Chapter 1029 A Duel with an Expert
Adhara knew that at this point, Drakar was already on the winning side.
Regardless of how long he could stall and occupy her here through the ritual, his plan has already worked. It was clear to see that the Tigerman had already taken a good portion of the Dwarven territory.
Even if he issued the army to stop right now, they already got what they wanted.
Due to that, a thought came to Adhara's mind.
Having the Dwarves suffer more loss would be a big problem for her, it would be a huge deal and she doesn't want that. On the other hand, Drakar was stalling to give his army more time to occupy more of the Dwarven territory.
At this point, for the Tigerman, it was how much they could gain from this.
So, instead of letting the Dwarves take the fall, Adhara thought that she could mediate.
"A bet...? What bet?" Drakar mused with his arms crossed.
In response, Adhara stood up from her seat and explained, "You already won, you already did it with your own two hands. Stalling for a couple of hours of time is not worth it, it would only give you so much. But I, on the other hand, have a better offer,"
"Since martial arts is a substantial essence in your kingdom, how about we have a duel? If I lose, I will talk to the Alpha to compensate you more. But if I win, you will leave and tell your forces to stop right now and keep what you have taken from the Dwarves" She added.
Upon hearing this, Drakar tilted his head with an amused smile.
Challenging a Tigerman into a martial arts duel is nothing short of a foolish move.
Among the other major lower-rank Supernatural races, the Tigerman race doesn't have the luxury of having innate energy. Even though they are connected to Mother Nature, they are unable to use her power in the same way as the Elves or Dark Elves.
It was more of a spiritual connection than a supernatural connection.
But to make up for this, all Tigerman are born with exceptional physiques, even stronger than some of the high-rank Supernaturals like the Undead. Recognizing their strength, the pursuit of martial arts in their tradition was born.
One and the only way they could make use of their innate strength.
With their focus on training in martial arts, they were able to keep up with the other races.
Now, their dedication helped them tap into the power of Force.
Even compared to the high-rank Supernaturals or even Humans, the Tigerman possess more Force users across their population. Most have reached yellow force already while some are in the door of the realm of red force.
Spell attacks were not the Tigerman's forte, but they were experts in close combat.
"Hmm... you sure are confident in your skills, Female Alpha" Drakar mused.
Adhara was well aware that the Tigerman was unparalleled in close combat among the low-rank Supernatural races bracket, a prowess exemplified by the deceased King Samobas, a Tigerman who was able to give Flunra a hard time.
It was a clear testament to the Tigerman's unparalleled combat skills.
Gaining this proposition, Drakar was quite interested as his martial arts side was ignited.
Removing his outer layer of clothes and putting them on the table while chuckling in hubris, Drakar then said, seemingly accepting the proposition, "No energy, no spells, no nothing... I want this to be purely a duel of martial arts"
"Done, I'll comply with that" Adhara replied as she also did the same.
Putting the furniture to the sides, Drakar stepped to the center of the room bare-chested. He reveals his muscular torso, and abdominal perfection with his deep-hued red furs, adding the air of majesticness to his presence.
On the other hand, Adhara put Flamy down and tapped its head, "Cheer for me, alright,"
Swoosh!
In response, Flamy formed a thumbs-up with its own flame.
Adhara redirected her attention back to Drakar and stepped to stand before him. She calmed her breaths for a moment before her violet flame enveloped her entire form, and as the flame dissipated, her attire underwent a dramatic transformation.
Now, she wore an aubergine crop top with short sleeves and a pair of wide-legged pants.
Her crop top has a high neckline and is form-fitting, while the pants seem to be high-waisted and fit loosely, draping over the feet which are visible and bare. Both the top and the pants feature golden accents, adding a touch of elegance to the outfit.
An outfit entirely made of her own mana.
Looking at her briefly, Drakar slowly raised both of his hands, into a composed stance.
On the other hand, Adhara also did the same and went into her stance.
Having used to always using two daggers in a fight, one of her hands was stretched further than the other. Knowing the stake of the bout, her eyes flashed with fiery determination, and her body coiled like a spring, ready to unleash her fury.
'Like Rex always does, the first one to gain the momentum is the winner' Adhara pondered.
Despite not being an expert, her close-quarter combat is practical.
Adhara might not learn in the ways of martial arts like Drakar did, but her fighting style is not to be underestimated. Her fighting style is self-taught, forged, and tempered through actual battles and has always been polished to become better.
Moreover, she also has the luxury of watching Rex fight countless times already.
It would be a lie if she hadn't gained some insight from him.
Adding those factors to her fighting style, she could be argued to be an expert as well.
"Three hits, the one who landed three hits is the winner" Drakar chimed.
Upon hearing this, Adhara nodded her head and remained in her stance, looking at her opponent meticulously, aware of any sudden movements. For a solid minute, there was complete silence in the room with them staring at each other.
Even Flamy could feel the tension reaching a choking level at the last second.
But in the next second, Adhara exploded into action.
Lunging forward, her fists and feet moved in a blurry motion, aiming a rapid succession of strikes at Drakar to gain the momentum of the fight. He, in turn, started to move like water, effortlessly sidestepping and parrying her attacks.
He adopted a perfect defense, a dance of burst movement and stillness.
In their exchange, the world around them blurred.
Both fighters were lost in their own world, engaged in a ballet of contrasting styles. Adhara's aggressive offense was relentless, directing each of her strikes precisely at every vulnerable defended point on Drakar's body, determined to secure the initial blow.
Doing a perfect dragon tail, Drakar raised his leg to dodge it.
Just as he was about to prepare for the next strike, a hit landed unexpectedly.
Adhara's foot swept in a wide arc, a follow-up attack from the dragon tail. She did it without stopping her body, catching Drakar off-guard and tapping his shoulder. It made him stumble back a couple of steps.
In response, Adhara went back to her initial position, returning back to her stance.
Under her immaculate offense, the score settled at one-nil.
Looking at his shoulder that got tapped, Drakar directed his eyes back at Adhara, but unlike earlier, there was a peculiar light in his eyes. "Good. As expected of the Female Alpha, your attacks dripped with intention and lethal. I can tell that you fight a lot", he said as he lowered his stance again.
Despite the compliment, Adhara didn't reply and kept her focus at the maximum.
Talking only made her lower her guard, and she didn't want that.
Knowing that he would now go right at her seriously, Adhara's muscles tensed instinctively.
Adhara's eyes flashed as she still kept with her original battle plan—she made a quick dash to make the momentum favor her again but this time, her eyes widened seeing that Drakar met her right in the middle.
Quickly adapting, Adhara clashed against Drakar.
Contrary to the initial clash, Drakar began to meet Adhara's aggression with his own. It was almost as if he wanted to increase the intensity of the fight, his strikes becoming more direct and more forceful.
At that moment, their confrontation intensified into a fierce clash.
A clash of raw strength and combat skills.
Even though she tried to keep up with the offense, Adhara was surprised and found herself on the defensive. Drakar's aggression was more refined, it was backed by an unimaginable amount of experiences.
In a brief moment, Adhara turned to look at Drakar directly in the eyes.
Her surroundings slowly morph, almost as if Drakar's offense was capable of altering reality.
Under her vision, Drakar turned from a Tigerman who was fighting a friendly bout into a lone soldier in a devastating battle, filled with bloodbath. His eyes were darting left and right as if he was fighting more than one person, and his limbs moved to attack while simultaneously in preparation to block.
For a moment, Adhara found herself comparing Drakar to Edward or even Rex.
'Nobody could learn his style through training, it could only be achieved through experiences'
She couldn't fathom the harrowing situations he must have endured in the past in order to be able to develop such a fighting style. It must've been extremely daunting as his body moved as if he was surrounded from all sides.
Caught in a trance, Drakar landed a solid kick to Adhara's thigh, evening the score.
It was only then that Adhara snapped out of her trance.
Each fighting pushed their limits in the next second, and Adhara regained her momentum, as he managed to land a spinning heel kick to Drakar's lower ribcage. Two-one. But Drakar was undeterred and responded with a swift combination.
His fist connected with Adhara's chest, right above her heart. Two-Two.
A solid hit like that sent her five steps back, hitting a chair in the process. Breathing heavily, both circled each other, waiting for an opening. Knowing that they didn't have much time, it was time for the final exchange.
Resuming their clash, the two exchanged a series of aggressive strikes.
Flamy was in the edge of its seat, and even closed its eyes, fearing that Adhara might lose.
Both dodged and weaved each other's attacks, and it was always a close call.
Eventually, Adhara found her opportunity when Drakar overextended in his fervor, missed a big punch, leaving himself open. She managed to dodge underneath, and her eyes fixed on his completely exposed torso.
'Now is my chance!' Adhara's eyes glistened fiercely as she drove a punch.
In the process, her eyes were pulled up, and saw Drakar's elbow descending at her.
Upon seeing this, she gritted her teeth as Drakar was way faster than her. It was her plan to lure her for an attack when his missed punch earlier was nothing but a cover for his elbow, axing down towards the back of Adhara's head.
'Damn it, I lost...' Adhara closed her eyes.
Bam!!
A moment passed, and surprisingly, Adhara didn't feel any impact on the back of her head.
Realizing this, she opened her eyes and found her fist connecting with Drakar's abdomen, while Drakar's elbow was a hair's length away from hitting her head. It caught her off guard as this shouldn't happen.
Judging from Drakar's elbow, his attack is much faster than hers.
But it was she who landed the attack first.
"You won fair and square, Female Alpha. Congratulation..." He said before pulling away.
Grabbing his clothes again, ignoring Adhara who was still at a loss for words, he went over to the door and grabbed the handle, "Since I lost, I would honor the bet. I'll pull back my forces from the Dwarven territory" He continued before leaving the room.
Only when the door was opened did Adhara snap out of her trance.
It was still surreal to her that she managed to win against such a formidable opponent.
An opponent with a myth-long of experiences in battle.
While Flamy hopped over to her, celebrating her victory, she turned to look at the door with mixed feelings. But eventually, a frown crept to her face, 'He stopped mid-way... He lets me win. But why did he do that?'
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