2 A Fierce Fight Between Friends

Everyone from the gymnasium who was present gathered around as they recognized the individuals just walked into the ring.

Since they recognized them, they were also familiar with their might and strength, and they were excited about the match because they haven't seen them since they got separated for the sake of their studies.

As the people recalled their last encounter, they remembered that none of them were willing to admit defeat to another and it caused the match to be dragged for hours which exhausted them to their limit.

"The result of their last battle went in favor of Chris. After fighting for hours none of them were able to stand properly on their two feet and when Alex stumbled out of exhaustion which created an opening which allowed Chris to strike Alex with his last bit of energy and effort which decided the outcome of the match."

"Yes, I remember it too, they suffered a lot of injuries despite using wooden swords and were exhausted to the bones, they took almost a week to recover from that battle. If they were using a real sword then both of them might have been dead within a day or two."

"That was the first time I saw a match that brutal between kids to find out who was the superior among them and here they are yet again at the same stage after two years with much more intensity and excitement in their eyes than ever before", another man nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, those two are extremely talented, in fact, their whole group is talented in sword fighting. It is quite rare to see such enthusiasts of learning sword fighting in this era of guns and missiles."

Some people from the crowd started talking facts and praises of the two young men standing in the ring facing each other and also about their group is one of the best in the way of the sword.

They were excited because they were going to witness the fight between these rivals after a long time.

As everyone's eyes set on the match in front. The two Alex and Chris moved to their respective corners and picked their swords up.

As this was a friendly match to test who was superior among them, they used wooden swords so they won't kill or give serious injuries to their opponent.

Chris picked a wooden sword in which he was well versed with and it was the two-handed long sword but it's blade's size and width was as compared to a katana.

As for Alex, he didn't became a lackey either in the last two years and mastered a katana and also mastered the twin blades. In this match, he went with the twin blades and picked up two wooden swords identical in shape and size.

The moment they picked up the swords, their eyes lit up and they turned around to look at each other. Everyone can see the fire burning in their eyes.

The moment they turned towards each other, they started analyzing their opponent and tried to derive a plan to take their opponent down as efficiently and quickly as possible with no room for error.

The people on the side were keeping a close eye on their every movement carefully without blinking. They even advised the new students who showed some interest in learning sword techniques to watch the match carefully and by doing so they might gain some insights which they can use later on to improve themselves.

By doing so the new students will benefit greatly. When does one get a chance to witness a fight between two strong sword fighters?

As for Tom, Jared, and Kyle, they were sitting in front with a faint smile on their faces.

"Let's see what you can do this time around, I wonder how much will it take this time to defeat you", Chris shouted while talking his stance.

"Sure... whatever", Alex replied calmly with a faint smile on his face and there was no trace of any kind of fear in his eyes.

Alex chose his stance for the initial strike on an instinct. He lowered his body to almost two-thirds of his hight reducing the number of striking spots for Chris.

At the same time, his legs were bent as he was sitting on an elevated chair which helps to add strength while striking.

While taking this stance, Alex only revealed his left portion of the body to his opponent, again lowering the chances of getting hit by Chris.

When one takes a stance by standing in a cross, they reduce the surface area which could be a potential target and increases their defenses.

As for the position of his swords, the sword in the left hand pointed towards the right side as the strike will slash the opponent in two horizontally, whereas the sword in the right hand pointed towards Chris as it will stab Chris in his chest the moment it got the chance.

While watching Alex taking his stance, preparing to strike, Chris began his preparations as well.

Although Chris was not as strong as Alex physically but had good speed and an attack at a good speed becomes very hard to evade or block and can cause a considerable amount of damage to an opponent.

By calculating all these factors, Chris also crossed his body towards right exposing his left side only and also crouched a bit.

He held his sword with his both hands and the sword pointing towards Alex and the hilt of the sword was held at the eye level of Chris and shoulders stretched back adding up in the stabbing and blocking strength of Chris at the same time.

Everyone around the ring was in awe and continued looking with great attention. No one dared to look sideways or else they might miss something.

In the middle of these events, a man entered the gymnasium, he had a good physique and looked intimidating, at first glance anyone would be startled by him. And he was the trainer of this gym.

As the trainer of the gymnasium walked in from the front door but he was surprised that no one noticed him and he found the reason fairly quickly as everyone's eyes and senses were fixated on the match in the ring.

The trainer was strong in the way of the sword himself, he was originally from a different country where people still did sword practice in this modern age to carry on the legacy which was passed down the generations.

As he saw that no one noticed him, he suddenly recognized the two in the ring. Also after looking around for a second found the other three as well.

They were his students, he taught them the way of the sword.

After realizing the event taking place in the gym, he didn't interrupt any of them and took a place to spectate the match from the back without alarming anyone about his presence.

The two in the ring started moving, they started circling around the ring cautiously.

Their eyes were not watching the faces of their opponent but the movements the other party made.

Their senses were at their peak. There was a pin drop silence in the gymnasium.

As they moved they also moved their body positions from left to right followed by their sword positions.

As the tension increased in the atmosphere, Chris made the first move to break the silence.

Chris moved to stab Alex in the chest with his great speed and along with the added strength from his shoulders, he moved forward.

Everyone around was stunned by the speed of the move and its strength just by looking at the sword piercing the air around it while moving forward.

If one blinked even for an instant they would miss the move and lose the fight then and there without even knowing what hit them.

As for the opponent facing the blow, Alex, who was keeping an eye of Chris's movements closely and waiting for his move, when he saw the incoming attack his pupils quickly contracted and he felt like the time stopped and everything in his surrounding slowed.

He felt like this because he was already a good fighter two years ago but he didn't stop after parting ways with his friends and kept training and he was no longer his previous self from before.

And just like that, the fight was on.