Chapter 449: Not A Pushover
Veyr studied Leo with an amused expression on his face.
His distant cousin looked like a proper fighter with a lean body and a handsome haircut, and Veyr couldn’t help but feel impressed by his physique.
"Not bad... not bad... I guess being handsome runs in the family. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for talent. Some of us are just born with more of it than others," Veyr said, giving Leo a cocky little wink.
He didn’t explicitly mention that he had already checked Leo out and was disappointed to see him not having broken through to the Transcendent Tier, but the message was conveyed regardless through his cocky comments.
"Well yeah... I’m not in the same tier as you. I’m only a Grandmaster, just like the tens of thousands watching from the stands who are Grandmasters as well.
So you better try your best to end this quick, because... if despite the tier difference, I manage to give you a hard time, then it really won’t look good," Leo replied, not letting Veyr’s comments rattle him, and instead flipping the narrative on his opponent.
"HA–" Veyr chuckled, waving his index finger in the air, as he laughed like he had just heard a pretty funny joke.
"Cuz, you ain’t surviving 10 seconds against me." He claimed, as Leo only got into battle stance in response.
"Well.... No point in debating, let’s see if you can back those words through action" Leo said, as Veyr too unsheathed his sword and got into battle stance.
—-------
"And there you have it folks! Both Aegon Veyr and Leo Skyshard have assumed their initial battle stance..... the fight will begin any second now!" Joe said, as he clutched his commentator’s seat tight with excitement.
"Leo is going into this fight with a massive disadvantage.
Realistically it’s only a question of how long can he survive?" Dana added, as he seemed concerned about the elders making such a one sided match up.
"There was a lot of speculation surrounding his real tier in the months leading up to this fight.
However, with him still being a Grandmaster this will be a one sided match up for sure.
I don’t know what the Elders were thinking when they made this a public bout?" Joe voiced in agreement, as Dana shrugged his shoulders in disbelief.
"Well.... I guess we will find out...."
—------------
"Skyshard ready?"
"Veyr ready?"
Max asked both fighters one after the other, as both Leo and Veyr gave him a nod of affirmation.
"Very well then.... Begin!" He announced, and almost as soon as he dropped his hand, both Veyr and Leo charged towards one another, two streaks of momentum heading toward collision, their weapons already half drawn.
But just before the gap closed, Leo’s eyes twitched to the right.
’There.’
A faint red mist, like smoke from a dying ember, seeped off Veyr’s blade, slithering across the air with deceptive speed.
His instincts screamed.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Leo halted mid-step, dropped his shoulders, and twisted his torso slightly, raising his dagger at an angle just in time—
*CLANG*
The steel rang like a bell, the collision sharp and visceral, echoing across the arena.
Leo’s arms shook as his feet slid back half a step, the force of the blow reverberating through his bones.
His pupils widened. That hit had power. Real power.
But across from him, Veyr’s expression changed too.
His smirk faltered, just for a breath, as the reality set in.
Leo had blocked it. Cleanly.
’Was it a fluke?’
The thought shot through Veyr’s mind like lightning, as he narrowed his eyes and lunged again.
His blade became a blur, darting in from high, low, left, feint right—five strikes in a span of a single seconds, each one with lethal intent.
He pressed forward like a man possessed, determined to shatter the illusion.
But Leo did not fall behind.
His dagger flowed with him, tracking every motion, every feint, every twitch of Veyr’s wrist. Each impact was met with precision and timing, no wasted movement, no hesitation.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
By the end of the exchange, the crowd exploded into noise, as a wave of disbelief swept across the stands.
"Did we really just see that?" Joe asked.
"A Grandmaster... kept up pace with a Transcendent?" Dana whispered, almost not believing his own words.
The camera zoomed in on the two fighters, still standing in close range, weapons poised, expressions serious.
And just like that, the entire mood of the match had shifted.
"What the hell? What trickery is this? How can a Grandmaster even move that fast?" The Seventh Elder muttered in disbelief, as sitting up in the VIP stands he had been hoping that this fight ended at the first exchange itself, however, what he witnessed instead was definitely most concerning.
"There’s nothing to worry about, Seventh Elder, Lord Fourth had told us before the fight began that Veyr has a little teasing personality.
The boy is probably playing the crowd, and his opponent.... He will crush the confidence of his opponent any second now," The Ninth Elder assured, as the Seventh Elder shook his head in disappointment.
"Tell that cocky brat to end this now! Our fucking careers are riding on this fight.... I don’t want to watch this with piss rolling down my legs," The Seventh Elder complained, as just Leo holding off the first charge spooked him to the limits of going mad.
—----------
Down in the arena, Veyr cracked his neck and took a small step back, his sword raised just above shoulder height, eyes narrowed and focused now.
Leo, on the other hand, remained steady.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then, almost in sync, they began to circle.
Leo did not watch Veyr anymore, his eyes were instead locked on the Red Aura coiling tighter around his opponent, as he tracked the flickering wisps, hoping they’d stabilize into something tangible that he could read.
As by this point, Leo understood that Veyr was for sure not a pushover.