Chapter 28: Bait and baited
Seeing the M4 Warlord coming to attack again, Aleks reacted fast. He rushed to pick up his sword. Thanks to his speed, he succeeded in picking it up before the M4 Warlord arrived in front of him.
"Good, Aleks! Now finish him!"
Merchant Bernard couldn't stop himself and screamed. Headmaster Lalaine and her assistant were slightly surprised by the merchant's behavior, but they understood him. The stakes in this match were high so anyone was looking to win.
Aleks thought that the enemy would stop and think twice about attacking after he got the sword back, but it looked like he was wrong. Not only did his opponent not stop, but rather he accelerated without hesitation.
Aleks' eyes narrowed slightly.
Did this madman think he got the upper-hand in this the battle? Aleks thought, feeling insulted.
What happened earlier was just a miscalculation that could happen anytime and anywhere. But this time he wouldn't let that happen again! Never!
"Are you looking down on me?!" Aleks bellowed like an angry beast. It seemed like his mech let out a beastly growl at that moment.
—RAWR!
This time he would make sure that the opponent would regret that he was his opponent. Also, it was a good opportunity to show them that what happened earlier was just an unlucky coincidence.
Aleks used his speed. His mech could be seen jumping very quickly, going right and left until he arrived right in front of the enemy.
What?
Aleks was surprised.
The enemy sent a punch which made Aleks not shocked at his quick reaction but surprised at how his opponent fell to a simple bait like that.
Oh my god! This dude fell to his bait!? Haha! It seems like this enemy was nothing but an amateur level only. Also, that punch wasn't even that fast. It was slow!
"Heh!"
Isaak snorted at how simple-minded Aleks' opponent was— typical of people in this country. Now, it was Aleks's time to pay this bastard for what had happened earlier.
"Cripple him Aleks!" Isaak shouted. Whether he was serious or not, no one could tell but perhaps it was the former.
Everyone saw the Lizardman Mech of Aleks duck right on time, causing the punch to miss a few inches.
"Oh no! Senior Garry is in danger!" Someone in the audience screamed anxiously.
Vaan clicked his tongue. "Tsk! How can someone like him be commended highly by the officials?"
Beside him, Dereck just let out a sigh, disappointed at Garry's response.
After ducking, not only Aleks evaded the opponent's attack but also created a good opening. Now the enemy's torso was so wide open. Aleks did not waste the opportunity and aimed the sword for a thrust.
He was aiming below the cockpit. The cockpit of Warlord Mech was located in the middle of the chests. The reason why he was aiming to hit below it, was because one of the vital points for this kind of mech was located in that area.
"Hehe!" Isaak let out a mocking grin. He could see Aleks's real motive. If succeeded, there was a good chance that the opponent would suffer an incurable injury.
Aleks was truly a wolf in sheep's skin. He looked like a gentle young man outside, but deep inside, he was hiding a ferocious beast.
"Let's see if you can evade this!" Aleks mocked his opponent.
However, Lady's luck was on his opponent's side again. The tip of his broadsword did not penetrate the shell in the chest. It slid upward and just scraped the outer shell without causing any heavy damage to it. Sparks from scrapping could be seen flying.
At that moment, it seemed like the world to Aleks turned around. That's how he felt at that moment. Everyone heard a loud crashing noise after two consecutive strikes.
—-Thonk! Thump!
—-Crasssh!
Eh…..?
The whole arena fell into a deep silence. Because it happened very quickly, they failed to notice what happened at that moment. Everyone showed an expression of disbelief when they saw Aleks' Lizardman Mech lying on the ground instead of the M4 Warlord.
"Eh?! For real… What happened?!" Sherry could not help but ask curiously.
If even someone like her who fought along with Scarlet on the real battlefield had failed to notice what happened at that moment— what's more, those people around them who had never been on the real battlefield?
But anyhow, there was one person who noticed what exactly had happened.
"I think he used the punch to borrow force from it. His real motive was to counter his opponent in case he decides to strike inside his range."
It was Scarlet who said that.
"So he didn't fall into the enemy's bait…" Sherry was a little surprised.
"Yeah. I supposed that punch was also baiting to lure his opponent inside. Seeing the enemy fall to that, he lent a little backward to evade a fatal hit from the enemy's thrust and used the borrowed force from the punch to send an uppercut as a counter. After it succeeded, he sent a strong straight that crashed the opponent to the ground."
"Ah~ so that's what happened."
"I told you… Senior Garry is a good fighter!" Agnes grinned.
Isaak and Katya couldn't believe what was happening. This time Aleks didn't just step back. Now his back was on the ground!
Katya stared at the M4 Warlord and thought. It didn't seem to be any different from the others they had fought earlier. There was no difference in their parts either. That means, there were no upgrades attached to it.
Katya frowned and Isaak gritted his teeth.
"Get up, Alex! Don't joke, bro!"
Isaak shouted.
At the VIP podium, Merchant Bernard felt like a chill ran down his spine after seeing Aleks on the ground.
"Come on, Aleks! What are you doing?! Get up! Finish him! Don't play a joke!" He didn't believe that Aleks could do nothing against his opponent. Beside, he had all the advantages he needed to overwhelm his foe.
Before Aleks noticed it, he was already facing the sky.
"What the hell was that?" He muttered under his breath.
Realizing what happened, he quickly got up and saw his opponent throwing away his broadsword.
"Bastarrrd! Did you think I'm nothing without my sword? That's where you've mistaken!"
"….."
What's more very insulting was his enemy's silence.
"I see. You want me to get serious, huh? Then I'll show you what hell is", Aleks muttered inside his cockpit.
He was more serious now.
After that, they saw the Lizardman Mech produce sharp and long claws. Three in each hand.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone