System's POV

Chapter 726  Fast And Furious [Part 2]

"Are both of you ready?" Thirteen asked.

"Yes," Shana replied.

Pietro nodded, confirming that he was ready.

Thirteen then raised both of his hands to declare the start of the battle.

"Battle Start!"

As soon as the signal was given, Pietro's figure blurred from where he stood, then reappeared a few meters in front of Shana in just the blink of an eye.

Having seen how Thirteen trained Pietro in the Rigel Continent, Shana also knew how fast he was.

With determination in his eyes, Pietro unleashed a kick aimed at Shana's stomach, intending to send her flying out of the arena.

His foot connected with his target, but for some reason, he felt as if his blow had been dampened by something.

Shana skidded several meters away, but she didn't look like someone who was hurt.

Of course, Pietro's attack did some damage, but she managed to mitigate its effects because she had prepared for this battle beforehand.

Several flower petals fell from the place where Pietro had kicked earlier, making the latter understand why he felt that he didn't land a solid hit on his opponent's body. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Shana had already coated her entire body with an armor of petals before she even entered the stage, aware of how fast Pietro could move.

The flower petals that covered her could perfectly mimic the color and shape of the place they cling onto, making it hard to tell if she was wearing armor or not.

In fact, Shana could even cover her naked body with petals, using them as clothes if she wished, transforming them into any color and design she liked.

In order for her to truly master this ability, Thirteen didn't allow her to wear any clothes during her special training, forcing her to use the flower petals to cover her body.

Perhaps due to the desperation she felt at that time, it didn't take her long to master creating the petal armor, which had prevented Pietro from instantly eliminating her from the tournament.

Pietro, who already had an idea of what Shana's power was, once again turned into a blur.

At the same time, Shana embedded her silver banner on the ground, creating a petal storm that swirled around her, acting as a defensive shield against her enemy.

Her opponent wasn't fazed by her defenses and simply attacked non-stop, making the flower tornado disperse after a few hits.

Just when Pietro was about to give the decisive blow, he found that Shana wasn't inside the Petal Tornado.

Suddenly, he felt something coming from above his head.

Countless razor-sharp petals stabbed Pietro's body—at least, that was what should have happened.

As soon as the petals collided with Pietro's figure, they passed through it as if they had hit a ghost.

'An afterimage,' Shana thought. She had witnessed this ability of Pietro in the Rigel Continent, which made her feel anxious.

As if to prove that her worries had become a reality, several young men appeared in the arena, all of them standing in place and looking in her direction.

Just as Shana had predicted, these were indeed Pietro's afterimages, each one of them looking very realistic.

You would only know if they were fake once you attacked them, which would lead you to hit nothing at all.

This ability might seem easy to pull off, but truth be told, it was not.

One needed a complete understanding of the Divine Technique called Stridemaster, allowing them to move on land, water, and even air!

This high-speed movement would leave after images, confusing anyone who saw them, allowing the one who left them behind to go in for a sneak attack.

Shana didn't dare to be slow and unleashed another petal storm, expanding its range.

"Petal Storm of Judgement!" Shana shouted, and the petal storm surrounding her grew with intensity.

It was to the point that nearly a third of the Arena was covered by the Petal Storm, each of the petals swirling inside of it as sharp as razor blades.

If one weren't careful, their flesh would be shredded by this powerful ability, which was a terror in large-scale battles.

The audience was surprised to see Shana's abilities because they never thought that the Saintess was this powerful.

In fact, it was not only them who were surprised.

Lawrence and Tristan, who were also watching the battle, couldn't help but look at the Saintess with a fiery gaze.

They always thought that Shana's role meant that she was vulnerable and must always be at the rear, where she should be protected.

But seeing her now, not only did she have the power to protect herself, but she could even use it to attack!

Even the representatives of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families were shocked to see the scene playing in front of them.

They had always thought that the Saintess of the Hero Party only knew how to support her friends.

But now, they had a different opinion of her, making their impressions of her rise to the next level.

Pietro, who was standing outside of the petal tornado, narrowed his eyes.

He could see that the petal storm was still expanding and knew that, if he didn't do something, he would be hit by it sooner or later.

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.

Without any hint of hesitation, he started to run counter-clockwise of the petal tornado, creating gusts of wind in the process.

He planned to disrupt the airflow, stopping the spinning power of the flying petals.

To everyone's surprise, two tornadoes started to emerge in the arena.

One of these tornadoes was whitish pink, with flower petals swirling inside of it, spinning in a clockwise pattern.

Outside of it was a tornado made of wind, spinning in a counterclockwise pattern.

The two forces hit, and sparks flew as if two spinning saws clashed against each other, creating screeching noises.

The two Wanderers fighting in the arena weren't pulling their punches and were going all-out to win this battle.

What they didn't know was that their impressive show of abilities made others reevaluate them.

This was especially true for Pietro, whom everyone started to investigate.

When they all realized that he was one of Zion's Squad Leaders, they couldn't help but look at the teenage boy on the stage, who was sitting on a beach bench and calmly sipping a fruit juice.

To have a subordinate as powerful as Pietro was every organization's goal, so seeing him perform made these powerful factions feel envious of Zion.

Of course, Zion already expected that if Shana and Pietro fought seriously, they would get the attention of many people.

But that was part of his plan.

He wanted them to show off because he wanted to use this battle and the future battles of his Squad Captains to make an impression.

As long as the audience, the Wanderers, and those who weren't part of any organizations saw the battle of his Squad Captains, all of them would come to know that being under him would mean that it was possible for them to reach greater heights.

In short, this was a "recruitment" propaganda that Thirteen had planned, so the forces under his wing would grow bigger after the League of Dragons and Phoenixes was over.

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