Chapter 88: Warm-Up
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Perhaps Magi-breakers would be unfamiliar to others but to Baiyi, he was actually quite acquainted with them. Let us go few thousand years back to see how the occupation started in the first place. According to rumors, it was said that the founder of the occupation was just a normal Fighter. After he got cheated by three sorcerers at three different times, he became so enraged and his hatred towards them was so deep that he developed an extreme profession and spent most of his efforts in physical resistance training. Coupled with a variety of exotic training cultivation practices, he somehow broke the Law of the nature, causing him to be unable to make a breakthrough into the Legendary Level and thus remaining in the Master Level forever. The main combat tactic of a Magi-breaker was to conceal himself and assassinate the target in the dark. Because his face-to-face combat ability was not that strong, in the face of other fighters who were at the same level as him, he would usually be beaten into pulp if he dueled with them head on.
Basically, the occupation was almost similar to an assassin with the addition of being immuned to magic. However, faced with the overwhelming superiority of the ever-growing sorcerers, it was most likely the reason why Magi-breakers eventually became extinct in the long river of the history.
Back at the ring, Baiyi was assuming the identity of a sorcerer so it was unlikely for him to use other means other than magic to deal with that guy. But then, since the red guy's already a Soul Armature now, he no longer has that anti-magic body that he used to have. I guess as long as I am more careful, he won't be much of a threat to me with that mere Mana-break Chi prowess of his, Baiyi thought to himself before getting in the ring.
The moment he stepped into the ring and used his Psychic Energy to probe his opponent, he realized that he had made a grave mistake in his assumption. It looked like things would not go as smoothly as he had thought it would.
"A-Anti-magic metal?" Baiyi stared at the guy who was dressed in a flamboyant and flashy hot-red armor.
Instead of answering right away, the red Soul Armature just tilted his head to one side. After a while of not achieving the result that he wanted, he shook his head but it seemed like he still did not get the reaction that he wanted. Exasperated, he lifted a hand to take the Prince's Feather out of his visor and let out an awkward cough before putting on a cool facade again and said, "Oh yeah, that's right! You're scared now, huh?"
Oh, my God! Is this guy a comedian? Or do you think that you're a cowboy? Why do you even need to imitate this kind of classic cowboy look and dangle a flower from your mouth? And to even try to act cool by spitting out the flower first before answering my question? Oh, goodness, look at yourself in the mirror please, would you?
Then again, this armor is fully made from anti-magic metal, huh? As it turned out, that special metal was a powerful material that had immunity towards all spells that were below Level Seven but compared to the black gold that was worn by Undine's Soul Armature, the material was still a little lacking like Baiyi's Mithril armour. Not only that, being entirely immune to magic was not actually a good thing as well, it was because with its anti-magic property, the user would not be able to cast Mana Boost on himself. All in all, hands down the black gold was still better when compared to other materials.
Even so, that material, no doubt, was a sorcerer's most hated metal material. And it just so happened that the guy's armor was entirely forged from the anti-magic material, it made his resistant to magic similar to when he was still alive. Coupled with his Mana-break Chi prowess, he was indeed through-and-through a Magi-breaker.
On top of that, some of his weak points had been counterbalanced by the modifications of his armor so he was certainly stronger than he once was, making him worthy of the title 'The Sorcerer's Nemesis'.
Still, Baiyi was not unnerved at all faced with such an opponent. Instead, he teased playfully, "This armor of yours, is it worth thirty thousand gold coins?"
"No, no, of course not. How could it be only thirty thousand gold coins? Don't you know that anti-magic metal is expensive?" The red Soul Armature replied in a frivolous tone.
"Oh, that's alright! It's fine as long as it's more than thirty thousand!" Baiyi chuckled and did not explained the meaning behind his words. Raising up a hand towards the red Soul Armature, he announced loudly, "Okay, shall we proceed with the match now? The spectators below is squirming in their seats with anticipation!"
Pulling out a long knife from his storage pouch that he had hidden somewhere in his body, the red Soul Armature showed off some beautiful moves with his swords before he replied, "I'd be delighted!" as he rushed forward towards Baiyi.
Gee, you're quite agile, aren't you? Baiyi thought to himself while he cast an Earth-style mud wall that appeared between them, accurately blocking the red Soul Armature's way. Within seconds, he cast a Speed Boost spell on himself to get himself ready for a sparring match with that guy.
"Oh, that's smart of you but it won't be able to stop me, Master Hope!" The red Soul Armature smirked and slashed his sword over the mudwall, the friction produced a fiery red blazing light trail. Immediately, like a cube of ice that was exposed under the sun, the thick and massive mud wall crumbled down and quickly melted away.
That was the infamous Mana-break Chi prowess--- a power that could instantly dissolve anything that was created from Mana. Every attack of the Magi-breaker was accompanied by the powerful Chi prowess that could instantly disintegrate all spells and items cast by a sorcerer. It was one of the most important factor that made it difficult for a sorcerer to deal with them, otherwise, they could just easily cast a simple elemental spell and trap the Magi-breaker inside.
When the wall crumbled down, Baiyi had already put some distance between the two of them. He continuously cast a few more spells. Mud walls, tree walls, shrubs and so on one after another in between the two of them. He managed to hide himself from the sight of the Magi-breaker by creating a complex environment.
The guest commentator, President Rhansey's voice could be heard ringing in the arena, "Did you see that, my dear students? Master Hope knows that this is an unfair match for him but he's still determined to go on stage to demonstrate to all of us the correct way in facing a Magi-breaker. There is no doubt that a Magi-breaker has a huge advantage dealing with sorcerers but it doesn't mean that there's absolutely no chance at all for a sorcerer. Just look at Master Hope, his way of putting up obstacles continuously in between the two of them is perfect for stalling for time while waiting for your backup to arrive."
What Baiyi was doing was exactly as described by the President, showing the students the correct way to deal with a Magi-breaker--- wasting time and calling for backups. However, they were both in a ring right with no backup and whatsoever so in order to win the match, he would still have to come up with something else.
In the face of Baiyi's delaying tactics, the red Soul Armature did not show any sign of impatience, instead, unabatingly, he continued to drive his sword into the obstacles and dissolved them one by one while announcing loudly, "Master Hope! I'm very impressed by your spell casting speed but I should really tell you that all of these are useless in front of my power..."
Before he could finish his sentence, an echo that sliced through the thin air rang by his ear. Quickly, he shifted his feet and dodged. He barely evaded Baiyi's sneak attack. A-A brick? Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, a few similar sounds could be heard and instantly, several bricks were flying towards him from all directions.
Although a Magi-breaker could ignore the direct attack from spells and disintegrate all sorts of magical creations, there were still a few things that could cause harm to a Magi-breaker. For instance, the tactic that was used by Baiyi--- using Mage's grip to grab the bricks that were used to build the temporary arena to attack him.
Those bricks were real and genuine bricks that could not be disintegrated by the Magi-breaker's Chi prowess. The kinetic energy produced by the throwing of the bricks was also real physical law that could not be ignored. Faced with such a tactic, there was nothing else that he could do other than to dodge and evade the attack. From the pits that were formed on the ground from the bricks crashing down on it, it was obvious that it would be almost impossible for the frail anti-magic metal to withstand its force.
"Oh, wow! Master Hope's choice of counterattack is very ingenious. This is probably one of the few ways a sorcerer can injure a Magi-breaker. Even though our spectators' stand is built using magic, the bricks around the ring are indeed all real items. Looks like Master Hope does indeed has a lot of experience in dealing with Magi-breakers!" President Rhansey was awed by the performance.
Obviously, Baiyi's approach had never crossed the minds of the spectators at all. They never thought that Baiyi would be able to make any counterattack at all in that situation. In just a blink of an eye, the arena that was previously quiet with tension became lively with loud cheers and applauses that suddenly erupted in the air, it was so loud that Baiyi turned to look at them.
It turned out to be the group of 'retired workers' from the Seniors Park…
"C'mon! Master Hope! Show him who's the master!"
"Wow, you're so amazing, Master Hope! I'd be backed into the corner if I was the one on the stage right now!"
"S-Sorry... Urgh... I'm sorry... Anyway... S-Sorry...."
Are you trying to cheer for me or what? What's with that non-stop apology? Are you too excited to think of other words?
At that point, it did look like Baiyi had the upperhand and it seemed like the red Soul Armature was brutally paralyzed by the flying bricks that kept flying towards him. But if one took a closer look, his situation was not as bad as the spectators had imagined. Just look at those flashy and garish acrobatic actions! Backflips, cartwheels, handspring and so on! Didn't he look particularly cool and effortless in dodging all those bricks?
In any case, a Magi-breaker was a person who had undergone a long and harsh period of rigorous physical training, along with his assassination skills and his Chi Shield, he was no less stronger than an assassin in terms of physical agility and alertness. After all, they would be completely fragile in front of a fighter if they did not have all those skills.
For that reason, although Baiyi seemed to have the upper hand but in truth, it was definitely not enough if he wanted to defeat the red guy...
After another round of fancy triple pikes along with a double tucks, the red Soul Armature effortlessly ducked Baiyi's attack again and grinned, "Master Hope, don't you think it is about time to end your demonstration to the students? If it was an ordinary Magi-breaker that you're facing, then yeah, you would probably be able to win by now. But unfortunately, your opponent today is me so... Allow me to ask you to surrender now because... I'm going to get serious now!" The red Soul Armature shouted and instantly, a ring of red fiery Chi prowess appeared on his body. Grabbing onto the hilt of his sword with both hands, and with a sound "HIYAH!" he planted his sword down onto the ground.
At once, the fiery red ring of Chi prowess spreaded out from his body. It was the ultimate legendary deathblow of a Legendary Level fighter also known as Chi Fury! In an instant, the Mana-break Chi prowess that was spewing out from his body swept away all obstacles that were created by Baiyi in a go, it left nothing behind other than Baiyi who was standing at one corner with two bricks still in his hands.
"E-Er, alright... I guess I will have to change my strategy now.." Baiyi murmured to himself as he threw the two bricks aside.