The Laughing Swordsman

The dojo master ran off the stage, attempting to get farther away from Apollo. As for the crowd, they hurriedly got out of the way, not wanting to get involved.

The dojo master uncontrollably cried, unable to stand the pain.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Apollo continued chasing after him, attempting to stab him further. He had yet to accomplish his goal of attacking every part of the dojo master's body, thus had no plans of stopping here.

As for the dojo master, his reputation had fallen as low as it could possibly get. This fact was not apparent to him now, as he just wanted the pain to stop.

Eden watched all this happen with a confused expression. She felt like she was supposed to do something, anything. This strange situation should stop for the better of everyone.

Yet, Eden also had no idea what sort of action she could take.

The dojo master passed by Suki, who was still sitting on the bench. Her eyelid twitched once she saw the sorry mess the person she looked up became.

As Apollo passed, Suki hurriedly called out to him.

"Apollo!"

Hearing this, Apollo stopped and turned to Suki.

"Hm?"

A bitter smile formed on Suki's face.

"You have already won as the dojo master has given up. Stop chasing him, alright?"

Apollo pouted.

"But I still didn't finish what I started!"

Suki blinked a few times, not understanding what exactly he meant.

"I understand, but it is also unfair that you continued to hit the dojo master after he gave up."

Apollo hummed with dissatisfaction.

"Ok..."

The dojo master noticed that Apollo stopped chasing him. He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground, directly passing out.

The crowd didn't really know what to feel. Most of them here wanted to either watch a magnificent display of technique or learn something. Unfortunately, the only thing they got to see was a beatdown.

Suki noticed this, thus she tried to salvage the situation.

"Apollo, you have the best swordsmanship out of all of us by miles. We are all so curious about your technique. Do you mind trying to teach us?"

Eden saw this and felt a little ashamed of herself. If only she was the one saying those words, making everyone feel comfortable.

Apollo opened his mouth, about to respond to Suki's question. But someone spoke up beforehand.

"Wait!"

A young man stepped out from the crowd. He had defined muscles and from his sleeveless shirt, it was clear the man wasn't afraid to show it.

"I don't think his swordsmanship is better than mine! The dojo master is simply a pushover that can't hold his own!"

Suki smiled bitterly.

"I apologize sir, but I have seen your ability. It does not match his."

The man was clearly offended.

"Hah, as if! I've come to practice here so many times. Despite participating in many spars, I have never lost one in recent times!"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"What Suki said was a little inaccurate."

The man smirked confidently.

"Exactly!"

Apollo smiled as well.

"After all, even if all of you tried to attack me, none of you would be able to land a single hit!"

The expression on the man's face froze. Along with that, several displeased expressions appeared within the crowd.

"That is just nonsense! How can one person beat so many others?"

"If you want to boast, be realistic about it!"

"My swordsmanship is not as good as yours, but saying that is taking it too far!"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"I am just telling the truth!"

The corner of Suki's lip twitched.

"Calm down everyone, we can surely settle this peacefully."

A boy from the crowd raised his wooden sword in the air and exclaimed righteously.

"I will calm down after he apologizes."

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Apologize for what? Not lying?"

The crowd got more incensed.

"How dare you say that!"

Suki opened her mouth while her mind whirred as fast as it could to find some way to fix this.

...But then, she began to wonder if Apollo really could beat everyone here without getting hit once. From what she saw, it was definitely within the realm of possibility.

Suki coughed awkwardly.

"Then we can do it like this! Apollo will stand in the middle of the wooden stage and fight anybody that comes after him!"

In the end, the person who was supposed to make peace was the one that instigated the fight.

She turned to Apollo.

"Are you ok with this arrangement?"

Apollo nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah!"

Suki's eyebrows jumped a little. In the back of her mind, she thought Apollo might come up with an excuse or may be bluffing. But that didn't seem to be the case, as he took the challenge head on.

Many among the crowd nodded as well, happy with the new rules.

Apollo made way to the middle of the stage.

Suki wanted to do a countdown, but before she could, a young man jumped on the stage and charged towards Apollo with a battle cry.

As though that was a spark, countless other people jumped on as well.

The first man shot swung at Apollo, but just barely missed. Before he could retract his sword, a strong force suddenly hit his chest, causing him to be blasted backwards.

An old man charged forward with a cry, holding his wooden sword high with both hands. However, before he could attack, his chest was hit.

Then, Apollo was surrounded by three people who all swung their swords, but halfway through their swing, they were blasted back.

After that, people didn't recklessly charge in, a little afraid now. This prompted Apollo to dive into the crowd himself, like a lion into a flock of sheep.

One after another, pained cries came from the crowd.

Apollo weaved through wooden swords and people seamlessly, slipping by the tiniest of gaps.

Nobody could stand against him.