Sword is equal to Wand, Chapter 26 (Patreon)

Despite how many students were involved in this tournament, even just for first years. It was actually surprisingly quick with how all the chaff got cleaned out as it only took five... VERY quick matches for me to be named the 'champion' of Gyrffindor house.

As Rosaria, despite being stronger then almost all her peers and having her own strong talent with wind-based spells and martial arts. As she could throw wind blades at me with her wand and the straight sword she liked to use. I still beat her easily as I did before.

"So why are we fighting each other's house mates almost exclusively?" I asked Ernie MacMillian, the Hufflepuff Pureblood that was also in the same year as us.

And he was a 'notable' character in canon to an extent... I mean the only two things I remember about him in canon was how he thought Harry was the Heir of Slytherin, and then called Harry a cheater at the start of the Triwizard Tournament.

But at least in this timeline, he was a big dude and although he hadn't unlocked elemental martial arts anyway. He actually had clearly some training in normal combat spells. And even prank spells that could be turned into a combat method.

As it was one thing to use a spell to make someone's shoelaces tie together to make them trip. But it was another for them to use a spell to make their laces shoot out and then strangle the poor bastard.

Still he was on the chill side which wasn't suprising seeing as he was sorted into Hufflepuff which prided itself on teamwork and the ability to cooperate with others above all other traits.

Because in Hufflepuff's own words... It didn't matter how hard working you were. If you could rally a hundred other wizards behind you. What task could you not do?

Still with a helpless tone Ernie said. "Making us fight each other from the get-go makes the houses more competitive with one another which sparks fights randomly across the school where the teachers can't stop them in time."

Ernie took a breath and then added. "But making us fight our 'families' basically makes it so if any problems happen it will stay in house. And almost certainly in the Houses common rooms where the sparring rings can keep the worst of the damage aside." 

"Fair point." I admitted as I watched Dorea and Daphne going at it on the arena as the two girls were the last of the first years fighting their own housemates.

And as for how Dorea was even remotely keeping up with Daphne? Ernie spoke everyone's thoughts with distaste. "She is skirting the line... We aren't supposed to use enchanted weapons yes, but it's an unspoke rule you don't wear a robe made from Elder Dragon scales for gods sake." 

As it really was... Fucking gay, that Dorea was wearing a 'god' mode armor to a first year tournament. And she wasn't even bothering with martial arts as she used only her wand to cast weaker spells at Daphne.

But finally after a long dance of Daphne's blade building up power with constant motions and blocking Dorea's spells. She stabbed forward towards Dorea and although all those wind blades exploded uselessly against the elder dragon scales that made up the robes she was wearing.

It still blasted her backwards with the pure force of the blow and she fell out of the arena with Snape calling an end to the duel and throwing a 'dissapointed' look at Dorea who got up with a snarl at being the only one who actually get blasted out of the ring to end the fight.

'Dorea looks ready to stab someone... Even outside of an arena anyway.' I thought helplessly as it was all to clear that daddy dearest clearly shelled out alot of fucking money and influence to get Dorea to have that robe.

As for the first years... Such robes were truly outlandish with how almost all of us couldn't throw offensive spells out with decent control.

Then Snape came up and drew lots for the four last students for the four houses and I got slotted to fight the Ravenclaw student first thing... Who just happened to be Cho Chang. Oh fucking joy.

"It is interesting to see you here Jake. Even with your talents, I didn't imagine seeing you manhandle your fellow house mates so clearly and putting them below you." Cho Chang said cooly even as she casually twisted her chinese straight sword from her side with icy lunar energy streaming from the blade.

In but a moment, I categorized and memorized her 'Lunar Ice Storm' Martial Art and I realized why she was able to do elemental attacks, as she wasn't nearly as hardworking as Daphne. And she sure as hell didn't have the resources to enhance her skill with the martial art either.

What with how her family line had been pushed out from their homeland.

I made a tsking noise as I said with amusement. "Bloodline huh? Using your divine connection to the goddess Chang'e to pull out the natural icy lunar energy from your martial art. Not bad." 

I gripped my spear sword and a roaring flame was born on the long sword at the end. And I said in a likewise cool manner. "You were terrified of me walking the path of solar energy and suppressing you into the ground. That isn't nearly at the level I am practising." 

And then Snape who had waited for us to get into position, spoke out in a bored tone. "You both may start now."

I wasn't interested in Cho Chang in the slightest at this point, hence I wasn't going to have mercy or play any games with her. Even if I wasn't going to try to kill her innately, I was going to put her down hard so she woudn't bug me hopefully, anymore!

I stepped forward and shot forward at high speed towards Cho Chang, and my body pulsed with red energy as I enhanced my base strength and speed with a spell before my thrusting sword spear met her sword she hurriedly swung upwards to block my weapon.

A... Ear biting clanging noise rang out as our weapons met hard. Very hard, and Cho Chang wasn't a physcially well endowned fighter in the slightest as she hadn't made a spirit beast contract either yet.

With a flurry of lightning strikes, I put Cho Chang on the back front as my sword spear crackled with lightning, and her body locked up for a brief moment as our blades met.

As Cho Chang wasn't wearing truly magic-resistant robes like Dorea was, she was still very targeted by even passive effects of elemental attacks.

Meanwhile, her lunar icy energy in her attacks was burnt away as I constantly also filled the surroundings with brutally scalding hot solar yang flames that burned golden across the arena.

Her sword's lunar energy had the effect of waxing and waning naturally between moves. When the energy waned, it became thinner and more lethal as it became sharp wires of icy energy. And when it became larger it became a brutally cold wind as it tried to slam into me.

But her martial art wasn't refined, its effects were driven by her divine bloodline, however diluted it was. 

So as she tried to create another moon blade to swirl through the air to strike at me. I broke the lunar energy blade with a spin of my spear sword, and as I spun around completely. In that same motion, I smashed the backhand of my fist into her jawline, making a loud click as I smashed her teeth together.

As I came out of the spin I used all the extra momentum as her brain jostled from the chin punch to drive a kick into her wrist, which sent her sword-clad hand into her chest, scratching her shoulder with the blade and making her gasp from the force of her hand my foot smashing her chest and knocking the air out of her.

And as she backpedaled away. I infused my hand wind energy following Daphne's own martial art to create a wind blade around my hand to block her sword that she swung at me. 

With her sword literally in hand, she couldn't pull it out of my much stronger hands in time to realize that she had lost this fight entirely as my spear sword thrust forward one last time. And with a loud crack of shattered bone.

My spear sword stabbed through the center of her chest, shattering the center of her ribs, and I only stopped the thrust when I felt her spine's resistance at the end of my spear.

"Thoughts enough!" Snape called out, and I pulled the spear sword out with a grimace as a spray of crimson lifeblood from Cho Chang splattered outwards and hit the reinforced dueling floor as she partially collapsed as I pulled back.

And once my spear was well out of the way, and I clearly wasn't going to attack again. The temporal film that tied us to the arena pulled back, and I saw the lethal wounds on Cho Chang disappear in a moment.

Our eyes met then, I met Cho Chang's cold, dark eyes filled with a fury at losing. No, being humiliated as I clearly barely even tried in this fight. And with how I dismissed her, I could see the insult to her burned all to deeply.

But she wasn't a rival to me. I just turned my eyes away and strode off the arena, as Snape called Cho Chang to move so that Ernie and Daphne could then do their own match.

"Yeah see, there is no shame to losing to the champ haha." Ron joked as with one hand he passed me a drink, and he threw an arm around my shoulder and brought me over to Rosaria and his sister Ginny who were sitting together.

And seeing me approach, Rosaria gave me a dirty look, which made me chuckle helplessly as I was a dick and 'Hulk Clapped' her out of the arena again. 

"Are you regretting it yet? Teaching Daphne that is?" Ginny teased as Ernie was getting utterly bullied by a storm of wind blades that tore through the air, and he couldn't block all of them with just shield charms.

To which I said shamelessly. "Hell nope! I needed the money, and what? I taught her how to do all those moves. How the hell is she going to be me?" I asked at the end with some arrogance.

But... Who could refute me on that point? First years weren't even supposed to unlock elemental infusion to their martial arts and become even remotely consistent with wand-based spells. Until at least halfway through the year.

And then my face twitched as Ginny said teasingly. "Hey, Jake... Look, Daphne also has enchanted tools on her as well."

And as for why enchanted defensive tools like Dorea's dragon scale cloak weren't banned... It was simple, if you had the resources to get them and have them while on the field of battle. Then you had every right to use them here.

Meanwhile, for offensive tools, that wasn't fair because offensive enchanted tools, especially at this point, were completely unfair.

Because right now, skill, luck, and even a modicum of planning could beat someone like Daphne who couldn't use her wand in combat yet... If Ron was able to dodge or block a couple of her wind blades and put her into a headlock. What could she do, actually?

Literally nothing, she would be choked out, as I knew she couldn't control her wind blades to attack so close to herself.

But Ernie wasn't brave enough to push through a storm of wind blades and was all too soon worn down and then had a massive cut through his leg that dropped him and Snape called the fight seeing that he couldn't stand back up.

Then Snape called out for Daphne and me to get back into the arena, and we could rest for a couple of minutes.

I walked up to the arena with Daphne remaining in hers, and as I stood away from her by a couple of meters she spoke up throughtfully. "Actually Jake, I am curious. How much would it cost for you to throw this fight? To let me win?" 

I could fucking feel Snape's eyes boring in the back of my skull. Along with Mavuika and McGonagall's much more fiery eyes waiting for my answer as well from across the room.

To which I just said flatly and with my spear being aimed slightly towards her. "It seems that no matter what, I lose if I throw. I lose your respect. And three teachers will lynch me even if I consider it." 

To which Mavuika came over to the arena with Snape throwing her a dark look as he drawled. "Mavuika, are you approaching because you think I will favor Daphne for being in my house?"

Mavuika, with a shit-eating grin, said shamelessly. "Nah! I heard this little blondie has been taught extensively by Jake over the last couple of weeks. So I wanted to see this ass-kicking up close!"

'Daphne doesn't like that at all.' I thought in amusement as she rather poorly hid a scowl at how Mavuika was all but leaning on the arena to watch... As closely as possible.

And then Daphne actually scowled as her half sister in, Tracey Davis also came up to the arena and called out teasingly. "Give her a good spank, Jake!"

With that, Snape finally rolled his eyes and spoke in a droll tone. "Very well, you two may begin now."

In slow motion to my senses anyway, I watched as Daphne pulled her saber from her waist and stepped forward to launch a wind blade at me in the moment Snape's voice ended.

But I hadn't just been spending my time playing chess games and other nonsense for the last week, as I knew that having combat strength right now with how I was going into the Spirit Beast Forest every few days was needed.

So, as before, I coated my hand in another wind blade without needing a sword to block the wind blade from her.

And even as she spun around to start her martial arts style of creating a tornado of wind blades to surround the user for offense and defense. A ball of air exploded from below my feet which sent me flying foward towards her at high speed.

As Daphne completed her spin and a whirl of wind surrounded her, that swirling wind was broken as I came in with a drop kick that slammed into her chest and as my feet made contact with her chest.

I detonated another wind bomb, which sent Daphne flying out of the arena with her ribs audibly cracking as the force shattered her solar plexus and several ribs.

"That's enough! You win Jake." Snape called out as he held out a hand to prevent Daphne from getting hurt as she landed outside of the arena and as she left the arena her wounds were wiped away by being taken out of the time lock as well.

And I could tell Daphne wasn't happy with me defeating her in a single blow. But what? Should I have played around with her?

But then McGonagall spoke out firmly but happily at seeing me win the first year side of the tournament. "Jake, come over here. Your trophy and resources are here for you to sign for."