Alnea urged his Aspects to wrap around his legs the moment that the guard withdrew from the stage, using their prowess to rush towards the red robed man like a ‘Stream’ of golden ‘Lightning’. The ‘Stream of Lightning’ was much slower than the ‘Bursting Steps’ though, giving the red robed man enough time to prepare his own counterattack, but it could not be helped.
After all, unlike the man he had faced before, the red robed man was an Advanced Stage Wanderer. One strong enough to rank among the top geniuses of the Lotus clan. And though ‘Bursting Steps’ was enough to deal with most Advanced Stage False Wanderers, Alnea was not sure if it would be enough to deal with the red robed man.
Besides, just blindly pursuing speed was not a wise choice. Especially in an open environment, with no external objects to help him in his movements. One small misstep, and he could end up losing all his initiative in the battle. Still, he could not do without enough speed either. Against an enemy strong enough to threaten his life, he needed to both move like ‘Lightning’, and act like ‘Lightning’. As such, of all the Lowest Grade Martial Styles he had, the ‘Lightning Stream’ Style was his only choice.
The red robed man, on the other hand, chose to ‘Flow’ like a ‘River’. Not the ‘Flowing River’ that Alnea knew of, but a red river, with streaks of purple and white running across its breadth, and the red spear that the man had summoned in his hands. It was a two metre long spear, longer than even the man wielding the spear, but in the hands of the red robed man, it blended perfectly into the red river, forming a ‘Red Wall’ in front of the man.
Not so coincidentally, the wall also happened to be in the path of the golden lightning streaming towards the man. However, just like how the ‘River’ had a ‘Wall’ to protect itself, the ‘Lightning’ was not alone either. Right when the lightning was about to reach the wall, a blinding silverish blue and erupted from the tip of the lightning, ‘Piercing’ through the wall as if it were ‘Stars’ shining high in the sky.
The ’Wall’, of course, could not be broken with just a single ‘Pierce’, but that stab of the ‘Lightning’ was enough to create a hole in the ‘Wall’. And for the ‘Lightning’, that hole was enough—
Or not. Alnea tried to release a ‘Crescent Slash’ at the red robed man after he failed to pierce him in one hit, but was counterattacked by the butt of the man’s spear, forcing him to give up his attack, and back away, breaking the ‘Lightning’ away from the ‘River’. Just as how the ‘Lightning’ had tried to take advantage the ‘River’ though, the ‘River’ did the same, transforming its ‘Wall’ into a flood, trying to drown out the ‘Lightning’. In vain, of course.
With the golden light of his Aspects coursing through his veins, stimulating his reflexes to their limits, Alnea saw the red robed man’s attack coming long before the man could reach him. So, by the time the ‘Flood’ was upon him, ready to drown him in its endless waves, he had raised his own ‘Wall’ to defend against the ‘River’. A silverish blue wall, with streaks of golden light running across its edges, rising up and down to match the waves of the ‘River’.
These were not just any ordinary waves or walls though. They were the essence of their respective Martial Styles, manifested through powers of Aspects. Something, that only Warriors who had begun to touch the essence of Martial Styles could do. To think that the red robed man reached such a high level of mastery in his Martial Style…
A large white ‘Whale’ charged through the waters of the ‘Red River’ and slammed against the ‘Lighting’. Thankfully, Alnea managed to react in time, and brought the silverish blue ‘Wall’ in front of his chest, blocking the red robed man’s kick. Still, the sudden attack had caught him off guard, not giving him the time to balance himself, sending him flying back by a few metres.
“…Getting distracted while fighting against someone stronger than you? Are you underestimating me, or have you grown too complacent of yourself, Unfavoured?”
“…Do not be happy too early, Redbud,” Alnea said, finding his balance as he landed back onto the stage. “I was just careless for a moment.”
“One careless mistake is often enough to prove fatal. Or has the Serpia clan not taught you anything in the past few months?”
“How about you come see for yourself what else I have learned?”
“…Glib tongue,” the red robed man said, clicking his tongue. “Let us see how long you can keep talking like that.”
“Long enough—
The ‘River’ twirled, and twisted, shifting into a blood red ‘Tiger’, before it rushed towards Alnea, still covered in arcs of golden lighting fading away into the darkness of the Arena. The man had moved so abruptly, that it had almost caught him off guard. Thankfully, the arcs had not faded away completely, giving him enough ability to react in time.
Gripping his sword with both hands, Alnea urged his Aspects to cover its edge with a golden and blackish light, before raising it upwards in one clean motion, as if he was ‘Raising the Earth’ itself, meeting the sharp claws of the ‘Tiger’ coming straight towards his head. No, not just sharp claws, but sharp and heavy claws. The tip of the spear… it was carrying the entire weight of the red robed man behind itself. If he had not added the weight of the ‘Earth’ behind the tip of his sword, then he was not sure what might have happened.
Recollecting himself, and subduing the waves raging in his Heart, Alnea released his left hand from above his right hand on the grip of the sword, only to slam it back on the hilt, right below his right hand. That, along with the recoil from the clash of the sword and the spear, helped him move his sword faster, turning it upside down, and bringing it towards his left just in time for its edge to meet against the butt of the spear.
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Everything happened so quickly, that Alnea did not even have time to use his Aspects. All he could do was wrap his sword in the golden glow of his Aspects, and hope that his makeshift defence would work. It did not. The force behind the spear was just too strong. It was as if a tiger had just crashed into his side, sending him back a few steps.
…At least he was not sent flying, Alnea comforted himself, as he urged his Aspects to strengthen the ‘Lightning’ running in his veins, just as he urged the dark part of his Aspects to cover the edge of his sword. A black edge. Perfect for the ‘Black Edge’, a Martial Style which forced the Aspects to vibrate along the edges of his sword, turning an already sharp sword even sharper than before, while giving it the power and authority to cut through the ‘Tiger’ rushing at him once again.
Unlike normal Martial Styles though, ‘Black Edge’ did not have any accompanying moves, forcing Alnea to rely on his skills and instincts to deal with the endless assault of the ‘Tiger’. A stab, followed by a swipe, and then a reverse swipe, with an occasional downswing mixed in between… Alnea could feel how strong the red robed man was. Just the fact that he had been not injured yet was an achievement in itself.
Sending such a strong Wanderer to deal with him… The Lotus clan surely looked up to him. However, that was it. The man may be strong, but he had his limits. At the very least, he was not stronger than the Heterodox Wanderers he had met nearly two weeks ago. And since Alnea could defeat the Heterodox Wanderers, he could also defeat the man. He just had to stop holding back… But where would be the fun in that?
With Lightning Streaming in his veins, while Streaming like a Lightning himself, Alnea channelled a few more Aspects in his sword. One… two… three… four… golden… silver… white… blue… black… Slowly, bit by bit, he pushed nearly ten Aspects into his sword. But he was not done. He channelled even more Aspects from his Spirit World, wrapping his body in their golden light. And silverish blue light.
One by one, he kept channelling his Aspects, until their glow grew bright enough to cover the glow of the lightning. And when he was done, he channelled two more Aspects. One for his sword, and one for his body. These were not just any ordinary Aspects though. Both were auxiliary Aspects. And he used both of them at the same time. A bright yellowish white light burst forth from his sword, blinding the red robed man. It was only for a moment, with the man soon shifting to his other senses to observe his surroundings, but that one moment was enough.
When the red robed man attacked once again, he felt his spear go through the head of the kid in front of him without any resistance. However, the man was not naïve enough to think that he had won, and killed the boy. Instead, he grew even more wary, and—
Alnea brought his sword down on the red robed man like a ‘Meteor Descending’ from the skies. He even went a step ahead, and added all of his weight behind his attack. And if it was not for hiding his strength, he might even have released ‘Yuri’s Dominance’ for extra insurance. Thankfully, it looked like just his sword was enough.
The red robed man barely had time to react when the sword was already upon him. If the man had been fighting without a weapon, or even some short, handy weapons, like short swords, or daggers, then he might have had some chance to block in time. A spear was far too cumbersome of a weapon to move in such a situation though. In the end, the man had only two choices. Either drop his spear and block with his hands, or take the attack head on, and hope for the best.
The red robed man chose the third option, tilting his head, while shifting his body just enough for the sword to pass by his head… only to be buried in his right shoulder. Truly buried. The sword was so sharp, that it almost cleaved past the man’s shoulders, slicing right through his bones. If not for the man backing away in time, while using his Aspects to block as much of the attack as they could, he might even have lost his right arm.
Not that the man’s situation was any different at the moment. With his right arm dangling uselessly by his side, the red robed man was not going to use his arm anytime soon. Wielding a two handed spear with just one hand… No matter how Alnea saw it, the outcome of the battle was already set. And the red robed man knew it as well. With an ugly expression on his face, the man put his spear away, staring at Alnea as if he was the man’s greatest enemy.
“Did you see how much I have learned, Redbud?” Alnea said, staring at the red robed man, ready to take him down at any moment if the man showed any signs of movements.
“…If I had been careful—
“One careless mistake is often enough to prove fatal. Is that not what you said a while ago?”
“…I admit defeat,” the man said in hoarse voice, still staring at Alnea.
“…Your Blood Cards.”
While the guard was updating his information, Alnea glanced at the other stages in the Arena. Cecilia, as usual, had already completed her fight. She herself was strong enough to fight against some weak Peak Stage False Wanderers. And though the Pinkbud woman was strong even amongst the Peak Stage False Wanderers, Cecilia had a very eager helper by her side. One who was licking its bloodied paws as if it was the greatest delicacy in the world.
Cecilia herself did not seem to be satisfied with her battle though, and was looking enviously at Yuri, taking her time to beat the white robed woman to the ground. She had already bloodied the woman’s face, and hand broken one of her hands, but she had no plans of letting the woman go just yet. Every time that the woman tried to admit defeat, she punched the woman in her face to shut her up, before beating her all over once again.
Only Vestia was having a normal fight. Relatively, that is. Even she was completely overwhelming her opponent, using some Water elemental Arcanas to control her enemy, while using short daggers glowing in green and blue lights to keeping pushing the yellow robed man towards the edge of the stage. The man was trying his best to make a comeback, but no matter what he did, he could not break through her siege.
“…Are you feeling smug about yourself, Unfavoured?”
“That is how people usually feel after winning against opponents stronger than themself.”
“…You may have won against me, but do not think that you have won against the Lotus clan.”
“It does not matter,” Alnea said, shrugging his shoulders. “Like I said, I will accompany your clan to the very end.”
“Then let me take you up on that offer.”