Chapter 1370: Every Grain Became a Weapon

Valric wasn’t concerned at first.

A face wasn’t a vital spot. If it got ruined, so be it.

But as Ethan’s fist closed in, he quickly noticed something odd about its path. Ethan’s arm appeared aimed at his face, but the force behind the punch kept shifting downward.

Valric raised his sword and brought it down toward Ethan’s arm.

His free hand remained hidden behind his back.

Just before the blade made contact, Ethan changed targets. His fist drove diagonally downward at the wrist holding Valric’s sword.

If the punch connected, Valric would lose his grip.

That was exactly what he had been waiting for.

His hidden left hand finally came forward.

He deliberately acted unconcerned, bringing his hand close to Ethan’s face. By the time Ethan sensed something was wrong, Valric had already opened his fist.

With a casual flick, he threw the fine sand concealed in his palm.

It spread evenly across Ethan’s eyes.

His vision blurred at once. Grains scraped against his eyeballs, and the instinctive urge to rub them disrupted his movements.

Ethan had no choice but to abandon the attack.

He kept one hand raised to guard against a follow-up, then pushed off with both legs and leaped more than a dozen steps back.

His trick successful, Valric made no attempt to pursue with his sword.

He casually dropped the weapon beside his feet, spread his arms, and slowly opened his hands as he walked toward Ethan.

"Well?"

Valric smiled.

"Impressive secret technique, isn’t it?"

Ethan gently wiped the sand from the corner of his eye and forced one eye open to glare at him.

"You’re shameless."

His mouth twitched.

"If we’re going to fight, then fight. What’s with all the cheap tricks?"

Ethan hadn’t expected to be outplayed by a handful of sand.

Valric nodded in agreement, then shook his head.

"On the battlefield, one man lives and the other dies."

He kept walking forward without rushing to attack.

"You use every means available if you want to survive. Unfortunately, I still haven’t had the chance to learn what dying feels like."

Ethan nodded.

He agreed with the first half.

As for never experiencing death...

Maybe Kaelira, Catheryn, and Seraphine could build another superweapon, leave it beside Valric, and say a prayer for him.

Valric stopped a short distance away.

He spread his hands, placed one foot ahead of the other, and lowered his center of gravity into an unarmed fighting stance.

Ethan surveyed the battlefield.

Sand covered every inch of it.

Only now did he fully understand what Valric’s earlier trick meant.

Every handful of sand here could become a weapon.

The pain in Ethan’s eyes had already begun to fade. He adjusted his footing and raised his fists, one in front of the other. Across the drifting sand, Valric faced him in the same stance.

Their exchange of sword and fist had only been a test.

The real fight began now.

Wind swept through the battlefield, lifting a thick cloud of sand.

Valric moved first.

The ground sank behind his feet as he charged Ethan in a low arc. The black-and-yellow armor covering his body began to shift, its skin-tight plates moving one by one.

The barbs on the backs of his hands slowly writhed.

A heavy mask completely covered his face, while sharp spikes emerged from his shoulders, elbows, and forearms. The plates looked less like equipment he wore and more like parts of his body.

Ethan did not charge to meet him.

He hid his left fist behind his body and drove his right straight ahead.

Valric raised both hands, preparing to meet the punch.

But Ethan’s attack was a feint.

The moment they entered striking range, Valric shifted position. He turned one shoulder aside, separating his raised hands, one high and one low.

His open left palm slipped past Ethan’s right fist and shot toward his abdomen.

Ethan had been waiting for it.

His concealed left fist came down from above, aimed directly at Valric’s extended arm.

White energy coated the punch.

If Valric failed to dodge, the blow would cripple his arm on the spot.

But he didn’t dodge.

The black-and-yellow armor contracted rapidly, and several spikes rose directly beneath Ethan’s descending fist.

Valric’s other hand remained half clenched as he struck Ethan’s outstretched right fist.

Above them, their fists collided head-on.

Energy slammed into armor, blasting the surrounding air outward and scattering the sand around them.

Below, Ethan’s left fist crashed down on Valric’s arm.

The force dented the armor plates inward, but the spikes on Valric’s arm pierced Ethan’s energy coating and drove into his skin.

Pain shot through his knuckles.

Ethan had no choice but to pull back. He pushed off the ground and leaped out of Valric’s reach.

After landing, he slowly used his other hand to pull the spikes embedded in his fist free.

Blood ran from the wounds.

Ethan had barely begun to catch his breath when Valric came after him again.

Punches rained down.

The first targeted his head. The second followed immediately toward his chest. There was no set rhythm to Valric’s attacks, and the barbs on his arms shifted with every change in angle.

Ethan could only raise both fists and defend.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Every impact left a dent in the energy coating. Ethan retreated step after step, the soles of his shoes carving two long trails through the sand.

The pressure kept mounting.

Ethan could clearly feel himself struggling.

Just as Valric seemed ready to continue the assault, his expression abruptly turned serious, and he withdrew several steps on his own.

His retreat kicked up a heavy mass of sand.

Valric twisted at the waist and swept one leg along the ground, flinging all that sand toward Ethan’s eyes.

Ethan had already fallen for the same trick once.

He wasn’t about to fall for it again.

To eliminate any chance of a mistake, he closed his eyes and crossed both fists in front of himself.

The sand struck his arms and cheeks, but his energy kept it out of his eyes.

Yet the moment it took him to close and reopen them was exactly what Valric had been waiting for.

When Ethan opened his eyes again, Valric was already in front of him.

Instead of targeting Ethan’s exposed head, Valric drove his right fist precisely into the point where Ethan’s arms crossed.

Bam!

The heavy blow crushed Ethan’s guard back against his chest.

His upper body rocked backward. But just as he prepared to separate his fists and counterattack, Valric had already leaped out of range.

Clean and efficient.

No chance to trade injuries.

Ethan gave up on pursuing him.

Valric was far too meticulous. Every movement concealed another purpose, forcing Ethan to stay on guard at all times.

Valric landed some distance away.

The sword he had discarded earlier lay only a few steps from him.

He raised one hand and crooked a finger at Ethan, beckoning him to come closer and continue the fight.