Chapter VI - Clash of Strengths [2/2]

Arthur was unable to accumulate mana during the movements, a disadvantage normal mortals had compared to those of Asuras. They were able to do that during the movements as well, as they were more adapted to mana than them. However, with Regis, Arthur was now able to devour mana from others.

'With this...' A wide grin was plastered on his face. This was truly something special, he didn't even think that Regis was capable of devouring mana, but now he was also able to give it to him. He felt very fresh; his mana was filled up; there was no exhaustion.

[Be aware that the more you use it, the more harm it does to you. Keep in mind, this is not your mana.] Having somebody else's mana circulate in your mana channels was harmful, especially if you hadn't processed it well. If this were, for example, the corrosive mana of a basilisk, Arthur would be gone.

'I will try.' Arthur tightened his grip on the sword and entered the confrontation with two Alacryan soldiers simultaneously, with a calmer demeanor than before. Going up against the already exhausted enemies was an easier task; his newfound strength was a devastating blow to them.

Each of the enemy's attacks was parried straight, and the sword received the impact well. Arthur was capable of going toe to toe with two fully armed men and was not against taking some more if this would help out others. Pushing the thumb on the handle, he brought down the sword from above on the enemy's shoulder. Regis' sharp edge cut through the black armor and dismembered a poor guy.

"Agh!" An agonizing scream escaped his mouth, his eyes darting and pleading for help. Helplessly, the comrade of his charged with no ideas what to do against Arthur; although an attempt was respectable, each of them already had their sides picked. The auburn-haired man let go of the sword and used a fire element on his left fist.

As he ducks under the second guy's attempted stab, he does a powerful uppercut, striking the man's jaw directly and breaking it. While also burning it with the intense fire that was in his hand at the moment.

A third man made a dash to Arthur with a heavy mace. Arthur's eyes flickered towards the Alacryan that just swung a mace, 'Shit, Regis...' He didn't know if his sword was also able to do that, but by itself, it decided to return to his hands. It just slid out of the enemy's palm and flew right back into his palms.

'Thanks!' He grinned in delight and swung his own sword in retaliation, this time aiming for the hand that held it.

A third man emerged, his imposing figure brandishing a massive, heavy mace. He was a burly Alacryan warrior, and the muscles beneath his dark, battle-worn armor rippled with each step. Unlike the previous two opponents, this one was more imposing. He was wearing a different kind of armor, which meant he was a knight, simlar Arthur fought at the beginning of the battle.

Arthur's eyes flickered towards the approaching Alacryan, recognizing him instantly. 'Shit, Regis, it's one of those knights...!' he muttered under his breath, concern etched on his face. These soldiers were stronger; at first, Arthur couldn't do anything against them despite his best attempts.

He gripped Regis tighter, bracing himself for the onslaught. 'I will try again; I have some ideas.' Arthur whispered to his sentient sword, knowing they were in for a tough fight. Despite their unique connection, he couldn't rely solely on Regis; this battle demanded his utmost skill and determination.

Knight charged with thunderous steps, raising his mace high above his head, ready to bring it crashing down on Arthur with bone-shattering force. Arthur's mind raced, searching for any advantage he could exploit. He couldn't engage in a direct contest of strength, not against an opponent like this.

As the mace hurtled towards him, Arthur reacted with precision and agility, dodging to the side just in time. The mace struck the ground with an earth-shaking thud, leaving a small crater in its wake. Arthur knew he couldn't afford to make a single mistake. Knight's strikes were devastating and left little room for error.

Taking a deep breath, Arthur focused his energy and channeled the power of the fire element into his left fist, mirroring the technique he had used against the previous group of Alacryan soldiers. He needed every advantage he could get, and the searing flames wrapped around his hand provided an extra edge.

Seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward, unleashing a flurry of precise strikes at Knight's exposed side. Regis glowed with an ethereal light, amplifying each attack with mana. But the knight was no ordinary adversary; he parried Arthur's strikes with his massive mace, blocking the blows with a strength that sent shivers down Arthur's spine.

Their clash intensified; each swing of the knight's mace met Arthur's relentless determination. Regis hummed in response to Arthur's fighting spirit, encouraging him to press on. [Go on, the same way.]

'My hands hurt a little bit though,' Regis knew that his partner was getting weary; he was still a human being. Supplying him with more mana was useless; it would only make things worse after this battle. Instead, he placed his trust in Arthur to finish the battle by himself.

Knight was relentless, most likely realizing that one right strike from his mace would end Arthur right on the spot. 'But this Dicathian is so much more agile...' He couldn't strike the boy; he was too quick for him. Armor wouldn't let him swing in full range of motion either; he was quite literally limited.

'This armor will be your demise!' Arthur bit his lips until some blood came out of them; he was distracting the pain in his hands this way. This kind of stimulation was weird for Regis—getting more motivation from pain? Was it a mental thing? An illness, to be precise, maybe...

Arthur stepped in front of the enemy, 'Time to get in your range,' That mace could easily be swung on him at any time, and now that he was in the area where a knight could swing it without armor's restrictions, this seemed like a dumb move.

Arthur's heart pounded in his chest as he took the risk of stepping into Knight's deadly range. With adrenaline surging through his veins, he focused on the rhythmic sound of clinking metal as Knight shifted his weight. Under that helmet, the person was definitely grinning, thinking that this was the end.

"You dance well, little Dicathian," the knight sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance. "But all your fancy footwork won't save you from my mace."

'Princess Tessia, I might as well copy this from you.' He feigned a charge towards the knight, drawing the knight's attention. But at the last moment, Arthur swiftly changed direction, darting behind the knight and closing the distance with lightning speed. In one fluid motion, he swung Regis with all his might, aiming for the chink in the armor behind the knight's knee.

The strike connected with a resounding clang, and Arthur felt the satisfying sensation of Regis biting into the vulnerable spot. The knight roared in pain and stumbled forward, momentarily off balance. Seizing the opportunity, Arthur rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the knight's retaliatory swing.

[Don't talk back, it's unnecessary and I don't like it.] Regis warned him before Arthur was about to answer Alacryan's previous taunts. He wanted to curse him and his army for intruding their land, also displaying their superiority and unity... but the time for childish behavior ended the moment he got Regis.

Instead, what Arthur did was ask the enemy, "Yield." Maybe he wouldn't have done that before, but seeing the relentless and ferocious enemy give up in front of him would mean much more than just defeating it.

"Never...you dirty, Dicathian." Firmly, the Knight's eyes flickered with confidence and pride, and he rejected Arthur's words immediately. It seemed like Alacryans were just like them, loyal to their continents.

[The most honorable death for a knight is to die with a weapon in hand. Bestow it up on him...] Regis' words echoed clearly in his mind, and Arthur gripped his weapon tightly before striking the man's chest right in his heart.

.

"Sylv!" The dragon received a painful kick from the Alacryan and smashed into the ground. Thankfully, the dark draconic scales were great protection from physical and magical attack. Although it didn't render the attack fully painless. She groaned and stood back up to support her bond.

The man with dark-hair kept the two's eyes on himself and let the army do its thing. Although what he was seeing wasn't exactly in his plans. The Dicathians were pushing them back; a few more minutes and they'll be in control of the teleportation gates. His eyes also landed on the commander of the Dicathian army, and he gave a command to charge.

"Alacryan! I'm your opponent, not them!" Tessia was meanwhile trying to win more time for his comrades; they were close to winning after all. 'I need to halt this person for a few more minutes; yes, I should be able to do that.'

"That's right..." The man muttered under his breath, "However, I can't let myself get trapped here as well. You Dicathians deserve praise for this." He said this before attempting to fly away from battle.

A howl of a dragon followed as Tessia jumped on the back of Sylvie and flew after the man. They couldn't let him get away. 'We are so close to victory, I can't let him get in the way of our forces...' Her eyes found an auburn-haired boy running towards the teleportation game, 'Arthur!' He was in the group of Dicathain soldiers that swarmed the Alacryans and kept pushing forward towards the teleportation gate.

'Do it, Arthur! Destroy the gate!' She screamed in her mind while also trying to chase the man in time to stop him from attacking Arthur. *Grab* Sylvie managed to get a hold of man's cape and smash him into the ground.

"Arthur!" Again, they had to call him out to destroy it before it was too late. Seeing them engaged in combat with that man, the auburn-haired boy tried to act quicker. The man saw this as well and let go of his nonchalant attitude towards the battle...

He narrowed his eyes. "So, all along, you really thought your power would be enough for me?" Tessia and Sylvie both widened their eyes as the man wasn't in the place anymore; instead, they heard him from their backs. They turned around and saw him standing unfazed, removing the dirt that had accumulated on his shoulders. "Oh, how wrong you were. It'll take a lot more from you to face me."

He disappeared from their sight once again, he couldn't be followed by Tessia's sight. Sylvie's dragon instincts tried to warn her of the approaching attack, but their bodies were unable to respond in time. Tessia, for a brief moment, was able to activate her Will of the Dragon and use the Static Void spell.

Strength was leaving her body just after a second of using the Static Void. Even though she trained for years, she was unable to fully utilize this technique. It was enough for her to avoid the attack, a mana infused punch aimed at her belly. When she moved away from the punch, the spell was canceled. The gust of wind that followed was strong enough to shake a person.

"Oh, this was aimed at knocking you out instantly... But now I know what Asuras might've taught you." The man was surprised by the disappearance of Tessia but calmed down after seeing her nearby.

"Arthur!"

"Oh, no, he won't."

Tessia again called out the boy, who had yet to destroy the teleportation gates. Her voice this time was close enough to alert Arthur. He turned around to see his friend's exhausted face, about to fall unconscious. Her lips formed some words...'Destroy the gate.' Arthur understood what she meant.

He was going to do that either way, but he had to halt his advance. A wind rattled some of his armor, and he felt a presence behind him. When Arthur turned around, he saw the same man that was fighting Princess Tessia. Instantly, this forced him to raise the sword for attack.

"How pathetic, that a person trained by an Asura has to rely... on mere you." *Grab* Arthur's hand that held the sword was caught by the man. His left hand gripped the boy's arm and kept tightening it for the sake of making the boy feel pain, "Augh!!!" Arthur screamed out, even feeling bones cracking in his hands. But he held onto Regis. "I will not let you destroy the gates... at least not you."

Sylvie, who was behind the person, burst at high speed in an attempt to break the teleportation gates herself. But the man raised a hand and pointed it at Sylvie, casting dark flames at her. She was sent back, flying and crashing into the wall of the cave.

[Arthur!] Regis found the right time to dissipate into sand and land onto Arthur's left hand, which was still functional. The man didn't expect this turn of events; meanwhile, the auburn-haired mercilessly thrust his weapon into the person's abdomen when the mana-core was located. Regis could easily penetrate the layer of mana that protected the man and slide through the white skin.

"Ngh." The man grunted in pain; he didn't expect that. He suddenly felt his own mana disturbed by a presence; he was unable to control his mana, and there was sharp pain in his abdomen, not from the open wound but from the core. 'This thing! It's eating my mana-away!' The man grabbed Arthur's hand and slapped it away along with the sword.

"Dicathian... your name, tell me...and I will leave."

"Why should I?" Arthur said while holding his broken hand and gritting his teeth in pain. "I don't think telling my enemy my name is necessary."

Alacryan removed his hand from the wound, showing that it had already healed. "You don't have any other options; I can easily slaughter you all..."

Arthur pondered that it was not wise to trust the enemy's words, but from the side's perspective... He really could kill them, but at the same time, why ask for a name? 'That's just stupid, Regis!' The sword was also questioning the demand made by the enemy, [Arthur, I devoured some of his mana... He still has enough to kill all of you.]

"My name is... Arthur. Why are you asking?"

The man didn't say the reason for his question but instead went on his way towards the portal, saying, "So be it, Arthur. Your people won this confrontation; I will disable teleportation from the other side. Use this one wisely." He went through the portal, and in a few seconds, it shut down.

[He might've left because of more reinforcements; that white haired lance we met is here... rest now.]

Author's Note:

Aight guys another chapter! I missed out a day, but I guess those will now become frequent because I wrote larger chapter. Besides, I'm working on some visuals for some characters. Trying to contact some AI artists, that can generate me some pictures.

Btw check out the wallpaper above, cool ain't it?