Interlude; Hidden Arts

Two weeks ago...

In the middle of the Sirat forest a handsome young man dressed cleanly in a black suit stood under a giant tree. His dark hair was combed back sleekly and his blue eyes shinned with a mysterious light.

Those blue eyes scanned through the quiet forest for some time then he lifted the bottle in his hand to his mouth and took a gulp.

"I noticed you like ten minutes ago you know," he belched and said.

"Haha haha why didn't you say so earlier?" A frivolous voice rang out in the quiet forest, then a white haired old man appeared from his hiding place. This old man was dressed in a white robe like an immortal, his white brows was arched up in excitement that one wouldn't expect on his old face.

At a glance the Realm Knight recognized this man. It was old man Risla.

Seeing him Banker was not surprised though. Instead he asked, "Why did you follow me here Street Fighter?"

Currently the two were standing in the depth of the Sirat forest. So deep into the forest that, according to the stories, one has a big chance of meeting demons. No ordinary person will ever agree to go so deep into this forest because of the many stories about this place...

Many believe that the demon King's army are hiding in the forest bidding their time. However this kind of thing did not bother the two experts as they continued having a conversation.

"This old man is unrivalled in this city and wants to stretch his bones,"

"You wish to fight me?"

"It'll be too bad if my old bones get rusty after all. You know I have an enemy to kill,"

"You have not gave up even in exile huh?" Banker chuckled seeming to know some inside story.

Risla was irritated by the other man's words but he pretended to be calm and said, "It's none of your business kid,"

"Very well," Banker downed the rest of the wine in on go then belched and tossed the bottle aside. Before the bottle touched the ground he'd already drawn his sword. Yet he wasn't the most anxious or fast; Risla had kicked the ground and already arrived in front of him, sending out a palm strike.

The world slowed for Banker, he casually blocked the palm strike with the flat of his sword. Palm and sword collided surprisingly causing sparks to fly as if it wasn't a palm that struck the sword but another sword. But even though the palm was power in a contest of flesh and metal naturally it is the sword that won. Banker stood his ground while Risla was pushed three steps back.

Risla was not discouraged however, he stepped forward and closed the distance again.

"Illusion palm!" He cried out the spell. His hand thrust forward. The air around the two fighters shimmered and Risla's hand appeared to multiply into four. Only one of them is the real palm and the rest are just illusions.

This is the might of the illusion palm technique; the four palms attacks four different points forcing the person that's attacked to guess which one is the real one, because the palms were too fast that a person can't avoid all. The conventional way to stop the 'Illusion Palms' is to intercept the real one and ignore the mirages.

Banker did not do that though. Seeing the attacks coming at him, he was smiling. When the palms arrived in front of him he took a step back and casually swung his sword.

The three Illusion Palms were instantly broken and disappeared. As for the real one it was exposed because it was the only one that drew away from the sword. The only reason the sword didn't cut Risla's palm was because Risla had quickly withdrew.

His attack failed miserably, Risla sensed the crisis and wanted draw away from the sword range but Banker noticed it and sneered.

"Want to run? Let me help you,"

He lifted his leg and kicked the old man in the stomach. Risla went flying out like a cannon ball. He collided with a tree on his way with tremendous speed that broke the tree in two. He tumbled a few times in the air before colliding with another tree and came to a stop.

Risla crashed face down in front of the tree. The old man looked up in anger and shame. His robes torn and dirty, his white hair tangled in leaves and branches, and his face covered in mud.

He looked very pitiful, however Banker didn't plan to give him a chance to reorganize. The best way to win a fight is too keep the momentum! Banker kicked off the ground and shot towards the old man.

As Risla rose to his feet, he suddenly saw Banker running towards him like a shooting cannon ball.

Risla thrust out his palm in haste. There was a ten meters distance between him and as his opponent, Banker sneered thinking to himself that the old man must have gone senile from the collusion with those trees that he was seeing him right in front of him.

However a moment later Banker's expression turned ugly as he felt a blow strike his stomach and he was sent flying back the way he came. Because of how fast he was moving he was disoriented as he was blasted away.

The Realm Knight flipped in the air before landing lightly on the ground. His face was filled with surprise. "Hidden arts?! You actually comprehended the hidden arts!"

"Hehe hehe, that's why I said I'm unrivalled in this City. Only you a Realm knight is a worthy opponent to me,"

"That's why you still have not gave up on revenge huh? But do not think that because of this you can win against that person when you struggle against me?"

"You first," Risla scoffed. "I'll admit that I was careless earlier. However no more playing around,"

Risla held out his hand to the side and summoned a black metal staff, that looked like a walking stick, in his grip. Risla did not waste any more words, he invoked the Hidden arts and swung the staff.

Banker immediately used his movement technique to run away. His figure blurred as he dodged the unseen attack. The next moment the tree behind him was immediately cut in half by a mysterious force.

"Indeed the Hidden Arts!" He exclaimed. "But do you think you can beat me with just this? Ascendance!"

A golden light washed over the Realm Knight. When it dimmed a golden armor has covered him from head to toe in golden Armor. Behind him a red cape flapped like a flag, his face was covered with a golden helmet.

Divine Armor!

The sword in his hand has changed too. Instead of a simple long sword it has became bigger turning into a crimson great sword covered with golden rust. The sword's surface shimmered like liquid.

Now suited up and armed, Banker felt more confident and shouted, "Let's see how good you comprehended the Hidden Arts Old Devil!"

The Realm Knight swung his sword. A golden sword light flew from the crimson sword, drawing an arc in the air as it traveled through space with tremendous speed. Even though there was more than a dozen meters between the two, Risla felt like he could be split into two at any moment.

Risla didn't hesitate to draw away from his position. The sword light was very fast, it cut through Risla's afterimage and continued to cut half a dozen trees on it's way before disappearing.

At the other side seeing the damage of the sword light Risla paled. Originally he'd wanted to block that attack head on with his Astral weapon but... there's no way he could have stopped it head on, avoiding turned out to be the right choice!

'This Realm Knight is very powerful!' Risla thought clicking his tongue. At first seeing him in Kreal city he'd thought it was one of those weaker ones, but witnessing this strength with his own eyes he realized this guy is not those regular one but a Regent. A Regent isn't someone he could play casually with, a single mistake and he'd be dead.

However he wasn't afraid and instead became more excited. He wanted a good fight after all.

Risla fell into a stance with his Astral staff held to his side and said, "Hmph I think it's about time we get well acquainted Realm Knight,"

"The warm up has finished," Banker agreed.

The two experts clashed again.

As time went the more Old man Risla fought the Realm Knight the more he admired the other man's skill. A sudden thought came to him; 'if I can win this guy to my side, it'll be worth loosing a few of my treasures!"

Risla's mind moved quickly, calculating how he can use such a powerful expert both as an ally and as an enemy. The Old Devil was plotting a scheme.