CHAPTER 76

THE BATTLE OF PRIDES

  Sierra observed her new disciple's deft wordplay, which was so impressive that it even led to a wager being proposed for their upcoming duel. While Sierra was impartial to the outcome of the duel, she couldn't help but notice that Delmira had complete control of the situation - something that Hans was clearly lacking. Every act of hers was aimed to impress Rudolf, indirectly, that she too was capable of defending herself just as well as Hans.

  As Sierra turned to her young boy, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. All he seemed to care about was winning, and Sierra knew, the Glory Wars were not just about brute strength. To emerge victorious, one needed a mentality like Delimira's - a person who could rally a team and make the most out of any situation. Just then, Aredhel appeared by her side, asking her thoughts on both young ones.

  Sierra didn't need to ponder long, before responding. "If we only compare the fighting styles, when it comes to one-on-one combat, Hans will be in his true element. Even when hunting beasts, he controls the battlefield completely and takes his time to end his target," she responded. "As for your daughter, I have observed her in classes and outside, and I must say that she possesses exceptional mana management skills. However, she has never truly revealed her full potential, so I cannot speak much about her fighting style."

  Away from their objective assertions, Hans was gazing at his opponent, he had been looking forward to facing Delimira for some time now, and finally, the moment had arrived. He knew that she was observant and knew his fighting style well, so he reminded himself to be cautious and stay on full guard.

  As the duel commenced at Rudolf's signal, Hans quickly equipped himself with ManaVison, not with its full potential, he did not want to do a mistake like he did fighting Lux in the past. His first aim was to set the terrain to his liking. But before he could even make a move, he saw Delimira surrounded by a powerful water mana spell, which she had cast in a flash, powered by second-circle magic.

~ AquaBullets ~

It was similar to SeedBullets, but instead of seeds, she fired heavy water drops at Hans with tremendous force. Despite being a second-circle spell it had minimum mana cost thanks to the small size of the conjured water.

  However, Hans was no novice when it came to duels. He had seen this coming from miles away and swiftly dodged it with ease. But Delimira was not surprised. In fact, she was counting on Hans to dodge it. Her aim was to keep him busy and not give him time to rest. She had observed Hans for a year and knew that he had a habit of bullshitting at the start of every battle, which was not for show. He needed time to set up any spell or to spread his influence over the surrounding mana. She didn't know the details but she had deduced this much by just observing him so she chose a cost-effective spell to not allow whatever he did to take control over the terrain.

  As Hans quickly grasped her intentions and realized that disturbing the land was not going to work against Delimira. Instead, he chose to confront her head-on. In the midst of doing so, he conjured his own mana path for SeedBullets, aiming at her limbs.

Facing Xandor had helped him in increasing his simultaneous shot count, and he was now able to shoot up to three shots at a time easily. He raised his hand, pointing at Delimira and shouted, his spellcasting more potent than ever

~ SeedBullets ~ X3

He conjured three mana paths all aiming to leave Delimira with no escape, targeting her predictive position of dodging. However, she surprised him by choosing to hold her ground.

  Delimira knew that Hans had been using ManaVision to track her movements, so she made a strategic decision to obscure her own actions, shrouding herself in water mana. She expertly concealed her next move from his sight, and the ground below her began to quake.

~ Groundwall ~

In a heartbeat, a massive wall of solid bedrock rose up in front of her, forming an impenetrable barrier against Hans's SeedBullets. The wall had been so expertly crafted that not a single seed made it through. Another three same slabs of rocks conjured, floating around and concealing her blind spots for defences.

  As Hans's initial attack failed, he knew he needed to get Delmira out of her defensive position. His next move was to use his entrapment skill, which he knew she would have to dodge if she didn't want to get caught.

~ VeganBind ~

Black, lustrous orca vines sprouted from the ground, carrying everything from poison to bladed leaves, But it was not quick as it was supposed to be.

  Because Delmira was prepared. She had seen Hans fight many times before and knew almost every move he could make. When she had cast the Groundwall spell, she had also conjured a thick slab below her to stop the incoming attacks. The VeganBind was no exception either.

Looking at the expected result she smirked as she spoke,

"You can't even touch me, shorty."

  But Hans's vines were not easily deterred. They devoured the slab and continued towards Delmira, surprising her with their tenacity. Although they missed their initial timing, Hans had succeeded in his plan to lure Delmira out of her Groundwall fortress.

Hans replied in the same tone as hers,

"You were saying something, Winters?"

  Delimira clicked her tongue, she had studied and analyzed every move of Hans, but his seemingly unlimited supply of mana was something she was yet to figure out. She wanted to test his endurance and see how long he could keep up his relentless attacks, but as the battle dragged on, she began to feel the strain on her own mana pool. Dodging his SeedBullets and countering his VeganBind was taking a toll on her, and she was not the only one. Aredhel couldn't help but also be surprised at the seemingly endless stream of mana that Hans was unleashing.

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  As the battle of attrition continued, Delimira realised that she couldn't keep up with Hans's relentless attacks forever, and knew that if she didn't break out of this defensive stance, she would lose due to mana exhaustion by default. Hans, on the other hand, was grinning with satisfaction at his opponent's waning mana pool, He didn't want to win this way but a victory was a victory after all.

  But just as the tension in the air was mounting, Delimira's quick thinking allowed her to turn the tide in her favour. With a flick of her wrist, she cast her next spell and became stationary for a moment.

~ WindShield ~

The WindShield spell she conjured was the same one that had saved them from the explosion impact caused by Xandor's bomb in the civilian area. But this came with a modification, a complete sphere of fast-rotating wind formed around her, and she levitated at the centre of it.

  The SeedBullets flew towards Delimira and penetrated the WindShield successfully but it was not good news for Hans. The sphere of wind distorted the trajectory of the bullets, throwing them off course. Hans tried to recalculate the angle to correct the path of his attack, but Delimira was already on the move.

  The transformed Windshield, now was a spherical ball, allowing her to move at high speed while staying completely protected. It was a brilliant modification to the spell that she had accomplished on her own, but it came at a great cost to her already dwindling mana pool.

  Hans was growing increasingly frustrated. He had never encountered a defensive spell that could be used for a movement like WindShield before. He racked his brain for an ideal solution, but before he could come up with anything, a volley of aquaBullets was fired his way. He quickly dodged using his vines to pull himself out of the target zone taking a brief breather.

  During the whole battle, Hans only suffered a physical strain but Delimira suffered both as her mana already dwindled to 60%. Wanting to reduce her mana even further, Hans started thinking about his options again, SugarDrain was too fragile to enter the wind sphere, and the orca vines were failing to restrain her as they couldn't enter the sphere either. His seed bullets were still getting bent by the wind even with the increased speed that he bestowed on them.

  All of his attacks were being countered and in the heat of the moment, winning was the only thing he could think of. He couldn't afford to worry about Delimira's safety, for he knew the elders might interfere if things got too out of hand. With a deep sigh, he focused on his next spell, forming the crying seed, but suddenly, an intense pain shot through the right side of his head at the last step, disorienting him. He stumbled, trying to shake it off, and got a hold of himself just in time to dodge Delimira's swift attack.

  He gritted his teeth and attempted the spell again, but the same sharp pain pierced his head, throwing off his concentration. Hans cursed under his breath, wondering why this was happening to him. With his plan failing and his head throbbing, Hans realised that his only option was to outlast Delimira in the fight. Endurance was his strength, and he drew upon the spells he had learned in Agrilands, ones that were kept secret from others.

~ SharpDeath ~

It was a deadly spell, akin to a minefield that would erupt with sharp and spear-like bamboo, capable of penetrating even a knight's aura defence. But that was just the beginning of Hans's plan. He quickly followed up with his next spell

~ Ensnare ~

Summoning predatory plants that would have looked out of place in the training field. To cover his tracks, he swiftly converted the entire area into a lush grassland using his sprout mix with them.

  The transformation left Winter's daughter and mother in disbelief, their jaws hanging open. Before this, Delimira was thinking of conserving her mana until she knew the extent of Hans's limits, but this sudden turn of events was taxing on her. Meanwhile, Hans appeared unfazed, seemingly not depleting his mana reserves at all.

  As the random attacks keep sprouting, she kept dodging them. Her movements were swift and agile, but even the most skilled fighter could not evade forever. Eventually, Delimira's defences faltered and it was all Hans needed to strike. He waved the surrounding mana with fierce determination, forming his most tense and focused mana path to date, capable of rendering her windShield defences useless and directing it straight towards her stomach.

  However, just as he was about to launch his attack, the same sharp pain he had experienced before struck his head, causing his mana path to losing its tension and resulting in a decrease in the penetrative power of his SeedBullet. Despite this setback, the metallic seed still managed to strike Delimira with a force akin to a dirty gut punch, causing her to wince in pain and clutch her stomach.

Meanwhile, Hans shouted, clutching his head hard,

What the hell is wrong with me today?

  Both paused momentarily, Delimira still reeling from the impact and Hans frustrated with his inability to fully unleash his attack. In his disorientation, Hans reverted to using the SharpDeath and Ensnare combo, conjuring the spells with wild abandon, much like a berserker with no clear strategy.

  As Hans regained his bearings, he saw Delimira gasping for air, clearly struggling to keep up the fight. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that victory was within his grasp. But just as he thought he had her beat, Delimira surprised him yet again by summoning every last bit of energy she had left. putting her everything in one last attempt

~ GurgesDomitor ~

It was her mother's iconic water spell that had once swept away entire hordes of enemies. Delimira was most skilled in water mana, and she had cleverly adapted the powerful seventh-circle spell into a second-circle version, just enough to achieve her goal.

As Hans watched in disbelief, He couldn't help but cursed at the huge spell.

"WHAT THE HELL!!" he shouted.

  The mana around the training field began to shift and swirl, quickly forming a hollow raging vortex that encased them both. He had no idea what Delimira was planning, especially since the original GurgesDomitor had never been used in this way before.

  The atmosphere grew thick and moist, signalling the imminent strike. With no time to conjure a ManaStorm, Hans acted on pure instinct and enveloped himself in a spiralling shield of modified orca vines.

Amidst the rustling of leaves, he caught Delimira's voice,

"It's no use."

Hans bellowed with unyielding determination

"it ain't over till it's over, Winters"

  The orca vines coiled tighter and more fiercely than before like they were responding to Hans's will, turning the encased protective shield of vines akin to that of a towering tree with roots that ran deep. He braced himself for the impending attack, ready to weather whatever was coming his way.

  But in an instant, the once empty vortex dome was now filled with water that rushed in with a ferocity that swept away all of Hans's predator plants and uprooted the lush grassland that he had so quickly created. Even the vines that had transformed into a towering tree were no match for the force of the water. The pressure and speed of the deluge were akin to that of Rudolf's swift and powerful slashes

  Hans felt himself, engulfed in the swirling waters, spiralling uncontrollably until he was unable to distinguish up from down. As he struggled to find his bearings, he felt a sudden pressure against his neck. Gasping for air, he opened his eyes to see Delimira, a triumphant smile on her lips as she held a knife to his throat.

"Squeaky," she panted, "you lost.", the exhaustion finally caught up with her as she collapsed onto him.

***