Chapter 262 The Paladin Dominates
On the day the injured mecha warriors laid down their weapons and mechas with much unwillingness and in tears, Scarlet was doing something else. One of her resolutions had been to get out of the division one fights before winter ended but somehow, she never managed to get around to it. She had no idea just how busy the winter would keep her.
Tonight was the final fight, after this night, the mecha fights would take a break for a month and resume in the second month of the year. The companies and the committee in charge of the fights claimed that this move was because they wanted the fighters to rest after three months of exhausting challenges but she knew that it had to be a strategic move on their part. Most of their clients that participated in betting came out of winter poorer than when they went in.
By taking a break, it allowed some of them to work, earn some money and return to watch the fights again with heavier pockets.
She decided on that this night, while mecha warriors were returning to their homes, she would get it over and done with.
Her appearance in the virtual world for the fight was somewhat of a surprise to the fighters and the viewers. Many thought that having not appeared in the virtual fighting world for many weeks meant that perhaps the hound had given up. No amount of trolling or name calling from the paladins on star net had received a response from the hound. And now suddenly, the hound had appeared and she was sitting in her chair in the special area reserved for the top ten. On top of that the halo above her chair was lit green, it was a go. This meant she was open for a challenge, anyone who wanted could challenge her.
"The hound is here, ladies and gentlemen. In a surprising twist of events, the hound might be here to challenge the number one paladin on the champions roll."
The cameras turned to the hound, viewers cheered and yelled while the paladin clenched his jaw. Scarlet however remained completely unmoved, she neither waved nor smiled. Everyone knew why she was here but before she could challenge the paladin, he surprised her by challenging her.
"Hmph." She scoffed. 'Was he trying to prove that he was confident, ready or brave?"
She accepted the challenge and leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. All she had to do now was watch two fights before her turn came.
"Hey, rich royal, why didn't you tell me that you would be here?" Alice tapped her over the shoulder from the back and asked.
Her voice was loud because the noise in the virtual arena was also loud.
Scarlet turned around and said to the woman, "I am going to be busy in the upcoming weeks and I won't have time for the fights. I figured that this would be the last time I would participate in the fights for a while."
Alice knew what Scarlet meant so she laughed and winked, and then she said, "I am going to bet some money on you rich royal, please don't let me down."
Shouting over the loud noise, Scarlet asked Alice, "Aren't we forbidden from betting money on the fights?"
Alice shook her head and replied, "Only on ourselves but we can bet on other fights, I am going back to my seat, good luck."
"Thank you." Scarlet said with a smile. Of all the fighters here, only Alice had so much as smiled at her. The rest gazed at her with curiosity and others contempt before looking away from her.
Scarlet did not let their gazes bother her, she kept her eyes on the ring, watching the other fighters and soon, it was he turn.
She and the paladin faced each other in the ring, in the midst of loud deafening noise and cheers. This paladin had no direction attached to his name and he was silent, saying nothing as if he was mute. He simply watched her like a wolf sizing up its possible prey, trying to assess if the fight would end with him or her surrendering. Who would devour the other, she wondered.
His choice of weapon was similar to that of the other paladins, a staff and yet it was different because it was clearly made of metal, it was segmented and it was colored gold. What was unusual today was the helmet on the paladin's head which she guessed was a shield of sorts meant to protect his mind from her mind manipulation skills.
No matter what the host said to the audience to hype them up or asked either of them to get them to say something that would rile the crowd, both maintained perfect silence.
The red flag dropped and she leaped up immediately, wielding the scythe which was her weapon of choice tonight. The paladin planted his staff firmly in the ring and swung around, using it like an anchor and he released a burst of energy which sent her flying away.
She landed on the ground like a cat, fumbling to maintain its stability. Of course, she knew that number one would not be easy to beat; there was a reason why he was the top dog of the division after all.
She stood up and smiled as she thought of which strategy to employ but as she thought, the paladin was already on her, his large meaty fist with knuckle rings came down on her face. But she was quick too, and she avoided the punch by tilting her face to the right and then wrapping her legs around his neck. She injected all of her strength into her legs choking him so that he would have difficulty breathing and surrender.
The paladin was physically stronger and he leveraged his strength, lifting himself and her up at the same time, then, he threw her into the air and followed that up with a power kick which sent her flying again.
The audience was excited, and they yelled loudly as if they had not seen this much action all night.
In the seats, was a teenage boy who complained once that Scarlet's fight was too short. He was jumping up and down with excitement.
The host of the fight was frothing at the mouth as he explained the moves. Even the organizers of the fight who had simply showed up because they were worried about Scarlet's presence were happy.
"If I had known that she was this weak I would have fought her." One of the top ten said.
"Hey, crazy Jerry, do you regret surrendering to her?" another asked.
"I don't think it's that simple, he has thrown her twice but not once has her body touched the ground as a result of the force. And look at that, she has made four slices into his armor with that axe but her own is untouched." Alice explained.
"But he is dominating her physically; we all know that he is the strongest in a physical fight." Crazy Jerry said.
"It's not the one who dominates the most in these fights that is the final victor, it's the one who gets their opponent to surrender first or sends them into oblivion that wins." Alice reminded them.