Boom!
Muria thrust his sword into a floating cannon that Dessily had maneuvered to fire directly at his face. With the power of martial energy, his sword—no larger than a toothpick compared to the cannon—pierced straight through. A brilliant white light emerged from the other side of the cannon.
The small white dot quickly expanded, consuming the entire cannon and splitting it clean in half. The sliced remnants hovered, not falling, as Dessily used her control to hurl them toward Muria like bricks.
"Star Armor Masters really have it easy!" Muria scoffed as the remains of the cannon came at him from both sides. With his left palm and a right kick, he left clear hand and footprint imprints on each piece.
The force of his tempered physique sent the cannon fragments flying out of Dessily's control. With the debris temporarily neutralized, Muria closed in on Dessily again. His martial energy and sword aura deflected all approaching Star Armor weapons, pushing away her attacks with ease.
In the skies above the arena, Muria's raging martial energy and vivid energy waves sent Dessily's Star Armor gear flying out of bounds. There was a distance limit for a Star Armor Master's control over their equipment, dependent on their level and affinity with the armor. Muria didn't know Dessily's control range, but it didn't matter; he just put his full strength into launching every piece of equipment as far as possible.
"Dessily, grit your teeth. It'll hurt a bit, but try not to cry." With a smile, Muria spoke to Dessily when he was within five meters of her, then landed a punch square on her chest plate.
Boom!
The impact unleashed a faint shockwave, and Dessily was instantly sent hurtling downward, landing in the center of the arena with a loud crash.
Rumble!
The collision left a crater over a meter deep in the ground, sending debris flying and causing the entire arena to tremble slightly. Some spectators stood up, startled by the vibrations, while others reacted with anger, amusement, or just an eagerness for more action.
"Are these two really siblings? Isn't he being a bit harsh?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Dessily's Star Armor shattered just now. If the armor's in that condition, then she's probably hurt worse. I've never seen her in such bad shape."
"They must hold a grudge against each other!"
"Is he even a man? If my sister were that pretty, I'd never treat her like that."
"Too bad, she's his sister, not yours."
No matter what thoughts the audience held, none of it mattered to Dessily as she lay in the crater, overwhelmed by pain in her chest.
"Cough!"
A metallic taste rose in her throat as numbness spread across her chest. Gradually, the numbing sensation in her ribs gave way to sharp, unbearable pain. Recalling Muria's warning to brace herself, Dessily bit her lip, suppressing the urge to scream. Still, resentment and frustration simmered within her.
"Can you still stand and fight?" came Muria's cool voice from above. She opened her eyes to see his figure, cloaked in white energy, floating gracefully.
"I can," she forced out through clenched teeth, her frustration pushing her to respond.
"Then hurry up. If this were a real battlefield, and you were my enemy lying down for this long, you'd already be dead." Muria looked down, his gaze indifferent as he addressed her.
"But this is an arena, not a battlefield."
Ignoring the tremor in her chest, Dessily forced herself to her feet. Her chest throbbed even more, and she could tell he had broken some ribs, but she kept that thought to herself.
"Now, will you surrender, or will you keep fighting?" Muria asked, landing on the ground and staring at her bleeding face.
As he asked, Muria mentally labeled Dessily as a "greenhouse flower." He knew the extent of the injuries his punch had caused—seven or eight broken ribs and some internal trauma. The fact that she'd been lying there for so long only showed how little she was used to pain.
"Unless I collapse and can't move a muscle, you won't get a surrender out of me."
"Hmm. Lacks skill, but at least you've got some spirit. Not bad." Muria nodded approvingly. "As my sister, you need to do better than this. When I have time, I'll train you personally!"
"??!" Dessily froze. Had she heard right? After this thrashing, he intended to do it again? And again? Was this revenge? She vaguely remembered that her birth had been the reason their father divorced his mother, leaving Muria in a single-parent household. But if anything, hadn't she taken the blame on his behalf?
"Hmph, if you want to spar with me, brother, I'll gladly take you on anytime!" The realization of her brother's "hostility" made her stiffen with defiance.
"Not bad. Draw your melee weapon. I want to see how skilled you are at close combat. As a Star Armor Master, you also need to know how to handle enemies up close."
Muria nodded; he wasn't hostile. He saw potential in his sister's character and talent, and that had stirred his desire to cultivate her skills. And how better to train her than the Titan way? She clearly hadn't experienced enough real combat, as her tolerance for pain was so low.
Once she was accustomed to broken bones and near-death injuries, her fighting capabilities would surely soar. Pain tolerance would also become a non-issue.
In Muria's view, this was a perfectly reasonable approach. He'd been raised this way, after all. His father's training sessions with him had broken countless bones, ruptured his organs, and even lifted his skull more than once.
Of course, Muria didn't plan to go that far with Dessily. After all, she was a pretty young girl—no need to be so ruthless. He could take it easy and settle for breaking a few limbs.
Boom!
A heavy metallic impact echoed as Dessily, trailing white armor fragments, was flung against the arena wall, droplets of blood spilling from the cracks in her armor. Her ornate sword spun through the air and embedded itself into the ground, trembling slightly.
"Can you still stand?" Muria approached her calmly, his attitude now fully shifted.
"I can." The battered girl, determined, ground her teeth and forced herself up.
"Dessily, do you have any weapon left to fight with? For a martial artist, their weapon is a second life, and it's the same for you. But you've let your weapon slip from your grasp."
Muria advanced slowly, speaking like a victor lecturing a defeated opponent.
"As a Star Armor Master, losing my weapon is no big deal," she retorted defiantly.
"Is that so? Try summoning it back, then."
"Hmph!" She extended her hand toward the sword embedded a mere ten meters away. It quivered, preparing to lift from the ground.
Clang!
The brilliant white blade shimmered in the sunlight, but just as it rose, a burst of white energy struck it, sending it flying.
"You see? Right now, you're unarmed before me, like a fish on a cutting board, at my mercy."
Muria spread his hands as he stood before her, having almost stripped her of all her armor.
"I still have my fists." In a burst of anger and frustration, Dessily charged forward with a fierce, resolute expression.
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