A Shield Like an Oncoming Wall

Thanks to her spectacular victory in the first round, plenty of voices in the audience were cheering for Azu.

The image of a young girl toppling a grown man was always a crowd-pleaser.

More and more spectators wanted to see Azu win again.

As proof, despite still being the predicted underdog, her odds had dropped sharply from the first round and now sat at 3-to-1.

Banzan's odds, meanwhile, were 1.2-to-1.

Most spectators expected Banzan to win, but a fair number were putting their faith in Azu.

Master, naturally, was cheering for Azu too.

He'd bet another gold coin on her this time.

The matchup was rough, admittedly.

He figured it'd be tough, but the first round had already paid out big, so he placed the bet as a show of support.

The arena's energy was already surging despite this being only the opening match of the second round.

Azu attacked again and again, and each time the massive shield deflected her.

Counterattacks followed without fail.

Azu could dodge the counterstrikes she knew were coming.

But a war of attrition wasn't ideal.

Banzan was dug in on defense while Azu had no choice but to attack; the difference in stamina drain was obvious.

Factor in the raw gap in endurance, and if she couldn't break through somewhere, Azu would tire out and lose.

Against a grown male warrior, that was simply the reality Azu faced.

Normal sword strikes weren't working.

Not from the front. Not from the side.

That impregnable shield was beyond anything in Azu's arsenal to breach.

Azu steadied her breathing, which had grown slightly ragged.

The moment she stopped moving, Banzan began inching forward.

That pressure was what wore away at Azu's mental composure.

She still had stamina to spare.

Against Etoroki, her attacks had at least landed even if the damage was healed, so she'd just had to keep moving.

But this was different. She had to think.

Azu raised her sword again.

The stance she'd learned by watching the Ash King.

What would the Ash King do? The thought crossed her mind for an instant, but no answer came.

One thing was certain, though: unlike her, he'd have a way through.

Azu moved before Banzan could close the distance again.

Her legs weren't tired yet.

Banzan thrust his shield forward.

To Azu, it looked like a wall she'd never get past, no matter what she tried.

Her thrusts were deflected. Her slashes were blocked.

She timed his spear counterattack and moved to his right side, the weapon hand, looking for an opening.

In the instant he attacked, the shield pulled back and his right side was briefly exposed as he extended his weapon.

In that moment, Azu circled to Banzan's right.

For just a split second, she saw Banzan without his shield's protection.

A sound idea, but the vulnerability of the unshielded right side was a lifelong challenge for any Spartian warrior.

The moment Azu circled right, Banzan pivoted clockwise on his left foot.

He only needed to turn his body; Azu, trying to circle around, was slower.

The veteran warrior had already anticipated her move.

Banzan's shield appeared directly in front of Azu. Closer than ever before.

She was mid-attack and couldn't dodge in time.

Whether she leapt back, left, or right, Banzan could adjust and connect from this distance.

A direct hit would knock her out cold, or send her out of bounds.

Even if she avoided those, she wouldn't be able to stand properly.

She was going to lose. The image of her own defeat flashed crystal-clear in Azu's mind.

At the same time, she imagined Master looking at her with cold eyes.

Proving her worth to Master. For Azu right now, that was everything.

Azu leapt on reflex.

But that alone wouldn't save her. She'd be hit before gaining enough height.

So she kicked the oncoming shield with both feet. Her body went perpendicular to it.

Banzan's tremendous force surged through the shield, pushing against Azu's legs.

Her body was shoved off the shield and sent flying through the air.

Even touching down wasn't enough to arrest her momentum.

Azu deliberately let herself fall and rolled across the ground, bleeding off speed as she went.

Right at the edge of the ring, she stabbed her sword into the ground and forced herself to a stop.

She scrambled to her feet.

Covered in dirt, but no serious damage.

No time to catch her breath, though.

Banzan was already charging with his shield raised.

She wrenched the sword free from the ground.

From the stands, she could hear screams and cheers from spectators who'd bet on her.

But Azu could no longer hear any of it.

She replayed what had just happened.

The oncoming shield had been like a wall.

A wall she couldn't break through with her own strength.

Right. To Azu, the shield was nothing more than a wall.

And if it was a wall, what should she do?

The answer was clear.

Azu sprinted toward the charging Banzan.

From the audience's perspective, it must have looked like a suicidal rush.

They could easily imagine what was about to happen, and screams rang out.

Banzan's full-speed shield charge, all that mass and momentum behind it.

The kind that could mow down several monsters at once. A clean hit would kill any soldier from another nation.

But Azu no longer felt any pressure from that attack.

Because she understood what to do now.

Azu kicked off the ground hard with her left foot, launched herself into the air, and drove her right foot at a point just above the center of the shield.

The instant her right foot touched the shield, a violent impact shot through her.

If she took the full force, her leg would break.

So she bent her knee and pulled her right foot back.

The shield was circular when seen from the front. Kicking its upper half sent the force upward.

Just as Azu had predicted, she vaulted over Banzan.

She bled off the transmitted momentum with a spin.

At the same time, she channeled the centrifugal force into her sword.

At the very moment her spin accelerated, Banzan passed beneath her.

She extended her right hand holding the sword. Powered by the spin, her strike arced downward toward Banzan.

Their eyes met.

No matter how powerful a Spartian warrior might be, no one could stop a full-speed charge on a dime.

He tried to force himself to halt and raise the shield overhead, but Azu's blade arrived first.

She poured every ounce of magic into the Sealed Sword Grungaus.

As they crossed paths, Azu's strike finally carved deep into Banzan's left shoulder.