Chương 44: The Semifinal, and the Sword That Chose Its Own Master

The Solaris Royal Arena didn't have an empty seat left. The roar of a hundred thousand spectators rolled like ocean waves, shaking the very granite slabs beneath the ceremonial platform. At the center of the arena, Semifinal 2 was about to begin. Eleanor stood across from Astra. She wore her pristine white-and-gold holy knight armor, her golden hair pulled up high at the nape of her neck, the holy sword in her hand blazing with the radiant gold light of the Bloodline of Holy Radiance.

On the other side, Astra still wore the ivory floral dress she'd bought that morning, a thin layer of leather armor over it, holding her plain, sheathless iron sword. Up in the west VIP section, Lucian leaned back in his seat, quill and leather notebook in hand, ready to record data on his two potential rivals. FWEET! The moment the magical whistle sounded, Eleanor was already standing right in front of Astra.

The holy sword in the princess's hand swung down, tracing a ten-meter arc of golden blade-force that tore across the sand. BOOM! Holy Sword Cleave. Twenty-four million eight hundred thousand Combat Power detonated outward, the pressure of holy light crushing the stone floor around them. Astra dropped her center of gravity and raised her iron sword to block across her chest. Even with Lucian's shock-absorbing mana holding her power steady, no amount of stabilization could make up for the sheer gap in weapon quality.

CLANG! CRACK! The five-copper iron sword shattered into a dozen small metal fragments that scattered across the sand. Astra staggered back half a step, left holding nothing but a bare wooden hilt. Eleanor stopped her blade an inch from Astra's throat, her voice like steel.

"Your weapon's broken. Concede." Astra looked down at the wooden hilt in her hand, then up at Eleanor's blade. She shook her head slightly.

"I can't concede yet. I still need the prize money for strawberry ice cream." Right at that moment, a violent mechanical rumble rang out from the royal platform. DONG! Driven deep into the millennium-old royal dais, the ancient blade known as the Sun-Slaying Dragon Sword — a national treasure left behind by the founding Emperor — suddenly blazed with a blinding platinum light.

Without a single hand touching it, the legendary sword tore itself free of the dais, shot up into the sky above the arena, spun three full loops over the heads of the entire judging panel and every High Priest, then dove straight down toward the center of the ring. Whoosh! THUNK! The ancient blade, a meter and twenty centimeters long, its hilt inlaid with royal dragon jade, planted itself upright in the sand right at Astra's feet, radiating warm waves of mana like a loyal pet reunited with its master.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. The System v2. 0 notification window appeared in front of Lucian. [NATURAL EVENT DETECTED: RELIC AWAKENING.] [Royal Ancient Sword: 'Sun-Slaying Dragon Sword' (Rank A — Legendary) has broken its own seal!] [BOND TARGET: ASTRA!] Equipment effect: Holy Damage ×3! Ability: 50% resistance to elemental magic damage. Astra blinked and reached out to grip the hilt.

The royal blade rang out with a clear, silvery chime, wrapping her arm in platinum-colored holy light and merging seamlessly with the grey-haired girl's soul. Astra stared at the sword in confusion, then looked up at Eleanor.

"Is this... yours? It flew straight into my hand." She tried to let go, but the sword hummed a soft, clingy note and stuck fast to her palm, refusing to budge. Up in the VIP section, Lucian threw his quill down on the table, buried his face in both hands, and slumped against the back of his chair, groaning.

"There it goes again! Get into one street fight and a divine sword just falls out of the sky onto your head! I nearly worked myself to death in a dungeon for a fraction of these stats, and she just has to stand there breathing and Rank A gear flies over to serve itself up! This world is unbelievably rigged!" Sylvia, seated beside him, kept taking notes and said quietly.

"Ancient relics choose by resonance, not bloodline. It's in the fourth-grade history textbook, Lucian."

"I don't care what grade it's in!" Lucian looked up, teeth grinding.

"That sword would fetch at least five hundred thousand gold at auction! Why didn't it fly to me?!" Down on the arena floor, Eleanor stared at her ancestors' sword, now lying obediently in her opponent's hand. She took a deep breath, drew her sword back into a guard stance, her blue eyes blazing with a fighter's will.

"The blade chose you. Use it." Astra turned her head and looked up toward the west VIP section. Lucian sat in the honored seats, raising a single finger as a signal: end it fast, don't damage the sword. Astra nodded slightly. She raised the Sun-Slaying Dragon Sword. No shout, no elaborate incantation. A single blade-thin arc of platinum light, thin as a razor's edge, swept across the space between them. SLASH! The wave of blade-force grazed Eleanor's shoulder.

The princess's entire holy barrier and gold-plated protective aura shattered into scattered motes of light in an instant. The tip of the sword stopped exactly half an inch from Eleanor's throat, severing the ribbon holding her hair, letting her golden locks tumble loose in the wind. Eleanor stood frozen. She stared at the gleaming blade of her own ancestors' sword resting against her throat, then looked at the grey-haired girl in the modest white floral dress standing in front of her.

Eleanor lowered her sword and bowed her head.

"I concede." The entire arena held its breath for three full seconds, then erupted into a shockwave of pure disbelief. Seed number one — the Empire's First Princess — had just been defeated in two exchanges by a nameless girl in a flower dress. Eleanor stood on the arena floor, her eyes not on Astra, but following the same direction Astra had just glanced — straight toward the ten-year-old boy sitting in the VIP section, chewing on an apple. Astra had been hiding far more strength than anyone realized.

And at the decisive moment, she'd still checked Lucian's signal before moving. Eleanor looked toward the VIP section. Just how much does he know? CLANG! Up on the highest royal platform, Emperor Alaric de Solaris rose slowly from his throne. The sharp, golden, hawk-like eyes of the Level 327 emperor swept across the entire arena, his voice booming with authority like rolling thunder.

"THE FINAL MATCH OF THE NATIONAL SELECTION TOURNAMENT: COMPETITOR LUCIAN VANCE VERSUS COMPETITOR ASTRA!" The Emperor raised his scepter high.

"Prepare to activate the National-Tier Defensive Barrier for the central arena."