Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 103 - Diversionary Tactics

"Y'know, I thought you were going to propose we fight on horseback."

The tip of Michael's sword fell to the ground. His breath came short and ragged as he staggered back, attempting to recuperate the stamina he'd lost as a result of his own foolishness.

Mere moments ago, he had attacked relentlessly upon seeing his opponent fail to reply with a counterattack of any kind, committing all his strength and energy into breaking his opponent's seemingly impregnable defense.

He drew breath heavily now, his arms nearly numb from the sheer force of his opponent's effortless parries. Despite his completely exposed condition, his opponent merely stood there looking at him as if he were some sort of exotic animal. It infuriated him to no end, especially when the one who stood across from him had been nothing more than a brat, or so he thought.

"It's not too late to change your decision, you know?" Medrauta raised an eyebrow as she planted her sword firmly into the soft dirt beneath her feet, leaning on the pommel of her weapon. She eyed Michael with a cool and relaxed gaze.

Though the silver-haired knight's eyes held no traces of arrogance, her calm demeanor and verbal provocations only served to infuriate Michael further. With a roar, he charged toward Medrauta with his sword resting on his shoulder, ready to be swung in a vicious downward slash.

Damn it...! She must be tired from defending... That's the only reason why she didn't attack me! Michael hadn't fully recovered his stamina yet, but he was sure that it was the same for Medrauta. After all, he'd unleashed a string of powerful attacks with speed that bewildered belief.

In fact, the soldiers in his unit had formed a circle around the two knights as they dueled, and though they could barely follow the knights' movements, they were certain that Michael was winning just from witnessing the sheer speed and force behind his strikes.

Meanwhile, Medrauta hadn't done anything but defend. Even now as Michael advanced to her position, she wasn't doing anything aside from readying herself to defend against the inevitable attacks that would be sent her way.

"Take this!" Michael shouted as he brought his blade down on Medrauta with all his might, the air before him exploding with a sound much like thunder as it was compressed by the sheer force of his attack.

Medrauta flicked her sword upward, an ear-splitting screech puncturing the air as Michael's sword slid off her own. Despite the sheer power that her opponent's strike possessed, the angle of Medrauta's blade and structure of her parry had allowed her to simply redirect her opponent's momentum downward and away from herself.

Though the maneuver left Michael wide open, Medrauta didn't take the clear path to victory. Instead, she simply thrust her foot forward in a vicious kick, shoving the man backward several paces.

"Sir Michael, it seems you haven't fully recovered from your last attack. Please make sure to rest adequately this time," Medrauta said. Despite her words fanning the already blazing flames of anger in Michael's chest, they were not meant to be hostile nor an insult to the senior knight's skill.

"Damn you..." Michael hissed through gritted teeth.

Rather, she was simply speaking plainly and honestly. The sole reason why Medrauta hadn't spared Michael the shame and finished him off quickly was due to the fact that more and more soldiers were beginning to cluster around, watching their duel with great interest.

While Michael certainly wasn't skilled enough to defeat her in single combat, he was still a senior knight with plentiful combat experience, meaning that Medrauta couldn't afford to take her eyes off him. Because of that, she had no way of knowing whether the carriage had continued to make its escape other than listening to the sound of passing hoofbeats.