Warlord

Ayaan didn't want to face that swarm of reavers.

Even though they are low in level and are easy to deal with, the sheer number just spelled trouble. Just from a rough estimation, there are at least three hundred reavers. Even if he tried to fight tooth and nail and dealt with them, assuming that's even possible in such an open field with no way to use other means…

He would be too tired to fight the boss after that.

As for fighting some and then moving on, he didn't want to waste all the chakrams here. Who knows what he needs to take the warlord down. So, he decided to take a step back.

The moment he reached the coral island and stepped foot on it, a notification appeared.

[Survival Mode has stopped. You have accepted the duel request of the Reaver Warlord. You will be transported to the coral arena for the duel]

Ayaan felt the familiar grey light envelop him.

He disappeared from the spot and found himself in the middle of a large empty room. The whole room looked like its painted with blood. The floor, ceiling, the walls, everything is crimson. Its as big as a basketball court.

And in the middle of that room, facing Ayaa and standing just a few meters away from him, was the humanoid figure.

Level 5: Reaver Warlord, Varrak [██████████████████████] 100.0%

A towering beast of a creature, Varrak is over eight feet tall, his body a fusion of humanoid and deep-sea predator. His shark-like maw is filled with rows of serrated teeth, and he had a spiked, crimson-tinted carapace. His arms are massive, with one hand gripping a crimson-colored long sword.

His body constantly seeped a dark, inky mist, giving him an unnatural, ghostly aura.

Ayaan felt the danger immediately. The only good thing about it was the fact that he only sensed danger from the front, just from that warlord.

The haunting sense of threat from all the directions has disappeared. Now he only has to deal with this crimson monster and he will be done.

And for another reason, Ayaan felt more excited than intimidated.

He took out the Black iron combat knife and got ready for the battle.

The Warlord opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but no sound came out. Then all of a sudden that 8 foot tall creature made a move. It kicked the ground and swung the long sword at Ayaan.

Ayaan didn't back down, he lunged forward, the guard on his left forearm opened. He side-stepped, swung it and hit the body of the long sword, deflecting the move. At the same time, he jumped up a bit and swung his combat knife, aiming at the small gap in its neck.

The warlord however, reacted fast enough and turned to the side, sweeping the long sword again, this time horizontally.

Ayaan leaped into the air, letting the sword go past him, leaned forward to land another stab. When the warlord dodged the attack again…

A black iron sword appeared in Ayaan's hand and he stabbed it with his left hand, aiming at its neck.

The warlord stepped back and pulled its sword back. The crimson sword clashed with the black iron sword, blocking it. The exchange halted just for a moment.

The crimson eyes of the warlord glowed as it lunged forward.

Ayaan and the warlord were at each other's throats. The long sword swung around like it was the overlord of that space. As if it was retaliating against Ayaan just for existing in that space.

On the other hand, Ayaan acted quick on his feet. He had a close call with the long sword several times and he tried to use the black iron combat knife as his main weapon. He only aimed for its vitals, mostly the gaps in the neck and at the chest.

The black iron swords came and went from the inventory as he tried to land surprise hits. Even though the Abyssal Guardian was also a level 5 creature and fell for these, the Warlord managed to always predict the attacks and blocked them.

Some times with his long sword and sometimes while parrying with the armored parts of his body.

Ayaan was more and more impressed with every passing second. Because when he was fighting the Abyssal guardian, he was even of a lower level. He didn't have the same level of stats he had now.

He was practically a weakling at that time.

But now, he had nine stat points added to each attribute, including his strength and agility.

He should be having a field day with this right now. Judging by the swings, the warlord didn't even seem that strong in terms of raw power compared to the Abyssal Guardian. The major difference as per his observations was its intelligence.

The warlord is surprisingly smart.

With the long sword in its hands, it actually fought like a swordsman. Even when the frogmen, brookborn, brineclad, etc carried weapons, they were always a bit stupid.

He managed to easily best them in terms of battle prowess. Even though the reavers and marauders were better than those wimps in terms of wielding weapons, these were not good in terms of defense.

However, the warlord is on a whole other level.

Not only was he dodging and parrying the attacks, Ayaan even identified his own shortcomings in front of this monster.

Ayaan was not some trained swordsman to begin with. He rarely used a sword in his training. As for knife… he could be considered pretty skilled with it, but his skill fell short compared to the sword skill of the opponent.

No matter how much he tried, Ayaan couldn't just land a knife or sword in the collar gaps or other armor gaps. He was sure that the warlord is aware of its weaknesses and is defending against them. From the way it acted, it was pretty good at dodging.

After a few more tries, Ayaan noticed that at this point, both of them were at a draw, at least if they both followed the current fight pattern.

So, he decided to change tactics.

With a thought, the additional Stat points Ayaan had from the previous two level ups moved. Five to the strength and five to the agility.

*SWOOSH*

His speed increased and he became lighter on his fight. He dodged the long sword, pushed it to the side, made a swift turn and tried to perform of a backhanded stab on its neck.

The warlord was caught off guard with the sudden increase in the speed. He raised his forearm to guard the stab.

However, at the last moment, the knife in Ayaan's hand disappeared. Instead of stabbing he caught a hold of the forearm and forcefully pulled the Warlord.

The warlord stumbled by the sudden pull. But he reacted quickly.

He stabbed the longsword into the floor, halting its fall, but Ayaan never aimed for its fall. He landed on the ground and since the warlord leaned forward, its head was in the perfect spot.

*BAM* *CRACK*

The punch landed on its left cheek. A proper cross. The warlord's neck whipped, almost as if it was broken. It stumbled to the side.

[█████████████████████░]99.0%

Its health dropped, but just by one percent. The shell covered the side of its head was cracked open. The warlord seemed to have been surprised. Even though that weird face didn't convey much expression, Ayaan could see it its crimson eyes.

And he didn't want to lose that impact.

He charged forward and got ready for the next attack.

*SWOOSH*

The long sword came swinging.

'Duck. Charge. Body Blow'

His fist landed on its stomach.

*CRACK*

The warlord was pushed back by the impact and Ayaan followed up. The warlord seemed to have anticipated his punches and played it close, instead of massive swings, its movements became a bit defensive.

It started stabbing at Ayaan, who had to focus on parrying. After a couple of exchanges, he found the opening.

'Block. Side-step. Right hook to the body.'

Just when his punch was about to connect, the warlord raised his leg, using its knee to block his charge and pushed him back.

*SWOOSH*

The long sword came swinging with a horizontal slash.

The forearm guard opened up as Ayaan kept in front.

*BANG*

The sword and the armor clashed. Now it was Ayaan's time to be pushed back. He felt the pressure.

[HP-2]

Two point drop, not much. But that wasn't Ayaan's worry. He was worried about how quick the warlord adapting to the changes in his style.

Ayaan charged again. As the long sword came at him, he tapped the ground and jumped up lightly, while opening his arms wide.

The sword went underneath his arm.

Warlord reacted and turned the blade sideways, hoping to slice Ayaan apart. However, Ayaan already landed, and caught a hold of the warlord's sword hand.

When the warlord was about to swing its left hand to hit Ayaan, the latter ducked.

'Oblique kick to the calf'

*CRACK*

'Punch to the Chest'

*CRACK*

'Turn to the side. Push in with the shoulder. Punch the sword hand at the elbow'

All the moves, executed in a fluid motion.

'Elbow'

*CRACK*

The warlord was pushed forward. Several cracks appeared on his armor. Ayaan's attacks were not as powerful as the first punch he landed. But they were all precise and landed exactly where he wanted.

The warlord didn't charge in rage. Instead it stepped back and looked at Ayaan carefully. After a couple of seconds, it slightly bowed his head for a moment and something changed.

Its crimson eyes turned black and the inky mist that was faintly circulating around it intensified.