Chapter 203 - Battle of Supporting Martial Artists

"Now, we will move on to the next match." Song Yazhu announced as he was in charge of keeping the tournament going. "The next two fighters to take the field are Carolina Saez and Mario Rossi of the Rossi Family."

The two young martial artists called to fight were a young woman with long golden hair and a young man with short black hair and thick mustaches that made him look older than he was.

The two took the stage at the same time and assumed their battle positions. The young woman, Carolina Saez spread her legs slightly, placing the right one forward of the left one; the hands, with the palms open, assumed a similar position. Apparently, the young woman had no intention of drawing any weapon for the moment, although that didn't mean that she wouldn't take it out later as it had already happened in the previous battles.

Mario Rossi, on the other hand, didn't take a stance for hand-to-hand combat. Instead, he slightly waved his right hand and pulled an unusual object out of his space ring - it wasn't a weapon but rather a musical instrument.

"Is that a musical instrument?" Hei asked Mareo. Hei knew little or nothing about music; he just recognized that the shape of that object was vaguely similar to a musical instrument he had seen in the past.

"Yes, that's right. To be precise, it is a mandolin. It is a stringed musical instrument belonging to the lute family." Mareo explained it to Hei. He had a vast knowledge of the various musical instruments existing due to his specialization as a martial artist musician.

"So, is he a martial artist musician? If he managed to qualify in the main phase of the tournament, then he must possess special skills that differentiate him from normal martial artist musicians, right?" Hei asked another question. He appeared amazed that a support martial artist had come this far.

This amazement, however, didn't stem from Hei despising or underestimating supporting martial artists. It was just that, because they were supporting martial artists, their fighting ability would be ordinarily inferior to the other types of martial artists, precisely because they specialized in other fields. This should have been the norm, but like any existing rule, there were always exceptions.

"As usual, you have good eyes. And as you said. Mario Rossi is a martial artist musician; only, his music empowerment techniques are specialized in empowering him and not the others. He can be defined as an offensive martial artist musician."

"It's not the only characteristic, though. That Mario Rossi comes from the Rossi Family, which has produced many talented martial artist chefs. The culinary specialty in which they specialize is Pizza. Consequently, Mario Rossi is also a martial artist chef." Haruno added alongside Mareo.

After hearing this, everyone listening was amazed. A supporting martial artist who was able to fight face to face with other martial artists and qualify for the main phase of such a tournament was rare to find. However, this martial artist also possessed another specialization, which wasn't of the attack type but a support one.

"Maybe that's why he managed to qualify for the main phase?" Hei wondered to himself. Come to think of it, with the empowerment coming from martial artist musicians and chefs, any martial artist, even the support ones, would have their strength greatly improved, coming to bridge the gap in fighting ability with the opponent.

"He may be a supporting martial artist with dual specialization, but he won't have an easy life. The opponent he has to face is not joking at all," commented Lilian, who had followed the conversation in silence until now.

"What do you mean?" Mareo and Haruno asked in chorus.

As martial artist musician and chef respectively, they had heard of Mario Rossi. He was an unusual existence, and yet he had demonstrated his strength with facts. Therefore, part of them couldn't help but be proud to know that someone with similar skills of theirs could fight in the main phase of the tournament as a competitor.

After all, other types of martial artists had always shown a certain contempt and air of superiority towards the category of supporting martial artists due to their inferior fighting ability. However, such episodes were only a small minority.

Anyway, inside them, Haruno and Mareo were cheering for this Mario Rossi, and they didn't think he would lose, at least not to someone as unknown as Carolina Saez, who wasn't even part of a prestigious family, contrary to Mario Rossi, who belonged to the Rossi Family.

"Carolina Saez. If Mario Rossi can be defined as an offensive martial artist chef and musician, then she can be defined as an offensive martial artist medic." Lilian answered.

"We martial artist medics study the human body in all its characteristics, including the flow of spirit power within us. Therefore, we are trained to read and manipulate this flow to modify the human body from within. But some have wondered if this ability could be used in battle - to read and direct the flow of the enemy's spirit power so they can take control of the battle." Mia added as she was also a martial artist medic.

"Directing the flow of spirit power of the enemy? Is such a thing possible?" Haruno asked; he couldn't believe what he had heard. Mareo also had a doubtful look but refrained from commenting, waiting for Lilian and Mia's answer.

"Yes, it is possible. It's just bloody difficult. It takes incredible reflexes and processing skills to accomplish this. Not to mention that when you add the Elemental Laws, reading and redirecting the enemy's flow of spirit power becomes even harder. The only solution would be to possess the same Elemental Law of the attack you want to influence.

And this is where Carolina Saez comes in. She owns the Multicolored Chameleon Bloodline. When she activates it, she can change the nature of her spirit power in any of the Elemental Laws for a certain period of time. Obviously, her knowledge in other Elemental Laws other than her will remain the same, and consequently, the power of her attacks will be much lower than usual. But if she refrains herself from using the elemental techniques, focusing only on redirecting the flow of spirit power, then that's another story." Lilian explained.

"Her method of fighting is to cancel the enemy's attacks and make them weary. Once her opponent is exhausted, she finishes them off using the Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques of the Flowing Flow Style, a combat martial art that uses medical knowledge to maximize damage." Mia concluded the analysis.

Like Mareo and Haruno felt admiration and envy for Mario Rossi, a martial artist chef and musician capable of qualifying in the main phase of the tournament, the two young martial artist medics, Lilian and Mia, had respect and envy towards Carolina Saez.

Meanwhile, the battle between the two unusual support martial artists had begun. Between the two, Mario Rossi was the one who started the dances, attacking first.

"Intent of the Mandolin, Placid Symphony!" Mario Rossi said aloud as he began to tap on the mandolin and move the musical instrument's strings.

Immediately afterward, a sweet and serene melody poured onto the battlefield, enveloping the entire stadium. The most naïve spectators were captivated by the instrument's melody, while those with experience focused their eyes on the space in which Carolina Saez was.

Rip! Rip!

A series of noises of something being torn apart was produced where the young martial artist medic stood. The young woman could see as if the air itself was being torn apart by nothing less than the sound produced by the mandolin.

'He is using his spirit power to increase the intensity of the vibrations released by his musical instrument. In that way, he can attack from a distance and stay safe. But if it's just that, I have no reason to fear him. You will have to do a lot more to defeat me.'

"Flowing Flow Style, Deviant Palm!"

Carolina Saez mustered her spirit power into her right palm as her eyes were intent on analyzing the flow of spirit power that was driving the sound waves.

Splash!

Similarly, an object ended up sinking into a liquid surface, Carolina Saez's spirit power entered the flow of spirit power produced by Mario Rossi.

The attack, not visible to the naked eye to the ordinary people, was influenced by that alien spirit power and diverted its trajectory, just enough to miss the young woman for a breath. Carolina Saez remained unharmed and confident as if she expected that result.

"Hmm?" Mario Rossi murmured in surprise. He had sent that attack as a move to test the waters, so he knew full well it was bound to fail. But he thought that it would be canceled or dodged, not that it would be deflected, not to mention the ease with which his opponent had made it.

"Interesting. Let's see if it was just a coincidence or not." Mario Rossi said, starting to shake his mandolin even more.

The melody produced took on a more chaotic tone as more spirit power attacks were directed in the form of sound waves.

"If it were too simple, it wouldn't be fun. Flowing Flow Style, Flow of Deviating Palms!"

With that cry, Carolina Saez began to move her hands in a hurry. It seemed almost as if they were disappearing inside the air itself. Yet, each of her palms accurately hit the young martial artist musician's dangerous attacks, easily deflecting their trajectories.

Whoosh!

After several minutes of siege, Mario Rossi stopped playing his mandolin while Carolina Saez remained standing unharmed, exactly where she was. Of the intense exchange of attacks remained only a slight wind, generated by the attacks of sound waves.

'Her skills in reading and analyzing the flow of spirit power are phenomenal. I can't believe that someone at the rank of a spirit soldier is already capable of this. I heard of martial artists like that, but I didn't expect to meet one so soon.'

Mario Rossi was slightly troubled. His opponent's ability prevailed against his sound wave attacks. If he were to continue like this, he would do nothing but waste his spirit power in vain.

"Alright. Given the participants' quality, it was obvious that I wouldn't have passed the first round without revealing some of the tricks up my sleeve. Wind Law, Intent of the Mandolin, Cutting Symphony!"

At the moment he said this, Mario Rossi's hands began to move quickly along the mandolin's strings. The speed was such that they even left residual images. At the same time, the sound waves produced increased significantly in quantity compared to before. Even their speed and destructive damage were enhanced.

"Let's see if you can divert this melody of mine, woman!" Mario Rossi confidently shouted.

He had heard of this fighting style, which diverted the opponent's spirit flow. Therefore, he also knew its weakness: this technique was usable only against attacks of neutral type or the same Elemental Law. Therefore, if Carolina Saez hadn't possessed the Wind Law, it would have been impossible for her to divert the Cutting Symphony.

"As you wish." Carolina Saez answered, smiling. Her face was calm and showed no concern at all. , as Mario Rossi condensed his spirit power into sound waves, the young martial artist medic cried aloud, "Multicolored Chameleon Bloodline, activate! Change Color, Green!"

As soon as she said this, Carolina Saez continued to hurl palm after palm at the incoming sound wave attacks. Incredibly, the spirit power of the young martial artist medic managed to penetrate that of Mario Rossi. Within moments, the first sound waves to arrive were directed backward against the incoming ones, thus creating a blast of cutting wind.

Boom! RIP!

When the biting wind subsided, Mario Rossi's face was dark. During the first exchange, he could hear what Carolina Saez had said while she was activating her bloodline.

"Multicolored Chameleon Bloodline? I thought there were no more possessors with that bloodline. Didn't the Bian Selong Family become extinct long ago? Anyway, now I understand how you managed to deflect my attack. You changed your spirit power into the color of the Wind Law, or am I wrong by chance?"

"No, you aren't wrong at all. And for the record, I'm not part of the Bian Selong Family. The Multicolored Chameleon Bloodline is a gift from my ancestors, but that doesn't force me to identify myself as part of that family. My name is Carolina Saez, and I come from a family of ordinary martial artists, that's all."

"I got it. Well, not that I care much about your family situation. What matters is that you have the Multicolored Chameleon Bloodline. If that's the case, I'm forced to change my plans."

Immediately having said this, Mario Rossi put away his mandolin, placing it inside his space ring. Instead, he pulled out a war hammer. The weapon was made up of two parts: a dark wooden handle of 1.5 meters long and a metallic head, which was, in turn, divided into two. The two sides of the war hammer's head were the flat part of the hammer and a pointed spike. In doing so, the weapon would possess both the characteristics of blunt damage and penetrating damage.

After pulling his weapon from the space ring, Mario Rossi didn't continue. But he turned to a specific spot in the stadium and said aloud, "Teacher Song Yazhu, I can use it, right? There won't be any problems, will be?"

Song Yazhu replied quickly, realizing what the young man wanted to tell him, "As a rule, it is forbidden to use objects other than personal combat weapons. But in consideration of the fact that you are a support martial artist, this rule doesn't apply to you, as long as the object in question falls within your specialties. The same goes for Miss Saez as she is also a support martial artist."

Hearing this, the gaze of the two young fighters became more intense. They had previously been told that they were allowed to use items from their specializations. However, hearing the tournament judge's official consent in front of the entire audience removed any doubt about it, and they both prepared to reveal their secret weapons.

"Spirit Neurotransmitter Pill, Glutamate, and Noradrenaline!" Carolina Saez said as she swallowed two pills in one gulp.

"Secret Recipe of the Rossi Family, Pizza Margherita, and Pizza Capricciosa!" Mario Rossi shouted as he gulped two different pieces of pizza in one bite.

Within moments, the ingested objects dissolved inside their stomachs and caused dramatic changes within the two young martial artists, particularly regarding their spirit power flow. And when even the last traces of the pills and pizzas were absorbed, Carolina Saez and Mario Rossi prepared to continue their challenge.