Chapter 130 30.3 - Conversation
"And grab your weapon; the talk is over."
As those words left Astron's mouth, he raised his daggers once again. Ethan could see his face right now, and he understood the fact that he was no longer in the mood for talking.
The conversation they had was already enough, and Ethan learned quite a lot of things both about the boy before him and the questions in his head.
"As you wish."
And now it was time to continue the spar, just like any other cadet of the academy would do.
"Good."
With that, Astron immediately blasted himself off, approaching Ethan and closing the distance.
SWOOSH!
In a matter of milliseconds, Astron appeared right before Ethan's face with his daggers coated in the mana of grey color.
'I won't hold back either.' Seeing that, Ethan also decided to take the spar to another level by activating his mana and coating it with his spear with it.
'This feels incredible.' As if a pattern was being shown before his eyes, Ethan could feel the trajectory of the attack.
His senses were telling him to dodge to the right side, and in his head, his institution drew the trajectory.
CLANK!
The two young fighters clashed their weapons meeting in a flurry of sparks. Ethan's spear had the advantage of reach, and he was determined to use that to the maximum.
From the day he was born into the family of Hartleys, he was always one with the spear. He remembered the first 'toy' he held.
It was the spear of the first patriarch.
The Legendary Dragon Slayer.
The first toy he held was the weapon that belonged to the being that slayed Dragons.
And from that day onwards, his life was always filled with spears. Coupled with his father's and sibling's strict personalities, his basics were close to perfect.
Spear of Hartley. 「Seven Lines of Aggression」
It was a perfect example of basics and the reason why Hartley's always started learning spear at the age of five.
It was a special way of using the spear.
Even in this age, people always compared spears to swords. In essence, they were different, and the first patriarch of the Hartleys was the first one to put that into basics.
Rather than using a spear like a sword by using it as a flexible way, the way the patriarch used it was different.
'Spear is a one-directional weapon.'
A spear user was different from a swordsman. The leverage of their movement was different from that of swordsmen.
Swordsmen would be flexible and could attack all directions easily, but for Spearman, things were different.
They wouldn't be able to turn and defend themselves when an attack came from behind since, in essence, it was harder for them to turn their body 180 degrees, and slashing was harder for a spearman, adding to the first point.
Knowing that the first patriarch utilized a different concept. Rather than forcing the spearmen to be flexible, he decided to strengthen the direction spearmen faced.
To do that, he divided the space into seven different dimensions. If it were recent times, it would be known as the cardinal vectors, but at that time, there were no such terms, and the patriarch created it on his own.
Ethan was the one to master such a spear.
CLANK! CLANK!
And, now, he was reaping the benefits of his efforts. In front of the relentless assault of Astron with dual daggers, Ethan was continuously deflecting his attacks using his spear and the feeling he was getting.
CLANK! CLANK!
His spear moved with calculated precision, parrying Astron's relentless dagger strikes.
He could sense the flow of the battle, understanding the path of each attack before it came. The Seven Lines of Aggression, a unique spear technique passed down through the Hartley family, allowed Ethan to maintain his focus on the seven cardinal vectors.
"Ha!"
Astron's attacks were swift and deadly, and just like him, Astron also seemed to focus more on basics, but Ethan's spearplay was bound to be different.
With each clash, Ethan subconsciously analyzed his opponent's moves, looking for an opening. It was not something on an analytical level but more of an instinctual thing.
Something he did without knowing how he did.
'I can feel it.'
And right now, his instinct was telling him to attack. He felt an opening, a fraction of a second when Astron's right arm was exposed.
STAB!
Without hesitation, he struck. His spear lashed out with incredible speed, aiming directly at Astron's arm.
"Arghk!"
The spear tip connected, and Astron winced in pain as the sharp point pierced his arm while releasing a groan.
Blood welled up around the wound.
"It is not over yet."
STAB! STAB!
Ethan didn't let up after the initial strike; he pressed the attack, taking advantage of Astron's momentary vulnerability.
His spear became a blur, aiming for Astron's limbs and torso. Each precise thrust sought to maintain the upper hand in their spar.
Astron staggered backward, his injured arm causing him pain.
"Grr…..
Yet, he didn't yield. Instead, he clenched his teeth and raised his daggers to parry Ethan's rapid thrusts.
The two young fighters were locked in an intense battle, their skills and determination on full display.
Ethan's eyes gleamed with a fiery spirit. "You're good, Astron, but this won't be enough." He shouted as he continued his relentless assault.
He knew what Astron was capable of and the reason why he had chosen Astron as his sparring partner here, and now he wanted to see it.
"Come on, show me what you're really made of!"
The protagonist of the game shouted, showing his spirit for improving himself.
"Tch…..Bastard."
The only answer he got was a curse, but Ethan could feel Astron was getting angry. He could sense his demeanor changing.
CLANK! CLANK!
Parry after parry.
The spear met with the daggers as Ethan continued pressuring. The two young fighters continued their intense duel. Their movements were swift, and the sound of their weapons clashing filled the air.
Ethan's relentless attacks were driving Astron to his limits.
'This guy. He is not giving me any chance.'
Whenever Astron wanted to counterattack, as if what he wanted was read, Ethan would simply block his path, not letting him move as he wished.
'This injury doesn't help either.'
Adding the injury to Ethan's relentless assault, it was clear that he was going to be pushed back.
'I hate the smile on this bastard's face.'
For some reason, Astron was annoyed. He wanted to erase the smile on Ethan's face. Even though he would probably refuse to admit it, his pride didn't want him to be looked down on.
"Come on!"
With one other shout, Ethan rushed at Astron once again. He was getting bored. Even though the talk he had with Astron helped, the fight was rather underwhelming.
"Try to block this."
Spear of Hartley.「Three fangs of snake.」
Ethan's spear moved just like a snake, stabbing three times in a second. His spear, coated with mana, left afterimages as if to confuse the enemy.
'Show me what you are made of, don't disappoint me.' Ethan thought to himself as his spear moved.
STAB!
The first stab landed safely, as Astron wasn't able to either evade or deflect.
STAB!
The second stab also landed, injuring Astron from his right shoulder.
With the two attacks landing, Ethan felt his disappointment rising.
FLINCH!
As he put his strength into the final and strongest attack of the special move, he suddenly felt something once again, as if his attack was not going to work. But it was late to stop the last attack.
Just as Ethan attempted the third strike, Astron's movements seemed to shift in an uncanny way, and his eyes followed Ethan's movements clearly.
Ethan could feel something was different now.
CLANK!
With almost perfect timing, Astron managed to deflect Ethan's final attack with one of his daggers. The two weapons clashed, and to Ethan's surprise, the spear's trajectory was nullified.
It was as if Astron could read his move perfectly, countering him with remarkable precision. As if he could also feel it.
THUD!
It was in such a manner that the spear's head was pointed upwards, breaking Ethan's posture.
It was the perfect time to counterattack.
GRIT!
Ethan could hear Astron gritting his teeth in pain, and he could also see the arm he used to deflect his attack lost his strength.
SWOOSH!
But, if Ethan knew one thing, that would be the fact that Astron's strength came from relying on countless different weapons.
Bows, daggers….
Barehand was one of those.
THUD!
As the palm coated with mana approached Ethan, he once again could feel the trajectory of the attack and where the attack would hit him.
His body guided him on its own as his left elbow was lowered, trying to block the strike.
However, the strike he was expecting didn't come, as well as the feeling he got disappeared.
"Huh?"
Ethan let out a surprised sound as something different happened.
"So, you were doing it in such a way." As he heard Astron mumbling to himself, he felt a cold feeling on his neck.
As if something was poking him.
Something deadly.
"What?"
It was Astron's dagger touching him on his neck. The arm he thought that became null was standing just like any standard arm.
"It is my win, Ethan."
As those words left Astron's mouth, Ethan was left dumbfounded, looking at the dagger alone.
"How?"
Was the only word he could utter.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om