite her calm and steadfast nature, Onean couldn't help but feel a sense of panic in the face of such a reckless and determined opponent.
The blade of Black Blaze arrived in the blink of an eye, and only then did Onean conjure up a physical shield, but it was already too late.
The suit of hollow golden armor outside her dress had already been pierced through by the sword, which had then gone on to impale her through the stomach.
Onean stared at Jeff with utter disbelief in her eyes. His clothes were in tatters from the lightning that he had been struck by, and his body was riddled with severe burns, but the killing intent in his eyes was as fierce as ever, and he didn't seem to feel any physical limitations from his injuries.
Onean gritted her teeth to repress the excruciating pain in her stomach, then unleashed a series of spells that exploded upon Jeff's face and chest.
Much to everyone's astonishment, Jeff didn't bother to evade or retreat at all. Instead, he took Onean's instant-release spells head-on with his body. Soon, his entire face had been burned to the point that it was completely unrecognizable, and there was not a single patch of unharmed skin on his chest. Many of the sections of his body that had already been burned by the pillars of lightning were being further injured by the barrage of instant-release spells, but once again, he seemed to be able to feel no pain as he continued to plunge Black Blaze deeper and deeper into Onean's body.
Onean let loose an agonized groan as she stared down at her own stomach with a dazed expression, watching as her own blood flowed down the blade of Jeff's sword.
However, Jeff had no intention of stopping there. With one more vicious thrust of Black Blaze, its blade came plunging out of the other side of her body, following which he twisted the blade viciously.
Onean immediately threw up a mouthful of blood, and her legs almost gave out from under her from the unbearable pain she was experiencing.
At this point, all of the spectators had already risen to their feet, but they had been stunned into silence. They were witnessing an assassination attempt on the princess carried out by the son of Prince Lazaar!
The administrators standing around the competition platform were so shocked that they didn't know what to do.
Right at this moment, Jeff pulled Black Blaze out of Onean's body in a swift and vicious motion.
Onean immediately let loose a blood-curdling cry that rang out across the entire venue, and blood began to gush out of her wound like a fountain.
However, there was not even a single shred of sympathy in Jeff's eyes, and he raised Black Blaze up high in preparation to stab her again.
Onean gritted her teeth tightly through the pain as she clasped one hand over her own bleeding wound. At the same time, she unleashed a few more instant-release spells to force Jeff back a few steps, while she also stumbled back a few steps herself in an unsteady manner before dropping her staff as a wave of feebleness and agony washed over her.
Right at this instant, several administrators pounced onto Jeff at once. Prime Minister Fuller also jumped onto the competition platform, while Master Piro frantically flew down from the royal spectating platform.
King Cameron, Prince Lazaar, and Lana were right behind Master Piro as they flew toward the center of the competition platform.
However, Jeff had already hurled Black Blaze through the air, and it was flying toward Onean once again with no one in time to stop it.
Onean looked on at the approaching Black Blaze as she raised a hand to try and unleash a spell to protect herself. However, the sword had built up too much momentum, and she was too severely wounded to be able to muster up any magic power, so she could only watch in a powerless manner as the sword plunged into her stomach again.