Chapter 193: Stalemate Breaks

Inside the dome built of Echo and seals, Ed, who was seated next to Samuel on one side, leaned forward.

His gaze moved between the two of them. "Samuel, let it slide this once," he spoke in a firmer voice than his usual casual tone.

He shifted his gaze to Lucen. "I think we've stayed here for so long that you've forgotten many things you shouldn't have, Lucen."

Lucen smiled innocently. "I want the kid to be famous, his talents to shine," he justified. "Didn't you want me to send a few of my kids to his side?"

Lucen waved his hand, pointing his thumb backward over his shoulder. "I allowed them to join if they wished to, but warned them nonetheless."

"These kids need assurance they will be in good hands, Edmond; otherwise, there's only my warning of certain death," he added.

Samuel didn't wait for them to finish their conversation. He waved his hand; a seal that was only visible to him manifested over the ring like a dome, blocking all sound.

Lucen watched him do it, seemingly unable to see it just like everyone else. He opened his mouth to say something, but—

"Lucen, don't push it; the facility might disappear overnight, maybe the second floor entirely." Ed leaned back in his seat. "I'm not threatening you, just reminding you of what you've forgotten."

"Kids are scary these days." Lucen shook his head.

In the ring, Moon caught something bright falling. His gaze darted to it. It looked like a ball that had four skewers running through it, golden in color.

'The hell is this?' he exclaimed inwardly before the ball stayed suspended in the air, releasing a golden radiance over the ring's boundaries.

Moon looked at Talia, who was still confused by the words he had said last. They were looking at the audience.

'Am I hallucinating again?' he questioned his eyes. It wasn't the first time he had seen something golden of a weird shape floating.

He was still unaware of what Lucen had done; he knew a few would hear him, but he didn't expect every single person in the four, or rather five, branches to hear him loud and clear.

It wasn't a lie; he'd been running the movements in his head since the first straight punch Talia threw at him.

He wasn't trying to copy her; rather, he was trying to understand the execution of the movements that looked so clean and systematic.

He was trying to combine it with the footwork that was drilled into his being thanks to the Memory Fragment.

Thanks to that, Hypothetical Prospective was correcting his errors every once in a long while; meanwhile, Moon was trying to imitate her by experiencing the moments firsthand and observing how her body channeled each attack.

Even now, while he was talking, he was running the movements in his head to catch any errors.

Moon admitted to himself that this fight was far from fair; in a fair fight, he would have won already.

Talia's leg had a range of motion he didn't know was possible; her shoulder was the same... Even her joints seemed unbreakable.

It was as if Talia had been trained and brought into existence to possess everything that countered his skill and lethality.

Moon refused to believe she was stronger than a group of greater goblins, and he worked in that direction to learn and acquire her style without letting go of his footwork.

The current result was a free, clean, yet orthodox combat style that was superior to Talia's when it came to maneuvering.

But it wasn't exactly what Moon had in mind; it was just a step in the long grind he had planned for this round.

Yet, he was unaware of the turmoil he had thrown the audience into thanks to his words and Lucen's ploy.

"It can't be."

"He can't be that talented."

"Did we live and train in vain?"

"Dammit, I'm joining him in the trial even if he loses this duel."

It wasn't only the Southern branch; all the other branches were looking at him in a new light, completely unaware of the limitations he had when it came to Echo.

On the other hand, Lucen was smiling, nodding in satisfaction. "Now you see, the kid has a growing fanbase who would join him even if he loses," he chuckled before adding, "You two are overprotective and needlessly sensitive."

Samuel didn't answer, nor did Ed. They were already starting to feel tired of having him seated between them.

In the ring, Moon gestured for Talia to proceed. "Can we get this over with?" he asked. "I'm starting to get hungry," he added.

Talia exhaled slowly, nodding. "Yeah, let's proceed."

With these words, the two of them rushed back at one another. Talia didn't wait for Moon this time.

The rhythmic exchange between them returned, led by Moon's footwork. They were both contending, exchanging punches and kicks to no avail.

After sustaining the same rhythm for a little longer, Talia felt more pressured than before. She needed to do something that would break her out of this stalemate.

She gritted her teeth, feeling like she was being played. Her attacks were being seen through.

Her eyes fell on Moon's feet; they were leading him in the direction where her attacks would miss. One time after another.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized: her own attacks were a set of patterns that followed the strict principles of combat.

One led to another, flowing perfectly like water. Unhinged, uninterrupted.

One consistent flow that could not be broken, but watching Moon now, she had a realization.

It could be seen through, rendered useless in the process.

She watched Moon perform the exact same style as hers, but more free, more decisive, and more flexible.

Talia felt like following his example; maybe it was time to improvise and try something else.

Talia took a sudden step forward, closing in on Moon faster than she should have, and followed with an uppercut.

She was attempting to interrupt the rhythm established in the fight and take the lead.

Thud~

A punch landed, but it wasn't hers—

It was Moon's.

The moment she took the step and attacked, Moon adjusted the distance and landed a hit perfectly at the center of her face.

Before she could comprehend what had just happened, Moon retracted his arm and threw two more jabs at the same spot, mimicking the movements Samuel used to beat him, except he didn't use any shockwaves.

As she tried to restore her guard, Moon threw two more punches at the center of her abdomen, targeting her diaphragm.

His feet stopped moving while attacking, intensifying both Talia's confusion and urgency.

Talia had been fighting Moon to a stalemate for a long time now, racking her brain for a way out so she could use her advantages against him again.

She preferred a straightforward, reckless Moon to the suffocating one she was fighting now, the one she couldn't properly land a hit on.

She had built up her courage to go against the flow and teachings that had been drilled into her bones since she was a child.

But the very action that she had finally decided to take...

It seemed to be exactly what Moon had been waiting for.