*Narration*
Fast!!! Extremely fast!!! And strong to boot, those were the reactions of the crowd, mortals and gods alike.
Their weapons and mana battled for dominance as their two blades locked up with one another. The ground shook at their wake and both of their feet dug deep in the ground, neither giving an inch.
Edwin was the one who broke the deadlock, using his shield, he pushed Tiona back as he slammed it straight to her face.
A direct hit... Tiona's head whipped back as blood splattered from the hit, that hit broke her nose. The knight followed it up with another shield bash but the same trick won't work twice for the amazon.
She stabbed Urga straight to the ground right in front of her, using the ground as leverage she was able to block Edwin's assault and retaliated with an attack of her own.
Using Urga as a pole, she swung to the left and delivered a kick using both of her legs, Edwin saw it coming and moved his sword to meet it head on.
But he didn't expect the kick to be a faint. Tiona grit her teeth as she strained her muscles to stop her body from completing the motion. With a grunt she pulled her blade out and with bad intent slammed it straight down to the off balance knight who was fully expecting a kick instead of a slash.
"ARGHH!!!" Edwin wailed as Tiona's blade buried itself into her right shoulder, his armor doing little to stop the amazon's attack. She followed it up with a spartan kick straight at his gut which send him reeling back.
Tiona smiled, looking sinister and malicious because of her bloody face and broken nose. She chased after the knight at savage ferocity, she doesn't have a plan, all she has is the singular mindset, and that mindset is attack.
She brandished her blade and attacked with speed and power that is unimaginable with her build.
Edwin grimaced as he blocked the incoming barrage with his shield, every hit made his hand tremble and ache. Even so, Tiona wasn't able to break his implacable defense.
Tiona wild attacks has no pattern to exploit, her blade came from every angle and at breakneck speeds. Edwin can only defend but it was his specialty.
He earned his spot in Athena's pillars with his defense, his alias, the paladin was also a testament for this. Any other adventurer would have succumbed to the relentless attack of the amazon, but Edwin was like a wall, nay, a steel fortress that no one could penetrate.
The earlier hit was a mistake on his part, he was jealous of his fellow pillar who excels in offence. He wanted to be like them, to attack relentlessly, like the opponent he had in front of him, so he fought Tiona with the intent of exchanging blows and he suffered a clean hit because of it.
That exchange made him realized that he couldn't win against the amazon in sheer attacking force and exchanges. Sure he's able to keep up but she has more experience, skill, and talent in that regard.
You can say that it was her specialty... He on the other hand boast talent opposite of what she has. And he hates it, he wanted to be like his fellow pillars, like his mentor, like her. He is a peculiar individual, a mortal who has a high aggression and is by all account a person you may consider as a battle maniac, has little talent in offensive combat and excels in defense.
His talents are the complete opposite of his personality. And he hates it with a passion.
Tiona couldn't help but admire the man standing in front of her, she had tried everything in her arsenal of moves and attack, she even threw faints on the mix and he was still handling everything with flawless execution.
She felt like she's attacking a fortress, a wall of steel... Unbreakable and unmoving, he was even blocking her faints as well. She tried to use her speed and attacked him from behind but he was still able to read her like a book and block it.
Anyone would have been frustrated, but not her, she felt excitement, intrigue, and hunger. 'Will I be able to break that wall?' Her mind asks herself this questioned. But no frustration showed on her face. Instead it was determination and fire.
The challenge of penetrating an unbreakable wall excites her very core and it shows in her attacks.
It kept on getting faster, stronger, more unpredictable, the crowd can even see after image at how fast she was moving as she tries to find an opening for her attacks.
The barrage of blade looked more like a tornado of twirling death as Urga came at every direction.
Above...
Below...
At the sides...
In front...
At the back...
All manners of offensive attacks had been thrown, all meeting the knight shield. The two of them looked like they were dancing, for the people not experience in fighting it looks like Tiona was pushing Edwin back, but the truth was the two of them are being dragged to the edge of their limits.
Her muscles are aching non stop at every attack she delivered, but at the same time she was getting stronger and stronger because of it. Still it was straining to ones body, she was getting faster and stronger, months of improvement all being done and happening in just a span of this battle. Edwin was not fairing well as well, his body tremble at every attack he receives, his bones rattling at every blow he blocked.
Still the two of them kept on, they enjoyed the fight, and right now, no one was stopping them.
But it was apparent, not to the common crowd, not to the civilians watching, but everyone who has fighting experience can see it clearly.
No matter who you asked, be it a common adventurer, a doctor, a healer, no matter what race, be it a god, they will all answer the same, mortals couldn't handle that much of a growth in strength especially if the body was not ready for it.
Boosting magics and skills are somewhat of a double edge blade, especially those that continues to give the user stats as the battle continues. There's only so much strain the body can handle, and eventually it will reach its limit and overheat, especially if its not prepared to handle a surge and rise in power.
It's just basic science, think of a person as a cup and its contents as their mana, strength, speed, etc... The body has a finite limit on how large of a boost it can receive, too much and it will over flow. But unlike a cup, the body has a lid, too much and you'll end up bursting with the overflow of power.
The unbreakable shield versus the relentless attacker, an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Something has to give. The fight had now become a battle of attrition, it became a battle of whose body can handle the power surging in them more.
The crowd was wild and on their feet, cheering, screaming, applauding the two warriors who are giving it their all.
The two of them locked on a deadly stalemate, attack versus defense, grit versus grit, the two are determined to win.
"You know..." Edwin spoke, a tinge of jealousy apparent in his voice. "I envy people like you... How I wish I had what you have." he blocked another barrage flawlessly.
"Oh... And what's that?" Tiona goes low as she tries to sweep the knight's leg with her own. He was able to block it with his shin guard.
Edwin smiled, he saw the blade of the amazon rising from under him, after the failed attempt to sweep his legs she bent her body so fast while delivering a blow straight for his head. "Nevermind..." he answered as he moved his head to the side dodging the blow by a hair's length. "You wouldn't understand it." he tried to counter but stopped when he realized he had no time. A kick from the amazon followed after her failed attack. He didn't have a chance to retaliate and can only defend. He hated it.
The kick sent him skidding back, he could see the opening, he could see the attack on his mind, he just couldn't take it. And it was now too late, the opening was closed, Tiona was now in his space once again not giving him a chance to do anything but defend. He hated it, he wanted what she had, if only he had that talent instead.
Tiona suddenly stopped her attack, she had a pissed look on her face, her mouth turned into a snarl, and her eyes were filled with anger.
"Why?..." She asked, her voice merely a whisper.
This confused Edwin. 'Why'd she stop?' he thought. And he couldn't understand her question.
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU MAKING THAT FACE!!!" She wailed at the knight, her face red in anger, her mana burst at her rage. "WHERE IS THAT SMILE?!! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!! WHERE IS THAT PERSON I WAS FIGHTING EARLIER?!!"
Edwin was dumbfounded by her actions, he was even more dumbfounded when the amazon stabbed her weapon in the ground and walked at him without her weapon.
He couldn't comprehend her actions, he was wondering what she was doing.
She was now within his striking distance, he could slash his weapon at her and win, but he couldn't, there was no honor in that for of victory.
She now stood in front of him, her eyes staring holes at his, and then...
*SLAP!!!*
The crowd was stunned by it, even the gods had their mouth wide open, the participants watching don't know what to do.
Tiona just walked in front of Edwin and slapped him square at the face. There was no mana, no extra strength, it was just a plain old slap.
"DON'T YOU DARE FIGHT ME WITH THAT PITIFUL LOOK!!!" she wailed, her voice almost sounding hurt. "I don't know what your thinking about, and truth be told I don't give a flying fuck about it. That doesn't give you the right to half ass this fight." she spat at him with fiery resolve.
Edwin blinked his eyes a few times, questions had flooded his mind, his eyes drifted toward Tiona, her face red, she was fuming and he could have sworn that smoke came rising out her ears.
"Pft..." He sputters a chuckle, and then it became a full on laughter. "HAHAHA!!!" He stopped and looked at the confused amazon and smiled. "Thank you... I-I needed that." his voice had a tone of gratification in it. And then he continued with a jovial voice. "sorry if I showed you something pitiful, let's fight with all our heart!"
Tiona hearing this beamed a smile, she gave him an energetic nod and walked back to her weapon, she was practically skipping. She placed her hands at the handle and with ease she pulled her weapon out of the ground. "Now with that out of the way... I'll FUCKING BREAK THAT DEFENCE OF YOURS!!!" she said with a determined face and a smile that could reach the heaven as she twirled the large weapon all around her body. Her mana radiating a wild inferno as heat ooze out of her body.
Her declaration made Edwin's heart skip a beat, he may not like his talent but he still had pride in it. 'Break my defense she say?' he thought to himself as a smirk emerge on his face. His mana exploded, his whole aura screams impenetrable, he slammed his shield on the ground as his stance became a solid fortress.
"HAHAHA!!!" Tiona laughed as she saw this. "Now that's more like it. HERE I COME!!!"
"Bring it!" he answered back, he didn't know why but his heart just won't stop beating in excitement.
Tiona vanished from her spot which made Edwin's eyes shot wide open. She was even faster than before.
Then he heard her voice, right behind her. "Let's have some fun!"
He quickly turned and saw Tiona already in her motion of attack, a huge predatory grin on her bloody face.
*BOOM!!!*
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Chapter 55 is done now, how do you guys like the story so far?
Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.
thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.
good day, love y'all.