Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

499  The Phantom Fencer Versus The Red Fist

Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!

Sharp sounds and sparks filled the platform as Erik and Kuffnam endlessly clashed their blade and gauntlets, respectively. They move so fast that normal people could barely register their movements with their eyes. Each of their blows was both sharp and powerful. Although they had been in an intense battle for a few minutes, none of them had landed a serious blow, as their senses to counter one another's attacks were exceptional.

What they mostly did in the fight was pure talent and skills. They occasionally performed techniques and system skills. Although they sometimes executed their own styles and techniques for their unique individuality. The audience was excited to see a fight at that level. Both Erik and Kuffnam received around an equal amount of cheers and support, as they almost had the same winning odds in the bets. It was given that Kuffnam was already well-known in the Imperial Capital, but he was not the biggest fish in the tournament. On the other hand, Erik's popularity had skyrocketed since his fight with Tina yesterday, even though no one really knew his existence. That was probably the reason for their fair share of bets.

"Ora!"

Kuffnam swung a punch sideways toward Erik, and the fencer dodged his fist by doing a backflip. The brawler then launched his fist forward, and with no time to take action, Erik caught it by crossing his arms in front of his face and blocked it. "Guh—!"

Erik's body could not withstand the force and was knocked back. But he used that momentum to do a backflip again and safely land on the wooden floor. When he opened his arms, he saw Kuffnam's figure get bigger and bigger. He was lunging himself toward Erik again, but with glowing gauntlets. "Power Punch!"

Kuffnam performed a Level 3 Close Quarter Combat technique and threw his right hand at Erik. With the decision to avoid it, Erik immediately activated Afterimage and created two illusions of him forming a triangle with his main body. Kuffnam's fist passed through the illusion after Erik transferred his main body to one of his copies. "Fuck. Here are those annoying illusions again."

Clink!

As Kuffnam was pissed off for not landing a blow on Erik, his left hand instantly moved and successfully blocked Erik's surprise attack. His afterimages then disappeared, and Kuffnam turned his head to him as his gauntlet was still holding his blade. "You thought you could catch me off guard?"

"Automatic Defense, huh? I am impressed by how high your Martial Art proficiency is."

"And I will show you some. Whirlwind Fist!"

Executing a Level 4 CQC technique, spinning energy wrapped his fist before Kuffnam curled his right arm and attempted to strike it, targeting Erik's abdomen. If Erik were to take it head-on, he would have suffered serious damages if he stayed in his character. Not wanting to be hit by his fist, Erik immediately used Afterimage to slip through his main body to the Afterimage and escape. When his fist felt nothing, Kuffnam suspected that Erik escaped and immediately threw his other fist toward the other afterimage. Erik then responded to his fist with his blade, and a sharp sound rang out again. "Spirit Boost! Palm Force!"

Kuffnam's body glowed for a second, indicating that the Level 5 Martial Art technique had enhanced his attributes. He then opened his palm toward it, and a vortex of compressed air was unleashed from it, flying at Erik at a speed the audience could barely perceive. Erik ran toward it, and the Palm Force just passed through his body. Seeing that, Kuffnam quickly scanned the surroundings and prepared himself to counter Erik's sneak attack. But the problem was—he could not find a single Afterimage around. Cling!

"Oho? Interrupted by an Automatic Defense again?"

"What?! You are not an Afterimage?!"

If it were not for his Automatic Defense, his gauntlet would not catch his blade, and Erik could have stabbed his shoulder. After that, Kuffnam stepped back and began to raise his guard against Erik further. He definitely saw his technique passing through Erik, so he assumed that it was just an Afterimage, but he was wrong. Kuffnam did not know how he did it or what he did. Not only him, but the crowd was also baffled with a bit of impression. It was possible that he made an Afterimage above, but Kuffnam's keen senses and intuition could have detected it. Erik could also hide it in the crowd, but that was cheating. For some reason, Kuffnam was certain that it was Erik's main body that took the technique. "How did the technique pass through you if that is your main body?!"

"A phantom never reveals his secrets."

"Fuck it! Whatever, I'll just not have to fall for it again."

Kuffnam used Dash toward Erik with his gauntlet fingers curled into a tiger fist on both hands. Then his fighting spirit engulfed his gauntlet like flames, implying that he had activated the CQC Level 5 technique, "Fang Fist!"

Since Erik dashed as well, they met at the center and began exchanging blows. As an exceptional martial artist, Kuffnam was giving Erik powerful punches, jabs, and beautiful combos. On the other hand, Erik was either blocking, dodging, or parrying his attacks. Erik was also doing well too, but Kuffnam was good at countering his moves as well.

The audience was enjoying to behold their fight, as they seemed to be equally matched. It was like the best match of that time. Even though Kuffnam had a lower level than Tina, Erik judged that he was a better fighter than him. Kuffnam had a great skill set and more refined techniques, making him more challenging to deal with.

After engaging in for a minute, Kuffnam tried to land a spinning kick on his torso, but albeit, passed through like hitting air. Erik then dashed and scraped his rapier on Kuffnam's ribs, penetrating his leather armor and cutting his flesh. "Ack—!!" Before Kuffnam could act, Erik made two afterimages around him, containing him in a triangle, and the three Eriks coldly executed the same Level 5 Sword Art technique. """Piercing Barrage."""

"GUHH—!!!"

With nothing he could do, Kuffnam was being stabbed at all sides, piercing his armor and flesh. He then dropped on his knees and collapsed. Unable to move anymore, Erik was declared the victor.