Chapter 262: Uhtred vs Zara (I)

Minutes later. Inside the most high-tier, most expensive arena array in Uhtred’s territory...

A small, elite group of elemental artificers were standing around the grand arena array in question, conducting deep studies into the inner workings of the System-purchased array.

These were the top-of-the-line crafting-type elementals among the ascenders Uhtred had brought back to his territory after the Trial of Ages.

They were the most loyal, thoroughly vetted ascenders among the many skilled personnel who had chosen to come under Uhtred’s banner. They understood Uhtred and his methods. On several occasions, they had gotten to see how brutal he could be with his enemies and how generous he could also be with those on the same side as him.

Most importantly, they understood the value of secrecy — specifically about matters related to Uhtred... things they had seen here in the Capitol of The Elite.

It was for this reason that they were allowed in here at all — within one of the most expensive structures, if not the most expensive, in the entire Capitol of The Elite.

It was a sparring arena purchased by Uhtred from the System side of the Multiversal Store. An arena worth a hefty 75,000 Multiversal Tokens. Its floor and barrier could withstand a battle between two peak Nascent Realm ascenders without sending the slightest of shockwaves outside the dome.

The elite artificers present had been given the opportunity to study the very expensive array and try to understand it so as to figure out ways to replicate and build locally-made Capitol of The Elite versions... even if inferior at the start.

However, just minutes ago, their study and experiments had to come to a halt.

Uhtred and Zara had arrived.

"Lord Uhtred and Miss Zara?" One of the older men whispered to his colleagues from the side as they all watched Uhtred and Zara come in and take to the arena to spar.

"This is the first I’ve ever seen them go at it against each other!" Another man whispered, this one much younger — similar in age to Uhtred.

Excitement was palpable in his voice, a sentiment shared among the dozen or so faces present.

Even though they were of different ages and backgrounds, it was still a thrilling sight to see the powerhouses who protected the lands they worked — the leaders whose banner they had chosen to follow — put on a display of pure might.

Of course, these people had seen Uhtred fight before. They had been in the Trial of Ages, after all, and were no strangers to violence.

Instead, the primary reason for their intense excitement was Zara’s presence. She was the number-two-ranked ascender on the entire planet, the only person remotely close to Uhtred in Levels

Getting to see powerhouses like them duke it out, even in a spar, was a spectacle that many around the world would willingly pay a stupendous amount of Multiversal Tokens to witness.

.

.

.

Inside the arena array...

"You’re not going to send them away?" Zara, who was standing directly opposite Uhtred inside the arena, asked.

Uhtred looked over his shoulder briefly, then chuckled. "Nah. I don’t really mind an audience."

"Oh, really?" Zara raised a brow, genuinely surprised. "Has something happened to our Uhtred or what? The Uhtred I know wouldn’t want anyone to see what they’re not supposed to."

Uhtred chuckled at that. He knew it was true anyway. Not just Zara, but also Diya, Dennis, and even Minh Quan — his core crew who had known him more personally than anyone else since the integration began — had definitely noticed that he never really liked to reveal anything about his class or abilities... ever.

The fact that he was allowing these artificers to stand by and watch his fight immediately stood out to Zara.

"Like I said," Uhtred lowered himself into a fighting stance, a wild aura of danger beginning to radiate off him, "I don’t mind the audience."

"Alright then." Zara readied herself in turn, her expression turning serious. "The best way to explain my magic to you is to show you... but I’m warning you, Uhtred, I’m not gonna hold back."

Uhtred grunted in response, but his focus was no longer on Zara’s words, just as her focus was no longer on his reply. For a moment, the world itself seemed to vanish, leaving behind nothing but Uhtred and Zara, their gazes locked on each other in absolute concentration.

A stray bead of sweat rolled down the side of Uhtred’s face, pooling at the curve of his chin. It hung there for a brief second before its weight became too heavy to hold on.

It dropped. And in an instant, Uhtred and Zara blurred into motion.

Uhtred activated Slipstream Stride immediately, not bothering to feel Zara out first. He knew how massive a threat she posed. That Singularity Sovereign class of hers was ridiculously difficult to deal with.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon her. He coated his fist in a dense layer of fire essence and struck her dead center before she could activate any spatial magic.

The weird, redirective layer that usually coated her body hadn’t even kicked into gear before he sent her flying toward the edge of the arena.

A look of utter surprise mixed with a pained grimace crossed Zara’s face as she rocketed backward.

Uhtred followed right after, giving her no room to breathe. He was relentless, landing a few more heavy blows before Zara’s redirective defense could kick in.

By that point, a thin line of blood was trailing down the corner of her mouth.

Fuck! I only got five hits in. I was hoping to get more before she activated that spell!

Slipstream Stride had allowed him to dominate the first brief second. He had capitalized on it, of course, but he had hoped to be able to do more. Now that Zara had activated that spell of hers, however, the tide of the fight had changed. He needed to come up with something to counter that spell, or else he was gonna have a very hard time landing a single hit.

Suddenly, a severe sense of danger flared in his mind, and he immediately flashed several steps away using Slipstream Stride.

Microseconds after he shifted, the space he had occupied just a moment prior was shredded violently. Deep spatial gashes — looking as though a rampant cosmic beast had clawed through reality — marred the arena floor.

Fuck! She’s pissed!

The look in Zara’s eyes had changed. Every last bit of her restraint had flown out the window. She was going all out now.

Uhtred moved continuously using Slipstream Stride. At this point, he couldn’t afford to remain in one spot for even a second. Zara continued to rain down strikes — some targeted at him whenever he slowed his pace, others sweeping randomly across the arena — all to try and take him down somehow.

However, he was still able to evade every strike, including the random ones.

Fucking hell! These strikes could actually kill me! Uhtred cursed internally as he sped around the arena.

On one hand, it was proof that Zara trusted in his ability to evade even these deadly strikes. She knew that without going all out, there was no way for her to keep up with his rapid movements.

But that was just it. It was only his movement that she couldn’t keep up with, and Uhtred was utterly displeased by that.

Right now, it looked as though he were the one in control, and Zara was just trying to keep up. But in reality, he was the one exerting the most effort, speeding around and trying to land attacks — all of which simply skidded off of Zara before they could land.

He was the one on the passive end here, and that needed to change.

Uhtred growled under his breath and decided to kick things up a notch. There were two levels of spells he could use here:

The first was his manifestation spells. He could use Inferno Violence to try and overwhelm Zara’s spatial redirection barrier with sheer magical might, but Inferno Violence needed a bit of time to activate.

In reality, it was only a second or two at most, but that was way too long at the pace of this battle.

Which left the second spell, the one he considered the most powerful in his arsenal: The Unified Elemental Strike.

Just like Inferno Violence, it also needed a bit of time to build up properly. To pose a lethal threat to someone like Zara, he needed to charge the Unified Elemental Strike for five to ten seconds at least.

But he wasn’t looking to kill Zara. He just needed to break through that spatial redirection barrier of hers. But for that, he would still need a second or two, at which point Zara’s attack was definitely going to land.

In that case—

Uhtred charged close to Zara with Slipstream Stride. He closed the distance till he was right up in her face. He could see the subtle changes in her eyes as she processed that he had come up close to her.

Even though she had a barrier protecting her, her brain still triggered a natural, instinctive response, forcing her body to prepare for an incoming strike.

This was the brief window Uhtred had hoped for: that short, natural reaction. He knew Zara would still react, but by the time her strike landed on him, his own strike would have charged up enough to pose a true threat to her redirection barrier.

It was a well-thought-out move...

However, Uhtred had made one grave miscalculation.