Chapter 52: Sparring
Karl Ambrose.
The 3rd child of Duke Kayn and a person who excelled the most out of the 4 siblings.
This was what Zeus knew so far.
Thus, it's no surprise that although he's confident, a slight hint of nervousness radiated from his eyes.
Zeus grabbed his weapon and walked towards Karl where the two oppositely faced each other.
"Who's going to attack first?" Zeus asked before assuming a defensive stance.
"It doesn't matter but you should try to attack first otherwise you will be passive in the entire fight." Karl replied as he rested his left hand on the hilt of his blade.
Hearing this, Zeus' eyes sharpened.
"Is that arrogance?"
Karl smiled softly. "You can think whatever you want but don't blame me for not heeding my warning."
"Haha, fine then."
At that moment, Zeus lowered his foot and burst forward in a quick dash.
Woosh!
At the same time, he brought his staff upwards and slammed it down as soon as he got close to Karl.
However, Karl already anticipated this. Using very precise footwork, he evaded the strike with minimal movement while also drawing his sword to counterattack.
Zeus was about to throw another hit when he suddenly felt a sharp blade aimed at his neck.
"!!!"
Sweats oozed out of his forehead as he raised his head slowly.
"I didn't see that coming."
"Well, if you do manage to see that I'll doubt that you're a Novice." Karl said as he pulled his elbows back, giving Zeus time to retreat.
"You move quite fast. Your attack wasn't bad either but your decision-making is really bad."
"How so?"
"You could have used feints first to try and gauge my strength but you didn't. Instead, you launched on my head without even thinking of the possibility of a counterattack. Maybe you thought I'll just block or dodge it?"
Karl could see Zeus' obvious weaknesses but he was also amazed by this guy's raw power.
Just look at the ground where Zeus' staff slammed. It was shattered into pieces.
"I see…You really learn something new every day huh?"
Zeus underestimated Karl. He admitted it.
He thought that by bringing down his strength to level, Zeus was no match for Karl as they pretty much have the same levels.
However, he also forgot that although he's good at fighting monsters, he's quite inexperienced in these kinds of human vs human battles.
Fighting Sera as a spar back then didn't really help him as he was just the one attacking while Sera defended his attacks effortlessly.
'I should take this seriously.'
At that moment, a brilliant thought suddenly surfaced in Zeus' subconscious.
"How about we bet something? Just to make this spar a little interesting."
"A bet?" Karl's eyes narrowed. "But I don't think you have something I'm going to be interested in."
Hearing this, Zeus nodded hesitantly.
"That makes sense but…" He held his chin as he continued, "How about I treat you to a nice meal if you win? How about that?"
"Hmm…good offer. Then I'll do the same as well if you win."
"The bet is established then."
As soon as the two agreed on the bet, Zeus began to make his move.
This time, he was more cautious.
But unfortunately, Karl was the one who took the initiative this time.
In an instant, he arrived in front of Zeus and swung his sword to his neck.
Slash!
Although Zeus saw this, his body was too late to react. Therefore, using a bit of his strength, he raised his staff to his neck, blocking the attack successfully.
Clang!
However, the force was too strong and he nearly lost his balance.
'That hurts.' Zeus thought to himself as he defended several more slashes coming to his vital parts.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of metal collision reverberated throughout the training hall.
Anyone with good hearing sense outside would be able to hear it.
Clang!
"You're getting better, Zeus." Karl complimented as he weaved his sword like he was dancing.
"But still not enough to beat you!"
Zeus slammed his left foot on the ground, accumulating momentum before swinging his weapon above Karl's head.
Karl moved his foot sideways and began another wave of counterattacks.
The fight became intense as time passed.
Minute by minute, the floors were shattered and the walls started to break.
In the end, this fight attracted the attention of the people outside.
They hurriedly gathered towards the training hall to see who was fighting.
Diane, who just got back from a mission, was also curious about this commotion. Hence, before she knew it, she was already walking inside the training hall.
And as soon as they got there, they were flabbergasted by what they saw.
Sparks constantly flickered inside the training hall as two men clashed in a breakneck battle.
Staff and sword collided piercing everyone's ears with deafening ringing sounds.
"It's the Young Lord Karl and Zeus!"
"Why did they fight?"
"This is…awesome!"
Murmurs echoed throughout the training hall as the crowds began to comment about the fight.
However, despite the fight which seemingly doesn't have a clear direction of who's going to be victorious, for Zeus, it was vivid as the skies.
Karl was winning with an overwhelming advantage.
Of course, this could only be felt by Zeus.
Clang!
Zeus resisted the sword that nearly cut his wrist before bringing his weapon above his head to block a head chop.
However, doing this gives his enemy a clear path toward his gut.
As expected, as soon as Karl saw an opening, he moved his left hand and pulled his elbows back before giving Zeus a blow to his gut.
This would hurt… only if Zeus didn't deliberately show weakness.
'He took the bait!'
Karl's fist connected to his opponent's stomach.
Bam!
Zeus' face crunched in pain but it was not enough to immobilize him. His physique was not to be underestimated!
The moment Karl punched him, he grabbed that arm locking Karl in his position by squeezing it with his elbow.
At the same time, he raised his foot and slammed it towards Karl's chest.
Bam!
"Kuuaahhh!"
Karl grimaced.
Seeing this, Zeus' eyes gleamed in delight.
Although he didn't know how strong Karl's defensive capability was, he definitely felt that kick!
Therefore, Zeus twisted his body and launched a right roundhouse kick.
Bam!
For the first time, Karl retreated to his rear. He touched his chest as he heard a crack somewhere around it.
Although he could heal it, this battle was purely raw power without using Aura or Aether. Healing this would be cheating.
'I have to be wary of—'
To Karl's surprise, another kick flew to his face.
Whoosh!
"Oh, you dodged that?" Zeus grinned as he stared at Karl slightly leaning backward barely avoiding his kick.
"And you're getting crafty." Karl moved away to widen the distance but Zeus followed around with a barrage of continuous attacks not giving him time to breathe.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Karl blocked the attacks but the pain in his chest made it hard for him to counter. Therefore, at this time, he's passive and could no longer give Zeus pressure.
And of course, Zeus took advantage of this.
He planned to end this battle in his favor.
"It's over."
As soon as Zeus' word fell, his figure flashed towards Karl's right side.
His foot stomped to the ground, stabilizing his balance while also giving him a good posture to launch an all-powerful attack.
Karl did not expect Zeus' move at the very least. The breath of danger he was perceiving was enough to say it all.
Zeus' muscles bulged and nerves clenched tightly around his arms. Putting all of his strength on his weapon, he swung it with all his might.
Whoosh!
At that moment, the world seemingly came to a halt.
Zeus' weapon stopped before Karl's face but the force generated by it blew the rubbles behind him.
"Why did you stop?" Karl asked with a wide smile on his lips, hinting at the excitement he was feeling.
"I can ask the same to you."
As the dust settled, their figures gradually came to light.
Zeus lowered his gaze and he smiled in bitterness.
Just as Karl had a threatening metal weapon in front of his face, meanwhile, a dagger was pointed at his stomach.
…
"Un…unbelievable…" Diane mumbled softly as she stared dumbfoundedly at Zeus.
Her hands were shaking from the shock she received today.
Out of the 4, Karl was the most talented. Even the eldest fell short in terms of talent alone.
Elise wasn't bad either but she had a circumstance preventing her from unleashing her full potential.
Even then, Karl was surely leagues above her. After all, he's the most hardworking out of their four siblings.
As a child, he feared that he might not have a talent like her or his eldest brother. As such, he trained himself to the point that even his majesty, the King himself noticed his abnormal training obsession.
At that point, Karl's unrivaled journey started. The moment he awakened his aether up to now, no one could make him interested.
That was until today.
Right now, his face was completely different. It was an emotion she never knew she would see in her lifetime.
…
"I guess it's a draw," Zeus said as he withdrew his hands and put his staff away.
Karl put his sword back into the scabbard and nodded. "To be honest, your fighting instincts were over the top even higher than mine but what you lack is experience against different enemies. Even then, I was satisfied with this spar. I don't know how to thank you."
"Nah, it's fine. My staffmanship improved with this battle too so I guess we're even."
Karl smiled as he swept his gaze around the vicinity.
Ignoring the devastated surroundings, the place was already almost crowded.
"We have a lot of audiences."
Karl's words echoed and the crowd started fleeing like ants being disturbed, leaving Diane alone with her two little brothers.
"You two… That… that was amazing."
Zeus and Karl glanced at each other and smiled.
…
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