Chapter 162: Chapter 162 Battling the Guardian part 01.
Soma stiffened his face as a hoarse and irritated voice reverberated in his brain. He never thought that Martial Saint could be so emotional like that. Ever since Soma met him, he knew him as a person who was generous, kind, and also caring for Martial Saint, who always gave him help in every situation.
However, this was the first time Soma could feel a slight rage coming from within his consciousness. Soma focused his mind and tried to converse with the Martial Saint.
{Be careful, Soma!}
Martial Saint, who seemed to know the identity of the figure that stood in front of him, gave Soma a warning. He doesn't know why, but Martial Saint still keeps his tone rough, indicating that he is clearly displeased with something. As Soma tried to ask it out, his body tensed as his instinct kicked into alerting the presence in front of him was dangerous.
[Guardian engaging in defence mode]
[59 Seconds remainings]
"Hm?".
The guardian who finished with his transformation just stood silently in the middle of the flat land, closing his eyes while breathing slowly, and embarked on his own world. Soma's eyes began to knit because of the guardian's attitude. "Is he confident in himself or just? Well, it doesn't matter". Soma's decision was already firm and could never be changed.
He initially summons the gauntlets and boots, preparing his battle stance.
"Hina, Xiao lian! You guys in the back prepared yourself!".
Hina and Xiao Lian nodded their heads before taking their respective Weapon and standing beside each Soma side. Seeing the translucent window before him, Soma knit his brows
Sensing the students' morale, the guardian who closed his eyes slowly opened it while directing his black pupils toward the students' groups. All hair in their body stands up upon receiving the guardian glance.
Soma, who felt something was not right, dashed forward and entered the guardian range. Their eyes locked for a moment before Soma launched his first straight jab, but the guardian caught it with his left palm. Soma's eyes widened before he pried open the grip and continued with his other attack. Another jab from his other hand, next to his backhand, elbow continues with his feet.
However, no matter what Soma had done. The guardian, unmoving from his place, kept deflecting or blocking every move Soma had unleashed at him. Soma, who experienced first-hand the depth of the guardian martial arts, felt a giant boulder crush his heart, but it didn't make him stop.
Without ever stopping, he relentlessly kept attacking, attacking, and attacking, hoping that at least he could inflict one hit.
Hina, Xiao Lian, Leon and the others could only stare in a dumbfounded state, seeing the battle that happened one-sidedly where the strongest person in their group was toyed with.
A glint of hope began to gradually dim in their eyes as they saw Soma distancing himself, trying to catch his breath, who turned ragged.
"...Tch, Silver-hair!".
The two girls saw Soma was in a disadvantageous situation and started to make their move.
"Um".
Hina and Xiao Lian, the one who is bravest among the other, began to take action. Together, they dash forward, clenching their respective weapons and begin to attack the guardian on both sides.
A gleam from a green blade travelled horizontally, and the roaring thrust from the blue spear travelled straight, aiming at both sides of the guardian. The guardian, who saw the incoming attack, took a first step to close the distance with Xiao Lian before grabbing the spear shaft and redirecting its target upon the green blade.
A high-pitched sound echoed through the land, bringing back the two girls' attention. They were stunned in silence because their attack was handled that easily, making them attack each other.
However, seeing the guardian who was not in his proper stance, Soma accelerated and arrived at Guadiana's face and delivered another punch to his jaw.
"What?!".
With minimal movement, the guardian slightly tilted his head to the side, dodging Soma's straight punch.
"Soma!".
Hina's shout made Soma sober up, and he leapt back and let the girls tune in. From their failed pincer attack, the two of them began to change their fighting method into a two-person party delivering a relentless attack and trying to exhaust their opponent.
The first strike came from a diagonal slash, then continued with another diagonal slash followed by a thrust from the spear. The two of them, despite not having any experience in battling together, seem to grasp the fundamentals of it.
The two of them began their onslaught, which made the guardian move his feet from his standing place.
Soma began to enter their battle zones while sometimes providing some help to the girls who kept attacking the guardian relentlessly.
Their breath turned erratic as a loud thump from their heart kept their concentration to its limit, sending a rush of blood through their nerves. With their fatigued body and continued coordinated moves, the three of them managed to hold off for much longer.
[05 seconds remaining times]
Their focus reaches a new realm after concentrating their entire being on defeating the guardian in front of them. They forgot the fact that the guardian was currently in his defensive mode.
[00 Seconds]
The Guardian's body twitched as it leapt backwards to regain its breath and reformed its tactics.
"What is it?".
"...".
Hina and Xiao Lian observed the strange pattern the guardian had.
[Changing tactics into offence]
[59 seconds remaining]
"Shit!".
Soma, who realized it first, simultaneously with the guardian, also made his move. The guardian shadow disappeared in the blink of an eye before it appeared in front of Soma, retracting his fist back. Soma reflexively crossed his hands in his chest before the first connected to his left hand.
The time felt still as the heavy impact that landed on the back of his hand pushed his soul away from his body and blanked his consciousness for a second.
However, it retracted back as his body screamed in agony. It began to assault his nerves, bringing his consciousness back. Noticed that he would be over if he kept his stance firm. Soma let go of his feet from the ground before he flew in a straight line and slammed toward the side of the crater.
"Soma?!".
"?!".
Hina and Xiao Lian's faces pale as they witness Soma being flung away, and panic starts to attack her mind, fogging her decision on the battlefield. A shadow of a familiar figure appears in between them.
The two of them were aware of the danger in front of them. Their instinct to survive kicked it as they swung their respective weapons toward the guardian, but he was faster than the girls.
The guardian lowered his stance while extending both palms toward the girl's abdomen. With a slight twitch of his palm from within his body, a gust of unknown force began to erupt toward his palms before it slammed toward the girl's abdomen.
""Kahak?!"".
Hina and Xiao Lian eyes whitened as they flung away toward opposite sides before being stopped by the crater.
The guardian, who was still holding both palms stretched to the side, straightened his posture as he began to redirect his gaze toward the student's side or, to be precise, to Leon's side.