Blood red, an endless expanse of blood red.
Although every spectator saw Lin Feng doing nothing at all, countless sinister black shadows had already appeared before the giant man's eyes.
The shadows wrapped around him layer after layer, surrounded him layer after layer, and finally blocked his vision entirely.
Countless red eyes opened within the shadows. Some had no whites, and some had lost their black centers, but no matter how grotesquely shaped they were, their outlines seemed visible-
They were crimson as blood.
The giant closed his eyes, but the shadows lingered in his mind. That feeling, impossible to shake, had already left him unable to control his body.
Just like that, the giant hurled his iron hammer in the exact opposite direction from the one he intended.
I didn't expect the hallucinations to be this powerful... now, unless I make my act convincing, everyone will suspect me of cheating...
Just as everyone noticed something wrong with the giant's movements, Lin Feng pushed off with both feet and deliberately leaped toward the spot the giant was attacking.
Then Lin Feng gathered the power of [Alucard] in his hands. Amid a deafening boom and billowing dust, he took the blow head-on.
"I knew that big guy was predicting his movements! I never thought he'd be this strong!"
"I thought something was wrong with him, but he was predicting his movements all along. Incredible!"
Seeing how perfectly his performance had gone, Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
The next second, Lin Feng dashed behind the giant in a few strides, held back a little of his strength, and hammered both fists into the giant's lower spine.
"Urgh-!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, but Lin Feng was getting a little hooked on beating him.
Hitting this big guy felt like fighting Danger Beasts, adding a touch of wildness to Lin Feng's fighting style.
A knife-hand strike to the flank, followed by a powerful sweeping kick.
The giant's ankles were almost completely shattered in that instant, and his mind was entirely under Lin Feng's control. He lay on the ground, trembling and cowering, unable to utter another word.
"Not bad... finally, a decent man...!"
Seated high above, Esdeath cheered excitedly. Honestly, even Esdeath herself had no idea why the huge iron hammer had actually anticipated the direction Lin Feng would move.
But more than that, Lin Feng's precision and agility in combat pleased Esdeath greatly.
"I'll have to keep an eye on this man. Lin Feng, was it...?"
"Yes, General. But could it be because the contestant Akuzan was too exhausted?"
"Shut up! Their fighting strength is on completely different levels. Just watch properly, and you'll understand!"
"Yes..."
The announcer immediately proceeded with the next announcement.
"The fourth contestant is..."
Almost every time a contestant's number was announced, Lin Feng effortlessly finished his opponent within half a minute, just as quickly as he had instantly defeated the giant.
The host watched in utter bewilderment, while the spectators were all dumbstruck.
"Now, the final contestant in this tournament, number eighteen, Tatsumi!"
Tatsumi, who had drawn the last slot, had not gotten up particularly early that day. Not long after arriving at the venue from Night Raid, he was told he had to fight immediately.
"What? You're kidding, right? Why are the matches going so fast?"
"Contestant Tatsumi, you may not know this, but an extremely powerful contestant has appeared and sped up the tournament considerably."
Tatsumi looked in the direction the announcer indicated, and the sight of the man before him made him tremble.
Wasn't this the captain of the Imperial Guard-the man who had instantly killed Zanku, someone Tatsumi couldn't possibly beat?!
Even Akame, seemingly Night Raid's strongest member, was acquainted with him, and her strength could be said to utterly overwhelm Tatsumi's.
Don't be afraid... Tatsumi, you can't be afraid...
Tatsumi and Lin Feng stood facing each other on opposite sides of the arena. Looking at Tatsumi's face, Lin Feng couldn't help being startled too.
I've seen this man before...
"Let the duel-begin!"
The announcer knew nothing of their complicated relationship. As his announcement ended, the crowd's excitement reached its peak.
"Oh... another younger boy. And his looks, like that Lin Feng's, are just my type..."
Esdeath watched with interest as the two stood poised like arrows on drawn bowstrings, ready to clash at any moment.
Since he's Akame's companion... would killing him rashly be bad for future developments?
Lin Feng mulled it over.
Akame's Teigu might prove helpful in the future.
It would also be something of a shame to finish off a young man with such a strong sense of justice here.
Yet Tatsumi's sword was already coming at him.
Was this boy's sword this fast?
To Lin Feng, Tatsumi's sword swings were far slower than his own,
But compared with Sheele's, they were clearly faster.
If he's this fast, why did he need Sheele's help to deal with Zanku?
As he thought, Lin Feng dodged Tatsumi's blade as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water.
Almost every time, the sharpest part of the longsword brushed past him. No matter how hard Tatsumi exerted himself, he couldn't land a single hit on Lin Feng.
The enormous gap in their strength did not make Tatsumi give up.
He was a man of action through and through. As long as there was a chance, Tatsumi would give it his all!
After a brief pause, Tatsumi simultaneously unleashed sword energy in seven directions, dazzling as a lotus blossom.
The sword move was extraordinarily sharp. Had Zanku the Executioner been present that day, this sword energy would certainly have cut him down in an instant.
Truly powerful... just too slow.
Lin Feng did not want to expose his ability to turn into a black shadow and summon apostles in public, so he had no choice but to channel all his already limited power of [Alucard] into speed.
Although Lin Feng's attack power was not particularly outrageous at that moment, dodging the sword energy of Tatsumi, who had only recently entered the fight, was still fairly easy.
Whoosh-!!
Whuff-!!!!
The surging sword energy whipped up a small storm, lifting both Lin Feng's and Tatsumi's clothes.
"I came to the imperial capital to make something of myself, not to die here!"
Tatsumi gathered all the energy in his body and, before the sword energy had dissipated, unleashed a blindingly fast sword strike.
All the interference from the sword energy had been meant to make this one strike land.
This strike had once wounded Zanku, the wielder of the future-predicting Teigu, Observer.
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
"Such a spirited young man. A shame you still need more tempering..."
Lin Feng did not expend any effort dodging. He merely formed his hand into a blade,
And struck Tatsumi hard on the neck as he lunged forward. Tatsumi's vision went black, and he passed out.
"I'll let you hit me once... if I don't take this strike, I really wouldn't know how to overcome your courage..."