Chapter LXXXIII - Wooden Swords (part 1)

That night… everyone was mesmerized.

Amazed… and awed, by the amazing display of multiple combinations of sword skills. 

Hundreds of hours of practice… Over fifty sword techniques… Multiple sword arts…

Two swords.

KLANGG!!

KLANG!

KLANGG!!!

The sound of two wooden swords clashing each other can be heard. Everyone watched with amazement and cheered for one of us as our blades sparked when it clashed.

That is indeed how intense this spar is, even our wooden swords sparked when we parried one another.

Fran's speed is pretty much the same as mine, but I admit, her moves are much sharper. For every attack she did, she made no unnecessary steps, and every attack fits perfectly to her pose. She never lost balance, nor did she ever make a mistake. She is the perfect sword user, a true Swordsaint.

On the other hand, my movements are unpredictable. Even in a difficult position, I can still land a powerful hit. Thanks to my acrobatic skills, I can hit from anywhere and anytime.

My main weapon is my acrobatic skills, and her main weapon is her profound sword techniques.

The two of us are enjoying this fight, despite the fearsome expression the two of us are wearing. Our moves are always competing with one another, with one always trying to move faster than the other. Stamina was never a problem for both of us, and we never had any issues with our techniques.

The real question that needed to be answered is… which one of us is better? 

Fran's sharpened and profound techniques? 

Or my wild and unpredictable moves?

This fight is so much faster than the other spars before this. The speed of our moves as well as the sharp actions that we kept on using is simply impossible for anyone else to comprehend.

All they know is that the winner of this fight will be the strongest.

Fran and I know that as well.

She tried to direct her attacks at my foot so that I kept losing my balance. But since I'm practically like a monkey, losing my footing won't do me any damage. If anything, it will give me a chance. 

I deliberately leaped up and did a vertical lower slash at her, but she had her sword high and managed to block my attack. I landed behind her and she immediately swung her sword towards her back.

But, I already leaped away.

""Wooo!!!""

"That was amazing!!"

Everyone else was practically enchanted by the battle before them. So far, no one has ever beaten Fran in a sword fight, and so far, no one has been able to get close. 

Most of them lost after twenty seconds of hitting swords. The best anyone can do is a minute against Fran.

But this spar has gone for three minutes already, and neither side is letting up.

Fran can lose here. This might be the first.

KLANGG!!

KLANG!

KLANGG!!!

Fran's attacks are getting sharper. The fight has gone for so long, that she has accommodated to my moves. 

However, I couldn't accommodate faster than her.

She began a final push towards me, completely disregarding her defence and moved on the offensive. That was a bold move, and it can be very dangerous if your opponents knows how to parry them.

Fran was lucky… because I couldn't parry them.

I ended up dodging them slightly too far, and nearly landed outside the circle. My balance was off, and I tried very hard not to let my upper body fall backwards outside the circle.

As the greatest sword artist in the kingdom, she wouldn't miss this chance.

FWUSH!!

She swung her sword, but I was able to parry it. Unfortunately, what I didn't account for is her other hand.

After getting parried, Fran immediately lifted her left arm and firmly pushed my chest forward. I was already at the edge of the circle, and that push simply got me out of the circle.

My butt fell on the ground outside the circle, and my expression shows the most confused face of all time.

Everyone was very shocked seeing the anti-climactic ending of that intense battle, but they know what me falling outside means.

Jrake had both his eyes and his mouth opened wide. After a while, Hod patted him, and he was brought back to reality.

"T-The winner is… Fran!!"

Jrake announced it immediately, and the crowd went loud. 

This spar was by far the most epic fight that they have ever seen up close. That battle was intense, and neither of the two let up easily. They are around the same level, which makes the battle even more epic.

But in the end, the best one will always come out on top.

I turned my gaze down, practically exhausted. Physically, no. Mentally, I am very disappointed.

I lost, and that is very devastating for me.

But…

That was… awesome…

My eyes saw a glimpse of a hand right in front of my face. I turned my gaze up, and found Fran lending her hand.

I grabbed the hand firmly and the hand pulled me up.

"That was amazing. I have never had a fight like that in a long time."

I nodded at her, and noticed the giant shadow looming over us on my right.

The two of us turned to Jrake, who were waiting for us to give the swords back to him. We returned the wooden swords, and Jrake complimented us before continuing with the ring spar.

"It's… the same for me too. I enjoyed that very much."

I grinned at her, and I can tell she felt the same. She placed her hands on her hips, judging me.

"Though, I have to say… Your moves do surprise me. I couldn't react much at the beginning, there."

"Oh, please. You probably still got a hundred techniques that you haven't used on me."

I said as I turned my gaze around towards the people. Jrake is now picking more fighters to play in the arena, but they seemed to be hesitating.

"Actually, I used all of my moves there."

My gaze then turned back on the curl on her mouth, and I can't help but grin too. 

Looks like I just got myself a new rival. 

She lifted her fist and pointed them at me.

"Let's spar again, later."

I nodded and fist bumped her.

"Sure. I'll be sure to get better."

"Same here."

After that, we both turned around and split up to greet our friends.