Chapter 1: Skyblades

Wind is free, flowing everywhere and anywhere.

Formless, it could be gentle like a breeze or rough like a hurricane.

Sky blades. They paint a perfect picture of that description.

"Woah…"

Children had their mouths agape as they bore witness to a grand battle in the air.

Even though they should be hiding in an event like this one, they couldn't resist the temptation of watching and through the slit of the curtains they watched the scene play out like a movie .

Wyverns, a smaller and less intelligent species of the dragon race but still quite sizable.

They boasted a body 3 times larger than a horse, a wingspan of over 6 meters and an arsenal of razor sharp claws and fangs.

Just 1 wyvern was enough to face a platoon of imperial soldiers and yet a fight between 3 wyverns and 1 person was taking place where it looked like 3 cats trying to catch a red dot.

Schwip schwip schwip

The man was dashing in the air.

Using the power of wind he was able to launch himself in any direction the air.

Each step propelled him 10 meters in an instant.

Like a grasshopper jumping from wyvern to wyvern.

Elegantly dodging the claws and jaws of these flying beasts by a hair's breadth.

Because of the failed attack the beast became extremely vulnerable, leaving its backside to the man while it continued being pulled forward by the momentum.

Swing-

A half moon was drawn, slashing through the wing of the wyvern.

KUOOOOOOO!

It roared in pain as it started to plummet while desperately trying to regain its balance in the air.

It was impossible as the rip in the wing was too big.

Kuaaaaaaaaa!

Kwaaaaaaggh!

Seeing their brother falling from an attack enraged the other 2, making them even more relentless.

Diving forward towards the warrior from opposite directions.

800 meters - the distance between the wyvern and the warrior.

His movement was unreactive to the incoming spearheads.

He stopped and faced the ground.

Free falling whilst holding his sword towards the ground horizontally with the mid section of the blade resting on his left palm.

The winds would be blowing at his face as it gave a resistance to his drop but a transparent membrane of wind shielded him, allowing him to hold the sword steadily and perform any actions without restraint.

Charging his attack, a blue glint of light wrapped the sword.

The wyvern darted down twice as fast as he fell and the gap quickly closed.

SWIIIING-

He twisted his body from the front to the back unleashing a 360 degree slash.

The magically amplified cut ripped through the 2 bodies of rock hard flesh and steel like bones.

Cleanly slicing the wyverns and the clouds behind them.

Just like a violent wind.

This warrior was known as a sky blade.

An elite soldier unique to the Ascarian freedom cities.

Ascaria, unlike any other territories, instead of stationary towns and cities it is a territory comprised entirely of walking fortresses always on the move.

Fortresses with a large number of cannons in its offense system, with an average firepower able to wipe half a thousand with just a single volley.

Their defense system was also quite formidable, its structure and armor made of black haglite, an ultra light ultra strong alloy which was resistant to physical and magical attacks.

So tough that a cannonball would bounce off leaving just a small dent.

Even a dragon's breath would take 3 minutes to melt through!

To finish the set was a squad of elite air dashing ninjas, sky blades.

Armed with an extreme mobility in the skies make up for the slow aiming cannons of the fortress.

They were introduced specifically to deal with fast moving targets.

Only a select few were able to meet the high standards of being a sky blade.

***

4 minutes 20 seconds - the time it took to slay 3 wyverns.

"Woah!"

"Captain Mason broke his record again!"

This man was my city's champion sky blade, Captain Mason with a kill count of 89 wyverns.

And today he broke the city's record of most wyvern kills within 5 minutes again.

Captain Mason, a genius wyvern hunter with abilities rivaling even the royal sky guard.

A man loved by the townsfolk for his achievements and kind stoic demeanor.

Mason walked down the path made by the crowd giving him way to the guards station.

"Drinks on us tonight captain!"

"Yeah we gotta celebrate another record"

The guards saluted the captain while inviting him to some drinks at the tavern.

"Thank you but I think I'll pass since I'll be training the new cadets tomorrow"

"Come on captain it's not always that we get occasions as big as this, we should live it up a bit"

"You and I both know that even a sunny day is good enough excuse to drink for you, Pervin"

"So strict on yourself, you should be more relaxed and come drink with us"

"And you been too lax on yourself, it looks as if a melon is stuck in your tummy "

The other soldiers laughed, contrary to Pervin who held on to his belly flustered.

"Am not fat! It's just big bones"

"Yeah right, plump Pervin!"

"Ahahahhahha"

Cheers and praise followed Mason even as he walked inside the building.

'One day, I'm going to be a sky blade just like him!' --- dreamed a young boy as he glanced at his hero at awe.