Chapter 193: Ron vs Dmitri

The two became quiet.

Cain looked at the Heavenly Demon and asked.

"How many Mana Potions do you have?"

"Enough for several fights."

"That’s good." Cain nodded in satisfaction.

Even if they eventually ran out, it was not a major problem.

He still possessed plenty of unopened Orbs from everything they had killed inside the Invasion Corridor. After learning that the person opening an Orb could influence the type of item obtained to a certain extent, Cain could simply let Evelyne open more of them.

There was no guarantee that she would obtain Mana-restoration items, but the possibility alone was worth testing.

But for now, they had enough of them.

Dmitri walked toward the center of the ruined plaza.

Ron followed shortly afterward.

The surrounding humans moved farther away, leaving a wide area between themselves and the two fighters.

Nobody wanted to be standing nearby once a serious fight between powerful 2nd Echelons began.

Evelyne stood near Cain in case either fighter needed treatment immediately afterward.

Mo Xuanye watched with interest.

Aurelia folded her arms leisurely as her attention was solely at the plaza.

Viktor looked toward Dmitri.

"Don’t embarrass the northern group."

Dmitri tightened his grip around the halberd.

Ron replied with a chuckle.

"Too late for that."

His playful expression gradually disappeared as he lowered the spear and lightning began crawling along the shaft.

The air around him instantly changed.

Dmitri pulled the halberd from his shoulder, Mana spread throughout his large body.

Cain watched them carefully.

This was no longer a pointless spar because for one of them, the next few minutes could become the final step toward the 3rd Echelon.

Ron shifted his footing.

Dmitri tightened both hands around his weapon.

They then moved at the same time.

Dmitri took one heavy step forward.

BANG!

The stone beneath his foot cracked, Force Mana surged through his legs as his (War God Step) skill launched his large body across the plaza with a speed that did not match his size.

Though Ron was still faster as Lightning burst beneath his feet, his figure became a streak of bluish-white light and crossed most of the distance before Dmitri completed his second step.

The spear thrust toward Dmitri’s chest.

Dmitri reacted quickly.

The shaft of his halberd swept across his body.

CLANG!

The two weapons collided.

A wave of force spread from the impact.

Ron felt the spear shake violently in his hands.

His arms were pushed backward.

Dmitri’s raw strength was definitely greater.

Not enough to overwhelm Ron completely, but the difference became obvious the moment they met head-on.

Dmitri’s expression changed as he noticed it too.

"So you’re not only fast."

Ron merely chuckled lightly in response.

Dmitri answered by swinging the halberd, but Ron had disappeared.

The heavy blade tore through the position where his waist had been.

Dmitri did not stop the movement as his hands shifted along the shaft and redirected the halberd into a wide rotation.

Force Mana gathered around the weapon.

Ron had already moved behind him, thrusting his spear toward Dmitri’s back.

The halberd returned before the spear reached its target.

CLANG!

Ron pulled away.

A second sweep followed as he used the Lightning Flash skill and retreated beyond the range of the attack.

The compressed air produced by the halberd still reached him, his clothes snapped against his body.

Ron landed several meters away.

The playful smile he had worn before the fight was already gone.

Dmitri was definitely slower, but he was not to be underestimated as his mastery in halberd allowed him to control a weapon that should have left enormous openings after every swing.

His grip changed constantly.

The halberd could attack from several angles without forcing him to reset his stance.

More importantly, every time Ron struck his weapon directly, Dmitri seemed to become harder to move.

Cain’s eyes remained on Dmitri.

The Force Mana surrounding his body had strengthened after the previous collisions.

Dmitri was converting part of the force he received into momentum of his own.

That made repeatedly attacking his guard a poor choice.

Ron seemed to realize the same thing.

Lightning gathered around his legs again.

He then vanished into thin air.

Dmitri tightened his grip on the halberd as a thrust suddenly came from his right. He reacted quickly and brought the weapon across his body.

CLANG!

The spear struck the shaft, but Ron disappeared before Dmitri could counterattack as another burst of Lightning carried him toward Dmitri’s left side, where the spear swept low toward his leg.

Dmitri pulled his leg backward just in time, allowing the spearhead to pass beside his knee before immediately bringing the halberd down.

BOOM!

The heavy blade smashed into the plaza and shattered the stone beneath it, but Ron had already moved away.

Dmitri raised his head just as another flash crossed his vision.

Ron appeared directly in front of him.

The spear shot toward his shoulder.

Dmitri turned the halberd sideways to intercept, but Ron changed the angle of his thrust at the final moment. The spearhead scraped along the shaft before slipping beneath Dmitri’s arm.

Shhk!

Blood sprayed across the ground as a shallow wound opened along his ribs.

Ron continued past him without stopping.

By the time Dmitri turned around, Ron was already moving again. Lightning flashed near his side before appearing farther across the plaza as his Thunderclap Momentum skill gradually began accumulating.

The Lightning surrounding Ron’s body became denser with every movement, while his speed continued increasing alongside the momentum he was building.

Dmitri followed him carefully with his eyes.

His Sense was far higher than that of most physical fighters, allowing him to perceive Ron’s movements much better than an ordinary 2nd Echelon could.

Unfortunately, seeing Ron and reacting to him were two completely different things.

Ron rushed toward him again.

The spear struck Dmitri’s defense, but this time Ron did not attempt to overpower the block. Instead, he allowed the collision to redirect his movement before activating his Lightning Flash skill immediately afterward.

His body shot sideways as Dmitri’s counterattack tore through empty space.

Before Dmitri could fully recover from the missed strike, Ron returned from another angle.

Shhk!

The spearhead sliced across Dmitri’s upper arm.

Dmitri growled as another wound appeared on his body.

He immediately planted one foot firmly against the ground and poured Force Mana into the halberd as he used his (Crescent Annihilation) skill.

The halberd swept outward.

A wide crescent of compressed Force tore across the plaza.

Ron accelerated away before the attack reached him, but the crescent continued traveling through the direction of Dmitri’s swing and carved directly through the broken ground.

BOOOOM!

A long section of the plaza collapsed.

Broken stone and dust were thrown into the air, forcing several spectators to move farther back.

Ron reappeared near the edge of the plaza and looked toward the destruction left behind by the attack.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

If Dmitri could repeatedly release attacks like that, then approaching him carelessly would become increasingly dangerous.

Dmitri did not give him much time to think as he stepped forward and used his (War God Step) skill.

BANG!

His large body accelerated as the stone beneath his foot cracked.

Another powerful step followed soon afterward, allowing the momentum surrounding Dmitri to continue increasing as he advanced across the plaza.

Ron watched him approach before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You really do fight like a bear."

Dmitri’s expression darkened.

"Come say that closer."

Ron disappeared, Lightning erupted across the plaza as Dmitri immediately prepared himself for another attack from the side.

However, Ron did not appear where he expected as he appeared directly in front of him.

The spear stabbed toward Dmitri’s chest.

Dmitri reacted quickly and swung the halberd upward.

CLANG!

The spear was knocked aside.

Ron continued forward instead of pulling back after having his spear knocked aside.

His shoulder slammed directly into Dmitri’s chest.

The difference in their physiques made the action look almost ridiculous. Dmitri was much larger and heavier, yet the momentum Ron had accumulated through his acceleration erupted the moment they collided.

BANG!

Dmitri was forced backward.

His boots scraped across the ruined plaza and tore two long marks into the stone before he finally stopped himself.

Several people watching from the side immediately reacted.

Viktor raised an eyebrow in interest.

Cain smiled as he said. "That’s why I ranked him that high."

Naturally, both haven’t gone all out yet, but even if they did so, Cain bet on everything that the result would’ve been the same.

Dmitri looked down at the marks beneath his boots before raising his head again.

His expression became far more serious.

The collision had not injured him badly as his constitution was simply too durable for something like that to cause serious damage.

However, Ron had still forced him backward.

That alone was enough to irritate him considering physical strength was his forte.

Force Mana thickened around Dmitri’s body as he stepped forward once again.

Ron expected another charge, but Dmitri began rotating the halberd instead.

The first sweep sent a wave of compressed Force rushing outward.

Ron changed direction and avoided it, but Dmitri’s movement did not stop there as the halberd continued through the rotation, allowing another wave to tear across the plaza before Ron could close the distance again.

Dmitri’s movements became increasingly fluid as the rotational momentum accumulated.

The halberd moved around his body continuously, making approaching him far more difficult than before.

Ron spotted an opening and rushed toward it.

The blade suddenly changed direction.

He immediately retreated before it could reach him.

Even then, the wave of compressed Force generated by the swing clipped his shoulder.

Bang!