Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 67. Unexpected Challenge III

"What's the matter? Did you change your mind?" asked Angel. From Prince Jake's hesitation, Angel bet Prince Jake had guessed his plan. It was a lose-lose battle for Prince Jake. But backing out after he proposed the battle, wasn't a great choice for Prince Jake either. So Angel believed Prince Jake had no choice but to step forward.
'Now... What are you going to do, Prince Jake,' Angel thought.

Prince Jake had no other choice but to attack Angel. But he would be careful and intend to stop the fight if he sensed something was wrong.

Deftly, Prince Jake lunged at him, closing their distance in a split of seconds. Although with their distance Prince Jake usually started by throwing his weapon, he preferred to attack Angel head-on so he could control his weapon better.

Still, Angel didn't move from his position.

Prince Jake quickly caught Angel wanting to do the second scenario on him, humiliating Prince Jake by continuously avoiding him. But of course, Prince Jake wouldn't let that happen. Once they were close enough, Prince Jake stuck the tip of his spear on the ground a bit. He intended to pry the ground and throw the dirt at Angel's eyes. He hoped that with this trick, he could do a surprise attack on Angel.

But before Prince Jake could do so, unexpectedly, Angel stomped on the spear's base, hard, holding the spear in place and sending half of the blade into the ground. In sync with his feet ' movements, Angel's hand moved quickly and in the next second, Nightmare was already pressed against Prince Jake's neck. With the spear blade stabbed into the ground and the sword around his neck, Prince Jake's defeat was clear.

Prince Jake was stunned in shock. He didn't expect that he would predict Angel's movements wrongly. No... He didn't expect Angel to read his movements so quickly and end the fight with just one move. So did all the guests there. Except for Euphorion's soldiers, of course. Since they knew how strong their king was and defeating the enemy in one fell swoop was not new news for them. Even in some training, Angel did not hesitate to give promotions to soldiers who could counter his attacks three times. His soldiers and Euphorion's nobles also knew the only one who could match his swordsmanship was Frost.

The fight that ended in one move showed how big the power gap between Angel and other members of the kingdom was. Only with this simple incident, the other delegates and Prince Jake began to understand why Angel was able to conquer three other kingdoms in a short time. Which meant... Angel was a big threat for them. Rose also caught on to what Prince Jake's goal was from the start, but she didn't say anything since she could already guess how it would end. She had already fought against him twice. Also, saw him defeat two kings and a prince, so she could guess it.

Meanwhile, despite his victory, Angel's expression did not change. He did not show his happiness or mock Prince Jake to maintain the relationship between the two kingdoms.
"Do you still want to continue, Prince Jake?" he asked in a calm tone. It was easy for him to guess Prince Jake's movements since he also often used that trick if he had to fight bigger monsters or opponents when he was a Prince. It was an old simple trick.

Prince Jake forced himself to smile and bowed politely despite his shock. He often defeated large monsters and expert knights. He had won many battles, at least he knew his fighting ability was not that bad. But, this was the first time he was defeated in one move, even Angel didn't use his magic power to do so.
"No, Your Majesty. I've seen enough." It was a shame for him, but it was a better ending than the first scenario. After all, insisting on continuing this fight would only embarrass himself.

Angel backed away, as did Prince Jake.

"You are very strong, Your Majesty. I hope I can become a king as strong as you one day," said Prince Jake politely.

"You're too polite, Prince Jake. I know you haven't done your best. But this is just a friendly competition, nothing to think about." Angel decided to save Prince Jake's dignity. His hand sheathed his sword. At least he hoped this would settle things, either kill Prince Jake's desire to find out about his powers or whatever was going through the other delegates' heads. By this, he showed that no one could play with Euphorion as long as he was alive.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," said Prince Jake. After that, he bowed politely and they returned to their seats. And thus, how the competition ended.

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