424 Chapter 424: Sparks Liner High (1/2)
Pushing my glasses up my nose, I smiled grimly.
\”I'm going to do my best to win this match.\”
\”That is impossible. That's because you will fall to defeat here, Richard.\”
\”...!\”
I could sense Kureha's killing intent expand. I knew she hadn't been holding back at all, but at that moment I felt as if all bets were off, as if a switch had just been flipped inside her. Perhaps it was the frustration that was boiling within her at her failure to finish me, a clearly very weakened and exhausted opponent, off even after such a long time.
\”We'll see about that. As you can see, I'm still standing even after receiving so many of your blows.\”
Kureha snorted. \”It's only a matter of time. Anybody can see that you're struggling just to stand. I estimate that it will be mere minutes before you succumb to your injuries.\”
Right. At the moment my body was battered beyond belief. Cuts and wounds decorated every visible part of my flesh. I had stemmed the bleeding by freezing my injuries, but that was at best a temporary measure. If I didn't receive treatment soon, I might really collapse here.
But not yet. Not until I defeated my opponent. Having exchanged blows with her firsthand, I had a taste of her unfathomable strength. If I wanted my team to progress to the semifinals, I couldn't afford to allow her to participate in the team match. I needed to eliminate her so that she couldn't fight against Jing Tian Academy during the team match.
I had a feeling that she could single-handedly wipe out my entire team without breaking a sweat, before her side lost any members.
There was no way I could retreat here and now, not when she presented such a formidable obstacle to our chances of progression.
\”Then we had best get started then.\”
I exhaled. Kureha was strong – I knew that when I first volunteered to participate in this match. That was why I refused to let Bu Fan take my place. I wanted to give my all to defeat her, so that she would be eliminated from the team match. She was such a dangerous opponent, and to have even the slightest chance of victory, I needed to create an opening.
Yet there was no sign of any opening. She was standing in a defensive posture, guarded and awaiting my next move. Once she got impatient, she would move to attack, and I wasn't confident that I could withstand her aggression.
There was only one route left. To go on the offensive.
Taking a deep breath, I glanced at my two swords that lay quite some distance away. Kureha's eyes followed me, and I instinctively knew she would intercept and cut me down if I tried to go for Hei Yue and Bai Ri.
There was no going that way, not unless I had given up all hopes of victory.
So instead I chose another path. I was a summoner, after all. I didnt' always have to rely on real swords.
\”Gemini.\”
I summoned my weapons. The twin swords that, out of all my Constellation armaments, would place the least burden on me. The twin black and white titanium blades that I was known throughout Jing Tian Academy for.
The black sword, Castor. The white sword, Pollux. They didn't have much special abilities other than firing off black and white blasts of mana, but they were reliable weapons that I had depended upon for most of my career. Furthermore, I no longer had enough mana left to cast those energy blast spells, at last not in my current condition, so any spells or special abilities that they might have possessed were a moot point to begin with.
However, they were reliable. Unlike my real swords, they were fragile, but I had used them long enough to be confident that they wouldn't shatter from one or two blows against Kureha's Excalibur.
\”I see you've chosen to summon new swords instead of retrieving your real ones.\” Kureha sounded mildly curious. I shrugged in return, but offered no reply. She studied me, and then shook her head. \”Never mind. That's none of my business. The fact is that you have armed yourself, and that's all that matters. I assume…that means you are ready?\”
She wielded her holy sword, and I lowered mine in return, adopting a defensive posture.
\”Come. Given your current exhausted condition, I daresay your body will not hold out for any duration longer than a few minutes.\”
She gestured an invitation at me. I felt my lip curled, and even though I knew she meant to respect me, it still felt as if she was underestimating me.
I took a step forward. Studying Kureha, my first instinct was to attempt and predict her counterattack, and then figure out how to avoid it. Running several simulations in my mind, I discarded them and decided to just go for the jugular. I could calculate all I wanted, but no battle plan survived contact with the enemy, so I might as well just throw everything away and attack.
Kicking the ground, I launched myself at the steady Kureha. In an instant, I cleared all ten meters between us in a single bound and swung my white sword, Pollux, down with my left hand. Putting everything I had into my left arm, I slashed toward Kureha's neck with all my might.
Just as I expected, Kureha parried my first strike. Undaunted, I swing my black sword, Castor, without missing a beat. Despite the black blade coming from the opposite direction, Kureha still somehow managed to effortlessly ward off my attacks, and her riposte surged forward to pierce my throat.
\”...?!\”
Despite her Godspeed, Kureha was stunned to see me block her strike. Hell, to be honest, I was also astounded at the small miracle I had just pulled off. My body had acted on its own, my unconscious reflexes saving me from a grisly death.
I grew into the fight, trading furious blow after furious blow with Kureha, despite the \”fact\” that my battered and exhausted body shouldn't be capable of such superhuman feats. My blades darted forward like twin flashes of black and white lightning. My instincts read ten steps ahead, allowing me to parry Kureha's fierce retaliation and therefore ensured that I survived an additional five seconds with each successful block.
\”Huff…\”
Heaving, I took a slight step back. I was just barely able to defend. As it turned out, my aggression only lasted until the failure of my first attack. From then on, the tables had turned and I spent the rest of the time fending off Kureha's attacks. We traded another thirty blows since then, each of her strikes lethal enough to kill me if they landed.
Even as we continued to clash, my mind swam. Time seemed to slow to a stop, but my body couldn't keep up with my mind. My limbs weren't keeping pace with my predictions and attempts to read my opponent's moves. Fortunately, I had gained invaluable experience fighting with Gemini, and it was this vast repository of combat experience that allowed me to stand toe to toe against someone of the Sword Saint's caliber.
My vision swam as I deflected another few strikes, but my body cried out, my limbs burning from pain and exhaustion. It wouldn't be a surprise if I collapsed any second now. The only thing holding me up was sheer adrenaline and the human instinct to defy death.
Even so, I could see that death was inevitable. In another thirty moves or so, she would kill me. Not unless I switched my tactics. If Dad hadn't trained me in Miyamoto swordsmanship, I would have been laid low long ago.
\”Heh…\”
Despite the bleak premonition, I couldn't help but smile. I was actually keeping up with the Sword Saint, of all people. I could actually fight on par with her! I could exchange blow after blow with her without falling!
There might be a chance of victory. After unleashing her ultimate technique earlier, she would need some time to recharge it, but I knew that as long as I kept her in close combat, she wouldn't have the chance to unleash it. She couldn't fire it off at pointblank range, or at least I believed so. For now, her actions proved my suspicions right – she was only fighting me with her swordsmanship alone, without relying on her spells.
Perhaps it was her pride – there was no way she would admit to being unable to prevail over the likes of me with her swordsmanship alone – the sword techniques that she was famed for throughout the Global Federation!
If that was the case, then perhaps I might just have a stab at victory. I should somehow be able to force an opening as long as I prevented her from casting her ultimate spells.