90 Knights of Badassdom (1/2)
When we were kids, Luca and I used to pretend we were knights off to slay dragons in some mythical fairytale land hidden away in our backyard. We were always arguing about which of us was the white knight—the dude who slew the villainous dragons and won the beautiful princess—and which one was the black knight, the self-important bastard who didn't care about doing good as long as he got what he wanted. Usually, in our game, the black knight also doubled as the evil dragon.
As the older brother, I always felt it was my role to be the white knight. But Luca, being the stubborn kid he was, always wanted to steal my thunder. As if a seven-year-old knew better than a nine-year-old about how to handle imaginary hottie princesses after we rescued them.
Luca always demanded we flip a coin for it, and I was just generous enough to agree. But more often than not, I'd end up losing the stupid coin toss.
I really had crappy luck back then, but now I suspect Luca's fairy handlers were fudging things up for me to help Luca out. How else do you boost a seven-year-old's confidence and prepare him for a life of servitude in a world that treated most humans as little more than cannon fodder?
Why am I mentioning this now when I'm in a life and death struggle with my numero uno rival? Well, I always hated playing the role. I just didn't think being the black knight was cool enough. But facing off against Azuma, a dude with incredible fighting skills, and whose fashion sense was limited to a monotone color scheme of black—even the long hair billowing behind him was shiny obsidian—I was reconsidering my opinion of the black knight's lack of coolness. Azuma was certainly showing off how much of a badass black knight he could be.
Shadowblades hummed as they whipped through the air. There was an audible clang. Sparks flew. The swish of sharp-edged weapons being drawn back, and then, like lighting smiting the earth below, the booming thunder of two high-speed metallic objects crashing into each other for a second, third, and then a fourth time. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
Fiery sparks—bright even against the pale light of the Fayne's golden moon—flitted between my eyes as I repelled the pointy tip of Azuma's spear with my falchion's shadowblade.
”You're slower than I remember,” I hissed through gritted teeth. Pain spiked up my sword arm as blocking just one of his blows felt like smacking my hand against an exploding rocket. Still, I held my sword up knowing death would come the moment I dropped my guard. ”Guess losing your immortality's made you weaker.”
That was a lie, of course. Although he seemed less reckless than our first battle back in the good old days, the Azuma I was fighting against now was way fiercer than he was before. Unlike the raging river he used to be, now he was like the calm surface of the sea that hid great currents underneath it.
”And you're a lot more chatty than I remember,” Azuma shot back at me in that wispy, tired voice of his.
He lunged forward, his spear whipping at me like a king cobra striking out against its prey.
I pulled on Myth Chaser's reins and urged him back. At the same time, I sent my falchion's shadowblade down to swat away the incoming spear. Unfortunately, this left me leaning sideward just long enough for Azuma to, in a quick twist of his hand, send the butt of his spear twirling up to my face.
The guy was just all finesse, chaining one move after the next. I couldn't help but feel admiration for his skill. The surge of pain that shot up my brain from the attack to my jaw quickly erased that sense of awe however and all that remained was more pain.
My head reeled back. My left jaw burned. There was a momentary disorientation. It would have been fatal if it weren't for Fiery Blessing.
I dodged a spear thrust aimed at my chest with a twist of my shoulder.
Times like this one, you learn to appreciate the gifts fairies provide us non-magical folk. Too bad I had maybe twenty seconds left before it ran out and all I would have left was Fool's Insight. If ever there was a now-or-never situation, it was definitely here.
I urged Myth Chaser closer, pushing him to stand neck and neck with Azuma's swifthart and allowing me to come inside his range. This wasn't as easy as it sounded though. To ensure both my safety and that of my mount, I had to parry and block a succession of spear thrusts that would have been impossible to achieve without my two cheats. Still, I managed to get under his range with just a few dozen new scratches on me.
Another audible clan rang out as his spear's metallic pole slammed against my sword's blade.
”You've gained more experience in the time since we last fought, haven't you?” he asked, his voice sounding almost impressed.