## Chapter 1132 – Elven Forest

“Cough… Keheok!”

Rajinaph lay sprawled, gasping for air.

See, you bastard.
I told you my win rate was 100%.

“Rajinaph, in an instant!”
“I, I can’t believe it!”
“So fast!”

A roar erupted from the audience. They were all marveling, as if they hadn’t expected the match to end so quickly.

“Shit.”

Rajinaph had bet more than 80% of his strength on that first attack.

I figured this bastard was planning to overwhelm me with his superior elven physique before I could analyze his combat power, then seize the offensive. Once he gained the offensive, he’d have the advantage, because he could dictate the fight.

A decent plan.

If I hadn’t been able to keep up with his speed.

He tried to land a strong attack right from the start, before we knew each other well, and take the offensive. Textbook. But I had already roughly assessed him with my eyes. I had a general idea of how he would come at me.

That’s why I won.

He was strong, but I was stronger.

“Ugh…”

Rajinaph groaned and rolled over.

“It was a good fight.”
“…”

I reached out a hand to help him up. Rajinaph clutched his face, groaned a little more, then took my hand and stood.

“Kuek.”

He shook his head violently and touched his forehead.

He looked like he was in a lot of pain, but he was in surprisingly good shape. At the moment of impact, he had protected his face with aura. Of course, I had also reduced my fist-force a little from the moment I sensed victory. This wasn’t a real fight, but a sparring match. There was no point in inflicting a fatal wound.

So he wasn’t badly hurt.
Just too stunned to think straight from being beaten so quickly.

Of course, getting hit like that at the beginning must have hurt like hell. I held back a bit, but other than the final blow to the face, I really hit him. His torso probably hurt more than his face.

“Are you alright?”
“S, strong… Your skill is as good as your confidence…”

He didn’t have any visible injuries, but he was clutching his stomach and chest, speaking with difficulty, as if he was in a lot of pain. No, he wasn’t without injuries. The areas where I had hit him earlier were turning bright red.

“I appreciate the compliment. But are you really okay?”
“These kinds of injuries are common in sparring… But I can say that the result would have been different if I had a weapon. I’m better with a sword than with my fists…”

If you had a weapon, I would have finished you in three seconds, you moron.

“Hehehe, that would be interesting too.”

There was no need to provoke his pride now that it was over.
I just smiled and shook his hand.

“You’re really skilled.”

Harkan, who had been watching us from the seat of honor, said.

“To subdue Rajinaph so easily. Amazing, isn’t it, Cellathis?”
“…Indeed, Great Chief. I didn’t expect him to lose so easily.”
“I didn’t expect it at all.”

ㅡClap, clap, clap.

Harkan started clapping.

ㅡClap, clap, clap.
ㅡClap, clap, clap.
ㅡClap, clap, clap.

Soon all the elves were clapping and congratulating me.

Judging from the atmosphere, the bad vibes from before had subsided a lot. Well, for a warrior group, this kind of sparring match is ultimately a kind of initiation ceremony.

I had subdued Rajinaph in an instant.
They must have recognized me too.

In that atmosphere, Rajinaph trudged towards the stairs.

“It wasn’t that Rajinaph was slow, but to be able to see that and avoid it. I’ll ask again. Aren’t you the best warrior among humans?”

Harkan walked to the railing and said to me.

“I’m not the best.”

I’m not the strongest yet.

“Not yet.”

But I will be.

“Ha! A warrior aiming for the top! Wonderful! Isn’t that right! Cellathis!”
“Yes, Great Chief.”
“The future of the human race seems bright!”

Harkan continued to be amazed, then suddenly closed his mouth.

“…”

Silence descended in an instant.

A moment of silence passed.

“Well, are there any confident members? Rajinaph was defeated like that, so shouldn’t you show something? Otherwise, the paladin might think that our guardian warriors are nothing special.”

Harkan was provoking the other guardian warriors.
Did he want to see me fight more?

“Great Chief! I’ll go!”
“Oh! Lumiere!”

A voice burst out from the audience.

ㅡWhoosh!

He jumped down.

He was an elf with impressive long blond hair. He was smaller than Rajinaph in height and build, but his face was sharper, so he looked quite fast.

“Then let Lumiere show his true skills.”
“Understood!”

Did my opinion not matter?

Anyway, the blood was boiling from the appropriate battle.
If I could fight more, I didn’t mind.

“Paladin. That was very impressive. To subdue Rajinaph like that. If it were a real fight, it would have been even more destructive and faster.”

Lumiere greeted me first.

“Well, sparring and real fights are different, so you never know what might happen. Anyway, I appreciate the compliment.”
“Rajinaph was a bit weak in this kind of unarmed combat. But… I won’t be as easy as Rajinaph.”
“Did you master the Elven Divine Fist to the extreme?”
“What exactly is that Elven Divine Fist…?”
“I look forward to fighting you.”
“…”

We took our stances.

“Start!”

Harkan announced the start.

ㅡThump, thump, thump.

As soon as it started, I advanced heavily like a tank.

“Demonic Divine Art.”

I covered my whole body with aura, and with each step I took, planting my feet on the ground like a giant tree taking root, I put my weight into it.

“Demonic Tank Footwork.”

There aren’t many who can break me down when I use this footwork.

Come, Lumiere.

“…”

Lumiere lightly hopped around, then, with a serious look in his eyes, he lightly walked towards me, as if to act in the opposite way to me. A green aura blazed from his body as he walked.

Was his level of mana manipulation similar to mine?

As he walked.

ㅡWhoosh!

He accelerated in a single step and charged towards me. ㅡBoom! At the same time, I kicked off the ground and flew towards him.

Moving at the same speed as him, I slightly twisted my waist as soon as he came into range and threw a high-speed punch that utilized all the muscles in my shoulder.

ㅡKukwang!!

Lumiere dodged the punch that was fired with a roar by twisting his body ever so slightly. It was just a feint, but he avoided it perfectly.

He was quite skilled.

ㅡWhoosh!

At that moment, his fist flew towards my face. A counterattack performed at the same time as the dodge. He had good instincts. Should I take it on my forehead? No. It looked like it would hurt like hell. Let’s just use my left arm to block that punch.

ㅡKwang!

A roar erupted and I felt pain.

“…!”

But at the moment of impact, I was already aiming a low kick.
I’ll knock him down like this and finish him.

“Oh, shit!”

But at that moment, his fist came at my abdomen faster than I expected. It was faster than I thought. Changing my plan, I retracted my low kick and converted it into a knee kick, raising my knee to meet the incoming fist.

ㅡKwang!

At the same time as Lumiere’s fist was raised high, his brow furrowed.

As I was about to stomp down on his instep to block his mobility with the foot I had raised,

ㅡWhoosh!

He pulled his foot away in an instant and threw a powerful straight punch as if performing a counterattack. It was impossible to defend. In a hurry, I stomped on the ground with the foot I had been stomping down with, and dodged the attack by shooting my body to the left with the recoil.

ㅡPatsutsuut!

At the same time, Lumiere, who had raised the corners of his mouth as if he had been aiming for that, retracted his straight and flew a powerful high-speed kick at me, turning his body greatly as he followed me.

“Oh, oh! Not bad!”

ㅡKwang!

I kicked off the ground once again and shot my body backwards.
It was a backstep for now.

ㅡKwaddeudeuk!

Lumiere’s kick powerfully swept through the spot I had dodged.
Even so, if I had been hit by that, it would have hurt like hell.

“…!”

Anyway, I had grasped his speed. He was about as fast as me. Fighting like this would only lead to exchanges and dodges. Then I would have to make a move here.

ㅡHwaeek!

But Lumiere seemed to have anticipated everything, even the fact that I had taken a backstep. I could feel it clearly. He landed and stepped on the ground at a very precise timing.

“Kuaaaaa!”

At the same time as he kicked off the ground powerfully.

ㅡPachichik!

He unleashed a transcendent fist with a flash of light in his eyes.
It was like a spring popping up.

“You bastard!”

I stared straight at it. My body was currently slightly floating due to the backstep. He was trying to land a heavy blow aiming for that. It was truly a great judgment.

But.

ㅡHwareureuk.

The speed was similar. I immediately put fist-fire into my fist. At the same time, I bent my upper body slightly and my left foot touched the ground first. I bent my waist greatly as it was, and after perfectly stepping on the ground.

ㅡKwaddeuk!!!

I kicked off my left foot so powerfully that the ground was gouged out.

Accurately.

With a fist that was stretched out to the maximum by bending my waist greatly.

“Asura Bloodshed Fist.”

I unleashed the Asura Bloodshed Fist and struck Lumiere’s incoming punch.

ㅡTuukwaaaaaang!!!

The roar that erupted.
The pain that I felt.

“…!”

I was the winner.

My fist overwhelmed his fist and advanced. My side was stronger. Pushing away his fist like that, I quickly spread my fist and unleashed a series of attacks with the Wild Blood Jade Hand. The opened grip. All the joints of the five fingers were filled with the power of Heavenly Demon Kim Kat.

“Wild Blood Jade Hand.”

ㅡKkwaak.

I powerfully grabbed his thick forearm.

“Ah!”

The moment he tried to extend his opposite fist powerfully.

“Heavenly Demon Divine Art Rear Naked Choke.”

ㅡHoo-ook!

I powerfully pulled his arm and wrapped my left leg around his waist to grab his back and unleash a rear naked choke.

ㅡKkwaak!

“Kuek!”

The technique was perfectly executed. Lumiere, who had been caught by me in an instant, grabbed my forearm with both hands and tried to tear it off, but my forearm was reinforced with aura. It was impossible to escape as I was powerfully hugging his body with my legs. I put strength into it and choked his neck.

“I… I lost…!”

Soon he declared defeat.

“Hoo.”

I immediately released the rear naked choke and stood up.

“I am the victor.”
“Kehk… Kehk, kehk!”

ㅡWhoosh!

As soon as I released him, Lumiere bounced up.

“Kuh… To come in like this…!”

He looked quite upset, but I would have won even if we fought one more time. He lacked strength compared to me. So I used his attack in reverse. His senses were good, but in the end, if you were pushed back by strength, you would lose.

“It was a good fight.”

I enjoyed the thrill of victory, feeling a pleasant sense of elation. Damn. This was the class of Heavenly Demon Kim Kat. Guardian warriors? They were a powerful warrior group, but their average wasn’t stronger than me.

They were definitely below me.

Look, both sparring matches.
The fight ended in 20 seconds.

At my level, I could be said to be in the top tier among these bastards.

“Oh, oh!”
“Even Lumiere!”
“Strong! Very strong! A true warrior!”

Soon cheers erupted from the audience. I just raised my hand and waved. For a moment, my habits from the arena almost came out, but this wasn’t the arena. It was a serious sparring match, not a dance floor. I didn’t dance.

I looked towards Harkan.

“…”

He was looking down at this place with a blank face.

“Even Lumiere… was easily defeated.”

ㅡClap, clap, clap!

“You are truly a great warrior! Beyond imagination!”

The expressionless man suddenly smiled brightly and shouted in a very loud voice.

“If there are warriors like that on the human side, an alliance wouldn’t be bad! Isn’t that right!”
“Yes! Great Chief!”
“Yes! Great Chief!”
“Yes! Great Chief!”

All the elves answered his words.

Anyway, was it slowly coming to an end?

“It was a very enjoyable sparring match. I thank Lord Rajinaph and Great Chief Harkan for creating this opportunity.”

I politely bowed to the audience and the seat of honor.

Still, it was a decent sparring match. I hadn’t had a chance to fight like this recently. They were the perfect opponents for a light warm-up. Still, they were far from enough for this Kim Kat.

I never drag out the time when fighting weaker opponents than me. I’m not merciful enough to give time to weaker guys than me. Therefore, a quick decision. So there was still a fighting spirit left in my heart that had nowhere to go.

Were there no stronger bastards?

“I’m somewhat satisfied.”

But it was over now.

Now all that was left was to finish work and go home to tell them about today’s events.

“I think it would be good to see more of the paladin’s martial arts on this occasion. Paladin. May I ask you for one more sparring match?”

At that time, Harkan said to me.

“One more time?”
“It seems like it’s still not enough. Isn’t that right?”

Had he read my fighting spirit?

“Hehehe, actually, I was thinking of fighting a stronger elven warrior.”
“Then it would be good to have a final sparring match.”

I welcomed it with open arms.

“Good. Let’s have a final sparring match.”

But after saying this, he wasn’t going to come down himself, was he?

No. Still, the Great Chief wouldn’t come out himself.
It would be ridiculous for the Great Chief to come out here himself.

So what would come out was.

“Cellathis. Will you go out?”

The vice-chief who had been standing next to him all along.

“…”
“It will be an opportunity to measure your skills. Show your qualities as a vice-chief.”
“…Yes, Great Chief.”

Vice-Chief Cellathis nodded.

ㅡWhoosh!

She came down to the training ground.