The match went as expected. Kole was a spear wielder. He fought with Andrew bravely and did his best in trying to defeat his opponent. But all his thirst and slashes were either blocked parried. Andrew showed impressive strength during this match.

No matter what Kole tried, he could not even touch Andrew. The level of strength that Andrew was showing was on par with that of Jacob. Soon, the tip of Andrew's longsword was touching Kole's throat. Seeing that, the judge ended the match and declared Andrew victorious. Andrew slowly returned to his chair. He was sitting just a chair away from Jacob.

Seeing impressive display of strength and skill by Andrew, Jacob clenched his fists for the second time. It seemed like Andrew Ursus was his match from all angles. To Jacob, he started looking like a tough barrier between him and the prized beast core.

His confidence also took a small hit as he started doubting himself. But he reassured himself with his father's prediction. What is there to worry? Father is with me. His father had already foretold about his victory in the final match. He just had to try his best. He was destined to be victorious. Nobody could stop him.

""Ladies and gentlemen and gentle people, the most exciting and highly anticipated final match is finally here. As expected, Jacob and Andrew have not disappointed us at all. It is as if they were destined to fight in the finals. Brave Jacob has proved to be the greatest dark horse of this tournament. He came out of nowhere and bedazzled us all with his abilities.

Similarly, young master Andrew, the little genius of the Ursus clan, also showed us the fruits of his intense academic years. A great clash is about to take place between a rapidly rising Jacob and the favourite of this tournament, Andrew. Both honourable participants, please come forward and let us witness the most exciting match of the tournament."

This is it then. Jacob thought as he stood up. The final match was here. It was the final hurdle between him and the thing he had envied the most in the last few days. He could not wait to get his hands on it. He raised his head and looked toward his father. The elder was already giving him a thumbs up in encouragement. Jacob smiled at that and waved at him.

This action attracted the attention of many people in the coliseum, including the attention of those sitting on the raised platform. This was the first time during the tournament that Jacob was waving toward someone. Many looked over and tried to detect the person who Jacob was waving toward.

But all the seats in the sitting areas were jammed pack. So it was very hard to single out a single person based on knowing general direction only. So, nobody managed to single out the elder. Even the ones sitting near him could not realize that it was him.

"Jacob, Andrew, Jacob, Andrew," As Jacob and Andrew walked toward the centre of the arena, the audience kept shouting there names. The audience was divided between them. Almost half of the audience supported Jacob while the rest of it supported Andrew.

Soon, Jacob and Andrew was in front of each other. This time, Andrew did not ignore him and met his eyes.

"Match, start." The judge started the match and did not keep audience in suspense for much longer. The audience also became totally silent. It was as if they were smelled by a snake. With bated breath and eyes wide opened, they waited for the finalist rivals to clash.

Even after the start of the match, neither Andrew nor Jacob moved. After a few seconds, Andrew broke the silence.

"I am Andrew Ursus, grandson of King Frederick Ursus, son of third prince Ajisth Ursus. I am a graduate of the Star Sword academy. I am a user of the Star Sword style of sword arts which originated from the Star Sword sovereign himself. Who are you and what style you use?" With a serious voice brimming with pride, Andrew introduced himself. He also asked Jacob a couple of questions that Jacob was not prepared for.

"I am Jacob, son of Father. I learned from my mother how to read and write. And, ummm, I use the Silver style taught to me by my father." Jacob replied awkwardly. Although Jacob knew most of what Andrew said beforehand, Andrew still introduced himself. Since his opponent had done so, it was imperative for him to do the same in return.

On the sword style part, he hesitated a bit. He did not have a name for his style. He didn't even know that whether his fighting style could be called a style at all. But at the right moment, his father's silver eyes flashed through his mind and he came upon a suitable name promptly.

In addition to that, the stage nervousness also hit him like a wagon. In the previous matches, he had forgotten for most of the time that he was being watched by tens of thousands of people. Now that everyone was silent and he was trying to introduce himself to a young master, he became hyper-aware that he was being watched by everyone and his each and every action was being put under great scrutiny.

Andrew's expression turned a bit strange after hearing Jacob. Similarly, the audience also heard Jacob more or less. They found Jacob's introduction quite lackadaisical as compared to the great introduction given by Andrew.

Similarly, many also found Jacob's intro quite funny, especially the first part. They thought that Jacob was talking about a father with a small f. Of course, you are your father's son. This was their inner thought as they did not know that he was talking about a father with a capital f. Many tried to control their laughter in that silent environment but few failed to control it. They burst into laughter but quickly stopped after seeing the serious atmosphere they were in and how they were being stared by people sitting around then.

"Silver style? Hmm. Then, please take care of me. I am looking forward to it." Andrew said. He had not heard anything about a Silver style before but then there were many styles out there he did not know the names of. He consciously ignored the first sentence uttered by Jacob.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

"Me too." Jacob replied. After saying the last word, he broke into a run. Andrew also started running toward Jacob.

Ting..

Their longswords soon collided with each other with a sharp sound and they came to a stop. Both of them were trying to wave each other's swords away. It became a competition of pure physical strength. Both were trying their best to come on top.

They were exerting all of their physical strength. Jacob exerted himself so hard that veins bulged on his skin. Even then, he could not wave the opponent's sword away. It was as if he was trying to push an immovable boulder away. Andrew was not in the good state either. He was also in the same state as Jacob, eyes opened wide and face twisted into a frustrated expression.

Soon, they separated from each other. Jacob was looking at the opponent in a new light. His overwhelming physical strength had no advantage during this battle. All of his previous years of training and moulding his body into its peak state today accounted to nothing in the final.

I am certain he also trained into qi strengthening poses. Jacob thought as he stared at the opponent in front of him with a surprised expression.

Similarly, Andrew was not much less shocked either. In fact, his shock was much greater than Jacob. Although, he was making a poker face while staring back into Jacob's eyes, he was greatly shaken inside.

How can this be? Andrew thought inwardly as his confidence and pride took a great hit. He was greatly shaken to the core. He had lived in the Star Sword academy for years. He practically ate and trained there. He doubted that anyone in the entire audience was aware of what he had to go through in those few years except his father.

The pain and suffering he had to go through was a horror story on its own. Many times, his body almost broke down under immense strain. He had to suffer

so much pain due to those terrifying poses that he almost gave up many times. In addition to that, the academy instructors were anything but kind. Many a time, they almost beat him to an inch of his life in order to force fighting lessons into him.

He didn't remember for how many times he had sobbed while hiding under his blankets. Only the pride of being a royal and the fear of his elders kept him going. Even then, he came on top. He worked his bones to their limit and became qualified in order to get trained in the Star Sword style.

He was not arrogant for nothing. He had worked hard to reach the position he was currently at. His physical strength was far above his peers. Similarly, his sword style had no match in the entire kingdom.

In the past century, he was the first one of his country that qualified for the signature style of an academy. Since he returned from the academy, he had remained undefeated. He was destined for great things in the future. He was the little genius of his family. That was the reason he was arrogant and prideful.

But today, he had met an anomaly. A person came out of nowhere and pushed him to the limits of his physical strength. He was expecting Jacob to be stronger than his usual opponents but not that much.

Did he also suffer bone piercing pain like me? He said that he was trained by his father. Who is his father? Is he a former academy instructor or someone from a great clan? Andrew thought inwardly as he tried to guess the identity of Jacob's father. A bout of nervousness also hit him. The only silver lining he found that quelled his nervousness was his sword style. He hoped that he would be able grab victory by using his superior fighting style.

Jacob was also thinking along the lines. The academy must be really great. Jacob thought as he raised the level of academy in his mind by a few notches.

Although, their thoughts were deep but they did not take much time. Both Jacob and Andrew thought all that in the matter of a few seconds. Soon, they shook themselves out of their reverie and focused on the battle.

Both of them took a step forward and clashed again. This time, it was not a contest of strength but a duel of skill. Their longswords collided with each other again and again. Both of them were using significant force behind their strokes so much so that sparks could be seen flying.

Ting, Clang.

Both of them were using their respective fighting styles to the best of their abilities. Andrew was efficient and made the least movement. He made enough movement to fully utilize his style while trying his best to conserve stamina.

Jacob was opposite to that. He was extremely mobile on his feet. He had many tricks and maneuvers that depended on his ability. Similarly, he could also switch into fighting double handed with his longsword whenever greater force is required. Even when double handed, he still needed great agility. He didn't care about his stamina at all as he had a great amount of it.

As Jacob kept fighting with his opponent, he found him very familiar to himself. He was a longsword user just like him. Similarly, he also wore a chainmail armour like him. Their physical build was also similar. The only differences between them was their eye colour and height. Jacob had black eyes while Andrew had blue eyes. Similarly, Jacob was a bit taller than him.

They kept fighting for minutes. They were seemingly equal in every aspect whether it was their strength or style. Although their fighting styles were drastically different, none of them were able to come on top.

Jacob kept revolving around Andrew while fighting as he tried to spot an opening while Andrew kept standing on his place like an immovable rock. Jacob also tried many maneuvers or faints but all of them were in vain. Andrew was highly guarded against such things. He had watched all the matches of Jacob. If caught unprepared, things would become disastrous for him.

As the fighting approached five minutes mark, a change took place. Jacob abruptly double wielded his longsword and delivered an overhead chop. The attack was the same as he did in the previous match. But Andrew was not there to be left behind. He mirrored Jacob and also double wielded his longsword. He then prepared to receive Jacob's attack.

CLANG

A loud metallic sound was produced as Jacob's overhead chop was blocked as he landed on the ground. Everything was the same as before, the only difference was that Andrew took only a single orderly step back while Bailey had to take many disorderly steps back. Jacob had finally succeeded in forcing Andrew back.

Just like the precious match, Jacob immediately launched into relentless doubled handed slashes. He kept slashing Andrew in order to overwhelm him and force him into revealing a flaw.

TING, CLANG

Ear piercing sounds of metal colliding with another metal were produced as Jacob advanced while he kept attacking consecutively and Andrew kept blocking continuously as he kept taking steps back. With the increasing number of attacks, Jacob continuously kept increasing the power behind them. Bailey had given up on the fifth attack in the previous match while Andrew smoothly kept blocking as he kept taking steps back one after another under Jacob's onslaught.

After about twenty consecutive furious attacks, Jacob gave up and stepped back.

His entire body was drenched with sweat as he panted slightly. He had a frustrated expression on his face. He had spent a great deal of stamina on those moves. Both of his arms were even aching slightly. He had over exerted a bit. But even then, he failed to break the block of the opponent in front of him. This annoyed him to no end.

Andrew also did not come unscathed from Jacob's onslaught. His arms almost broke down as he kept blocking Jacob's strikes continuously. Both of his arms were shaking slightly and he was feeling pain from them. His hands were also bleeding. His heart was beating so fast that it almost leapt out of his chest. He could not longer maintain his expressionless facade and showed a slightly pained expression. A longsword was not suitable enough for blocking such heavy attacks.

After a few seconds of standing, Jacob switched to being one handed again and attacked Andrew. Andrew also mirrored Jacob and defended himself. Similarly, they launched into another duel of skill just like before.

Jacob had decided to keep fighting Andrew like that until he found a flaw or became ready for the consecutive double handed strikes.

Similarly, Andrew was trying to come up with a ploy. With horror, he had realized just now that the man in front of him still had the stamina to engage with him in minutes long fighting. He feared that he would not be able to block the next consecutive strikes from Jacob.

He slowly came upon a plan. Unlike Jacob, he had trained into an academy. In the academy, he had many peers. He had to engage in duels with them on almost daily basis.

Even after he was qualified for the signature academy style, he still had to fight with many. During the style training, he had many peers that were equally genius and hardworking as him. They had come from various countries all around the globe.

With time, he had come up with many tricks and ploys that could be employed during a one on one battle. He had decided to employ one of those here. His stamina was rapidly decreasing. He feared that he would run out of stamina before Jacob. That would spell the doom for him. He would not be able to show his face to his friends and family in the future after being defeated by an unknown peasant.