F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 290: Vindication

The earth rampaged in displeasure and impatience.

Johann would admit that he had been thoroughly angered, but that was not difficult for him, as this was also a chance to show people what would happen if they got on his bad side.

How thoroughly he would destroy and humiliate them.

"What? Come on, match your mouth, Daru Finnley! You’re boring the crowd, turtle!" Johann taunted.

But at the same time, he inwardly clicked his tongue, dismissing a few earthen pillars to conserve stamina, replacing them with the smaller rocky protrusions instead for a stronger offense.

Daru noticed, but kept silent.

Smelling his impending victory yet still failing to grasp it, Johann was growing a bit impatient, but the pathetic sight of his foe kept him enthused.

It was like he wanted to end the battle already, but also didn’t, as he wished to torture his once-arrogant prey more.

Johann knew he had already exhausted his luxury, though.

’No matter...’

He had made his point clear, at least. He shall be satisfied with that and go all out in ending the match.

"Still not gonna talk? That’s good, then, at least you know your place now." Johann sneered, raising his sword once more.

This time, aside from calling upon two earthen swords, Taiya itself was covered by a rocky outer layer, continuously absorbing earth essence, as if unsealed.

The rocky protrusions around Daru also multiplied, and they surrounded him, ready to strike on command.

Nathalie naturally noticed the shift in Johann’s attitude. He was going for the win.

"Representative Taiya seems to be gearing up for what could be a final, fierce assault to end his opponent. Representative Omaru has been incredibly suppressed in the past two minutes, and he has been barely surviving. Will he finally crumble like rock shards? Or will he, through some means, pull through again, if only to continue his valiant struggles?! His Sword Skills seemed to be of limited effectiveness, thanks to Representative Taiya’s masterful terrain manipulation...what will he pull out of the rabbit hat? Or have his options truly been exhausted?!"

What the hostess said was what was only visible on the surface.

The muddy terrain greatly limited Daru’s movements, and most of his Sword Skills seemed to be unusable in his current predicament, too.

Had he had the capability, he would’ve long gotten himself out. Perhaps he would even be counterattacking by now.

This was why a majority believed that Daru was probably done for in the next few seconds.

After all, his opponent seemed to be determined to end the match now, seemingly done toying with him.

Johann soon exploded into action, every earthen advantage rumbling lightly, as if begging to be used.

They would be...very soon.

In fact, just a moment later, a rocky protrusion turned into a small sword, then shot at Daru’s head from the ground.

Daru noticed and dodged with moderate effort, tilting his head. But splitting his attention was inevitable.

Johann intentionally set up this vulnerability window, following up with an earthen sword, which Daru destroyed with a heavy swing.

Another rocky protrusion molded and quilled at him, grazing his cheek and contributing another minor wound.

Then, Johann pressed his advantage again from there, beginning his final onslaught.

To his surprise, a spinning cross-slash suddenly flew at him— a Sword Skill he had forgotten the existence of due to his being drunk on his dominance the entire match. Avoiding it was no problem, but it destroyed his remaining Earthen Sword.

Johann was infuriated, no doubt, but more than that, he suddenly felt wary.

His prey...counterattacked, and the strange thing was, he could’ve done that earlier.

Nonetheless, Johann didn’t stop.

Taiya, now heavier in his hands, lashed out the moment he arrived within striking distance, aiming to thoroughly ruin his foe’s balance, if not take a limb.

But his eyes widened when he saw Onimaru Kunitsuna approaching, covered in a black aura.

His foe’s resistance...why is it suddenly fiercer?

Johann’s heart grew restless, especially after spotting Daru’s expression. Daru was still faintly smiling.

And why wouldn’t he be? After all, he was about to execute his plan after diligently taking the beating and remaining patient.

It was time to counterattack.

The moment the two swords clashed, the sounds of shattering earth, then clanging steel echoed, and Johann felt as if he had lost his arm.

The S-ranker felt the violent brush of the wind’s resistance on his back as he was sent skidding back and staggering for more than a dozen meters, teeth gritted, heart pounding slightly.

He also felt like vomiting, and he did...red cubic particles.

Johann was so dumbfounded that he stared at the ground for an entire second — a lethal mistake in a high-level duel.

Fortunately for him, the muddy terrain was truly too annoying to traverse, and Daru could not utilize his full speed, giving his opponent time to react to his follow-up attack.

He finally managed to leave the huge muddy area he was trapped in, lunging at Johann, who barely managed to jump back on time, summoning two more Earthen Swords and willing them both forth to aid him in recovering some ground.

The Sword Projectiles served their purpose.

Daru had to somersault to dodge them effectively, causing both Earthen Swords to crash to the ground and shatter back into rocky shards.

He then slashed, sending a pitiful red slash mark shooting towards his foe, which Johann easily swatted away with his sword.

The S-ranker quickly called upon two more Earthen Swords to aid him in battle.

Then, from behind, a few smaller, rocky swords flew at his foe, but they were easily dodged.

Daru, after avoiding the predictable projectiles, shifted his attention back to Johann.

"You asked what I would do, right?" he began, causing the eyes of his opponent to narrow. "Why? Did I have to do something earlier? I mean, you seem so adamant in exhausting your stamina reserves..."

Daru didn’t have to finish, fully knowing his opponent would instantly understand, and Johann did, gritting his teeth so hard that faint cracking sounds could be heard.

In fact, the S-ranker had been worrying about this for quite a while now, which was why he decided to end the match, only to find out that his opponent had more tricks up his sleeve, and that the accursed F-ranker was not so easy to defeat.

He played around too much, thinking he could claim victory whenever he wished!

"Damn you, bastard!" cursed Johann as realization dawned upon him and the arena.

Omaru...had been scheming all along.

In one of the VIP seats, a cherry blossom-haired young man stood up, laughing heartily while clapping his hands.