Chapter 22: The Nine-Star Swordsman
Ren looked at the projection screen with anticipation. Erza was a genius, especially with a sword. In Fairy Tail, she was entirely self-taught, yet had trained her swordsmanship to an incredibly high level all on her own.
Soon, all the Group B contestants took the stage. Having seen the demonstration from Group A, they all understood the rules. They scattered, warily eying their surroundings while searching for their first targets.
As a female swordsman, Erza naturally became the target for many of them.
"Who are you betting on?"
"Kaiman, of course! He's an Eight-Star Swordsman, and very close to Nine-Star. The sword master Rossa said Kaiman would definitely reach Nine-Star within three years."
"I'm putting my money on Balto. He's a veteran Eight-Star. He can even hold his own against a Nine-Star."
...
The audience was excitedly discussing who would win. With no Nine-Star Swordsmen in this bracket, everyone assumed the victor would be one of the Eight-Stars.
At the same time, many eyes were drawn to Erza. Her striking scarlet hair and beautiful face, combined with her being one of the very few women in the competition, naturally attracted attention.
"And now, the preliminary round for Group B... BEGIN!"
GONG----!
The battle began instantly.
"Little chick! You can be the first one out!"
The men who had targeted Erza rushed in.
Splurch---!
A flash of steel. The few men who had charged her were instantly struck down. Erza then began to move through the crowd, attacking those around her. Almost no one could last more than a single exchange.
"That red-haired girl is incredible!"
Very quickly, most of the combatants were eliminated, leaving only Erza and the three Eight-Star Swordsmen. The four of them were locked in a chaotic brawl.
The battle was intense. All of them were master swordsmen, displaying their own powerful and exquisite techniques.
Erza herself was thrilled. She was right to join this tournament. The chance to cross blades with so many masters was an incredible opportunity to improve her own sword skills.
The other three swordsmen realized this as well. They wordlessly abandoned their own fights and ganged up on Erza. She didn't panic, instead holding her ground with a solid defense, calmly looking for an opening in her opponents' attacks.
Three-on-one, and they still couldn't break her defense. The three men grew anxious, and anxiety leads to mistakes.
Erza seized an opening, felling one of them with a single strike. She then returned to her solid defense against the remaining two.
Gradually, she became familiar with their sword styles.
Pfft!
Another one was defeated.
Against the final opponent, Erza took her time, and in the end, defeated him as well.
"It's over! The winner is... Erza Scarlet!!"
"Amazing! It's unbelievable that such a beautiful woman also possesses such powerful swordsmanship!"
"Faced with a three-on-one assault from Eight-Star Swordsmen, she held her ground and defeated them all! How incredible! Are we about to witness the birth of a female Nine-Star Swordsman?! Let's hear it for Erza!"
"ERZA! ERZA! ERZA!"
"Lady Erza! You're so cool!"
Many of the young women in the stands were completely captivated by Erza's heroic display. The men in the crowd, all of whom had some knowledge of swordsmanship, were just as impressed. Even though Erza hadn't used any flashy moves, the more basic the technique, the more it revealed a person's true level of skill.
From the contestant stands, Cray watched Erza's performance, rubbing his chin as he stared at her magnified image on the screen. "Now that... is a fine woman."
In the waiting room, many of the contestants who had seen Erza's strength now felt sorry for the fool who had harassed her earlier. He'd dared to mess with a Nine-Star-level swordswoman... if they hadn't been in the waiting room, he'd be dead by now.
The Nine-Star Swordsman, Arthur, frowned. "Erza... could it be that Erza?"
Back in the royal palace.
A giant magical projection screen was displayed before the king.
"Just as I thought. The sword skill needed to slay a Five-Star beast in one blow could not be simple." The king smiled as he watched Erza's performance. And this was just her swordsmanship. He had already received files on both her and Ren.
The two files were sitting on the table in front of him.
Erza Scarlet: S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail. Alias: Titania (Fairy Queen). Specializes in Requip magic, allowing her to summon various armors and weapons to drastically increase her attack, defense, and physical abilities.
Ren: New mage of Fairy Tail. No alias. Combat Record: Single-handedly eliminated the Phantom Marauders, led by the 'King of Assassins,' Camille.
Back in the arena, Ren smiled at the screen. "That's Erza for you."
"Next up, Group C! Contestants, please enter the arena!"
"ARTHUR! ARTHUR! ARTHUR!!"
The moment the announcer finished, the crowd erupted into a deafening cheer.
"Wow, he's popular," Ren said, startled by the noise.
Arthur stood up and walked toward the entrance. When he appeared, the entire stadium began to chant his name.
Ren turned to the person next to him. "Isn't he also a Nine-Star Swordsman? How is he so much more popular than the last one?"
The man he asked looked at him like he was crazy. "You don't know Arthur? The other Nine-Stars are Nine-Star because that's what their strength is. Arthur is Nine-Star because the ranking stops at nine. He is the strongest Nine-Star Swordsman."
This time, all the contestants who entered the ring didn't look at each other. Their eyes were all focused on Arthur. They understood that if they couldn't defeat him, they had no hope of winning.
"And now, the preliminary round for Group C... BEGIN!"
GONG----!
The third battle began.
"Get him!"
The instant the match started, every single contestant on the field charged at Arthur.
"Flash of Light!"
Arthur's sword glowed with a golden light. As he lunged forward, a tide of golden sword-beams surged from his blade, washing over the crowd.
"Gwaaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaaaah!"
All the contestants in the arena tried their best to block the attack, but it was too dense, too fast. In an instant, every single person was on the ground. With one attack, he had defeated all one hundred of his opponents.
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