Chapter 189: All Eyes on the South

Now that the sudden unscheduled speech was over, Uon looked at Samuel for permission to announce the beginning of the duel.

Samuel nodded once.

Uon, for the second time, looked at Talia, who also nodded. Then at Moon, who gave a thumbs-up.

Uon raised his hand high. "Now, the duel begins." He whipped his arm down and slid outside of the ring.

Under countless gazes, Moon stood against Talia.

Talia took her stance, one foot in the lead, with one hand open like a blade brandished forward. Her other hand was made into a fist, rotated externally while facing the ground.

Moon studied her stance for a moment before giving it up. He had not the slightest clue about it.

Instead, he leaned forward and dashed at her.

He wasn’t going to linger and try to assess his opponent with his eyes. Though he was told to be cautious around her, he had not the slightest intention of doing it in a cowardly way.

Moon wasn’t someone anyone looked down on; no one said he was being hasty or stupid for his sudden dash at Talia.

Instead, everyone watched in anticipation.

Watching his stride, Talia lowered her stance slightly; she was also being challenged in a way she was unfamiliar with.

Growing up in a great faction of the Tower, she was exposed to countless combat styles and was taught the concepts and rules behind each of them.

This was the exact problem she was facing now.

Moon threw a punch at her face without attempting to slow his stride.

Talia’s hand at the front rotated inwardly, moving in swiftly to intercept the incoming attack, except—

Moon lowered his body, bringing the attack momentum to her lower abdomen instead.

Talia’s trained body and senses caught the sudden change; she raised her knee to meet Moon’s face first.

Moon extended his other hand, shielding his face before sliding to Talia’s side. His punching hand, having long since lost momentum, was whipped from his awkward stance toward Talia’s face.

A motion that was less of a punch and more of a stab.

Meanwhile, his hand on Talia’s knee pushed with the weight of his body and what was left of his momentum to knock her off balance before his leg touched the ground again.

Little did he know—

"Haa!" Talia shouted all of a sudden.

Her leg resisted Moon’s attempt, rooting itself back into the ground while her hands successfully guarded her face.

In that instant, she reached out, trying to hold onto Moon’s arm. But Moon was more cautious now than before. He managed to slip past before she could lock onto his arm.

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you eat growing up?" he asked all of a sudden. "The hell is with these stats?"

Talia smiled but didn’t answer.

In the audience, Lucen asked, "Did you warn him?"

"I only told him these guys eat good stuff since birth." Ed shrugged.

Lucen nodded in agreement. "That’s one of the aspects she has an advantage in, not all of them," he added.

"He wasn’t that interested in knowing more; he thinks that intel is for the weak," Ed said helplessly. Moon didn’t necessarily refuse intel, but he would refuse to win a duel by exploitation.

"That makes all of us weak, without exception." Lucen didn’t disagree.

While they were talking, Talia took a step closer, one after another.

Moon didn’t wait for her; he once again dashed forward. He had seen a glimpse of what Ed mentioned, and that was enough for him to decide how to proceed with this fight.

Once they were within range, Talia took the initiative with a punch—

Ding!

Moon didn’t need Fate Alert to remind him; just the speed and the pressure he felt from her told him enough.

Moon lifted one foot off the ground and allowed the momentum to carry him away as he rotated his body away from the trajectory.

Talia took a single step, shifting her body in an instant toward Moon.

Another step brought him within her range as she threw another punch, straight and perfect.

Without a second to weigh his options, Moon trusted his trained instincts from countless fights; whether he survived them or ended up dying, he squatted.

The way was down, and down he put force into his toes to channel it through the rest of his legs for an attack, yet Talia didn’t allow it.

Her leg kicked in a horizontal motion, targeting his head accurately.

Moon lowered his head again, allowing the kick to pass, but as soon as he looked up again, another forward kick was coming for his face.

Moon couldn’t help smiling at that moment.

And then—

"WOOOOOOOO!~"

Cheers erupted across the four branches, along with the fifth branch, the private branch of Lucen himself.

The central branch.

Now that all eyes were on the south, the majority couldn’t help jumping to their feet at the suddenness.

Moon, who was cornered, overwhelmed by the disparity in stats, suddenly pulled a comeback.

The moment Talia’s kick passed over his shoulder, his hands clasped onto it, and he stood in a wild attempt to throw her off balance.

Moon instantly threw side punches aimed at Talia’s knee and thigh, but even this failed to bring her down.

With one leg stretched over the shoulder of Moon, who was standing now, her other leg hopped nimbly and rhythmically.

"Damn drugs!" Moon cursed at the sudden twist, but he didn’t let go of the leg.

Moon kept moving, throwing punches at Talia’s face that she managed to block effortlessly, taking advantage of the moment to punch her knee and thigh again.

He realized that the leg was giving her a perfect aim at him if he tried to evade to the sides; thus, he had no choice but to evade downwards.

And downward was bound to slowly give her the advantage again.

Moon still refused to let go of the leg; it was the only advantage he currently had. He also realized that his punches weren’t doing the intended amount of damage to the leg.

Now, Moon and Talia were locked in a weird dance.

Moon was slowly being forced back, to the point that his arms could no longer reach Talia’s face once she leaned slightly back.

She no longer needed a moment to block him.

She was also now able to exert more of her strength and weight on his body... Moon was starting to look more tired as time ticked by.

With every passing second, everyone who once cheered was falling silent. Everyone was starting to believe the discrepancy between their stats was impossible to overcome.

"Edmond, what’s with him?" Lucen said. "Isn’t it about time he tried something else?" he asked.

Ed waved his hand dismissively. "You don’t need to worry."

"Why would I be worried?" Lucen retorted. "You’re the one who should be worried."

"Then worry about yourself." Ed pointed at Moon below. "This isn’t enough for me to worry."

Lucen looked closely at Moon, waiting for Ed’s source of confidence to show itself.

Further away in the Western branch, Enzo and Korr were watching.

Enzo was standing, looking as excited as ever whenever a fight involving Moon came up. Korr was seated next to him, looking wide-eyed.

"Can you see it, Korr?" Enzo said. "We get trained by the best, offered so many things you can’t understand, to be invincible by the time we become ascenders."

Korr breathed heavily. "Sir Enzo, he’s stronger this time." He exhaled heavily. "Stronger than last round," he said.