BXBX NOVEL Chapter 369: Not Even Close
\'Hahahaha! Is this it? Is this the so-called "Sinister Shadow"? He doesn\'t seem strong to me!\'
Sensing victory right at the tips of his fingers, Pokyuu didn\'t give John even a few milliseconds to catch his breath, madly bolting towards his retreating figure in hopes of ending the fight early.
"Heh, why is the almighty Sinister Shadow retreating from me? Could it be that my trump card is a bit too hard for you to handle?" Pokyuu mocked, convinced that his victory was only a matter of time. "How about you show me that you deserve your fame?"
Hearing Pokyuu\'s words, something snapped inside John.
\'Huh? Does this little punk actually think he could win? Against who? Me?\' John was so angry that his eyes suddenly appeared empty and listless. \'Fine then, since you don\'t want to last a little longer, I\'ll happily cater to your wishes.\'
"Fast! Who would\'ve thought that Pokyuu would be this fast?! John Oni is in trouble, will this fight end unexpectedly?! Will John Oni lose to the dark horse?! Oh? John suddenly stood still, has he given up?!"
"Hahahaha! Good, just accept your fate, Fraudulent Shadow!! HAAARRGHH!"
The crowd gasped in utter shock and disbelief as they witnessed what they thought was John Oni\'s last moments, marking the apparent end of his promising career and the emergence of a new prodigy named Pokyuu.
John can\'t even parry Pokyuu\'s sword as it would shoot blade sharps too quick for a mere human to dodge, and since sinister shadow was a fragile scout, he might turn into an azure ray of light after just two or three clashes.
Hence, people concluded that Pokyuu was just a bad matchup for John.
Even Shye thought that John had no business winning the fight as it would be impossible for scouts to contend against warriors by simply dodging all blows; masterful blocks and skillful parries were a huge part of a scout\'s defense.
Or so everyone thought.
Just when Pokyuu was about to finish the wounded scout off, John\'s body suddenly started emitting black vapor; his black hair grew longer, the irises and pupils of his eyes became pitch black, and his muscles grew smaller but more defined.
\'Shadow Rage\'
*FWOOSH!*
Shockingly, Pokyuu\'s sword simply passed through John\'s body.
At least that\'s what it looked like to the untrained eye.
As for Shye, Arthur, Almira, Lin Zi, and the emerald-ranked adventurers, they saw something entirely different.
John Oni…dodged the attack so swiftly and smoothly that it appeared like he didn\'t move a muscle.
"Wha–? Hmmph! A mere desperate attempt! No matter what you do, your fragile body will not be able to last under my blade quills. What can you do without blocking or parrying? Just give it up and be a stepping stone for me, John Oni!!"
Winds howled as Pokyuu decisively used yet another trump card, causing blood to stream down his cheeks from his seven orifices, drastically boosting not only the power of every attack but also his dexterity.
He then slashed his shortsword repeatedly towards John Oni akin to a berserk war, aiming to slice and dice him into a hundred pieces.
*FWOOSH!* *FWOOSH!* *FWOOSH!*
After a while though, Pokyuu\'s eyes widened in utter disbelief upon realizing that…none of his attacks…even touched John.
"You\'ll finish me? With this? Laughable."
A nightmarish voice that seemed to be a combination of a laughing child, a monstrous creature\'s demonic howl, and a whispering shadow, sounded from John\'s mouth, striking fear into the hearts of the mundane folks and low-ranked adventurers.
Naturally, terror also crept into Pokyuu\'s heart upon hearing John\'s sinister voice. However, he couldn\'t show any weakness, not when victory was right in front of him.
He can\'t stop now!
"HAAAAARRRRGHHH!!"
Pokyuu continued slashing away with reckless abandon, appearing to have lost his sanity upon hearing the demonic voice.
"Heh, pathetic."
*SPURT!*
John didn\'t even make a move, however, Pokyuu suddenly suffered from a moderate cut on his left cheek.
\'No! No! No! This guy cannot be this strong! Today was supposed to be my day! You fraud!
Die! Die! Die!!!\'
*SPURT!*
The crazy exchange where Pokyuu was seemingly slicing and dicing John\'s body continued for a few more seconds before a head full of hatred and frustration flew through the air, leaving the crowd confused—their mouths agape.
In their eyes, it looked like John was barely hanging on under Pokyuu\'s crazy attacks, who would\'ve expected that in the next moment, the fierce aggressor\'s head would be sliced clean off?
Many of them were already excited at the thought of witnessing a huge upset.
Hence, Pokyuu\'s sudden, harrowing fate left most of them stunned.
The guy was so close…or so they thought.
Only the emerald-ranked adventurers and the other rookies in the top four knew what actually happened.
Other than the somewhat lucky blade shards, none of Pokyuu\'s attacks hit John.
From that point on, the angry Sinister Shadow merely toyed with the so-called dark horse of the competition, effortlessly evading all of his strikes, returning to his initial stance, and launching a few counterattacks in the process, before ultimately deciding to end everything out of sheer boredom.
"NO!! How did I even lose?! This guy must be cheating!"
The desperate and frustrated voice of Pokyuu suddenly sounded from outside the stage, waking everyone up from their stupor.
"Heavens!! The crouching tiger, Pokyuu Pine, suffered defeat from the jaws of victory!! Just when it seemed like the genius, John Oni was fading, he returned with a lethal neck slash and seized the victory!! What an intensely close match! However, in the end, the dark horse stumbled!! John Oni advances!!"
Hearing the words "close match", Shye and the other rookies within the top five couldn\'t help but sneer in disdain.
The match…was not even close.