The moment Kurt jumped, Cavarl promptly acted by using wind to push Kurt off course.
He would love to do more, but that was all he was allowed as Ulrik's attack was upon him as well.
Vines from underneath the soil shot towards him at fast speeds.
Quickly, Cavarl jumped off his horse with his staff in hand and used the spell Wind Blades to cut the vines apart.
The Expert-ranks that stood behind quickly made way by moving far from the radius of their attacks, as being caught by them would literally mean death.
"I tried talking, but I guess I'll have to kill you now" said Ulrik as he and Cavarl stared at each other.
The wind mage chose not to speak as he instead moved with decisive action and stomped the ground with the bottom of his staff, making it glow. He rolled it between his fingers and then unleashed a wind blade larger than the previous one, trying to slice Ulrik in half.
In response, Ulrik conjured up multiple vines from underneath that stood up like wooden poles right in front of him, which then stacked upon themselves to increase the thickness.
The air blade landed on the vine wall, cutting through all of it in an instant, before closing down on Ulrik, who simply conjured more vines to take the brunt of what little was left of the attack.
Ulrik's eyes fluttered. Indeed, this fight wasn't going to be easy.
Then again, he never expected it to be.
With a snap of his fingers, vines shoot up once more. Only this time, they rushed towards Cavarl's position at a pace faster than before.
Like Ulrik, Cavarl had also realized…
'This isn't going to be easy'
And at the same time-
'What stone are they talking about?'
-he began to deduce the little information he gleaned from their short conversation.
But that didn't mean he stopped attacking though. Right after he sent the wind blade, he sent out a heavy gust of wind to throw his opponent off balance, and ward off the incoming attacks, before activating the enchantment on his boots and running towards Ulrik with increased agility.
Who said a mage couldn't indulge in physical combat?
—---------------------
Away from them, Kurt and Grenald were going at it.
*BAM!*BAM!*BAM!*
Everytime Kurt's fist pumped out, a loud tremor resounded.
The ground in which they were standing had already cracked all over.
The one receiving these punches could only be pushed back as his face held an expression of extreme surprise, because truly, the current situation was unbelievable.
-Seconds before-
The moment Kurt jumped, he was blown off from his intended trajectory, giving Grenald more time to get himself together.
The first thing he did was to hit the spear far into the ground with his hands.
With a look, Grenald summarized the situation on the battlefield as he took in Cavarl, Ulrik, all the Experts behind them, and his face darkened.
The good thing was, he knew Cavarl's strength, and he was not one to go down easy.
Which meant Cavarl was more than enough to keep the Avillian Master occupied.
What he was afraid of though, was the outcome tilting in favor of the opponents if a certain variable was left unchecked.
'Those Experts, I have to reduce their numbers'
All these calculations happened within the span of a few seconds, but that was enough time-
"Where do you think you're looking?"
-for Kurt to arrive at his position while launching a fist that was heading for Grenald's chest.
Grenald, unlike his outwardly haughty nature, slightly widened his eyes as his hands, still holding the ax, moved in conjunction to ward off the incoming punch.
It was the first collision, the first of many.
*BAM!*
The recoil of such an attack saw both opponents pushed afar from each other, and even the falling mana particles couldn't help but be blown away.
Grenald looked at his opponent, then at his ax, then at himself.
He had suspected something was wrong from the beginning, and judging by the way the other guy was glowing…yeah, something was definitely wrong.
From the moment Kurt jumped, Grenald had kept him under his radar by using the metal in the earth to sense things close by, which was why he was able to think clearly even when he knew the opponent was coming towards him.
What he hadn't known was how fast Kurt could move. This was the cause of the surprised expression.
You'll think a guy who runs that fast would be lacking in strength, but no. Grenald felt the impact, because even with his ax blocking the fist, his hands had gone numb.
Then he saw the opponents gaze land upon the spear…and it hit him.
Grenald felt like slapping himself.
'Of course! He's the one that threw the spear'
The spear that blasted him off his horse.
The moment he understood that, his finger clicked a button in his ax and it split into two, one in each hand.
Simultaneously, liquid silver began to coagulate over his abdominal area, before hardening as another form of armor.
All these things happened in seconds, and then, unlike before-
"Show me what you've got!"
-Grenald moved first!
With a stomp in the ground, he propelled himself forward to meet Kurt, who was also approaching with his body glowing even more, and then slashed downwards the moment they got into close proximity.
*BAM!*
A sufficient amount of blood erupted from a thin slash in the middle of Kurt's hand.
With this, Grenald affirmed.
'I can beat him'
Kurt wasn't as strong as he made himself out to be.
But unlike the first time, neither stopped attacking.
The moment they both landed their first strike, they followed it up with even more strikes, each aimed for the kill.
Fist and ax hit against each other again and again.
With each hit, Grenald's bafflement grew.
'What is this?!'
The slashes and cuts made by the ax were healing fast. Not instantaneously, but fast.
Kurt's attacks seemed to only intensify the more they fought. And the most terrifying thing was…
'He's predicting everyone of my moves'
It didn't seem to matter which way Grenald swung his ax, Kurt always managed to ward it off before dealing an attack of his own.
And each hit was aimed at vital areas.
But Kurt wasn't having it easy either.
'What is that armor made off?!'
The silver armor all over Grenald's abdominal area was giving him a headache. All his blows made it dent and cave in, but it would reform right after.
It was a perverted sense of defense, and it only got worse for Kurt.
Since the enemy could predict his attacks, Grenald just had to make himself unpredictable. And that's what he did.
The armor on his body turned back into a liquid, before stretching out in spikes and piercing Kurt in multiple points as he was caught unawares.
With a leap, Kurt retreated backwards, before taking a look at this pierced stomach.
These wounds, they weren't healing.
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