Chapter 64 - My Fighting Style [4]

I held my weapons firmly in each hand, then I went into my fighting stance.

I lowered my center of gravity, gripping my primary rapier [Frost] in my right hand while keeping the silver dagger held firmly in my left.

On the other side of the arena, Zion stood holding [Excalibur] with both hands... I noticed that the more mana he injected in it, the brighter is the golden light coming out of its the blade.

The intense mana aura hummed softly, casting bright reflections against the polished stone floor of the training grounds.

"I’m ready!"

Zion exclaimed as he got into a fighting stance. He adjusted his grip on the hilt, his eyes locking onto me with absolute focus and excitement.

"I’m ready as well."

I replied with a nod of my head.

I drew a deep breath, circulating my frost mana through my limbs as I prepared to launch myself forward.

The two of us then looked toward the staff that will be overseeing our sparring match. They gave us a thumbs up, telling us that the barriers are up.

And so, without further ado—

"Start."

The instructor lowered their raised hand, signaling the official beginning of the duel.

"..."

"..."

Neither Zion or I moved first. It’s been a while since our last sparring, and we’re both aware that the other party has improved since then.

The heavy silence settled over the dome as we measured the distance between us, waiting for the slightest opening in each other’s posture.

Blindly charging in is not a good idea.

Against a talented fighter who could react in a fraction of a second, an uncalculated rush would only lead to an instant counter.

But alas—BAM!

It was me who made the first move, I charged forward as I thrust [Frost] at the same time. I kicked off the ground with maximum force, sending a loud ring echoing through the arena as I closed the gap instantly.

I moved in a blur, I was so fast!

But Zion was already got used to my speed long ago.

SWOOSH~

He just moved sideways and avoided my attack with ease, and with a smile on his face; he countered with an upward slash aimed at my head!

His reaction was nearly instant, shifting his weight effortlessly to let my point glide harmlessly past his shoulder.

It was so fast.

The golden blade of [Excalibur] cut through the air with terrifying speed, threatening to end the match right as it started.

But just as he got used to my speed, so did I to his.

TINK!

Using the dagger in my left hand, I intercepted Zion’s attack and stopped it.

I snapped my left wrist upward, catching the edge of his heavy golden blade near the handguard of my silver dagger.

TWHACK!

Then I followed up a kick to his stomach. I drove my right boot directly into his exposed midsection before he could adjust his stance.

"Ugh?!"

Zion was clearly taken aback by this, he stumbled a few steps back.

He let out a sharp gasp, forced to retreat as the sudden strike disrupted his balance.

I didn’t let that opportunity go, and with a confident stride to close the distance between us again—I unleashed a barrage of fast thrusts!

I stepped forward instantly, channeling my mana to accelerate my right arm into a rapid flurry of strikes.

I saw Zion’s face frown, I know he hates dealing with my barrage. The constant stream of high-speed thrusts forced him into a purely defensive position with no room to breathe.

He lifted his sword, and as fast as he could... He started parrying and blocking my attacks.

TING! TUNK! CLANG! TINK—!

He swung [Excalibur] back and forth with incredible hand speed, matching every single one of my incoming thrusts.

Sparks flew everywhere each time our mana coated blades collided. I tried pushing on to put pressure on Zion.

Bright golden light and cold blue sparks showered the floor as our weapons clashed repeatedly in rapid succession.

But instead of stepping back—SLASH!

Zion let himself get cut a little on his left cheek—

SWOOSH!

Then he countered with a horizontal swing, targeting my head!

He deliberately ignored a shallow grazing strike from my rapier, leaning into the pain to force a massive counterattack.

CLANG!

I blocked it with my dagger again, but the force behind this one was too strong for my left arm alone. The sheer impact of his two-handed swing rattled my bones, threatening to push my guard completely open.

And so, instead of trying to stop it with force, I formed ice beneath my feet and let myself slide!

SWOOSH—!

I then created an ice path and redirected myself behind Zion quickly! A thin sheet of slick ice coated the ground under my boots, allowing me to glide effortlessly around his flank in a split second.

And from there—I tried to stab his head!

My rapier whistled through the air as I aimed a sharp, lethal thrust directly toward the back of his neck.

"Ugh! Stop with the thrusts!"

Zion ducked down and rolled off the ground, he immediately got up.

But by the time that he did, I was already launching another thrust straight to his face!

TIIING!!!

"GAH!"

Zion reacted on pure instinct, dropping his head low and executing a quick forward roll across the stone floor to avoid the fatal blow. He pushed off his hands and sprang back to his feet in a single fluid motion, but I didn’t give him a single second to catch his breath.

I had already closed the short distance between us, my rapier whistling through the air as the point aimed directly for his forehead.

"Whoa!"

Zion yelled out in surprise, snapping his head back just in time as the tip of [Frost] grazed past his nose.

He gritted his teeth and swung [Excalibur] upward in a heavy diagonal cut, trying to force me to retreat.

SWOOSH!

I didn’t back off. Instead of stepping away from his attack range, I leaned my upper body to the left and let the heavy golden blade pass inches away from my shoulder.

TINK!

At the exact same time, I brought my silver dagger down hard against the flat of his blade, deflecting the rest of his upward momentum away from my body.

Zion’s eyes widened slightly as his heavy weapon was pushed off course, leaving his right flank exposed.

"Not so fast!"

Zion shouted, quickly shifting his balance to throw a heavy left hook straight at my ribs.

WHAM!

I brought my left elbow down, catching his fist with my arm guard while thrusting [Frost] forward with my right hand.

CLANG!

Zion barely managed to pull his sword back in time to catch the tip of my rapier near his hilt, stopping my counterattack cold. The force of the collision pushed both of us back a few steps, our boots scraping heavily against the stone floor of the arena.

’His raw physical strength is still insane.’

I thought to myself, feeling my left hand tingle slightly from the sheer power behind his strikes.

If I tried to match him blow for blow using brute force, I would definitely lose the moment my endurance ran out.

That’s why this dual-wielding style was designed specifically to bypass that weakness.

"You really aren’t giving me any space today, huh?!"

Zion grinned, his eyes glowing with excitement as he coated [Excalibur] in an even denser layer of golden mana.

"That’s the point of this style."

I replied calmly, adjusting my grip on both weapons.

TAP!

Zion launched himself forward, kicking off the ground so hard that a faint crack appeared on the stone beneath his feet.

He swung his golden sword in a rapid three-hit combo—a overhead strike, a low sweep, and a sharp thrust straight to my chest.

SWOOSH! CLANG! TINK!

I moved smoothly, using the silver dagger in my left hand to parry every single one of his heavy swings.

Whenever [Excalibur] came down, my dagger was already there to slide along the edge and alter its trajectory just enough to miss my body.

And every time I deflected a blow, [Frost] immediately lashed out in a quick counter-thrust!

TING! TUNK! SWOOSH!

Zion was forced to constantly adjust his footing and swing his heavy blade back to block my incoming jabs, completely interrupting his own offensive rhythm. He couldn’t complete a full combination because my rapier was constantly threatening his open spots every time he swung!

"Damn it!"

Zion muttered under his breath, his forehead sweating as he struggled to land a clean hit on me.

He tried pushing forward with sheer physical momentum, attempting to overwhelm my guard with heavy overhead chops.

CLANG! TINK!

I deflected the first chop with my dagger, letting the golden blade glide off to the side, then immediately stepped inside his guard to slash [Frost] toward his chest.

Zion had to twist his body awkwardly mid-air to dodge my rapier, scraping his shoulder against the ground as he barely avoided the blade.

"How are you deflecting all of those so easily?!"

Zion asked, catching his footing and catching his breath for a brief moment.

"I’m not stopping your attacks, Zion... I’m just guiding them where I want them to go."

I told him with a small, confident smile.

Using a short blade in my off-hand gave me the ability to parry heavy attacks without taking the full impact on my body. By redirecting his energy instead of stopping it, I saved my stamina while keeping him completely off balance.

"Let’s see if you can redirect this one!"

Zion yelled out, bringing [Excalibur] back as the golden light around the blade flared up dramatically.

He gathered a massive amount of mana, preparing to release a concentrated burst of light magic in a straight line.

’He’s going for a charged strike.’

I thought to myself.

I didn’t wait for him to finish charging.

I stomped my boot onto the ground, activating my frost magic to instantly form a thick pillar of ice directly beneath Zion’s feet!

CRACK!

"Wha?!"

Zion lost his footing as the ice pillar suddenly shot upward, throwing his balance off right as he was about to release his skill.

The concentrated golden mana dispersed harmlessly into the air above us.

SWOOSH—!

I slid across the ice path I created, appearing right beside him before he could hit the stone floor.

I held my silver dagger at his neck and pointed the tip of [Frost] directly at his chest!

Zion froze mid-motion, his golden sword resting loosely in his right hand as he looked at the two blades hovering inches away from his skin.

At the exact same time, Zion’s left hand was already coated in dense golden aura, pointing directly at my stomach.

If I moved my blades forward, his mana burst would hit me at point-blank range as well.

The two of us stayed frozen in those positions for a few quiet seconds, breathing heavily as our mana slowly faded away.

... ... ...

"Match over! It’s a draw!"

The supervising staff member called out from the edge of the arena, lowering their hand to deactivate the barrier around the ring.

"Phew... That was intense."

Zion let out a loud laugh, dropping his guard and collapsing onto his back against the cool stone floor.

I retracted my weapons, sheathing [Frost] back at my hip and sliding the silver dagger into my belt loop before offering Zion a hand to pull him up.

"You really got a lot stronger, Vael... I couldn’t even land a proper hit on you because of that dagger."

He said as he took my hand, pulling himself back up with a wide, bright smile on his face.

"It still needs a lot of work, but it definitely held up against you."

I replied, looking down at my left hand with a sense of genuine satisfaction. Developing this dual-wielding defensive style was the right choice.

With this, I finally had a reliable way to protect myself against high-tier combatants and unpredictable variables in the future.