Chapter 376 Facing A Knight, Again (1/2)

As the gray-haired Knight moved to the center of the circle of onlookers, Arran watched him closely

From the man's ly so After studying Muna's foundation, Arran could recognize the signs of insights, and he saw theray-haired man's entire body was like a weapon, expertly wielded Not the slightest excess of movement could be seen in his actions, as if he fully controlled every single h at the casual display of power For all the progress he'd made over the past months, such a level of perfection was still far out of his reach

That wasn't a proble, either Rather, it would require learning the Darians' secrets and studying their most treasured es, as well

Broad though the Knight's insights ht into binding and severing And while the Knight had a Living Shadow dagger, his primary weapon was a starmetal sword

Still, Arran doubted that would be enough to defeat this opponent But then, he didn't need to win What he needed was to deht said, his eyes on the onlookers, ”please step back We need space to fight”

Though he spoke in a friendly tone, the Lady's guests hurried in obliging hiht any offense And as the circle of people around theht turned to Arran

”I trust you don't need tih the man's voice betrayed no emotion, there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes

If Arran didn't know any better, he al his son had received at Arran's hands

But then, perhaps he was Feere as dangerous for a fighter as overconfidence, and theRanger's life

”I'ht ahead Right now, his only concern was to avoid a huht nodded ”Then let's begin”

Without any further words, the man moved forward, sword raised in front of his body as he approached Arran And although he ilance of an experienced fighter ouldn't underestimate any opponent

Arran readied hi in anticipation of the first clash

When only a few paces between theht suddenly dashed forward in a fluid rush ofout at Arran with the speed of a hungry viper

It was a h that they blended together in a blur of movement, and for each real blow that he struck, there were half a dozen subtle feints

Arran struggled to withstand the assault For several moments, it was all he could do to parry and block his opponent's attacks, without even the slightest chance to retaliate

Yet although he struggled beneath the onslaught, with the Knight forcing him to retreat several paces, he did not break

Somehow, his defense held And under the pressure, he felt his understanding increase

As he parried and deflected the Knight's cuts and thrusts, he grew hts he'd spent the last half-year studying

For the first time, he could put all he'd learned into practice Moreover, in the Knight's swordplay he recognized hts, and the confrontation saw him improve rapidly

Seconds turned into ht, and as the two clashed, his mind was focused entirely on the battle

If the pressure of battle was like a forge, then the Knight's strikes were like a blackshts Arran had studied for rew more confident

Slowly, Arran's retreat cah to push him back

For so from his opponent as the attacks continued undiminished It was an invaluable lesson, and if his mind hadn't been fully focused on the battle, he would have rejoiced at the progress he was ht And as his confidence steadily grew, he began to return the Knight's attacks

At first, his strikes were few and far between, with his opponent easily blocking those rare few attacks he rew h Arran's opponent still held the upper hand, it was no longer the one-sided onslaught it had been at the start Both sides now exerted theh the air as they attacked each other

And as they fought, the onlookers watched in silence, their eyes ith awe at the fight they itnessing Seeing a Knight do battle was a rare thing, and seeing one challenged in earnest rarer still

Meanwhile, Arran fought with the hunger of a beggar who saw treasure on the horizon, greedily taking in all the knowledge he could as his weapon clashed with his opponent's sword

Months of study had provided hie had reh to drive hi into skill

He did not kno long the battle lasted More than an hour, certainly, perhaps even several hours But enraptured by his newfound skills, time passed Arran by unnoticed