Didn’t you say you were just using me as a substitute?

"Hard to say."

Even the Olympic table tennis rackets were stepped on by someone. It is not impossible that the organizers accepted bribes and tampered with the bamboo swords provided to them.

"Are you nervous?" Dongdituo thought Kitahara Tsutomu was nervous.

"I've seen bigger scenes. A mere Jade Dragon Flag isn't worth my worry."

To ensure the quality of the bamboo sword, Kitahara no Takashi put on the armor and stood up.

The only thing that could defeat him now was physical discomfort, otherwise, he had no idea how he would lose.

You can’t win even with cheats, what kind of cheats are you using?

Dongdituo helped Beiyuan Zun check once more before patting her shoulder: "Don't worry, I'm behind you."

"you....."

Beiyuan Zun glanced at him and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his lips.

"Senior, has anyone ever told you that you are quite humorous?"

What's the point of you going up to someone who can't even beat you?

"Just lie down and relax."

At the referee's reminder, Kitahara Takashi went on the ring.

*

From the moment Kitahara Takashi walked onto the stage, the cameras were uniformly focused on ring No. 1.

The area around Arena No. 1 was also crowded with women's team members from various colleges.

In the games that started at the same time, no one wanted to pay attention to them.

"Is there no one to take care of this? How can we bully people like this?" The leader teacher of Jiuzhou College asked loudly.

It's the same competition, why does Kitahara Takashi's group have so many shots, while ours doesn't even have a single shot?

"If you have any objections, go complain to the media." The referee said impatiently.

What level are they? What level are you?

All the students in your school combined are not even a fraction of the number of fans of Takashi Kitahara.

"It's coming!"

Busujima Saeko opened her eyes and stared at Kitahara Takashi with burning eyes.

She also wanted to see what kind of strength this guy who boasted so wildly before the game had.

"Come on, Kazuto."

Asuna Yuuki is also on ring No. 1.

But she didn't come for Kitahara Tsutomu, but for Kiritani Kazuto.

After her earnest persuasion, Kiritani Kazuto finally came to participate in this competition.

"I didn't expect to draw Aoba in the first round? What a hassle."

Kazuto Kiritani stared at Kitahara Tsutomu across from him, and Kitahara Tsutomu was also staring at him.

"Forget it, since I've joined, I'll just do my best."

Kazuto Kiritani originally didn't want to participate, but he couldn't resist Asuna's, oh, that's Asuna Yuuki's constant persuasion.

The two met while playing games together. They found out that they were in the same school and had similar hobbies, so they became closer and their relationship became more and more ambiguous.

Now we are only one step away from becoming a couple.

"Group A, first round. Red team Aoba Private Academy versus White team Tokyo SAO High School. The first game begins now!"

The referee's voice sounded.

"salute."

At the referee's command, Takashi Kitahara and Kazuto Kiritani saluted each other, then turned around and saluted the audience, and finally both of them retreated to the sidelines.

'There are so many rules.'

Kitahara Takashi is quite annoyed by these rules.

Because this doesn't just have to be done once, it has to be done every time.

If you practice it from beginning to end, you will have to do the movements more than twenty times.

It's really a waste of energy.

Not to mention, he still has a slight fever now.

"Let's resolve this quickly."

Under the mask, Kitahara Tsutomu looked at Kiritani Kazuto with a fierce look.

As he is currently in a high fever state and has to fight several battles in a row, he must fight quickly and decisively.

"Game start!"

"sudden!!!"

Almost at the moment the referee announced the start of the match, Kitahara Takashi was like a beast released from a cage. He kicked his feet, and with a roar, he turned into an arrow and rushed to Kiritani Kazuto in an instant.

'So fast! '

Kiritani Kazuto's eyes widened in surprise.

Not only him, but the audience who were booing Kitahara Takashi on the stage also subconsciously shut up.

"throat!"

A loud shout came from under the opponent's mask, and the bamboo sword stabbed out as fast as lightning. Kiritani Kazuto could only judge where the opponent would attack from by the "reminder" of Kitahara Takashi's hitting parts.

Kitahara Takashi always thought this was actually stupid.

When you are fighting with someone, do you have to loudly remind them which part of your body you are going to attack?

It is no wonder that Japanese kendo can only be practiced domestically and cannot go abroad, let alone be included in the Olympics like fencing competitions.

Kiritani Kazuto's speed was not fast, but his reaction was very quick. He lowered the tip of his knife and pushed it forward, trying to knock Kitahara Tsutomu's sword away.

His sword was fast, but Kitahara Takashi's sword was even faster.

Kitahara Tsutomu made a sudden attack, and there was a loud "bang!". Kiritani Kazuto suddenly took several steps back and fell directly to the ground, almost falling out of the field.

"Kazuto!"

"elder brother!"

At this moment, Yuuki Asuna and Kiritani Suguha suddenly stood up.

Kitahara Tsutomu's attack was too fast.

It was so fast that Kiritani Kazuto had no time to react.

In a kendo match where victory or defeat is decided in a split second, a single strike often determines the outcome.

There was a moment of silence in the stadium.

Even the referee was stunned.

The lunge requires great strength, speed, vision and the ability to seize opportunities.

It is different from chopping and slashing. Stabbing cannot accurately locate the target. For example, stabbing the area without armor can easily cause injury.

But Beiyuan Zun’s stab was accurate.

It was directly pierced and extended downwards from the armor, with a thick resin plate protecting the throat.

But even though the resin plate blocked it and didn't kill him, the impact of Kitahara Tsutomu's attack almost made Kiritani Kazuto suffocate.

"Are you going to kill Kazuto? You murderer."

Asuna Yuuki rushed onto the ring and looked at Kazuto Kiritani who was covering his throat and retching. She glared at Takashi Kitahara.

"Did I violate the rules?" Kitahara Takashi stood there and turned to ask the referee.

The referee was stunned for a moment, but finally shook his head.

It is undeniable that Kitahara Tsunade's thrust was very brutal. If it weren't for the resin plate or if it hit another enemy, it would have been very dangerous.

But Kitahara no Tsutomu hit the exact spot.

In kendo competitions, the effective striking positions are: face (including the front, left and right sides), throat, abdomen (left and right abdomen), hands (left and right wrists), all of which are vital parts of the body.

The judgment on the so-called effective strike shall be based on the compliance of the conditions such as the momentum, spacing, opportunity, strike position, and strike force at the time of the strike to determine whether it is an effective strike.

And Beiyuan Zun complies with all the rules.

"With your strength, you can win even without using such dangerous tricks." Of course, Yuuki Asuna knew that Kitahara Takashi did nothing wrong.

But humans are inherently biased.

"Why do you still do this?"

Kitahara Takashi grinned and pointed the bamboo sword in his hand at Kiritani Kazuto: "Him!" Then, he slowly moved the bamboo sword, sweeping across the stage one by one, even the contestant on the next stage was not spared.

"And all of them, who wouldn't want to step on me to get to the top."

"They are all waiting for my defeat."

"They all want me to take a hard fall."

"You feel bad for your boyfriend losing, but do you know how much it would cost me if I lost?"

"Everyone will laugh at me then."

"They would hack into my social media accounts, attack fans who spoke up for me, and even mock my school and the girl I liked."

If Kiritani Kazuto loses, then he loses, and no one will blame him for anything.

But Beiyuan Zun lost, and it was not just a simple loss.

"If I'm not a little ruthless, how can they be afraid of me?"

Kitahara Takashi knew that among the contestants today, there must be people who cursed him online and wanted to step on him.

Those in higher positions wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

This is the price of fame.

The road to fame is the road to the throne.

And after becoming famous, the key is to consolidate the throne.

What Kitahara Takashi has to do now is to accept the challenges from each challenger.

Kitahara Takashi is never afraid of anyone's challenge, but he also wants challengers to understand that they should weigh themselves carefully before deciding to challenge him.

Besides, since you choose to be his challenger, you are standing on the opposite side of him, which means you are his opponent.

So is it wrong for him to be a little ruthless?

If he is not ruthless, how can he scare his challengers?

"And what do you think competitive sports are?"

"Peace is the most important thing? Just enough?"

"In competitive sports, there is no such thing as: friendship first, competition second!"

“No one remembers how the loser walked off the stage.”

"Everyone only remembers how the champion won the trophy."

Kitahara Takashi walked up to Yuuki Asuna and looked down at her: "Everyone wants to be the champion, who wants to be the runner-up?"

“My dreams can only come true by stepping on their dreams.”

There is only one champion.

What will he do after helping others?

The cruelty of competitive sports is also its greatest charm.

"......" Yuuki Asuna stared at Kitahara Takashi in a daze, her cherry lips open and unable to close for a long time.

"Can you still fight?" Kitahara Takashi said to the fallen Kiritani Kazuto.