Chapter 15 - Charles vs Yakov

Throughout the entire history of the Servants Sword Tournament, there was nobody as successful as Yakov. Not only was he the first person to have won the tournament for ten consecutive times, he continued to make a name for himself by accomplishing other feats that nobody before ever dreamt of realising. He was the current champion, and the crowds in the arena simply revered him.

What transpired today had shocked everyone.  A participant fighting against two others was completely unheard of. And mind you, they weren’t just random fodder. They were the strongest two servants of the Dabsika clan! And to still come out victorious after such a match, was just too incredible! If spectators weren’t present here in the arena, nobody would have believed this!

The support Yakov was currently receiving from the masses of the arena was equal to the support the City Patriarch Cory had received during the opening ceremony. For the majority of them, Yakov was already the winner of the Tournament.

However, there were still two more matches he had to face, and anything could still happen. In reality, the most exciting parts of the tournament were still in the pipeline! The fun had only just begun!

The Judge Panel were currently busy chatting which other, seemingly arguing about something. After a bit of time went by, the oldest woman stood up and promptly yelled.

“GIVEN THESE EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, AND NOT TO COMPROMISE ANY FURTHER THE FORMAT OF THE TOURNAMENT, CONTENSTANT MR.GULULU FROM THE ZAFISI CLAN WILL AUTOMATICALLY ADVANCE TO THE SEMI-FINALS!!”~~~~~~~

“WHAAAA!!??”~~~~ The crowds in the stands erupted in surprise. It is the very first time this Mr.Gululu is competing in the tournament, and before his first match even started, he was awarded an automatic qualification!? He`s really a lucky bastard!

“Seriously, this is ridiculous! How can anyone be anymore lucky than this!” A disgruntled spectator in the general viewing stands complained to the two female companions that were sitting next to him. This was none other than Clinton Logan, who was cursing at all this. If he hadn’t suffer any wounds, he would be the one participating and benefiting from this automatic qualification!!!

These two women were servants that hailed from other minor clans. Being a member of the Zafisi clan, it wasn’t that hard for him to invite them out to come with him to the arena. One of the women, looked at him a little confused, “Isn’t he someone from your clan? Shouldn’t you be cheering for him?”

Clinton lowered his head in fury and didn’t even bother to reply. Cheer for him? As if!!! He hated Kane to the core! He was just hoping that Kane would experience a crushing defeat. Only then he would be satisfied!

Contrariwise, the spectators of the Zafisi clan were delighted with this news. This result meant that they now had two competitors in the semi-finals!

Kane frowned funnily upon hearing the announcement of the Judge Panel. For all this time, he was burning with desire to fight his first match! He actually felt quite disappointed with this news!

Meanwhile, the next two contestants had arrived on the main platform. They happened to be the two finalist of the preliminaries, so they were both eager to continue from where they had left from. The fight was a long one, and it lasted for more than fifteen minutes. Finally it was over, with Diane Rodgers emerging victorious from this match. This match also marked the end of the quarter-finals.

The tournament then paused for a twenty minutes respite. Afterwards, the old woman from the Judge Panel announced the beginning of the first semi-final.

“FIRST CONTENSTANT CHARLES HEARN PLEASE COME OVER TO THE MAIN ARENA.”~~~~

Charles turned his gaze towards the worried Kane, “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine! You should focus on your next match. You have a great chance of making it to the final. Who knows, we might actually meet each other in the final!”

Charles then began walking along the connection pathway in the direction of the battle arena. At the middle of the pathway, Charles casually threw away his shirt, unrevealing his robust and brawny chest. The arena instantly erupted into screams. When he arrived at the main stage, he raised his resplendent two handed sword up in the air to further entice the masses, whereupon he assumed his fighting stance.  

After the defeat at the semi-finals of the last tournament, Charles was filled with determination and had trained nonstop. He never forgot how Yakov had humiliated him back then. For the last six years, his heart burnt with desire for revenge.

“SECOND CONTENSTANT YAKOV DORBA PLEASE COME FORWARD TO THE MAIN ARENA.”~~~~

The prideful Yakov moved towards the arena for the second time, amidst the lauds of the masses. When he arrived at the stage, he let out a laugh full of mockery, “Trying to impress the little girls Charles!?”

Charles instantly replied scornfully. “There will be only one impressive moment, and that`s when I beat you to the brink of death. During the last six years… I only thought about this very moment, the day that I will beat you! Your era of cockiness is now over Yakov! Today you shall meet defeat by my very own hands!”

Yakov immediately burst out in laughter. For him, Charles was like a little barking dog. Just talk and no substance.

“So for all these last six years… you only thought about beating me?! Ha ha… HA HA… you are so hilarious! You know what? I recommend you go pay a visit to an herbalist, maybe he can give you something to fix your ridiculous fixation, and maybe he puts some sense into your mind!”

Yakov then twitched his eyebrows as his voice`s tone turned serious.

“And… I am sorry to disappoint you but… an insect like you stand no chance of beating me! And what is that? Your new toy sword!? I wonder how much of your clan`s fortune was spent to create that sword…! The elders of the Zafisi clan must have surely gone crazy to waste such a fortune on a stupid servant like you!”

Once he was finished with his speech, Yakov unleashed his sword and immediately increased the lever to full power. It was obvious that he wanted to end this match as quickly as possible.

“FIRST MATCH OF THE SEMI-FINALS: CHARLES HEARN VS YAKOV DORBA SHALL COMMENCE!!!”

With his sword already in the air, Yakov charged like a wild beast towards Charles. Before Yakov could arrive within striking distance, Charles blocked his way by unleashing a powerful strike on the ground.

BOOM~~~~~

Pieces of tiles could be seen flying around. Charles strike was so strong that the tile underneath was completely fragmented into smithereens. Thanks to his quick reflexes, Yakov was lucky to halt his charge and promptly distanced himself away from Charles.

Yakov paused for a while, as he thought into his mind. “This bastard… he was really hiding his true strength…, I definitely can’t allow him to hit me with that sword. The moment he does… I am finished!” He now understood that this fight will not be an easy one. Yakov then charged again and again, but each of his attempts were blocked by Charles`s heavy sword. No matter which direction he took, Yakov couldn’t move any closer to Charles. His heavy sword was like a perfect defensive barrier, a barrier that Yakov couldn’t figure how to penetrate.

“What`s wrong Yakov? Are you by any chance trying to play ‘merry go round’ with me??” Charles asked sardonically.

Yakov was now losing his patience, and decided to change strategy and instead go for a direct attack. However, Charles was on alert and promptly counterattacked him. Both of their swords clashed with each other with tremendous force.

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CLASH~~~~~~

The swords of the two warriors remained pressed against each other, seemingly cancelling each other out. After being locked in this stalemate for a while, Charles coolly asked, “is this all you`ve got Yakov?”

Yakov was about to say something, but Charles used all his strength to completely overpower Yakov`s sword. Before Yakov could recover his defensive posture, Charles unleased a powerful horizontal strike that landed directly on Yakov`s chest. Charles then used the momentum of his sword to lift Yakov and propel him upwards into the air. Yakov flew into the air until landing around fifteen metres away from Charles.

Yakov was totally left dumbfounded by Charles’ newly obtained strength. He never imagined that Charles would become this strong in just six years! Even the numerous spectators of this match were completely dumbstruck by this sudden turn of events. The ten times champion of the Servant Swords Tournament was currently being trashed! Even the Patriarch of the Dorba clan was beginning to show signs of frustration at the way this match was evolving.

Yakov stood back up with some effort, spitting blood from his mouth. He groaned inwardly with pain, and his facial expression darkened, revealing a heinous look.

“What happened to your pontificate speeches Yakov? Lost on words? That`s so unusual for you.”

“I am curious about something… Before today, have you ever experienced the true meaning of misery Yakov?” Charles asked him coolly.

Yakov remained staring at him, somewhat puzzled.

“Fine… let me show you, the true meaning of misery!” Charles yelled as he prepared to unleash his most powerful attack. He rapidly ran towards Yakov, and when Charles was around four metres away from him, he jumped into the air whilst spinning the sword around himself to gather momentum, then he performed a powerful strike that landed very close to Yakov, who was trying to dodge. The force brought about by the power of this strike exploded outwards, throwing Yakov away by several metres. The four tiles underneath were instantly replaced by a two metres deep crater!

“WHAAAAAAA???!!!”~~~~

The crowds instantly shouted in astonishment. The power of this attack was just too shocking!

“How is that possible!? How can a cripple be that strong!?”

“That strike had the power to defeat an apprentice soul fighter!!! Yakov has no chance of winning this match! He should really consider retiring!”

The arena immediately erupted into raptures.

“CHARLES!!!”~~~~ “CHARLES!!!”~~~~ “CHARLES!!!” ~~~~

Hearing the shouts of support, Charles cried out tears of joy. He had worked so hard for this special day, and was now finally reaping the fruits of his training. He suddenly remembered the countless days spent surviving the dangers he had to face every day against the various beasts of the wild.

In the meantime, Yakov had used his sword to help himself to stand up again, whilst heavily panting. Blood covered his face and was visible tired. However, he was similar to a wounded wolf, and his resolve to fight never faded away.

He again switched to his first strategy as he tried to close in on his opponent, whilst at the same time keeping a safe distance. Charles was prepared for this as he easily blocked the incoming barrage of attacks with his sword.

“You already know that this isn’t going to work against me Yakov. Why don’t you just retire already? Or you want me to ridicule you even further? I can now easily read your erratic movements, you aren’t even capable of aiming your sword at me anymore!”

Yakov ignored him and kept attacking, but after a while he suddenly withdrew himself away from Charles and then paused motionless. Yakov then kept staring at Charles with contempt.

Charles looked at him with a confused expression, but he wasn’t bothered by that much. “Are you finally giving up?” Charles asked curiously, but Yakov didn’t utter a word and his face showed no kind of reaction. This pissed off Charles as he yelled, “Fine! Since you are the former champion of the last ten tournaments, I’ll honour you by giving you the crushing defeat that a champion deserves!”

Charles assumed his attacking posture, then he performed his ultimate attack. To the surprise of everyone, Yakov didn’t try to dodge and kept staring at him immobile.

“Go to hell Yakov!!!” Charles screamed as his sword headed towards Yakov.

“CLASH”~~~~~~~

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“WHAAAAA???!!!!!”

The various spectators of the arena instantly rose onto their feet, including the many clan Patriarchs. All of them had surprised and shocked expressions. The only person who didn’t show any kind of reaction was Marcus, who was bored with this tournament, and fell asleep around ten minutes ago.

The surprised Elder Oliver whispered to himself, “This can’t be, is he cheating??!!!””

Charles retreated a few metres away from Yakov, completely perplexed. Charles couldn’t believe… he couldn’t accept that his most powerful strike was easily parried by Yakov!!

“You!!??? Don't tell me you've been hiding your true strength until now...??? No wait… that can’t be, what the hell is going on!” Charles yelled at Yakov.

Yakov, still expressionless, coolly walked towards Charles. “Obtaining such a large sword was a truly magnificent idea. It complimented your strength, and at the same time it allowed you to easily defend yourself from my close attacks.”

Suddenly, Yakov`s face turned dark and evil. “Did it ever crossed your mind… that having such a large sword… can make you vulnerable…? Did it ever crossed your mind… what would happen…, if I were to land a hit… on that 5cm wide blue crystal that is powering your sword??!!”

Charles looked at him completely thunderstruck, then his face turned white pale, and his head started spinning.

“CRINK CRINCK CRINCK”~~~~

Fragments of blue crystals could be heard dropping on the floor of the arena. Upon, seeing such a scene, Elder Oliver`s face fell. He was one of the few that knew how much that blue crystal had costed the clan! Entire savings equivalent of three years profits of the Zafisi clan were just wasted!

Charles trembled in fear. Without his power crystal, his heavy sword was now totally useless. He knew that he had lost. Even though he was unwilling, he had no other choice but to admit defeat!

“I RETIRE FROM THIS MATCH!”~~~~~

His shout echoed and filled the entire arena. Charles then prepared to leave, but was interrupted by Yakov, who was now totally infuriated.

“You…?! Where do you think are you going?” Yakov totally ignored Charles` announcement and marched towards Charles, then striking him with three consecutive sword assaults. He was about to continue striking him, but the Match Judge intervened to stop him.

“Enough! Haven’t you heard him? He has retired!” The Match Judge shouted disdainfully towards Yakov. Charles was now on the floor yelling in pain, heavily injured.

A lot of spectators were stunned, they never expected Yakov to keep on attacking even after Charles had confirmed his retirement from the match!

The shocked Kane, instantly ignored the rules of the Tournament and marched towards the main arena to assist Charles.