The Egyptian queen had always been gifted, even during her time in the Academy, she was always the fastest growing in magic and combat, often overshadowing her peers. So far, she also managed to defeat opponents up to a Stage 4 Combat Puppet, which was just a level below Emery. Unfortunately, she had only ever practiced with the staff as her weapon of choice. Now she was trying her best to adapt with the sword. It wasn't going to be that easy, but the girl always seemed to find a way to adapt.
The main problem was that her basic Battle Power, which meant her natural physical strength, only came up to about 45 points and 36 with the restriction. Hence the reason why she needed an extra boost to compensate for her limitations.
The girl knew this, so when she joined the fight, She quickly cast a Tier 4 lighting spell, [Energize], which allowed her body to be recharged by the lighting magic, thus increasing both her strength and speed.
"I am ready for anything!" Said Klea confidently, a grin on her face.
Emery, however, was rather concerned. He frowned a bit as he turned to face her..
"Stay close to me, Klea," he murmured.
These words only widened Klea's self-assured grin.
The two swordsman masters started to swing their swords around, not as an offensive attack but more like a dance between the two. The way their weapons interacted with one another flowed seamlessly, like water passing through a stream. It acted as a kind of preparation for them to accelerate to the next stage of their skills, and Emery could tell their Spirit Power was steadily increasing.
"Young man, we are now at the peak of our skills," one of them said in a serious tone. "We are now ascending to Dao Sword Stage 4; if you are able to best us in this battle, we will admit defeat."
"Yes Elder, we are ready," said Emery. He felt himself grip his weapon tighter in his hand.
Once again, the two masters' techniques impressed him greatly. Their movements were extremely refined, the two were almost flying as their swords charged toward him and Klea.
Emery quickly stepped forward in advance to hold off most of the attacks before they had the opportunity to reach Klea.
In line with her feisty spirit, though, she refused to get left behind and leave all the fun to someone else, so they both quickly charged in together.
But the two masters' movements were simply too overwhelming and unpredictable. The differences in their teamwork also played the biggest part in the effectiveness of their attacks. The two masters' attacks were flawless, they were in complete harmony with one another, almost as if they were one person. Meanwhile, the dynamic between Emery and Klea was completely out of balance, while he was overly invested in trying to protect Klea, she was simultaneously trying to get in on the action, wanting to become more involved in the fight herself.
Within just a few seconds, both Emery and Klea were cornered. Even the strength of a Heroic Slash was not enough to push them back this time.
The two swords just kept charging quickly towards them and they were both steadily getting pushed into a corner. No matter how hard Emery tried to follow their attacks, no matter what methods of analysis he utilized to predict their movements, he was simply unable to catch on. The two masters just had too many variations in their attacks, which forced both Emery and Klea to go into a defensive position.
Although Emery was not worried about being hurt, he simply couldn't entertain the possibility of Klea getting hurt because of him. He knew she was able to handle herself and stand on her own two feet during a battle, but he couldn't help worrying about her.
The two swordsmen were relentless. After a few more minutes of fighting, Emery finally admitted to himself he was never going to win in a sword battle against these two masters. He knew he would have to rely on his magical skills in order to secure a victory against them.
When one of the swordmasters was finally able to break through Emery's defense, he immediately grabbed Klea by the waist and cast [Blink] to make a quick escape, ending up right behind them, facing their backs.
The two swordmasters were stunned for a second before they realized what had happened; in reaction, they instantly changed their stance. At an amazing pace, the two turned on their feet to meet their opponents head on.
"Attack!" Emery yelled, both charging in the direction of the swordsmen. With that move, their swords brutally met yet again, sparks flying in the air as steel met steel.
Clank!! Clank!!
With their positions switched with Emery and Klea's, the two masters began to change their stance to counter the barrage of jabs and slashes that were coming their way, but once again, Emery had disappeared out of sight. They looked around frantically, the first show of uncertainty from them during the entire fight, but Emery had already reappeared in a different spot.
"Now!" He shouted hoarsely. "Attack!!"
Emery was constantly using [Blink] in order to gain the upper hand in terms of mobility and this resourcefulness on his part proved to be an effective measure against the two masters.
Unfortunately, the two master sword skills were even better at defensive techniques than offensive ones, in the end, even using [Blink], Emery was unable to penetrate their defenses.
It was at this time Klea decided to let herself go from Emery.
"As much fun as it is, we can't win like this!" Said the Egypt queen
And with that, Klea pushed Emery away and dashed forward, deciding to attack by herself.
Once again, this change in tactics confused the enemy momentarily. They could see a lot of openings in the charging girl attack, but as they tried to counter Klea's attacks, Emery would [Blink] to another location and attack them from a different side. When the master swordsman changed their stance, once again they saw the girl fiercely charging toward them. But again they couldn't attack her, as Emery would [blink] and come at them from another side.
This tactic definitely increased their mobility and made their opponents more vulnerable, but it required Klea to trust that Emery would come and save her.
The two masters were finally overwhelmed with the duo's fighting style. It was something they never imagined before; it gradually broke down the previously immaculate flow of their swordplay. They had to admit to themselves this method of fighting was extremely physically taxing. Once again, the fight grew stagnant, with no clear winner in sight.
Finally, the two sword masters put their hands in the air, dropping their weapons to the ground in a show of defeat.
"Young man, we admit that we cannot defeat you," one of them said solemnly.
While Emery was relieved Klea did not get any severe injuries, he was slightly disappointed as well. After all, he really wished to break the enemy's defense.
Emery answered his opponent politely. "Elder, you are much stronger than me in the way of the sword, I am simply fortunate to have different skills, that's all."
The Elder smiled in return. "Young man, I know you still have skills you have hidden, being able to match our sword skills was enough to tell who the winner is. I also have to complement how you two would perform really well together."
Those last words were definitely a nod to Klea, who, upon hearing them, started to grin nonstop.
Emery leaned down to bow to the two masters. "Thank you, Elder, for your lesson."
"Young and humble, I see. You are a young hero, please accept our respect." Both of them bowed in return.
"So Emery... Have we won?" Asked the queen of Egypt standing next to him.
"I am not sure, really," Emery said and both decided to walk to their side to join the others.
The Abbot walk toward the center of the platform and give a bow to everyone before saying.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to challenge them?"
As there was no response from the rest of the invitee, the Aboot continue
"Thank you for participating, these are the people who will be joining the Heavenly harvest ritual, for the others, we can hope to see you all again next time"
It appeared none of the participants intended to argue, they gave such respect to the Abbot.
The Abbot looked toward Emery and the others and asked them to follow him, when all of a sudden, they were surprised by the sudden entrance of a man who had just walked in the gate.
The man casually said, "Aa did I miss the fight?"
With spirit reading, Emery could tell the man was very strong. It was at this time that Chumo whispered, "That man is a Rank 9, who is he?"