Leonidas cast Scholar’s Mind in the blink of an eye, his twin sabers swinging out with all the force he could muster.
His torso flexed, his feet and tail digging into the ground as he transferred all the strength he could to his arms.
CLANG! CLANG!
“Ho?”
Urog’s chuckle caused Leonidas’ ears to twitch.
The old ogre had a reason to be so surprised. The first time Leonidas faced just one of his axes, he had nearly died.
Now, though, Leonidas seemed to have found a bit of a trick to deal with them.
‘Last time I took it head on, but parrying it out of the way is the best approach.’
Leonidas had thought about how he could deal with this attack for a long while.
The rusted bronze ax had played in his mind again and again, how could he not think of a solution?
With the speed of the axes, using their momentum against them wasn’t very difficult.
The strength of these axes was enough to make Leonidas’ arms quake and even his sturdy bones threaten to shatter. But, he held on.
CLANG! CLANG!
Leonidas hardly had the time to deflect the first pair before the second appeared before him.
Urog stood with his arms crossed at the center of the lake, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
The old ogre’s four rusted bronze axes swirled about Leonidas’ body, forcing him to wildly swing his sabers in response.
Beads of sweat began to fall down Leonidas’ brow, the kiss of death breathing down his neck time and time again.
The axes whizzed by his head and neck, some even cleverly aiming for his torso and legs.
Leonidas’ jaw clenched hard, his dull eyes beginning to glow with a partly furious and partly helpless light.
Things were still somewhat fine when the blades attacked his shoulders and his torso. In fact, even though those locations were his most vulnerable, he preferred them.
If these blades nicked his legs, not only would he lose his mobility, but it would basically seal his fate.
The worst part was that he was having a hard time generating enough power to parry blows that aimed below his waist. This was maybe the worst time to find such a flaw in his saber foundations.
Leonidas had thought that he had already mastered everything there was to master in the basics, but it seemed that tweaking and refining his foundation was a matter of a lifetime, not just a few months.
Every time Leonidas parried away a strike to his legs, the loop around of the four axes would become tighter. Because he couldn’t generate enough power to push it further away, it only came closer and closer to causing real harm to him.
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Leonidas knew after just the first few exchanges that he couldn’t allow things to continue like this, and he also realized that he had been played.
The movement of these rusted axes wouldn’t be nearly as smooth and free if he hadn’t entered this wide clearing with Urog. He had been so focused on other things that he hadn’t even considered such a simple trick.
‘Fool!’
Leonidas roared these words in his mind, reprimanding himself.
Terrain was just as important in a battle of life and death, if not even more important, than practically any other variable. He swore in his heart that he would never make such a mistake again.
However, for him to follow through on this promise, he needed to survive this day first.
Leonidas’ arms bulged with strain, but his gaze was only becoming more focused.
He refused to fall.
Leonidas’ eyes flashed, a Magic Circuit forming and completing in less than a single blink.
His blades erupted with a blinding blue light.
Taking advantage of the smallest reprieve, he swung down both with all his might, causing twin scythes of Mana Blade to charge toward Urog in the distance.
Like a pair of crescent moons, they towered to three meters, their menacing curves splitting the shallow surface of the lake.
‘Excellent.’
Leonidas’ Scholar’s Mind supported his Mana Sense. The instant there was the slightest obstruction to Urog’s vision, he sensed the precise arcs of the four rusted bronze axes falter.
Though Leonidas still had no idea how Urog was controlling these blades, he didn’t need to so long as he could learn the underlying principles and take advantage of their weaknesses.
This probe proved that Urog didn’t have something like Mana Sense. And, it also gave Leonidas an opening.
Leonidas’ toes ground into the soft grass and soil, his tail leaving a deep imprint as he shot forward.
He charged toward the lake’s surface even before his pair of Mana Blades reached Urog, his actions not matching the apprehension in his heart.
Leonidas had no idea if this would work, but he had to try. This would decide his life and death.
Leonidas leapt forward, the soles of his feet flashing with blue for just a moment before he pressed down, hard.
This wasn’t the time for dipping toes and steady steps. Leonidas needed to test the resistance of water to his weight as quickly as possible.
His Magic Circuit completed, the formation of two Level 2 Mana Shields wrapping about the soles of his feet.
A harsh sound akin to a large palm slapping water resounded, a concentrated wave surging around Leonidas’ foot.
‘Success.’
Leonidas immediately adjusted. Running on water felt like trudging through a slippery marsh.
Every step forward in his run was only about 70% as effective as it should be, making Leonidas feel that a lot of his power was being wasted.
Leonidas wasn’t sure if this was how it was for everyone, or if his method just needed to be perfected, but for now he took it on the chin. He didn’t have time to experiment. He would just have to accept a 30% reduction in his speed and agility.
Two loud BANGS! resounded in Leonidas’ ears as his twin Mana Blades shattered.
For a brief moment, he saw the silhouette of Urog swinging his fifth ax, his feet steady even as the water below him rippled.
The two Mana Blades sparkled into motes of lights, their shards sprinkling down like a beautiful rain.
Leonidas pointed out a blade, another Mana Circuit completing in his eyes as two enormous shields of blue appeared, both before him.
A single Mana Shield was still quite transparent. But, two stacked atop of one another like this made things, especially at a distance, very blurry.
‘This feeling…’ Leonidas’ heart skipped a beat, suddenly realizing something.
On the other side of the Mana Shields, Urog’s brows had shot up in shock.
First Leonidas’ Mana Blades were actually three meters in size, but now his Mana Shields were as much as three meters tall and five meters wide?! How was that possible?! Even a Deacon shouldn’t be able to make Mana Shields this large!
Urog’s gaze became more serious before his smile became darker.
If Leonidas thought obstructing his vision was enough to end this, he was sorely mistaken.
He might not be able to control his blades to attack Leonidas without having eyes on both them and his target. But, he could still recall them.
Urog tugged, hard.
The four rusted bronze axes which had begun to float aimlessly on the shore reacted in kind, drawing a blazing line through the skies as they charged back.
Leonidas, who was just about to make it to his Mana Shields, crossing the 10 to 15-meter distance that separated himself and Urog, sensed this almost immediately.
‘They’ll miss me.’
Leonidas didn’t care as he continued to charge forward. In fact, the timing would be perfect.
Just as he was about to crash into his own Mana Shields…
BANG! BANG!