WebNovels

Chapter 223 - 223: Invite Defense Battle

Reisen Riou saw it all go down and swore it wasn't his doing.

"That's some crazy luck," he marveled at how Aether snagged the invite.

It was wild. The one thing that could've gone wrong did, and by the time the mistake was caught, it was too late.

That tanuki lost the invite, realized it, and went back to search—all in under half an hour.

In that window, Aether strolled through a quiet alley, stepped on the disguised invite, picked it up, broke its disguise, and activated it.

A chain of coincidences so perfect it was like fate itself rolled out the red carpet.

If not for Inazuma City's surveillance network, Reisen might've missed the show.

It deepened his take on fate.

He was a luck magnet too, but his was tied to the Law of Infallibility—hitting any target, guaranteed.

His shots always landed, no matter what.

Not as flashy as Alice or Aether's luck, but when it came to hitting a mark, he outshone them both.

Even conceptual "shots" bent to his will.

Take the Sangonomiya tale years back. Sure, their secret arts helped, but his Law of Infallibility played a part.

One shot, one soul—rare even in Sangonomiya's history.

For Reisen, "always hit" was a passive skill.

"But, man, Aether grabbing an invite this early? That's asking for trouble."

"Let's see how this outworld Traveler handles Inazuma's hospitality."

"What the hell?" Aether, sprawled in his rented inn room, stared at the invite's hidden rules. "No wonder that tanuki didn't care."

Back at the inn, he finally had time to inspect the invite.

It seemed normal, but something felt off. He recalled the poster's hidden text.

He activated Elemental Sight, but found no elemental traces. Flipping the invite, though, he spotted hidden text.

"Invite Defense Battle: Activated invites trigger a one-hour defense battle every three days, broadcasting a 'the invite's here' signal. Anyone interested can join the fight."

The timing was customizable—mentally sync with the invite to set it.

If the holder missed the rule, the invite would warn them half an hour before the battle.

"Seriously?" Aether's scalp tingled. "No clue if getting this early is good or bad."

"Gotta pick a smart time and plan."

"Since not many in Inazuma City know yet, I'll use it now. It'll go on cooldown after."

Aether rubbed his chin, deciding to hold a defense battle.

"Start the Invite Defense Battle."

"Invite Defense Battle activated. Generating arena."

"Choose defense type: Scholarly or Martial."

Aether thought it over. He was confident in his knowledge, but his combat skills were his ace.

"Martial!"

"Nearby samurai are approaching."

"1… 15… 30. Roster full. Invite Defense Battle begins."

"Entering arena."

The invite flared red, ley line energy surged, and a tiny domain opened.

Aether, as defender, was sucked in.

Soon, a samurai vaulted a wall, touched the crimson pillar, and vanished.

Ronin, shrine maidens looking for fun, and even an oni samurai joined, the crowd swelling.

Reisen's projection shook its head. Tough crowd—no one below LV50+, none with Visions. These were hardened fighters who climbed the ranks through grit.

Aether was in for it.

They'd challenge him in order of entry.

First up: Yamahama, a no-name samurai, but no pushover. One of the Tenryou Commission's toughest civilian hatamoto.

He joined the Sage's Private Competition for enough Mora to buy land, aiming to found his own samurai clan. He knew about the defense battle and jumped in the second it started.

Talk about confidence.

"Invite Defense Battle: Martial, Sequence 01. Referee: Revival."

"Defender: Outworld Traveler Aether."

"Challenger: Inazuma Tenryou Commission Hatamoto Yamahama."

"Rules: Battle lasts until the sandglass runs out—roughly half an hour. Loss of combat ability means defeat. A draw counts as the defender's loss," Revival announced, stone-faced.

Yamahama had heard of Aether. Soloing a big Hilichurl camp? He could do that too.

He opened with a blade aura, a classic swordmaster move. His skill was no joke.

Aether reacted fast, parrying with his sword, but noticed the aura fizzled just before hitting him.

"Inazuma's orthodox heart-transmitted secrets," Aether said, his expression tightening.

Only elite Inazuma officers or direct dojo disciples could train in those techniques.

But Yamahama, Visionless, tired after relentless aura attacks.

A slip-up let Aether's foreign swordplay clip his wrist. Pain forced him to drop his blade.

"Defender wins. Challenger, exit," Revival declared.

"Defender, need a break?"

"Nope," Aether said.

"Defender: Outworld Traveler Aether."

"Challenger: Inazuma City Ryo Painting Crew Leader, Ronin Sei."

"…"

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