RSE Chapter 48: The Wave of the Times

Chris didn't answer him. He just took the camera and continued to look at the picture.

Lin Yifei in the photo smiled brightly.

Both of them went to bed early that night, because tomorrow was the most important day for them to come to London, the Fencing Championship final.

The venue was in Olympic Park National Convention Center. Lin Yifei and Chris found their seats half an hour before the start of the competition. Mr. Osborne's action was very thoughtful. The place he booked was the closest place to the competition. Apart from the media, the best angle to watch the competition was the two of them.

George was ready with the camera. Fortunately he was here, so Lin Yifei and Chris could concentrate on watching the match.

Kevin Phil was called the British fencing gentleman, but Lin Yifei knew that after this match, he would be called "the glory of British fencing".

He came out in protective gear with elegant calm steps and leisurely pace. The media had begun to take pictures in a frenzy manner.

He saw Lin Yifei and slightly raised eyebrows. The competition had not officially started yet. Kevin still had a few minutes of freedom. He walked up to Lin Yifei and Chris and smiled.

"I didn't expect you two to be so close," Kevin said, reaching for the tip of his sabre. "I have to do well, or I'll be looked down by you two."

"You have to make us look up to you." Lin Yifei laughed.

Kevin tapped his finger on the tip of Lin Yifei's nose: "Keep your eyes wide open and watch this match. There is no sun that does not set in fencing. I will take down this guy from his throne today."

Lin Yifei touched his nose and looked at Kevin's back.

"He's really confident."

Chris stirred up eyebrows.

Kevin's opponent also came out. Marcel was German. His fencing style was also famous for its German rigor, but his attack also appeared extremely fast and forceful. He was the champion of the men's sabre in the last competition, winning two Fencing Championships and one runner-up.

This time, many media were predicting the results of the collision between the old and the new, but no one could say for sure who had more advantages between Kevin and Marcel.

Kevin's salute with his sabre was very elegant. However, once he readied his stance, his murderous look suddenly appeared.

At the moment when the referee motioned for start, Kevin fended off the opponent's sabre and stabbed him. Marcel took a step back and turned defense into attack, which in turn forced Kevin. Their sabres were all very fast. Lin Yifei needed to concentrate on judging the moment when the attack and defense alternated.

Finally, at a certain moment, Marcel blocked Kevin's cut. His steps changed rapidly. A forward thrust hit Kevin's shoulder.

The first hit took nearly half a minute. There would definitely be a bitter fight between the two men.

Lin Yifei knew that Marcel's win was also breathtaking. If Kevin had dodged sideways or returned fire with a counter, Marcel would be in danger.

It seemed that Marcel was ready to take risks in order to win over Kevin, the new star.

Lin Yifei didn't even dare to breathe. He was afraid of missing any wonderful moment.

However, Kevin still took the initiative to attack. These moves didn't fluster Marcel, who also took points back from the other party.

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This made Lin Yifei nervous. He stretched out his neck and clenched his fingers.

However, Kevin remained calm and kept pushing and pulling to interfere with the opponent's attack. Suddenly, a fencing line changed and the tip of the sabre grazed the opponent's hilt and split onto the opponent's big arm. The dexterity of the sabre combined too many techniques and tactics. Lin Yifei opened his mouth slightly and felt that he saw an eye-opener.

The scores of the competition alternated, just like the initial comments, it's difficult to predict who would win and lose before the end of the competition.

At the end of the first set, the score was 5-6, and Kevin was temporarily behind by one point.

Lin Yifei finally spit out the breath of his heart. His palms were sweating.

"This match, Kevin Phil will win." Chris's words surprised Lin Yifei a little.

"I can't see who will win, how can you see that?"

"Kevin is testing Marcel. He has used many methods to test Marcel's reactions. It's smart and risky."

Chris's words surprised Lin Yifei slightly.

He took a look at Kevin again. He was still wearing a mask and leaning his head back on the seat. Lin Yifei could imagine him with his eyes closed. Perhaps he was already simulating his confrontation with Marcel in his mind.

Soon a minute passed. The audience, who had been whispering, went dead silent again.

At the beginning of the match, Kevin suddenly attacked like a storm. The audience's sight couldn't keep up with the reflection of their swords.

Marcel stepped back to defend while judging Kevin's feint. Gradually, Marcel was mastering the rhythm, which led Kevin to make a mistake that should not be made but was hard to avoid, that was, too much diversion. But when Marcel stabbed his opponent fiercely, Kevin hit him on the shoulder. It turned out that the transfer was Kevin's real feint.

Lin Yifei blinked as the referee announced the score.

Kevin's advantage was obvious in this game, but his sabre was still breathtaking. If the audience could applaud, I'm afraid Kevin would have been drowned out by their applause.

At the end, it was 11-9. Kevin had a slight advantage. He walked back to his position in an orderly way and sat there meditating again.

"Maybe what you said is true. Kevin used a game to test Marcel." Lin Yifei chuckled, "This guy is the only one who dares to do this in an international competition."

"Are you nervous about him?"

Chris gently broke Lin Yifei's clenched fist. His palm was full of sweat.

"Correction, I'm not nervous because of him. It's this match that makes me nervous."

The decisive game was about to be played. In this rapidly changing field, no one could dominate forever. And it's inevitable that the new and the old would alternate.

Marcel was under a strong shadow. He felt the pressure of times that would drown him like a wave. But he would not go with the flow.

The 31-year-old veteran once again stood in front of the preparation line. He wanted to return the pressure to the younger person in front of him.

Marcel's active attack looked uncoordinated. Only people like Lin Yifei who had already had experience in international competitions could see that Marcel's judgment on Kevin was based on his many years of competitions. He had experienced countless people and competitions, and his head adapted faster than a computer. His feints were lifelike without warning, just like responding to Kevin's performance in the last game and telling him who was the real master.

Soon, the score was 12 to 12.

If Kevin continued to be suppressed by Marcel, the match would be decided.

Lin Yifei was chasing after Kevin's figure. The other party remained unhurried, moving his shoulders and touching the tip of his sabre.

Marcel started another round of attack. Kevin had been defending, but Lin Yifei had observed his footwork, this guy had been lurking and looking for opportunities to take back his right to attack. And he finally saw the opportunity. When Marcel suddenly accelerated, Kevin made a sudden change of line. Then before Marcel could stop his momentum, he started a round of counter-attack with changeable rhythm. A delicate feint didn't fool Marcel, but Kevin's next sabre fell heavily on Marcel's arm. For Kevin, there was no absolute falsehood.

Lin Yifei cheered in his heart. It was really great to watch the match in person.

After that, Kevin suppressed Marcel like a god. From 13-12 to 14-12, the climax occurred one after another, making the audience reluctant to blink.

There was still one last match left.

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Marcel lifted his head and took a long breath. Lin Yifei looked at Kevin's back. He had a feeling that this guy had already begun to welcome victory.

Sure enough, he made two feints in five or six seconds. Although Marcel saw through them, Kevin's offensive momentum remained unchanged.

Marcel was constantly looking for the opportunity to regain the offensive power, but Kevin's constant efforts had left him helpless.

The audience raised their hearts. Lin Yifei was also lying on the railing in the front row. Kevin's sabre fell on Marcel's shoulder but was fended off by the other party. Then there came a sharp blow. Marcel dodged and then a sabre fell on his arm. Marcel resisted and was trying to fight back. Kevin's thrust was so beautiful that people's eyes were fixed. Marcel stood there for a long time but didn't respond.

The tip of the sabre pierced his chest with penetrating force.

When the light came on, the referee decided it scored.

After two seconds of silence, the fencing hall burst full of applause.

Lin Yifei also clapped frenziedly.

Kevin took off his mask and bowed very gentlemanly to the audience. Lin Yifei bet that the flowers he received in this short time could load a truck.

Then the two athletes shook hands and hugged. Marcel gave him a meaningful pat on the back.

For a while, the sound of the camera shutter kept going. Many reporters were already waiting for the interview. This wasn't Britain's first time to hold a fencing championship, but as the host, Kevin was the first male athlete to win a fencing championship, which undoubtedly showed the pride of Britain.

Kevin walked slowly to the front of Lin Yifei. He ignored the media's attention, and asked with a light smile: "Hey, how did I do?"

"It was amazing!" Lin Yifei couldn't find any other description.

Kevin's expression remained calm, as if the World Championship title didn't even make him feel ecstatic. He glanced at Chris on the side and asked with a half-joking tone: "Yifei, were you looking at me all the time and dare not blink?"

"Of course!" Lin Yifei answered without thinking.

"Oh – then I guess your little boyfriend must be jealous of me." Kevin turned away.

Lin Yifei looked at Chris and realized that his face was covered with ice.

"Hey," Lin Yifei elbowed him, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

After watching the award ceremony, Lin Yifei and Chris were about to leave when a staff member handed a card to Lin Yifei.

"Are you Lin?"

"Ah, I am."