I JUST WANT A PEACEFUL LIFE

'The only one that could do that is you!!' thought Aunt Extalia and Jayna.

Combat is a very complex art. Anything could happen inside the fight. Some experts even said it is almost impossible to predict the outcome of two fighters with nearly the same combat prowess.

No one could predict how the fight would turn out. A single mistake or even a small movement could change the battle's outcome. It is not wrong to say that every move in the battle will create a new situation.

Therefore, every combatant needs at least to adapt and make countermeasures on the spot. Unfortunately, most people couldn't adjust to the sudden new situation unless they had experienced similar things.

Only monstrous people like Angus could keep calm and adapt to the battle change even if his limb gets destroyed. Although Crown Prince Eric is already over thirty years old, his combat experience is lesser than his Mer opponent.

Angus sees Mer trying to stale time and consume Eric's mana while probing him. Once Eric's mana receives a certain threshold, he predicts the Mer will launch a big attack on Eric. Then, Eric will be forced to use his remaining mana to counter or dodge the attack.

While Angus and the others discuss Eric's fight, Eric himself notices the mana he consumes when firing firebolts to harass his opponent. As a fifth-grade combatant, his mana is quite a lot.

However, he just got a breakthrough a few years ago. Compared to the full-fledged fifth-grade combatant who has been for a dozen years, his mana is still lacking. Seeing that Mer intends to consume his mana, he decides to become more aggressive.

[2nd Circle - Fireball] Suddenly, Eric throws a crimson Fireball at the Mer. Noticing it is different from the previous Firebolt, the Mer takes a distance to avoid the Fireball. *BOOM*

Using this opportunity, Eric covered himself in [Flame Armor] and charged at the Mer with his sword. Unfortunately, the Mer has already predicted Eric's follow-up attack and shoots a small water droplet in Eric's direction while retreating [Water Bullet].

*Bam* *Bam* *Bam* *Ssshhss* a sizzling sound was heard as Water Bullet made contact with Flame Armor and hit Eric's battle armor. Although the Water Bullet is small, it can still stop Eric from his charge.

"What sturdy armor…" commented Mer.

Then, the Mer continuously shot more Water Bullet through his webbed hand. *Bam* *Bam* *Bam* Eric could only defend his face and eyes while withstanding the barrage attack. He couldn't even move properly from the spot as he kept getting hit by the Water Bullet.

The Water Bullet may not hurt him, but the force behind it still troubles him. Moreover, he needs to keep his Flame Armor to avoid the water accumulating in the arena. It is common sense to not let water gather around when fighting elemental water users.

At this moment, Eric tried to send a wave of fire to stop the Mer attack [Sword Art - Crimson Slash]. *Whoosh* The Mer avoids the hit and charges toward Eric. In response, Eric another Crimson Slash.

The Mer stops a few meters away from him and launches a fist at the incoming Crimson Flash [Mer Art 1st Style - Trembling Wave]. Eric's Crimson Slash stops a few centimeters before Mer's fist before being blown out as invisible shockwaves are released toward Eric.

*Sprrut* Getting hit by the invisible shockwaves attack, Eric feels like his inside getting hit. Moreover, the attack also passes through his safety barrier. Mer launches another attack using this chance with his webbed hand and thick bluish water elemental cover it.

[Mer Art 2nd Style - Torrential Wave] [Fire Assault] *Whoosh* *BAMM* Before the bluish fist hit Eric, he used Fire Assault to create a distance from the Mer. A small crater appeared in Eric's previous spot. There is also some water accumulated in the crater.

The Mer didn't give Eric rest and launched another invisible shockwave attack [Mer Art 1st Style - Trembling Wave]. This time the hit is less hard than before but still hurts Eric. The Mer keeps launching Trembling Wave and slowly builds up strong mana in his hand.

"This is the end, brat [Fist Art - Deep Current Palm]!!" shouted the Mer.

The Mer launches his palm to the front with concentrated water elemental. The water elemental blends with the surrounding vapor and creates a big palm of water. Eric couldn't dodge the attack as he felt his body heavy like underwater.

In the end, he could only brace for the impact and hope his safety barrier was strong enough to withstand the attack. *BAMM* *CRACK* *CRACK* The barrier managed to withstand the big palm before it was destroyed.

Before Eric feels relieved, he feels an unknown force hit his internal and coughed more blood than in the previous attack. As his consciousness faded away from internal injury, he could see the incoming bluish fist approaching him and his Aunt's voice from the side.

'So much for being called Crown Prince and prodigy…' thought Eric before falling unconscious.

In the meantime, the Mer stopped his fist just a few centimeters from Eric as soon as he heard the Duchess surrender declaration. Although the Mer is a strong adventurer, he is still known not to push his boundary and make enemies of the Heart Kingdom.

Therefore, he stops his attack and leaves the battle arena as soon as Elder Yawan declares his win. He wants to pass today's test and has nothing to do with the other party anymore. Aunt Extalia nodded at the Mer as if she understood his intention and did not blame his ruthlessness on Eric.

Everyone didn't expect the Mer could use the famous Mer Art to create an invisible shockwave attack. The Mer Art is a renowned combat style in the Orces Kingdom which is one of the homes of the Mer race.

However, not everyone can use these complex skills. According to the information, it takes at least ten years of continuous hard training just to master one of its styles. Although ten years is not long for Merpeople, it is hard to do continuous training for ten years.

Not everyone has time for such strict training, even with a strong will to do it. Therefore, only a few Mer are capable of using this skill while it is a common battle skill for the Mer race. Even the elite knight of Orces only has a few people who thoroughly master these skills.

The elite Mer knights have more practical skills that are easier to master than Mer Art. Still, this Mer Art interests Angus. He found similarities with some of his skills from his previous life.

However, rather than use water elemental, he uses the destructive energy of chi as the power source.

After giving some first aid to the unconscious Eric, it is the royal guard's turn. They didn't expect Eric to lose badly in the fight and decided to send the Royal Guard. If the Royal Guard lost, the others didn't need to fight a useless battle.

The royal guard's name is Garner, one of the fifth-grade royal guards. Garner is one of the strongest royal guards below the Royal Guard Leader Roy. Unlike Eric, he was already in the fifth grade for years.

Moreover, as a Royal Guard, he must keep training to stay in his position. Although Angus rarely sees Garner, he still hears some information about him from the others.

"If I am not wrong, he is one of the most trusted Royal Guards that King Leon sent to take care of Crown Prince Eric." said Angus.

"True. Garner is one of the talented Royal Guards that King Leon has. It's a pity to make him Eric's bodyguard. We didn't have much choice and it is also served for Garner training." said Aunt Extalia.

"Training?" asked Angus, but his Aunt didn't say anything further.

In the meantime, Garner enters the battle area with his opponent and Elder Yawan as their referee. Garner's opponent is a big person wearing full metal armor with only a small hole in his helmet for his eyes.

"*ACHHOO* Angus, its biggy biggy metal bubble." commented Anna with snot on her nose.

"Anna, did you find something with that guy?" asked Angus.

"Emmm… *ACHOOO* It's fishy." said Anna with a frown.

"Fishy?" asked Angus back.

Unfortunately, their talk stop as the fight starts and the two fighters charge at each other. Unlike the previous battle, their fight is more frontal. Exchanging blow with blow. It is clear that the two fighters are warrior-type combatants.

[Sword Art - Blazing Slash] Garner swings his burning sword at his opponent without mercy. His opponent didn't stay idle either and used his mace to parry it [Mace Art - Land Breaker]. *BANG* The two strong attacks clash and turn into stalemates.

Everyone could see they struggle to overcome their opponent. After a moment, they push each other and create a distance.

'That brown hue and this earthy sensation must be Earth elemental. This is going to be a difficult fight.' thought Garner.

'Such a powerful fire elemental skill. I need to be careful not to get a direct hit.' thought the full metal armor guy.

After that, the two fighters start to clash in close combat using their sophisticated skill. Soon, many uneven ground and scorched marks filled the battle arena. Suddenly, the full metal armor guy takes out another mace from his storage bracelet and attacks Garner.