An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

Carter smirked while looking at the spear thrust toward him. With a swift motion, he faced the attack head-on with his sword.

Their weapons collided and created a shockwave of energy.

The waves rippled outward like a tide, and it caused their robes to flutter and their hair to stand on end.

Both combatants stood firm. They were locked in a tense standoff as neither was willing to back down.

Brandon gripped his spear with both hands as he channeled his true energy while he tried to overpower Carter with his strength. But no matter how hard Brandon pushed, Carter held his ground.

The spear clashed with the sword, and the two were locked in a fierce struggle.

The air crackled with bursts of energy as their weapons strained against each other.

"Hmm?" Brandon's brow furrowed with surprise.

As one of the top ten talents of the Celestial Alliance, he should have easily dominated his opponent in Group C. However, he hadn't anticipated this relatively unknown figure to match him so evenly.

"Celestial Glide!"

As Brandon realized he was losing ground, he swung his long spear and knocked Carter's sword aside. Then, he swiftly unleashed a fierce sweeping strike aimed at Carter's waist.

In the end, every inch mattered. The long spear's advantage lay in its wide-reaching attack range. It could strike before the opponent's sword closed in.

Brandon had made up his mind. Since he could not overpower Carter with sheer strength, he would rely on his marksmanship and extensive combat experience to defeat Carter.

As the spear swept toward him, Carter leaned back. He narrowly dodged the attack like a falling plank.

"Serpentine Evasion!"

toward Carter's chest. The timing was perfect, just as Carter's body was

been able to react in time

came at him, he slammed his hand

created a hole. As Carter regained his footing, he utilized the spear shaft

sword aimed straight

he instinctively took two steps back. Using his spear, he deflected Carter's attack. However, the force of the blow sent him

at the sight. Their

shit! What's happening? Why is Brandon

His opponent is just a nobody. Brandon can't be losing, right? I've

just begun. Brandon hasn't shown his true strength yet. I believe he'll turn the tide

failed us. Let's not freak out and just

performance left the gamblers

watched with bated breath. They had expected Brandon's skill to secure an easy

end up at a disadvantage after just a

this match?" Ruby asked

earlier. She knew that winning would bring a huge reward, but she also realized that losing would mean

a minor hiccup and won't affect the overall result," Miles

slip-ups are part of being human. So, he figured Brandon might have been a little careless

confident that defeating Carter would

Brandon's expression turned grave. At first, he had underestimated Carter, but their

that victory might slip away if he didn't

than I

"I underestimated you earlier and almost paid the price. But I won't make that

looking forward to it,"

He drew back his spear before thrusting