92 Street Fighter (1/2)
As nicknames go, the Lord of War sounds a million times cooler than the Boy Touched by Fire. And if Azuma was hinting at what I think he was hinting at, then the name was well-deserved. It also meant I'd been outplayed. While I thought I was keeping the enemy busy, they were actually the ones keeping me away from supporting Great General Darah.
”Th-that's really high praise, you know… I'm not that important,” I reasoned.
Even taking my last two contributions to the war effort into account, the attention they gave me seemed over the top. I was just a lowly hundred-man commander after all. Still, I needed to end this fight as quickly as possible and break through this trap they'd set for me.
The effort of holding up Azuma's spear with my falchion strained the muscles in my arm, and sweat dripped down my face while I pushed back against the pressure.
”Some Lord of War… your Great General Spellweaver's got his priorities wrong,” I said while trying hard for a grin that might have looked more like a grimace in Azuma's eyes. ”I'm not the one he should have watched out for.”
I believed this. Instead of me, someone like Roger Thors would have been a better choice. And the thought of our center army general still in play sent relief into my mind.
”He may be an accomplished warrior, but Great General Spellweaver is not the Lord of War… It's his son who holds that title,” Azuma explained. ”Ardeen Spellweaver is a master tactician who productively uses his father's martial strength. Their combination of raw power and tactics has given the Magesong clan's army its current prestige.”
He momentarily raised his spear—removing the pressure on my shadowblade—before smashing it right back down on me. Unfortunately for Azuma, he still hadn't figured out how good my eyesight really was. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
I saw his muscles tighten right before he lifted his spear, saw the twitch of effort on his face, and even the tightening of his fingers on his grip. These minuscule movements were enough to provide me with enough insight to know the exact moment for a preemptive attack.
My left hand let go of my falchion's sword-hilt and reached behind me for the shadowblade dagger I kept strapped to the back of my belt. I pulled it out in a reverse grip and sent it streaking into the narrow slit between the plates of Azuma's leg armor.
Blood splashed out of the wound, although I doubt it was deep enough to cause heavy damage. Still, it provided me the momentary break to roll to the side and out of his way right at the moment his spear came crashing down.
Both shaft and spearhead slammed into the ground, causing the surrounding dirt to fly up. This forceful blow combined with the fresh wound on his leg forced Azuma off balance, giving me another opportunity to attack.
I re-sheathed my dagger and then launched myself to my feet. I took that moment to counterattack with a move I once used to win the finals of Starlight City's Under-Thirteen Kendo Championship—a leaping sword slash that sent me charging at him with all the force my teenage body could muster. My falchion raised with both hands, I swung down on Azuma's exposed back—but, being the monster that he was, he'd seen me coming and launched a counterattack of his own.
His spearhead came hurtling at me like a deadly cobra's kiss of death. It would have skewered me in the heart, too, if I hadn't pulled my left shoulder back at the last second and dodged. Capitalizing on his failed attack, I followed through with the momentum of my shoulder moving back to spin around—one foot in the air, mind you—and with both hands still gripping my falchion, launched a sideward slash at Azuma like I was a batter about to hit an incoming fastball.
Just as I thought I was about to connect on his left shoulder, the man suddenly vanished from my target lock. I watched him twist his own shoulder back in miming of my earlier escape, and just like I did, Azuma made a turn that would send his spear shaft rocketing toward me from the side.