Sun side-swept King off his feet, then caught him by the arms before he could fall on the floor. "I'll be taking that." Sun took back his black sword and threw King off the dam. King sprouted wings from his back and floated down to the river. Sun jumped down after him.
"I thought I killed you?" King said.
"Well, you didn't." Sun dashed to King. He raised his sword and attack King. Their swords clashed and were locked in place. King's sword was covered by a sticky resin made from his mana, and the two were now stuck together. Sun did not mind. Being so close to him made it easier to punish him.
Sun started punching him on his side. King's liver felt the heat of Sun's punch, and he yelled from the pain. King released Sun, and he retreated. He placed his hand over his belly, trying to ease the pain with the mana's coldness. But Sun did not want to give him a break. He lunged at him with his sword, and two resumed match. King parried and blocked Sun's strikes. He waited for the perfect opportunity to strike, and his patients were rewarded. Sun started to get tired, and his movement got slower.
King aimed for the neck and swung his blade. The sword did not cut Sun's neck, but it did stop Sun's advance, giving King ample time to recover from the pressure. Mana exuded from his hands and into his sword, and King stabbed Sun in the chest.
Sun protected himself by creating a barrier between his chest and the sword's tip. Then he knocked the sword out of the way. "Time to heat it up!" Sun's ebony blade changed colors. It was not a hot orange hue. Sun slashed the air, and a red gust pushed King away from Sun. The slash cut through King's coat and chainmail, much to his surprise. He assumed that with the strength Sun displayed back in the forest, King's body should have been cut open, but it didn't.
Sun's fist burst into flame. "Red Fist!" A wave of fire exploded from his fist and crawled its way through the muddy river banks. King hid behind his black sword and created a barrier in front of him. It blocks the flame, keeping him safe.
"Strange," King said, "That fire was nowhere near as strong as the one you used before. Which means you haven't recovered yet." King teleported behind Sun, "It's a good thing I stole your brothers' mana."
Sun was aware of the trick. He snapped his fingers, and a small glowing orb appeared between him and King. It exploded into a flashing light that blinded King. Then he punched King in the face with his red hot fist. The fiery explosion lit up the city, but it was not enough to knock out King.
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The goblins watched on top of the dam in awe, but Stick and Smoke could feel the tension was rising for Sun. King was visibly confused by Sun's conviction, but his body was not getting tired. King was not giving in.
"We need to help him," Smoke said. "He sucked out most of my mana. And Rock's too. Combined that with the mana he stole from Sun, and he's practically three times stronger than us."
"Wait, he stole your mana!" Stick shouted.
"Yeah."
"Then what should we do? Should we join the fight like Shuja?" Stick pointed on the wall next to the dried-up river. Shuja shot her arrows at King while he fought Sun, but none of her arrows had an impact on the battle.
"No, we open the gates." Smoke suggested.
"What?"
"Krepkiy is still on the other dam. We'll open both of the gates and force King to use up his mana to escape the flood."
"But will that robot arm actually be capable of doing that?"
"Yeah, that arm is practically part of me." And thus, the plan was set in motion. Smoke went to the lever that would open the gate. Stick, and the rest of the goblins defended the dam from the encroaching enemy with higher morale after witnessing their leader manhandle the invaders.
On the other side, Krepkiy crawled its way back to the dam. The lever sat outside, next to the tower overseeing the dam. The hand was only an arm's reach to the lever before Queen picked it up. Krepkiy tried to slap her hands of its metal body, but this only made Queen furious. Ice started growing out from her hands and spreading throughout Krepkiy's body.
"Let's see if you can still move," She whispered.
But Krepkiy was saved before becoming fully frozen. Spat bashed his shield against Queen. She fell to the ground, and Krepkiy rolled to the lever. "We're not done yet, witch!" Spat yelled. His right arm was blue and bruised. Below the gate, Cossack was fighting Bishop, protecting Horder, who was stuck frozen in a block of ice.
"Why can't you just die!" Queen shot a cold laser from her hands, freezing anything it touches. Spat's shield could endure fire and lightning, but the cold. The ice started to overwhelm the shield, embracing it with its cold embrace.
But stalling Queen was all the Krepkiy needed. It crawled on its fingers then jumped on the lever's handle. It grabbed tightly on the lever and waited for Smoke's order. As if the two were connected psychologically, they pulled the lever simultaneously.
The gate opened slowly, and the water rushed out to fill the empty river. The earth shook beneath Sun and King's feet. The wave was three stories high, and it crashed through the muddy riverbank. King held out his hands and created a light blue barrier that stopped the water.
And with his arms stretch out, he left his body exposed. Sun ignited his fist once more and delivered a clean jab to King's jaw. King nearly lost his consciousness and let water leak out his barrier. "What are you doing?" He asked, "Don't you know we'll drown?"
"I can swim," Sun said casually.
"And you have no honor," King shouted.
"Honor doesn't exist in war. You fight with everything you've got."
"That's something a weakling will believe in, but I can fight you with no dirty tricks!" King brought his hands, breaking the light barrier blocking the water. "And you what I noticed! You could have killed me with your sword, and yet you went for a punch. You're an honorless fool." King took his sword strikes downward on Sun.
Sun parried the sword to the side and smashed King's shoulder with the pommel of his sword, knocking him to the side. "I only did that because you actually suck at fighting!"
"What?" Then the water reached them, and wave crushed both of them. The two were washed away into a canal heading towards the city's underground sewage system. While being thrashed around by the water, Sun's statement rung in King's mind. How dare he said that King thought. But Sun was not entirely wrong. Will King be able to pull out another victory? He had more mana than Sun, but he could tell subconsciously that Sun was better at fighting. The one with the stronger conviction will become the winner.