Law of Space and Time

Chapter 16-1: The Fourth Day of Competition (1)

Due to the fact that there were only 32 contestants left, there were far fewer matches than in previous rounds. Thus, the matchups were released on the same day as the day of the competition, rather than the day before. All the contestants had to do was go to the eastern and western contestants' areas at around 8 AM on the day of the competition, and they would be able to see when their matches were scheduled.

Once the matchups for the fourth day were released, Larwood was plunged into complete despair as his opponent for the next round was none other than Jeff Lazaar. No matter how crafty or resourceful he was, there was simply nothing he could do against an opponent so much more powerful than himself.

"So? What are your odds right now?" Erwin certainly wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to make fun of Larwood. After all, he was simply repaying the favor.

"I just had a look, and at the moment, the betting odds for Larwood winning his match is around 1:0.5," Chase said as he patted Larwood on the shoulder. "You're not going to score a massive upset as well, are you?"

"You bet I will! In fact, I advise all of you to bet all of your money on me! I don't even need to break a sweat to beat him," Larwood said in a sarcastic voice.

"It's true! You won't break a sweat at all if you get knocked out in one move!" Kaiba burst into boisterous laughter as he spoke.

The group continued to make fun of Larwood while having breakfast together. As for Sherry, he had too much to drink the night before, and he still hadn't woken up yet even after sleeping like a log the entire night. Even now, he was still snoring loudly in the tent that Erwin and his friends had rented.

Larwood's match was scheduled to be a little earlier than Erwin's, but both of their matches were in the morning. Among the four of them, Chase was the one who hated getting up early the most, so he had complained extensively about having to wake up early two days in a row.

Erwin and Larwood's matches were coming up soon, so they didn't have too much to eat. In contrast, Chase and Kaiba were far more liberal with their food intake. By the time Larwood and Erwin were finished with their meals, Kaiba and Chase were still eating, so Erwin and Larwood left early to register for their matches.

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To no one's surprise, as Larwood and Jeff stepped onto the competition platform, there were many young women cheering and applauding for Jeff. By Erwin's estimates, Larwood was most likely cursing Jeff over and over again in his heart.

Erwin then cast his gaze toward the opposing contestant's spectating platform. He had already noticed that Lana was on the other side as soon as he came in, and he could tell that she was very much looking forward to watching the match.

Looks like she still hasn't gotten over her grudge against Larwood, Erwin thought to himself as a wry smile appeared on his face.

After that, he turned toward the royal family's spectating platform, but Princess Onean wasn't there, so it seemed that they were coming later than usual.

Jeff was still wielding his Black Blaze longsword. He was holding it with one hand while his other hand was clasped behind his back, and he was looking extremely relaxed, seemingly completely disregarding Larwood as an opponent.

As for Larwood, he was also wielding a sword, but his sword was held up in front of him in a cautious manner. He didn't appear to be all that nervous. Instead, he looked to be quite confident, despite the vast gap in power between himself and his opponent, and Erwin couldn't help but admire Larwood's mindset.

The magic blast was fired, and the match began.

Jeff launched himself forward off one foot, and his free hand was still clasped behind his back, while the tip of his sword had already appeared right in front of Larwood's face. All of the spectators let loose a collective gasp upon seeing this, and even the spectators who were watching the match intently weren't able to keep up with Jeff with their eyes, let alone those who weren't watching carefully.

Larwood was given such a fright by this sudden development that cold sweat immediately began to pour down his face. He held up his sword to parry the oncoming attack, and in the instant that the two swords clashed, he was forcibly knocked back a few steps.

How is he so strong? Larwood thought to himself with an alarmed expression.

In Larwood's eyes, Jeff had to be a martial artist who specialized in speed. Otherwise, there was no way that he could be so fast. However, in this first clash alone, Larwood could sense that he was far stronger than even the advanced martial artists from Teedus Academy who specialized in strength and power. A sharp jolt of pain and numbness shot through his sword-wielding hand, and his wrist and arm were both trembling slightly.

Looks like Erwin was right. He wasn't using anywhere near his full power in our last fight! Larwood thought to himself.

However, Jeff certainly wasn't going to give Larwood a chance to catch his breath. He drove one foot into the ground to stop himself cold in his tracks, then switched Black Blaze to his other hand before swiveling around to sweep his sword through the air with its blade slashing directly toward Larwood's throat. Throughout the past few days of competition, all of the spectators always had goosebumps whenever they saw Jeff in action. His swordsmanship and way of movement completely shattered everyone's understanding of martial techniques and even the laws of physics, showing everyone that it was possible to instantly arrest one's momentum at will.

For martial artists, the body often turned out to be a hindrance. However, Jeff was as fast as lightning when in motion while also being able to instantly stop on the spot at will, and it seemed that he wasn't burdened by his own body at all. This was a level of bodily mastery that should've only been possible to achieve with several decades of training. However, Jeff was able to achieve this at such a young age, and that was what was most astounding to everyone.

Larwood could tell that Jeff's attack had been imbued with astonishing power, and he immediately placed one hand behind the blade of his sword while holding tightly onto the hilt, using the sword as a shield to oppose Black Blaze.

The tip of Black Blaze struck the blade of Larwood's longsword with a loud clang, and as a result of the clash, Larwood was sent sliding back uncontrollably for several meters. By the time he came to a rest, there was smoke rising up from the soles of his shoes.

Larwood was panting heavily as he took a glance at the indentation on the blade of his sword, around which was a charred section, and once again, he was astonished by Jeff's incredible strength. He was using a longsword that had been forged from diamond copper ore, which could snap or slice through normal swords with ease, so the fact that it had been dented so severely was nothing short of astounding to Larwood.

On this occasion, Jeff had no intention of drawing out the battle to torment Larwood. Instead, he was trying to end the fight with every single attack. While Larwood was sliding back along the ground, Jeff had already launched himself up into the air, and it appeared that he was about to unleash the same attack that he had used to finish off his opponent in the first round. Sure enough, Erwin looked on with an anxious expression as Jeff whirled around in mid-air, and his Black Blaze longsword swept through the air in a beautiful arc, slashing down toward Larwood, who was still yet to gather himself after the previous attack.

Last time, Erwin had already witnessed this attack, which had wooed countless young female spectators in the stands, and seeing it again, Erwin realized that Jeff had still been holding back during his match in the first round. The power and brutality of this attack were both far superior to the last time it was unleashed.

Larwood looked on as Black Blaze came sweeping down from the heavens like a furious black wyrm that was breathing black flames. The attack was imbued with devastating power, and Larwood knew that he wouldn't be able to defend himself against it.

All of a sudden, a devious smile appeared on Larwood's face as he raised his longsword against his opponent in retaliation.

In Jeff's eyes, Larwood's struggles were completely futile, and a disdainful sneer appeared on his face. There was an overwhelming gap in power between the two, and there was nothing that Larwood could do about it.

Sure enough, as the two of them clashed, Larwood was completely powerless to resist, and the longsword in his grasp was sent flying out of his hand by Jeff's Black Blaze. In the same instant, Jeff unleashed four sword strikes in a row, and there was no time for Larwood to evade any of them. Thus, Black Blaze inflicted long gashes onto Larwood's shoulder, arm, chest, and back, and blood immediately began to pour out of all four gashes.

Right as all of the spectators thought that the match would conclude with Larwood's suicidal counterattack, he suddenly pulled out a dagger, which had been concealed in a sheath beside his waist this entire time, then sent it flying with all his might.

At this point, Jeff and Larwood were situated extremely close to one another, so Jeff had no time to evade or retreat. Even with his exceptional speed and bodily control, Jeff could only look on as Larwood's dagger came flying directly toward his own glabella.

All of the spectators drew a collective sharp breath upon seeing this, and many of them were already beginning to denounce Larwood for his underhanded tactics.

Even Lana was looking on with tightly furrowed brows at the unexpected dagger that was flying directly toward her brother.

"What a scumbag! How low is he willing to stoop to win? What if he ends up killing someone?" Some of the spectators had already risen from their seats with furious expressions.

"I say he should be disqualified from the tournament right away!"

"Disqualified from the tournament? I think he should be thrown into prison for attempted murder!"

Erwin could hear all of the spectators' enraged voices, and even he didn't think that Larwood would go so far for this match.

If that dagger hits him in the face, he's definitely going to be disfigured. Looks like Larwood really hates that face of his! Erwin thought to himself.

However, Jeff then executed a breathtaking maneuver. He stared intently at the dagger that was flying directly toward his glabella, and in that instant, time seemed to have fallen completely still. He could sense the unbridled killing intent coming from the dagger, and right as the tip of the dagger was about to strike him, he reached out with his left hand like lightning toward the dagger. At this point, the tip of the dagger was only mere centimeters away from his glabella, but it had been stopped cold in its tracks, caught between three of Jeff's fingers with unerring accuracy. His movements had seemed graceful and relaxed, but in reality, if he made even the slightest misjudgment, then he would've been disfigured for sure. Thankfully, he had such an overwhelming advantage in power over Larwood that even this underhanded sneak attack wasn't enough to land a blow on him. All of the spectators heaved a collective sigh of relief upon seeing this, and the denouncement against Larwood died down significantly.