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!"

Carter's chest. The timing

been able to react in

at him, he slammed his hand onto the ground and launched

a hole. As Carter regained his footing, he utilized the spear shaft as a foothold and

straight for Brandon's

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

the sight. Their faces were

happening? Why is Brandon being

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

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

predictions have never failed us. Let's not freak out and just watch

performance left the

expected Brandon's skill to secure an

did he end up at a disadvantage after just a few

do you think there's something unexpected going on in this match?" Ruby asked nervously from

winning would bring a huge reward, but she also realized

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

being human. So, he figured

was confident that defeating Carter would be a breeze once Brandon got

Carter, but their recent exchange showed him that Carter was just

might slip away if he

tougher than I thought," Brandon

a piercing gaze. "I underestimated you earlier and almost paid the price. But I won't

looking forward to it,"

back his spear before thrusting