"Show me your strength," Bill said as he quickly got off his dog’s back.
Now, everyone could finally see what Bill looked like—he was pretty short. Maybe that’s why he always rode his dog, to hide his height.
He smirked while staring at Hector.
"I guess I don’t need to fight you head-on. You’re blind anyway, right?"
He turned to his pet and gave a command to his pet.
"Go ahead, Six."
Without hesitation, the grey dog lunged at Hector, who still stood silently.
Hector barely moved. He just tightened his grip on his cane and kept his eyes on the dog.
Everyone was watching. No one dared to look away.
"That dog seems pretty huge. Its pressure points are glowing like crazy," Hector said, stepping back slowly. He took a breath, preparing to dodge.
The dog seemed to sense it. It changed direction mid-leap, swinging its long claws before Hector could slip away.
With a frame the size of a small car, the beast could be compared to a mana creature from the World of Challenge. It didn’t believe Hector could dodge its strike.
It roared violently, baring its fangs like the fight was already won. But the small, skinny man just... vanished from its sight. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on NoveI~Fire.net
Hector’s afterimage kept flickering in and out of air, sending waves of confusion through its mind.
Finally, a flurry of strikes stabbed into the dog’s firm body.
It howled in pain. Although the physical damage from Hector’s attacks was weak, his true power lay in his ability to sever the flow of mana within the body.
Trying to steady itself. Its instincts screamed: Run from this guy.
And it was right. The steel cane had mostly reached its forehead, willing to pierce its skull before it spun back.
However, an arrow came out of nowhere, was aiming at Hector, but he dodged just in time. Bill had saved his pet before it was completely defeated by Hector’s technique.
"Well, as expected from a prince of an Empire... I guess that was his skill coin, it helped him be capable of dog vision, " Hector muttered as he dodged two more arrows flying to him from Bill.
"His arrows are filled with mana... If I get hit, I doubt I’m gonna survive," Hector said, standing up straight and glancing around the training yard.
He had memorized every single pressure point of everyone in the training yard, noticing any of any murdering intention to him.
By sensing the flow of mana alone, not even a grain of sand could escape his awareness.
"What a waste of my power," the Illusion inside Hector’s mind scoffed. "And now my martial arts... they’re syncing with your soul. Tsk. What a thief you are."
"What do you mean?" Hector frowned and asked.
"Well, look at yourself. Your movements, your combat skills—they’re sharp, efficient. No wasted action, no pointless strikes. You really think you could fight like that without any childhood training? Hah. Don’t get too proud. That’s all mine, not yours."
...
At this point, all the students in the yard were stunned by Hector’s performance. No one had expected him to dodge and counterattack so precisely. He looked like one of the elite students from Class A.
In other words, like someone who had trained under a powerful clan.
Freddie stared at Hector, confused. "With power like that... Why is he even here? He should be up there with them."
Clive and his crew stood nearby, grimacing in disbelief.
"So that’s why he managed to beat Jet," Clive muttered, lightly rubbing his chin as he analyzed Hector’s moves. "Makes you wonder how strong he would’ve been if he could still see."
Meanwhile, Tom’s jaw nearly dropped.
"No way... Back then, his combat skills were trash. How the hell did he get this strong so fast?"
Tom had fought Hector a few times before, so he knew exactly how weak Hector used to be.
"In that case... could his power be from Rhythm’s Corruption?" he muttered.
Bill suddenly shouted, cutting off the silence.
"Don’t get cocky! I’ll show you real power—something a commoner like you could never dream of!"
He began drawing his bow, eyes locked onto Hector with killing intent. He didn’t care about the consequences—not even if it meant crossing Kevin.
"I’ll finish him first," Hector whispered to himself.
Then, without wasting a second, he charged straight toward Bill at full speed. He knew Bill was an archer—someone who preferred to fight from a distance. Letting him fire was a mistake he couldn’t afford.
A few sudden roars behind made him uneasy.
"What the fuck? Didn’t I already hit the dog’s acupoints?" Hector frowned, quickly halting his movement and leaping to the side to dodge the dog’s renewed attacks—along with a few flying arrows.
That was Prince Bill’s secret technique. Whenever he was on the verge of losing, he would force his pet to unleash its full power even if it was nearly about to die. But doing so always left the beast with serious internal injuries—and in the end, Bill’s pets always died then.
"As long as I win, I don’t care what happens! Go berserk, Six!" Bill screamed, his face twisted with madness as he poured all his mana into the arrow.
Keeping a safe distance, he aimed straight at Hector’s head, ready to fire the moment his pet created an opening.
Hector clenched his teeth as he ducked and dodged the lunatic dog’s wild slashes. His pressure point vision lost mostly its effectiveness because the dog ignored all its damages from Hector .
"I have to use the cane’s power... I’m just not strong enough physically to finish this thing off."
But the moment he considered using his B-rank artifact, a sharp pain surged through his head.
"Damn it—!"
The Illusion’s voice echoed mockingly in his mind.
"What an idiot. You have to know that from the beginning of this match. Now give up and use Rhythm’s Corruption. I’ll slaughter them all for you."
Hector clenched his jaw and fought to suppress the voice in his head, trying to shake off the hallucination interfering with the fight—even as he barely dodged another of the dog’s attacks.
But it was too late.
All he could do now was reduce the damage as much as possible.
"Gotcha," Bill grinned.
A green mana-infused arrow flew at Hector, spinning through the air before piercing straight into his right shoulder, sending him flying backward.
Everyone in the yard froze in shock.
Hector crashed to the ground, blood pouring from the arrow stuck deep in his shoulder. Gritting his teeth, he reached up and tried to pull it out, blood soaking the ground beneath him.
Bill just smirked at the sight of Hector’s broken figure.
"Rip him to pieces for me," he ordered his pet.