The Cornflower Witch Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Passionate Competition

“Crack—”

The two clashed their wooden swords for the first time, breaking both of them. Rough splinters flew everywhere. Stripped of their weapons, they had to resort to fists, but such a fight lacked grace and was quickly stopped by the instructor.

“Stop. Now, switch to unsharpened iron swords,” he announced again.

Soon, excited students brought over two thick-edged iron swords and handed them to the pair.

Gripping the iron swords, they swung them a few times to adapt before stepping back into the dueling arena.

This time, without the instructor’s command, they charged at each other.

“Sizzle—”

In their first exchange, the iron swords scraped against each other, leaving deep sparks. Then they separated and crossed paths again.

Their strides were steady and powerful, and their swordsmanship was incredibly skilled. Since they shared the same instructor and learned the same set of sword techniques, there was no significant difference between them.

“Clang—Clang—”

The iron swords continuously struck and vibrated, with small fragments of sparks flying from their edges. Upon closer inspection, slight nicks could be seen on both swords.

They went back and forth, Solin constantly circling before suddenly bursting forth. The intense force of each attack made Mick’s defense difficult, forcing him to defend with all his might. Sometimes Mick even had to retreat several steps to alleviate the huge impact.

However, from Solin’s perspective, it was a different story. He had unleashed all his abilities and techniques, yet even with his immense strength and speed advantage, he couldn’t defeat Mick or even injure him. This situation deeply stressed Solin.

After entering Rank 1, his ‘Power Burst,’ which he could previously only use twice a day, could now be used 10 times. But how could his opponent endure such continuous blows?

The first time…

The second time…

The third time…

The more Solin fought, the more his heart trembled. When they started at the academy, their strengths were comparable, with Solin even having an edge. Furthermore, Mick’s foundation in secret history and other knowledge was particularly poor, so Solin hadn’t taken him seriously.

Only a month and a half had passed since their last assessment competition, and he hadn’t expected the gap between them to not only close but for Mick to even surpass him.

How was this possible?

Although Solin came from a commoner background, his father was an experienced warrior, and he himself was proud and arrogant. He believed that, apart from Iona, who surpassed him due to her family’s accumulated wealth, no other student was his equal. Even Balun only held a slight advantage due to his noble father’s prestige.

As the battle progressed, Solin’s mindset gradually became imbalanced, losing the calm confidence he had at the start. He began to desperately look for Mick’s weaknesses, believing that due to his poor foundation in swordsmanship, he must have imperfections.

To prevent Mick from catching his breath, Solin started using Power Burst continuously. Under these circumstances, Mick’s situation became perilous.

Both used iron swords. Even though they weren’t sharpened, their force and hard material made them lethal, turning the duel from the safety of wooden weapons to a dangerous one.

The battle entered a fierce deadlock. The onlookers not only held their breath, but the instructor also watched with full concentration.

On one side outside the arena, Komia clenched her fists, cheering for Mick, then turned her head.

“Lia, do you think Mick can win?”

The black-haired girl gazed at the two on stage, a faint glimmer flowing in her eyes. After about a few seconds, she spoke softly: “He will win, but he might get injured.”

“Clang—”

Another cleave after a power burst caused the fragile iron sword to chip significantly, scratching Mick’s eye. This made his already fierce face look even more ruthless.

Having been suppressed by Solin repeatedly, he could no longer contain his frustration and began to fight with all his might. Under their combined force, the iron swords could not bear the strain.

Seeing Mick dare to fight back, Solin’s fury erupted even further. Driven by anxiety and agitation, his attacks became reckless. This battle had moved beyond a mere training duel and was now akin to a real fight to the death.

The instructor watched, his hand slowly reaching for the hilt of his sword, but he didn’t immediately intervene. Instead, he quietly observed the unfolding of events.

It was rare to see such a passionate competition; why rush to stop it? Just like a pride of lions, there always had to be the strongest one determined. Stopping it by force was meaningless.

“Hiss—”

The blade sliced through Mick’s training leather armor, tearing a long gash and even drawing blood.

Even after being injured, Mick showed no hesitation. He braved the brief opening left by his opponent’s attack, delivering a forceful kick to Solin’s hip, making him grunt in pain.

Afterward, the two clashed again, their swordsmanship and strength battle escalating to a white-hot intensity. At this point, the subtle differences began to show.

Perhaps Mick’s swordsmanship was indeed slightly stronger than Solin’s. In the fierce exchange of blows, Mick suffered fewer and shallower injuries, while Solin began to show fatigue.

The use of abilities came with a price. Solin simultaneously activated his Breathing Method and Power Burst, which already put a higher strain on him than Mick. Moreover, his Breathing Method was only at the second stage, not as sustained and coordinated as Mick’s third stage, and this difference began to show after a few minutes of fighting.

wωw＿тt kan＿￠ ○

Subsequently, Solin’s stamina rapidly declined, and his strength gradually became unable to suppress Mick. All other aspects began to be overtaken step by step, until finally Mick delivered a heavy blow that knocked Solin’s weapon away, sending him flying and tumbling off the dueling platform.

“Huff—huff—”

Mick propped his sword on the ground, taking deep, desperate breaths. His forehead and back were covered in sweat, and his leather armor was ripped apart, revealing his strong muscles. Some sticky blood slowly flowed down, mixing with his sweat.

He was tired, sore, but also incredibly exhilarated.

His past efforts and sacrifices had paid off, and the pent-up frustration was released, leaving him feeling refreshed and wanting to let out a roar.

At this moment, applause erupted from all directions. Everyone looked at Mick on the stage, applauding him with immense admiration.

Both sides in this competition gave their all, and it showed the students present the real gap between them and the two on stage. Their complete mastery of techniques and their honed strength and speed were not something half-baked efforts could compare to.

Solin was indeed defeated, but it was not shameful. No other student would believe they could have performed better than Solin.

“Good, very good, both of you.” The instructor walked over, helped the fallen Solin up, and praised them loudly.

“You finally have some of the qualities of a warrior, haha.” He helped Solin onto the stage, wrapping his iron-like arms around both of them, then laughed.

After all, they were both trained by him, so how could he not be proud?

“That’s all for training today. Both of you come with me. I’ll patch you up and we can review some areas for improvement from the fight.”

“Yes, instructor.” Both of them were now gradually emerging from their adrenaline-fueled state, returning to normal.

“Now those two are in the spotlight,” Komia said, cupping her chin with her hand and turning to the girl beside her.

“Lia, if you went on stage, wouldn’t you scare everyone?”

“How could I? I haven’t even advanced yet,” the girl said, sweeping a stray lock of hair behind her ear and shaking her head with a smile.

However, she was still very relieved and happy to see such progress from her mentee.

After all, it was a reward for her hard work.

She also needed to work harder. By the way, Madame Faran should be back soon.

(End of chapter)