Chapter 15: Chapter 15 Completely Overwhelming and Gaining Adoration
"Damn you, die!" Nono erupted in anger, swinging her greatsword down in a heavy strike.
"Too slow." Lu Hong, already a half-orc and now promoted to Level 7 warrior, saw numerous flaws in Nono's attack as his physical abilities had further strengthened.
Lu Hong lifted his greatsword to block Nono's strike, then countered with a sweeping blow.
Nono, lacking Lu Hong's seasoned experience, hastily used her shield to block, managing to protect herself but was forced to retreat several steps.
"Strength Blessing! King's Blessing! Blade Blessing! Glorious Armor!" Nono's sequence of four skills enveloped her in pure white radiance, making her look exceptionally sacred against the Holy Light, the epitome of a strong female lead across the academy.
"All these miscellaneous skills are useless," Lu Hong taunted as he looked at Nono, "Come on, last time I taught you skills, today I'll show you how to battle."
"Brother?" Nono felt her nose twitch in irritation. Who was he to call himself her brother? She had respected him enough by treating him as a friend, and now he wanted to step over her face?
"Nono, don't be impulsive. He's only a Level 1 warrior, don't hurt him too much!" Fidel was still advising from the side but didn't step forward to intervene. Knowing Nono's temper since childhood, no one could easily hold her back. Approaching now would just get him hit, and Fidel intelligently kept his distance. Besides, with Lord Prometheus around and having heard Prolusius call Lu Hong 'Master', the relationship wasn't simple, so Fidel was quite confident about Lu Hong's safety, though as for getting beaten up... Let Nono worry for a few days, a beating might do her some good.
"Right, brother," Lu Hong affirmed again, gesturing with a hook of his finger for Nono to attack, "Don't hold back; you can't defeat me."
"Fine, then let me see what you've done these days to become so arrogant!" Nono shouted as she charged again, faster now with the aid of Strength Blessing, but to Lu Hong, it was barely sufficient.
Nono's sword and shield were in unison, a skillful assault following a slash and shield bash.
Ordinary opponents might have been caught off guard, but Lu Hong, the War God of the heavenly realms game, was different.
"Opening!" He smiled, stepped back half a step to dodge the greatsword's edge, and then flicked his sword to knock Nono's shield upwards.
Fist Strike! As Nono was pulled by the War Challenge's force in her shield, Lu Hong stepped forward and greeted her face with a heavy punch, which Nono quickly countered by pulling back her shield to defend.
"Actually, my fist strike couldn't have broken through your Glorious Armor; you're too cautious." Lu Hong taunted, his movements not stopping as he withdrew his feint punch and aimed a breaking blow with both hands wielding his sword horizontally.
"No!" Nono gasped, her reaction lagging. She could only watch as Lu Hong's greatsword glowed with yellow Fighting Spirit, striking her shield fiercely. In an instant, Nono's greatshield shattered, and the sword relentlessly continued and collided with her slender waist.
Her pure white Glorious Armor burst apart, but fortunately, Lu Hong perfectly controlled his strength, not wounding Nono. However, she was still tossed away by the inertia of the strike.
"I'm done!" Fidel's jaw dropped. Was this a Level 1 warrior? Seeing Lu Hong's Fighting Spirit was evidently Level 7, he was clearly dominating over Nono, despite being one level lower. At this moment, Fidel felt as if he was drugged; even a supreme genius couldn't jump six levels in a few days, let alone have such extraordinary combat experience. Was this some high-level player reincarnated?
Just as Fidel was astounded by Lu Hong's awesomeness, the subsequent actions only increased his admiration.
Nono had been suppressed from the start until she was thrown out in just tens of seconds, yet her mindset had undergone a shocking transformation. In her eyes were profound sadness, never expecting the man she painstakingly cared for three months would hurt her so ruthlessly.
"Are you crying? I'm sorry." Lu Hong gently wiped the tear from Nono's eye, tenderly speaking.
Only then did Nono realize that she was lying in Lu Hong's arms, feeling a man's presence, her face suddenly flushed red: "You... you jerk!"
Hearing Nono's soft grunt in Lu Hong's arms, Fidel knew that her anger had completely dissipated, so he quickly stepped forward and knelt to Lu Hong: "Brother Casanova, please accept my respect!"
"Low-profile, low-profile," Lu Hong responded to Fidel's words while gently looking at Nono.
"You hooligan, let go of me!" Nono struggled to free herself from Lu Hong's embrace, her heart still pounding wildly.
"The other day, I've been diligently cultivating, and I'm sorry I forgot to inform you—it's my fault," Lu Hong said with a remorseful look.
"Hmph!" Nono had already forgiven him by then. From the recent fight, even a fool could see Lu Hong's strength, which had improved faster than a rocket: "It was Lord Prolusius who helped you, right? Please inform us friends next time you plan to disappear!"
"Yes, yes, I promise it won't happen again," Lu Hong said with a grin.
Nono rolled her eyes at him irritably: "I'll let it slide this time."
Speaking of which, Nono saw Fidel still lying on the ground in admiration and couldn't help but kick him: "Fidel, what are you still doing down there?!"
"Ah? Oh, oh, please take me as your disciple, Brother Tu!" Fidel called out. He had never seen anyone handle an enraged Nono so effortlessly before. If someone could do that, he must certainly be a master of relationships! Fidel felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and had to seize it—for his own happiness!
"Ah, come on Fidel, get up, enough about being a master of relationships, that's all basic stuff, forget about it," Lu Hong said, pulling Fidel up with a smile: "Is there something you need my help with? Just say the word."
"There is... well, there is something. I was hoping Master could offer me some guidance," Fidel said bashfully, clearly embarrassed.
"You two save your chat for later!" Nono's expression darkened; she knew what Fidel was referring to, but discussing such matters in her presence was inappropriate.
"Alright, we'll talk about it later, Master," Fidel said, having received a reassuring nod from Lu Hong.
By then, Lu Hong's attention had turned to Nono, "Do you have something you want to discuss?"
"Of course, I was worried about you before, but not anymore," Nono huffed.
"What is it? Is someone challenging me? Watch me crush them in minutes!" Lu Hong said fiercely.
"It's not a challenge, though I wish it were. That way, I could cripple anyone who dares challenge you, and they wouldn't pose any threat," Nono continued, rolling her eyes: "It's the annual Professionals Brawl at Kains Academy."
"What? I've never heard of it," Lu Hong replied, obviously clueless since he had only recently joined the academy.
"The Professionals Brawl at Kains Academy is an annual highlight, a grand event held every year where all careers in the academy engage in cyclic PK to crown the king of professions using points," Nono explained patiently: "Normally, it wouldn't involve you, as the academy didn't even know you were a warrior. But thanks to my teacher's blabbermouth, during a meeting, he pointed out there's still a student warrior, so the warrior profession must participate this time."
"Damn it!" Lu Hong cursed, not impressed: "This old man sure knows what he's doing!"
"???" Who am I? What did I just hear? Both Nono and Fidel were confused by Lu Hong's comment, believing he should be blaming the teacher for bringing it up, not praising him for being understanding?
"Come on, Nono, quickly tell me what this brawl is all about," Lu Hong rubbed his hands together, clearly excited, as the warrior profession's glamorous debut was coming!
"You're not thinking of participating, are you?" Nono guessed Lu Hong's intentions and widened her eyes: "Please, you're just a warrior, even if you're now at Level 7. Those students about to graduate can squash you in a minute!"
"What level are the students about to graduate?" Lu Hong asked, dissatisfied.
"Level 11. At Kains Academy, students who reach Level 12 are awarded a graduation medal and recommended for jobs elsewhere or allowed to develop on their own," Nono said, rolling her eyes at Lu Hong.
"Well, you better worry about me," Lu Hong said. Level 11, that's pretty high. If he were at Levels 9 or 10, he might confidently claim a win, but the gap in levels is a tough barrier to overcome. Despite Lu Hong easily defeating Nono, facing long-range Mages, priests, and other careers can be quite tricky.
"I'm not worried about you at all. They'd be doing me a favor if they beat you to death!"