两男一女的双龙挺进

"Please, his cockiness is irritating me already."

A series of chaotic voices all talking at once filled Nox\'s mind. These voices belonged to none other than Fluffington and Thirteen. Their collective voice was enough to make one go mad, but Nox had long gotten used to it; he could even shut them up if he wished to, and that was what he did.

The attention-splitting training he had with his master Eve enabled him to completely shut the voices in his head.

\'Not now, I need to beat him myself,\' Nox convinced himself, eyes burning with determination.

He glanced to the side, staring at Wendy, Nyx, Rab, and Cole. He had earlier instructed them to give him and Hendrix some space, and although they were reluctant at first, they eventually listened to him.

"They\'re still too close," Nox muttered to himself as a brief gleam of worry flashed through his mind. Their eyes were fierce, and it seemed as though they were telling Nox that they\'d jump into the fight if things escalated.

He sighed helplessly, then returned his gaze to Hendrix\'s masked face, which was still shrouded. His white hair was slick with rain; his arms were now covered by black jagged gauntlets with golden details like runes inscribed all over them. Nox\'s gaze lingered on those gauntlets that were slowly giving off a silent hum and held his dagger firmly; the hilt briefly flashed with a sharp light.

Then, as if by prior agreement, following a resounding boom, both of them disappeared from their spots.

BOOOM!

A mini explosion occurred at the spot they previously stood, blasting chunks of the muddy earth, due to the rain, into the air.

"Here it is! The fight has officially begun!" Klein\'s voice boomed through the surroundings, causing everyone to clench the arms of their seats, eyes widened with nervous expressions.

Both their bodies were a blur of motion, and within just a few seconds, the two met at the center and clashed! A loud explosion rang out as they began to trade blows. Nox\'s eyes were fierce as his daggers flashed like lightning in a cold night through the air, targeting vital parts of Hendrix\'s body.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

"Nice, very nice!" Hendrix laughed as gold and white flashes clashed repeatedly in the air as his gauntlets met each of Nox\'s slashes, as if he could see some seconds into the future. The two were clashing at such astonishing speed that Nyx and the others could vaguely follow what was happening.

The only thing that they saw and heard were several white and golden flashes that illuminated the mysterious realm due to the roaring dark clouds above them.

"I can\'t see a thing!" Cole couldn\'t help but squint his eyes.

"Is Nox winning?" Rab asked.

Wendy shook her head. Because she was at a much higher level than the other two, her eyesight was slightly better; as such, she could see more clearly compared to the others. Without taking her gaze off the fight, she said in a dark voice, "They\'re evenly matched for now."

"It\'s as if they\'re both testing each other," Nyx commented, flicking a strand of wet hair that had stuck to her face behind her ears. Then she walked forward with eyes filled with worry as she added, "But that would soon change."

As if on cue, the two increased the tempo of their fight, and the sounds of metal clashing against each other reverberated. Every swing from Nox was faster than the last, building momentum until his attacks became literally a hurricane; however, Hendrix\'s gauntlets glowed even more fiercely as he deflected each and every attack.

Nox felt his muscles burn as he tightened his grasp on the hilt of his weapon. He was beginning to get irritated because of Hendrix\'s fast reflexes, but he calmed the anger as soon as it appeared. He channeled that anger into his slash, making the air sizzle as the bowling wind echoed.

Golden and white flashes appeared in Nathan\'s eyes as he watched the scene intensely, without looking away even for a split second. Though he didn\'t show it on his face, his heart was beating quite loudly; in contrast, the duke sat calmly watching the fight with a slight smirk on his face.

"I can\'t watch this!" Someone from the Cromwell duchy couldn\'t help but exclaim as he turned his face from the fight.

"I can\'t believe this! Nox is truly on par with young master Hendrix," another said with an incredulous look on his face. Nox and Hendrix were moving and exchanging blows at the same speed! A mini-explosion rocked the mysterious realm whenever they met.

CLANG! CLANG!

Though the fight was taking place inside the mysterious realm, the intensity of their clashes caused even the massive magical screen to flicker as if it would go off!

Hearing that, some Amstrong citizens sneered from their side. "On par?" That person clicked his tongue in disdain as he pointed out, "If you noticed, young master Hendrix has yet to make any attack; the bumpkin is the one exhausting his strength."

"True, you\'re right." The eyes of the person who spoke first lit up. "Hahahaha, how was I so blind to see this? The young master probably wants to drain the bumpkin of all his stamina first."

Whether it was done purposely or a coincidence, the Cromwells and the Amstrongs were placed side by side. There had already been a few verbal altercations between both sides since the fight started, but it had not escalated to fights. As they heard the words of the Amstrong Duchy, unease began to spread in the hearts of the Cromwells.

If this was Hendrix\'s plan from the start, then... then the fight wouldn\'t be as easy as they thought.

Inside the mysterious realm, things were getting more heated, and the rain had also become more intense. A trail of sharp white light shimmered in the air, splitting a drop of rain apart. Nox\'s narrowed as he saw the line of slash heading toward Hendrix\'s throat.

Nox\'s dark eyes glowed intensely. \'This is it!!!\' he screamed internally as he saw the dagger biting into Hendrix\'s throat.

However...

\'W-what?\' Nox\'s eyes shrank a little as he saw Hendrix spin and twist his head awkwardly in a way that shouldn\'t even be possible for humans, evading the vicious swing. Sidestepping, he didn\'t waste even a second and followed up with an attack of his own.

BANG!

Nox staggered back as Hendrix\'s gauntlet slammed into his face, forcing him a couple of steps back, rainwater splashing beneath his feet.

"Now, it\'s my turn to attack!" Hendrix growled as he charged in.

"The tables have changed; Hendrix has finally decided to make his move," Klein announced, excitement tingling in his voice, and immediately an uproar arose through the crowd, causing their collective heartbeats to speed up by a notch.

While the Cromwells had ashen expressions on their faces, the Amstrongs were livid.

"Hahahaha, I can feel it! The bumpkin is about to experience a whole world of pain!" one of them laughed as he saw the dazed expression on Nox\'s face upon being caught off guard.

At the Amstrong stand, in a designated area, the Amstrong siblings stared at the unfolding fight with dark expressions on their faces. Their faces, which had been injured badly just a couple of seconds ago, had now regained their previous radiant look. This was another effect of the mysterious realm.

All injuries and pain were only temporary. Immediately upon exit, they returned to the state they had been in when they had entered the mysterious realm.

"He\'s done for," the first brother, Adam, muttered under his breath as he saw the concussive shockwave bursting outward from Hendrix\'s body. He knew this action too well; after all, he had been a victim of it once in the past, and the memories of it hadn\'t been pleasant at all.

"So bad, for some reason, I want that Nox to win this fight," the third sister commented.

"You\'re not the only one," the second brother growled with bloodshot eyes. "I hope he loses so that father would finally see that he isn\'t anything special."

"We all want him to lose," the fourth brother added, unpleasant memories surfacing. Of all the Armstrongs, he had suffered the most at Hendrix\'s hands.

Inside the mysterious realm...

"Damn it!" Nox cursed, his vision spinning. It felt like a brick had hit his face. For a moment, he saw two Hendrixes, though it was just the disorienting effect of the attack. Shaking his head, he forced the dizziness away.

When clarity returned, Nox felt suffocated. A powerful forcefield slammed into him, making his body weaken slightly. Hendrix\'s body hummed with golden light, the gauntlets glowing fiercely.

"What kind of weapon is that?" Nox wondered, confusion flickering across his face.

Dismissing the thought, he activated [Divine Velocity!]. A golden glow enveloped his body, and his dark eyes flashed with sharp light.

\'I\'ve learned his fighting pattern. With Divine Velocity, I can counter his attacks!\' Nox thought, clenching his fist.

He exploded forward.

But mid-step, his expression darkened as Hendrix slammed his gauntlets together, releasing another forcefield. The blast halted Nox\'s momentum.

"W-why can\'t I move?" Nox stammered, staring at Hendrix, who smirked.

"You\'d be a fool to think I ever underestimated you," Hendrix said, closing the distance. His voice dripped with confidence as he declared, "The same thing that happened five years ago will happen again today!"