When Caesar was young, there was a time he hated birds for the sole reason that birds were free. While everyone suffered, birds just moved in the air, only worrying about where they would sleep and what they would eat. He also hated birds because they reminded him of his situation.
Leonard also hated birds for the same reason as Caesar.
Leonard at this moment felt like a wingless bird. He couldn't fly to escape; he could only watch as life passed by his eyes.
'A wingless bird can't do much at the end, can it?'
The smile on his face widened.
'Still, I refuse to just sit by doing nothing.'
'Here stands a wingless bird attempting to create wings out of nothing.'
Widening his eyes, he thought, 'How foolish is that? A wingless bird sprouting wings.'
"I accept your challenge, Richard," Leonard said, his body upright and his golden eyes reflecting Richard's figure.
'Like a wingless bird, like a fool, I'll continue moving forward trying to create my wings from nothing.'
The room was even more shocked by Leonard's reply. Melissa was shocked as well; she stared at Leonard, trying to signal at him to reason with himself. No matter what, Leonard couldn't win this match—that was known by all. But he still accepted it. The result would surely be humiliating for Leonard and also more disadvantageous than just refusing to accept the challenge.
It was a foolish move.
A move the prideful Richard wouldn't have made if he was in Leonard's situation; a move Morgana wouldn't have made if she was in Leonard's situation; a move Alexander wouldn't have made if he was in Leonard's situation; a move Lillian wouldn't have done.
A move Caesar wouldn't have made if he was in Leonard's situation.
Only two people in the room would have made such a move: Elizabeth, who currently seemed excited by the turn of events, and Leonard himself, whose eyes held a strange light and a smile on his face. Leonard and Caesar were similar; most of the actions Leonard had done upon transmigrating into Caesar's body were something Caesar would do. This action of accepting Richard's challenge was something Caesar wouldn't do—an action only Leonard would do.
Richard's eyes twitched, but soon excitement found itself on his face.
"Are weapons allowed?" he heard Leonard ask.
With a smug smile, Richard replied, "Yes, you're free to use any weapon."
Lillian, who was close to Richard, glanced at him, then at Leonard again.
"I see. May we use the stage for our duel?" Leonard asked, looking at Morgana's father.
Although the turn of events shocked him, he didn't let it show much. "Yes, you may," he replied with a faint smile on his face.
Morgana and Garrett left the stage for the two of them. The crowd was quiet, awaiting the match; however, everyone already knew the results. With a smug look, Richard walked up to the designated area while looking at Leonard; he couldn't hide his smile. Leonard walked up, looking at Richard; he also had a smile of his own.
The two were soon standing opposite each other.
"You can start," Richard said smugly.
"If you insist," Leonard replied.
Bang!
A gunshot was heard. The smell of gunpowder covered the room.
"He used a gun!" The crowd was in awe when they saw Leonard shoot at Richard with immense precision.
Leonard removed his revolver from the holster under his armpit. The suit he was wearing hid this holster; apart from Melissa and him, no one most likely knew of it. Leonard carried a revolver in case something unpredictable happened. Richard most likely wasn't expecting this. Guns were useless against people with Classes, as they would soon heal, but healing required time.
Richard glanced at his right leg, where a hole with blood leaking was.
Bang!
Before he could react in time, a second gunshot was heard; his right shoulder was shot. Richard's Qi was starting to heal the wounds. The bullet didn't penetrate too deep due to the protection his Qi provided his body, but still, it was enough to hinder his movements for a brief moment.
Unlike last time, Richard moved from where he was. He was now alert for any other attacks; however, a third gunshot wasn't heard. Instead, he saw Leonard charge at him.
Seeing this, Richard let out a tsk sound.
'Just because you got a few surprise shots in, don't think you're at my level.'
Richard didn't avoid Leonard and instead charged in as well. The two were soon a few meters from each other. Richard was constantly looking at Leonard's revolver in case he decided to shoot.
Swoosh.
The wind current changed as Leonard threw a punch at Richard's face. Richard was able to dodge this punch by moving his head slightly and launched his own punch at Leonard. Leonard didn't evade, but at the same time, he aimed his revolver at Richard's head. Richard was quick to notice this and moved quickly to his right. There, he was met with a kick to his abdomen by Leonard.
'A feint!'
Leonard aimed the gun with no intention of shooting.
Once the kick landed, Richard let out a pained groan and staggered slightly. Leonard rushed at him with another kick, which Richard was able to dodge by moving his body to his left.
Swoosh.
Richard threw a left punch at Leonard's face which landed due to Leonard's slow reaction. Leonard felt like a wall had hit his face. Before Richard could move his hand, Leonard caught it and used it to pull Richard close to him.
Richard, seeing that he was being pulled, launched a kick at Leonard's abdomen which landed with immense force. Leonard's grip on his revolver loosened, and he let go of Richard's arm. With a pained groan, Leonard fell on one knee.
Seeing this opportunity, Richard was about to launch a devastating attack.
Swoosh.
With the air current changing, Richard punched Leonard's face. Leonard staggered back until he fell on both knees. Richard smiled seeing this and launched a barrage of kicks at Leonard's abdomen. The more he stepped on Leonard, the more the smile on his face increased. Just as he was about to deliver the last devastating kick, he heard a loud sound.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!