Indeed, if one lives long enough one could even see a God worshiping his devotees.
“Ok then! Then Come on the stage with your preferred Weapon Choices. It is going to be a Fully-Open Style of Battle.”, Sargon taunted the little kids while maintaining a basic demeanor expected of a Warrior.
Kalid chose one slightly longer Sword. Sargon was taken back as it was unexpected . A Magician with pure Single Water Element Water Roots. Usually they would focus on cultivating their MageCraft and ignore Warrior.
Suwevh on the other hand was equipped with a Gladius Dirk-Sword on each of his hands. A Popular Sword of the Kratians used widely from low-level to people with Great status. He was playing these swords with ease as his vision was laid upon Sargon like an Eagle hunting his prey.
Sargon simply had a practicing Dummy Sword with blunt blades.
If these kinds of duels with such dangerous weapons were allowed on earth , people would call the culture that allowed it to be Barbaric or Toxic. But here most wounds inflicted by such wounds could be healed with little to no future Side effects.
Kalid placed his right hand on his chest and greeted while lowering his upper body slightly ,”I respectfully greet you.”
Suwevh also bowed the same as per Art of Tarikat of Nashirah and greeted, “Heroes Stand Supreme”.
Sargon replied the greetings accordingly , “Comrades of the Rivers and Lakes”.
Rivers and Lakes in Nashirah represented the brutal underside of the Cultivation world which mixed with rivers and lakes indicating different power systems like Essence, Mana and SpiritForce but ultimately all of them with the same goal to enhance one’s Will to Power.
The Undisputable First Principle of Strength and Power to be Strong one needs Strength.
At the same time while the three boys were warming up, visible to the naked eye due to the increased curiosity of the people around, a small audience was being formed around this Martial Stage.
The Audience was mainly composed of teenagers nearby who had laid their frequent glances in this stage in previous battle. More of these childs came to see courtesy of the fast traveling Rumor.
Some adults who had free time also came to see it as the “2 Vs 1” Duel Format of these seemingly childish brats piqued their interest. Some were priests of the Church who sponsored the Orphanage of Suwevh and Kalid and since they had nothing better to do they might as well chime in.
These perfectly formed the Peanut Gallery, the most fundamental part of any fantasy battle.
If one were to exaggerate,The Mighty Peanut Gallery was a lively and opinionated group of onlookers who offered colorful commentary and critiques on the events unfolding before them.
Can a Battle without Peanut Gallery’s comment even be called a Battle.
Contrary to it, in reality they were basically the “Expert Comment Section” of the Youtube Videos.
**********************************************************************
The sun hung low on the horizon as it began to set, casting a warm golden glow across the ancient looking worn out martial arts arena.
The air crackled with anticipation as Sargon, a seasoned master of the Saber, stepped forward to face the formidable duo of Kalid and Suwevh.
Kalid, with his long sword held firmly in hand, exuded a sense of stoic determination, while Suwevh's agile twirling of his twin Gladius swords revealed a youthful exuberance yet to be tempered by experience.
Clang - Clang
Clang
The clash of steel rang out.
To the Amateurs audience that had come out to see the commotion Sargon's Saber became an extension of his body, moving with a graceful yet deadly precision.
He met Kalid's powerful strikes with a deftness born of years of training, sidestepping and countering with calculated footwork and swift ripostes.
Suwevh, with his dual blades dancing through the air, launched a flurry of attacks from various angles, testing Sargon's defenses.
Yet Sargon's unwavering focus allowed him to parry and deflect each blow, his Saber tracing arcs of wind through its path.
The intensity of the fight grew, and Sargon's inner fire burned brighter with each exchange. His eyes sparkled with a mixture of concentration and anticipation, his heart pounding in sync with the rhythm of the duel.
With each clash of steel, he discerned the subtlest of openings, exploiting them with calculated precision.
“More More MOREEE!”
“Haha “
“I reckon these duos will win eventually. The Sabre one’s Speed is not matching with the dexterity of the Dual Wielder. ”
“Yes Yes I agree. My father used to say ‘One Mistake is all it takes for the outcome to be determined’. The Saber one will be unable to parry and one of the Gladius is gonna slip by him.”, came another reply from the Peanut-Gallery Audience.
“Although the Gladius DirkSword, Pride of us Kratians is designed for Swiftness and hard to parry, the Sabre is holding out well. I think all it needs is a burst from the saber to change the tempo of the battle and change the attacking positions..”, some child in the audience opposed .
“Hmm It is indeed feasible.”
“But Bursting is power is useless if you can’t inflict your opponent a heavy injury and it alo leaves an opening.”
“What nonsense Girl talk are you doing. Ultimately Strength is still what matters.Stop talking this mysteriously as if you are an expert.”
The Crowded gossiped and discussed all kinds of scenarios that had yet to occur. Someone among them had even started to lecture about the Gladius DirkSword and its history.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
While on the Stage above the frequent sounds of Metal Clashing were produced.
The arena seemed to shrink, the world narrowing down to the dance of blades between the three combatants.
“Oh ShahRaab what is happening. “
“Impossible”
The Duo felt their worlds falling apart as all their moves were nullified by this one boy. They felt as if they were on the verge of dishonoring the Ancient saying ‘Four Hands are better than Two’.
Suwevh suddenly showed his valor his two Gladius words making a blur of motion as he charged towards Sargon with all his might.
Sargon was barely able to block some and parry some. But his hands were getting numb by the second.
Kalid who seemed to have an excellent battle sense sensing this charged with his long sword.
Wild Savageness was visible among this duo.Sargon was barely holding on.
“Jeez! I am getting sloppy. These two are monsters.Fuck it I am going to use the Immortal Art of Thunder Blazing Saber slightly cause Essence Subduing Flame Saber is not enough to handle these two beast.”
Sargon then started to unleash some minor inner moves he had comprehended from Immortal Art of Thunder Blazing Saber, mixing it with outer form of Essense of Subduing Flame Saber so that the Peanut Gallery Audience and possible Expert watching this fight might not catch on to it.
Hyaaaaaaa!
Clank Clank
Sparks started to fly in beautiful motions forming a dancing Arch.
The Tempo of the Duel suddenly started to shift.
Sargon’s movement were becoming more crude. If one could look carefully Sargon’s movement had an aspect of thunder and lightning to it.
The more Barbaric and crude it became more slippery and faster his movements became. However, contrary to this his Saber became more graceful. More Elegant, it had a sensuality and vigor and grace of the Sun.
“Woah!”
“The Saber dualist has entirely changed his tempo and battle style. Kalid and Nikolia are now on the hard end of the stick.”, the teenagers of the same Orphanage were now getting worried.
“It is not just change. Previously the Saber art had the style of the Heretical Orthodoxy. The Stable art of the Saber has inverted its disposition. altogether and now is becoming more chaotic. The Saber is becoming much more dangerous and ruthless, an adult trainee commented.
“But this is much harder to maintain. More Complex patterns and strategies are needed to go with this style. This is the style of Northern Chaos Sword.It’s Convergence.Mixing two of the Three Great Sword Style at such a young age. Convergence of the Two Oceans.Howww?????” , a pastor was stuttering as he commented.
While the sword duel was going on top of the side tower-like building of “Disciplinary Watcher” that oversaw all the Martial Stages available on this ground was situated a reputable Knight Warrior of the Church.
“Hmph! What blasphemy! How can these Book Nerd pastors say such words? This is merely a fusion of 2 different techniques or perhaps a Blade technique made encompassing both Two Great Holy Sword Styles. But what gets me confused is from what I see this is merely an Essence Subduing Flame Saber, which is pure style art made by a great Sword King of the Heretical Orthodoxy during the Era of Holy Sanctuary.” mumbled the knowledgeable and reputable Knight Sir Simon Perseus.
Meanwhile the fight continued.
Kalid and Suwevh were losing ground. They were being pushed around and so were their emotions.
They were for the first time experiencing the saying, “There is Heavens above Heavens.”&”Frog in the Well”, especially for Kalid who had suddenly got fame, admiration and warmth from the Church after he was discovered to possess Single Elemental Water Body Root with such high purity.
The Situation on Suwevh’s side was much better. Having noticed Kalid zoning out due to his piled up emotions he jolted him out,” What nonsense are you thinking about. Remember we can’t absolutely lose here.Let's use that. Are you in ??”
“Oh, I am sorry. Since he hasn’t left us with any options Let us use that thing that we have been practicing.”
“Water Serpent Blade Style”
They Changed their positions .They were standing in a diagonal Straight line with respect to their opponent Sagon. Suwevh was in front while Kalid was in back.
They then Started to take a defensive approach with Suwevh blocking and restricting the blows of the Saber while Kalid was dealing attacking blows.
The Swings , chopping , slicing and piercing motions.
“Oh Shahraab!!!!! They are using one of the Forms of the Water Serpent Blade Style, one of the three Blade Style which requires 2 Users. The Youngsters nowadays really ….”, the same young priest couldn’t even continue on as if he had a heart attack.
“Hmm. Not Bad. They do indeed have some talent. I wonder which Knight-Apprentice has trained them to this extent, probably Rajan Alexander. It seems like I should look into these two boys,” Knight Master Sir Simon Perseus’s curiosity was piqued by these two little Tiger Cubs.
The Tempo of the battle didn’t change by much . Sargon was equally attacking and the duo were defending with all their might. But what changed was that the dominance of Sargon and his Saber was slowly being lost.
All the trio were using Essence instead of Qi which was proposed by Kalid as he wanted an even fight thinking he had a superior Mana.
Still Sargon had an advantage but this may not last long as he was supposed to have very little essence. That little amount was also courtesy of the Holy Tattoo inscribed in his coming of age ceremony.
Although he had not started to practice an essence Cultivation technique but still due to his Qi Cultivation technique which was much more purer had already started to amp up his Essence inside his body.
This he didn’t want others to notice as it would be harder to lie out of it and avoid the suspicion of his parents and superiors.
So Sargon wanted to finish it all in one go.
He also didn’t want to use this move as he was trying to hide it as a Trump Card in Hunt of the Covenant. Since his opponents were also not holding back he too had to show basic courtesy towards them. Age didn’t matter when one was competing even if that competition was a simple mock duel.
2nd Form Ascension to Heaven
Gone were the Precision and subtlety completely now from Sargon’s Blade and movement techniques. He was increasing his power with each blow. After each blow his speed instead of increasing gained more momentum.
However, suddenly in a pivotal moment he changed his style, Sargon's movements reached a crescendo of speed and accuracy. His Saber became a blur of silver, intercepting Kalid and Suwevh's attacks with uncanny precision.
Gasps of awe rippled through the crowd as Sargon's blade found its mark, disarming Kalid and sending his long sword spiraling through the air.
Suwevh fought valiantly, his dual Gladius swords a blur of motion, but Sargon's unwavering technique and mastery of distance proved insurmountable.
With a final flourish, Sargon deftly disarmed Suwevh, leaving him defenseless and defeated, yet with a newfound respect shining in his eyes.
As the dust settled and the echoes of the clash faded, Sargon stood tall and victorious, his Saber gleaming with the remnants of their battle. The crowd erupted in a thunderous roar of applause, witnessing a display of martial prowess that would be etched into their memories.
Adults and the Knight Master were also equally impressed.
The biggest Clappings and Whistles came from Reeve Helena. Her previous defeat washed away from her memories and her mood uplifted.
Sargon's triumph over the skilled duo of Kalid and Suwevh not only showcased his exceptional skill with the Saber but also embodied the indomitable spirit of those who walk the path of the Saber.
Many of the impressionable young audience were now hooked and wanted to use Saber. It was a testament to the unyielding determination, discipline, and unwavering resolve that Saber Wielder, that Sargon possesses.