Chapter 233 26
Prince Fritz and Princess Seira attacked simultaneously after seeing the sign the battle had started. Prince Fritz took out a sword from his space storage and charged toward Princess Seira at high speed.
Prince Fritz suddenly disappeared as the distance drew closer and reappeared next to Princess Seira. He swung his sword and intended to slash Princess Seira. Even though Prince Fritz had said he would exert his full strength in that battle, he was unwilling to inflict a lethal blow on Princess Seira.
Princess Seira just stood still in response to the attack. Prince Fritz thought that Princess Seira couldn't respond to his attack because it was too fast. Princess Seira would be seriously injured if hit by that slash directly. Therefore, Prince Fritz intended to stop his sword before it hit Princess Seira.
But what Prince Fritz thought was the mistake of underestimating Princess Seira's strength. As Prince Fritz's sword approached Princess Freya, dozens of roots suddenly sprouted from the battle arena and resisted Prince Fritz's slash. Of course, the slash wasn't completely restrained, but it was enough to give Princess Seira time to dodge the attack.
Prince Fritz was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the roots. He smiled bitterly because he didn't think that Princess Seira was not as weak as he thought. When Prince Fritz was about to attack Princess Seira again, Prince Fritz stopped after hearing the sweet voice of his opponent.
"Prince Fritz, didn't you promise to put all your strength into this fight? Are you looking down on me because I look weak?" Princess Seira said and smiled sadly. She looks disappointed with Prince Fritz.
"That is… I didn't mean to underestimate you! I was just afraid that my attack would hurt you!" Prince Fritz answered Princess Seira frantically. He did look down on Princess Seira a bit earlier, but there was no way he would say that to her.
"Is that so? In that case, I will forgive you this time. Next, you have to put all your strength into the fight, and don't be afraid I'll get hurt because I'm not as weak as you think!" Princess Seira smiled, but then her face suddenly turned serious. Spirit power overflowed from her body, and she pointed at Prince Fritz.
[Flood of Roots]
Prince Fritz was confused by what Princess Seira was doing. But then he frowned after feeling a tremor in the battle arena. Not long after, a root emerged from under his feet and attacked him. The tip of the root was sharp enough to injure Prince Fritz.
Prince Fritz didn't want to look down on Princess Seira like before. It was not because Prince Fritz had promised him but because he felt he would lose if he fought Princess Seira half-heartedly. Prince Fritz swiftly slashed at the roots that were pointing at him.
Clank!
Prince Fritz's face became severe after his sword collided with the root. Even though he managed to cut the root, he felt like he was cutting iron. The level of hardness of the roots that were attacking him right now felt completely different from the roots that previously protected Princess Seira.
"How about it, Prince Fritz? I'm strong enough to make you put all your strength into this fight, right?" Princess Seira smiled broadly and put her hands on her waist. She looked so cute in Prince Fritz's eyes.
"Yes. You are strong. Then, I will not hesitate to attack you!" Prince Fritz smiled back and attacked Princess Seira again.
"That's what I want! You can attack me without hesitation! Come on!" Princess Seira pointed again at Prince Fritz.
The same root emerged from the battle arena and attacked Prince Fritz. This time it wasn't one or two, but dozens of roots charged towards Prince Fritz at once. The roots moved at such an unusual pattern and speed that the direction of the attack was difficult to predict.
Prince Fritz keeps moving closer to Princess Seira while cutting the roots that attacked him. But instead of decreasing, the number of roots that appeared doubled every time he cut. Prince Fritz frowned as he found it very difficult to approach Princess Seira.
(At this rate, I'll either exhaust myself first or maybe the roots will corner me if the numbers keep multiplying)
Prince Fritz kept racking his brains and thought of a plan so he could approach Princess Seira and attack her. Prince Fritz felt he would win if he could attack her up close since he saw Princess Seira being weak in close combat.
Prince Fritz knew that from the movement of Princess Seira's body while dodging his first attack. He noticed that Princess Seira's movements were stiff and seemed to lack physical exercise.
"I feel like you haven't used your full strength, Prince Fritz. If you continue like that, then you will lose at my hands." Princess Seira said, provoking Prince Fritz.
"If I did lose to you, I won't regret it. But the outcome of this battle is still uncertain, Princess Seira." Prince Fritz replied to Princess Seira's words while dodging and cutting the roots that came at him.
(I need to get rid of the roots first and slowly approach her! After that, I can freely attack her!)
Prince Fritz was determined and picked up his pace. He didn't cut down all the roots and only cut those that got in his way. Prince Fritz was worried that the number of roots would increase if he kept cutting them and making the situation even more troublesome.
In the guest area, the spectators who watched the match were amazed by the strength of Prince Fritz and Princess Seira. They didn't expect that the combat power of the two of them would be that high, especially Princess Seira, who looked weak on the outside.
"I didn't think your daughter could use the same abilities as Dryad and the world tree." Kalya was slightly shocked after seeing Princess Seira's strength. Yes, Princess Seira's abilities were the same as those of the World Tree and the Dryads but with much weaker power.
"She was able to use it not too long ago, or rather it was after the incident in the Elven Kingdom back then. Seira seems to have gotten a bit of recognition from the world tree and could use a little of her abilities." Queen Jasmine explained to Kalya without any hesitation.
"Hee… then your daughter is more fortunate and blessed than you. Aren't you jealous of your daughter? Just like you did to me before?" Kalya sneered at Queen Jasmine and reminded her of the events in the past.
"Can we not talk about that anymore? It was a long time ago. Can't you forgive me this time?" Queen Jasmine smiled bitterly and felt guilty when Kalya reminded her of it.
"I was only joking with you. But your daughter is fortunate. Much luckier than the two of us back then. Does she already have her contracted spirit?" Kalya asked and looked a little curious. At the same age as Princess Seira, she had already made a contract with the wind spirit, Silphy. Moreover, her contracted spirit was not an ordinary but a high spirit.
"Unfortunately, she hasn't contracted with a single spirit yet. I don't know why it happened. It probably had something to do with the acknowledgment she received from the world tree. But fortunately, she was able to create her spirit circle even though the pattern was still blurry." Queen Jasmine sighed and looked at her daughter fighting in the battle arena. Then she spoke again.
"She is indeed blessed, but she would be luckier if she could contract with a spirit at her age. Even so, I must admit that you are much luckier than my daughter or me when it comes to romance." Queen Jasmine glanced at Kalya and pouted cutely. Kalya raised her eyebrows after seeing her sister's behavior.
"Didn't I tell you before? Find another man, and don't look at your sister's partner! Besides, don't you see that your daughter seems to have special feelings for her opponent?" Kalya could hear Princess Seira and Prince Fritz's chatter in the battle arena.
Queen Jasmine and the guests who were watching the match also heard it, and some of them might be able to tell that Princess Seira had special feelings for Prince Fritz.
"You don't have to say it because I'm not blind and deaf. As a mother, I can see and feel it. But the love affairs of the royal family are not simple. She's not you, and she can't choose her partner according to her will." Queen Jasmine sighed heavily.
As a mother, Queen Jasmine wants the best for her daughter. But on the other hand, she was also a queen who ruled the Elven Kingdom. Therefore Queen Jasmine had to act with both her positions in mind. If possible, Queen Jasmine wants her daughter to find the best partner for her and, at the same time, provide benefits to her kingdom.
"Is that so? I don't care about that anyway and don't want to interfere in your kingdom or family matters." Kalya shrugged her shoulders and said casually.
Kalya was bored watching the match and occasionally glanced at Azalia at the edge of the battle arena. Azalia noticed Kalya's gaze and looked back at her. They looked at each other for a long time and then looked away simultaneously.
The battle between Prince Fritz and Princess Seira looks one-sided because Prince Fritz looks like he is being pressured by Princess Seira and is passive in that fight. Suddenly dozens of roots with sharp tips charged toward Prince Fritz.
"I have no other choice!" Prince Fritz gritted his teeth, and he opened the six crown patterned aura seals. He released his aura and displayed his strength as a Sword Grandmaster. Then his aura gathered and compressed within the blade. Prince Fritz stared intently at the tens of roots and swung his sword.
[Brave Strike]
Booooooooooooommmmmmm!
The battle arena shook slightly, and part of the area was covered with smoke and dust from the collision of the two's attacks. Prince Fritz used the opportunity to sneak up and approach Princess Seira secretly.
Prince Fritz smiled when he saw Princess Seira not far from him and his whereabouts still not being noticed. He was about to approach Princess Seira and make her give up, but suddenly he couldn't move because his legs were caught by something. Pince Fritz looked down and saw that the roots entangled both his legs. Because of that, his movement was locked.
"You won't be able to hide from me, Princess Fritz. I can feel everything moving throughout this battle arena." Princess Seira said and then turned her gaze towards Prince Fritz, who had been trapped.
(She noticed me from the start!)
Prince Fritz roared in his heart and slashed at the roots wrapped around his legs. He no longer needed to hide in the smoke and dust because Princess Seira had already realized his plan. Prince Fritz keeps moving to narrow his distance with Princess Seira under the continuous attacks of tens of roots. He frowned and quickly jumped back as roots appeared from the right, left, and under his feet.
Luckily Prince Fritz quickly dodged it. After he felt the situation was safe, Prince Fritz slashed at the roots and moved closer to Princess Seira again. Not long after, he finally saw Princess Seira within range of his attack. Prince Fritz didn't hesitate to slash his sword at Princess Seira this time.
[Root Weave]
Dozens of roots gathered together and knitted into plaits to withstand Prince Fritz's attack.
Clank!
"You can't beat me with an attack like that, Prince Fritz. Now it's my turn to attack you." Princess Seira stretched out her hand towards Prince Fritz and clenched it. A reasonably large spirit circle with a slightly hazy pattern appeared behind her.
[Mega Root Drill]
Dozens of roots merged into one and rotated at high speed like a giant drill. The rotating roots shot through the wind and charged toward Prince Fritz.
"I knew that I wouldn't beat you with that attack, Princess Seira. but with my next attack, I will win this battle!" Prince Fritz brandished his sword. His aura overflowed from his body and enveloped the blade.
[Sword Obelisk]
A large projection of Prince Fritz's sword appeared above him. He swung his sword towards the roots that were coming at him. The root drill and Prince Fritz's giant sword projection collided.
Booooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm!
"Cough! Cough! Where did Prince Fritz go?" Princess Seira coughed as smoke and dust filled the battle arena. When she looked around, she did not find the whereabouts of Prince Fritz. But suddenly, her body stiffened after feeling the cold metal on her neck.
"You lost, Princess Seira." Prince Fritz said from behind Princess Seira.
"Haa… you are great, Prince Fritz! I admit defeat!" Princess Seira sighed, acknowledging her defeat. She smiled with a happy face and didn't look disappointed.
"The first round, the winner was Prince Fritz of the Piqmentia Grand Academy!" Jourelio announced the result of the match, and was followed by loud applause from the guests.