Chapter 72
A rapier had a long range while the axe had a short reach…
A rapier was light while an axe was heavy…
It was in complete contrast, his choice of weapons was very weird but at the same time, his style of handling and the way he was holding the two weapons made a beautiful scene at the moment for any onlooker there.
The combination of grace and barbarism—each complimenting the other.
Neither side trying to diminish the other’s presence but instead glorifying their user.
But why would he chose an axe right now…?
It was simple.
An axe while it typically had shorter reach as compared to a sword or rapier, he could use this to his advantage whenever his rapier clashed with Shane’s blade.
While an axe was heavy and cumbersome, it serves as a great defense, if he used it properly, he could use the broad head of the axe to deflect or block Shane’s strikes.
Unlike a sword or rapier which typically had a single edge for cutting or thrusting, an axe has both a cutting edge and a blunt side. He could alternate between slashing and bludgeoning alternatively.
A good means to catch Shane off-balance and unable to predict his next move.
Despite an axe’s size, it could surprisingly work quickly in the hands of someone skilled.
Oliver realized this while training with it.
Click!
Shane had made the first move, his blade came cutting through the air with a silken sound.
Oliver was not easy as he immediately protected his side with a parry from his rapier.
Clang! Clang!
The clash of metal reverberated through the silent darkness of the night.
Shane became a bit restless when his strike was blocked by Oliver, he had expected Oliver’s speed to be slowed down due to the heavy axe but astonishingly he was still able to block his strike with the same ease as before.
He could not spot a difference at all from before!
‘Fuck! How much strength does this guy have!?”
He could not help but curse internally, this was the first time that someone had managed to give him this much trouble, it was even more humiliating that this someone was younger than him as well!
Bang!
Shane released a flurry of blurring moves using another blade style he had learned hoping to gain an advantage.
This did seem to work a little as it forced Oliver to retreat.
With each clash, small sparks flew as their weapons met, the sound of metal on metal filled the air with a symphony of combat making anyone hold their breath.
Oliver was bleeding from multiple wounds, Shane was definitely no joke, managing to wound him so much in such a short interval just proved his skills.
Shane was also the same, carrying an equal amount of wounds all over his body, but upon closer look, his wound were slightly deeper and forced. His face was now filled with multiple scratches from Oliver’s sharp rapier.
Oliver jumped at Shane making the latter alert as he thrust his rapier forward towards Shane’s head.
Shane bent back and quickly moved his blade blocking the tip of his rapier. But Oliver was one step ahead as he swung his axe with force of a lumberjack’s blow.
Clang! Bang! Swish!
“Gasp…!”
Shane released a series of continuous gasps and grunts as his body exerted more and more espera in the heat of battle.
His left shoulder was brutalized by Oliver’s axe, it was wounded badly and was now leaking blood like a fountain.
He was in so much pain as the axe’s sharp edge tore apart his flesh with every swing, his blade was already busy dealing with the deadly rapier.
On top of it all, Oliver seemed to have infinite physical stamina and strength, despite fighting his sister and now him, he was not getting exhausted at all.
Oliver on the other hand was also shocked by how resilient Shane was, he was proving tougher and tougher with every moment passing by…
Despite his best efforts, Shane’s blade was like dance of sharpness, its movements were fluid and quick!
He was struggling to keep up as he strained his muscles with the effort of parrying blow after blow.
Shane took a deep breath as he steadied himself, a large ball of brown colored espera gathered in front of him as he launched it repeatedly towards Oliver,
This move consumed a lot of espera and he was still in the process of perfecting it but he knew that if he did not use it then he might get completely cornered by Oliver.
And in the next moment, he saw the results of this attack as well.
Oliver dodged one, two but the continuous barrage got to him as he was directly thrown back crashing to a tree.
“Cough… cough…”
He coughed up blood as he quickly placed a hand on his chest to steady himself, adjusting his breathing to minimize the pain from the impact.
Shane let out a cruel smirk as he did not dare to give Oliver even a moment’s worth of rest and directly slashed at him with his blade.
Oliver slid through the patch of grass nearby, dodging Shane’s slash in a narrow way.
“Fucking bastard, why do you keep dodging. Just DIE!!”
Shane’s rational face crumbled as it was replaced by a livid expression.
He could not tolerate it anymore, he was not able to land a proper slash at Oliver!
His usual calm look could not keep up any longer!
Oliver maintained a calm expression and a calm mind, he felt good to see such an expression on his enemy’s face.
It made him satisfied.
Shane just looked like an ugly moment right now.
If he was given a mirror, he might even faint looking at himself.
However, he did not delay and got into stance once again.
He was not going to give Shane any more opportunities to use espera like before.
He attacked once again.