(Sky-God Arena – Finals Match 2)
Nobody on the Rodova bench expected Yu Shen to lose the opening fight.
They had all been on the edge of their seats as Yu Shen took on Gu Ramos, and while it was a respectable performance till the end—
Unfortunately, Yu Shen fell short of beating his opponent.
"The hell? Yu Shen lost?" Su Yang barked out, throwing his hands in the air.
"I told you, Skyshard— that bum doesn't deserve to be captain. It should've been one of us, we could've cooked Gu Ramos–" Su Yang said, as Minerva shot him a piercing glare.
"Watch your mouth, Yang…. This is not the time to blame your teammates, be serious in your life for once—" Minerva reprimanded as she stood up and headed for the tunnel.
According to Rodova's plan, if Yu Shen fell, she would step in next.
With her role being to stabilize, fight smart and pull a win back for the team— delivering big time as the second most senior fighter on the roster.
And hence, that's exactly what she intended to do.
*Step*
*Step*
The roar of the crowd built to a crescendo as Minerva stepped into the arena, black hood fluttering behind her, silver bow already strung and ready.
"MIN-ER-VA! MIN-ER-VA!"
"She's back!" Derek shouted, rising from his chair slightly. "Rodova's archer steps up after sitting out the semi-final. That injury she picked against Orion had us wondering if she would be fit to fight today?… but by the looks of it, she's healed and locked in."
"True," Lee added, "but this matchup doesn't favor her at all."
As from the Geneva tunnel emerged her opponent—
Damien Aroth.
The shield-wielding juggernaut. A natural predator to all ranged fighters.
"That's a nightmare matchup for Minerva, Derek," Lee continued. "This is exactly why winning the first bout is so important in the circuits, because it lets you dictate favorable counters. But now? Rodova's forced to stick to rotation—and that puts Minerva up against her class-counter."
Damien raised his massive tower shield with one hand and pounded his fist against it with the other, letting out a deep bellow that echoed through the stadium.
*ROAR—*
The Geneva fans roared in support for him, as he tried his best to intimidate Minerva, however, to his dismay, Minerva didn't flinch, as she glared at him back with guts.
"Fighters—ready?" The referee asked at this moment, as both nodded, giving him the green light to begin the fight.
—----------
"BEGIN!"
The referee's voice cracked out, and the second match of the finals commenced.
Minerva moved first—light on her feet, sliding backward as she drew an arrow and let it loose.
*TWANG—!*
*CLANG—!*
The arrow struck Damien's shield and shattered instantly. A test shot. She already knew it wouldn't land—what she needed was to test his reaction time and mobility, and so far both looked pretty good.
*Thud*
*Thud*
Damien charged, footsteps thunderous, using his wide shield as cover while closing the gap, as Minerva responded with [Phantom Trail], instantly weaving behind a cluster of illusory versions of herself, repositioning to the side for a clean shot.
*SHHHK—!*
This arrow came faster. Coated with a wind-imbued charge, as she used [Gale Spike]—aiming not for damage, but to force Damien to stumble by hitting the gap near his foot.
And it worked!
The giant staggered slightly, and Minerva took advantage with two rapid follow-up arrows that zinged toward his shoulder joint.
*CLANG—!*
*CLANG—!*
Both blocked again—but he had to shift, giving her a few more seconds of breathing room.
"She's playing the angle game. Trying to chip him down through gaps in the armor," Derek narrated. "That's how an archer handles a tank— making smart shots and applying surgical pressure."
But Damien was done playing.
As with a sudden burst of mana, he activated [Shield Advance] and propelled his body forward like a battering ram.
*BOOM—!*
Minerva barely dodged in time, rolling to the side—but even as she rose, she was forced to immediately fire another arrow just to keep him at bay.
*Clang*
The arrow rang against his shield, breaking his charge, as Minerva breathed a small sigh of relief.
That was too close—
Way too close—
"Come on, come on," she muttered, as she triggered [Rainfall Volley]—her signature skill, which made a single arrow that she shot towards the sky, split into multiple arrows on its way back, that remained suspended briefly in the air by wind magic, before descending like a storm over Damien's position.
*THUMP—!*
*THWAP—!*
*TWING—!*
Some arrows struck his shield. A few glanced off his armor. One clipped his leg and made him grunt—but unfortunately, the rain of arrows wasn't enough to bring down Damien.
This time, he charged and he kept coming despite Minerva's best efforts to stop him, until he suddenly accelerated once again, when he found himself in range of activating [Shield Advance].
*CRASH—!*
Unable to dodge, Minerva found herself tossed away like a ragdoll, as Damien's shield slammed into her body like a truck.
*Skid–*
Despite her best efforts to steady her body, she skid across the sand with little to no control over her body's momentum, as she picked up some minor scratches and bruises, along with a severe rib injury from the first impact.
*OOOOHHHHH—*
The crowd gasped, sad to see her rolling away like a helpless doll. However, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Eventually, She did stop and get back to her feet, however, it was clear from how hard she was coughing that she had definitely sustained heavy internal injuries.
Still… she didn't yield.
She raised her bow again, fingers shaking, and fired another shot—aimed straight at Damien's head this time.
However, Damien blocked it with ease.
*CLANG—!*
He blocked it.
And then—
*CLANG—!*
He blocked another, as he walked towards Minerva nonchalantly.
He weighed 160 kilograms, and when he came charging towards someone at full speed that was accelerated via [Shield Advance], he reached peak speeds of nearly 140 km/ hour at times, which created enough of an impact force to break the bones of even Grandmasters.
And although Minerva looked intact for now, he knew for sure that she had sustained heavy internal injuries that would make it hard for her to maneuver anymore in this fight, which was why he walked towards her in a leisurely fashion, knowing full well that she was going to be unable to run away even if he took his time.
"Sorry…. I'm usually not this rough with pretty ladies like yourself, but this is the end for now–" Damien said, as he activated another [Shield Advance] and slammed into her body, as he sent her flying out of the arena, as she crashed into the boundary wall.
*BOOOOOM—!*
"WINNER, DAMIEN AROTH OF GENEVA!" The referee announced, as
*ROOOAAAAAR—!*
The Geneva fans exploded again, erupting into a wave of cheers as Rodova's second loss was cemented.
"This is huge, Derek," Lee said. "Geneva is 2–0 up. Rodova's back is officially against the wall."
"Both the senior Grandmasters are out! It's all up to the juniors Leo Skyshard and Su Yang now…. And of course there's Enzo too!"
"Enzo can't do anything worthwhile here Derek…. There's no way he comes in handy.
It's essentially a 2v5 now—" Lee said, as Su Yang made his way towards the arena.