After throwing one of the short swords Ashley started das.h.i.+ng forward. The moment the short sword hit the arrow it deflected it and continued heading towards Lara in breakneck speed. Lara was quick to react as she deflected the incoming sword with her gauntlet. But the moment Lara deflected the sword, Ashley was already in front of her slas.h.i.+ng another sword down.Lara had no time to dodge was forced to block the incoming slash by letting go of her bow and arrows and crossing her arms. The sword hit Lara"s gauntlets making a clanging sound. Lara was surprised to feel how heavy the sword strike was. Still, that attack wasn"t enough to penetrate her defense. Lara was then about to counter using a kick, but she was disrupted as Ashley suddenly let go of the sword she was holding.
Lara finally noticed that two more swords were falling from above her head. Lara then quickly jumped backward while trying to chant.
"No, you don"t!" Ashley was quick to realize what Lara was planning, and the moment the two swords fell down she kicked the hilt of both swords pus.h.i.+ng the two swords towards Lara"s direction. Lara"s chanting was disrupted as she blocked the incoming swords.
Ashley took that opening and once again charged at Lara who could only block at this point. Lara gave up in trying to get some distance and then started fighting Ashley in close range. Seeing Lara finally fighting her in close quarters made Ashley smirk.
This was her plan all along. Ashley already had a good grasp on Lara"s way of fighting based on the information she gathered. Lara was a great archer and mage, but she was also good in close quarters combat.
Still among the three fighting styles Lara had, her close quarters was the weakest. Knowing that Ashley needed to limit Lara to only close quarters, and the solution she thought of was simple. She just needed to stick to Lara giving her no time to chant a spell or use her bow. Lara who was quick to adapt to a situation would surely decide to fight in close quarters.
Ashley was able to think about various other plans on how to deal with Lara since she already predicted that the stoic woman would challenge her to a fight. Lara might not show any emotion on her face, but one thing was certain: if it was regarding Ren she would do anything. So the moment Ashley showed any interest in Ren, Lara was bound to react this way.
...
Lara who was the one in the offensive at the moment didn"t like the feeling she was getting. It felt like she was being played with. The look Ashley was giving Lara as she aptly dodged her attacks was p.i.s.sing Lara off.
Seeing Ashley act like everything was going her way made Lara feel truly irritated. Lara increased the tempo of her attacks, but even after doing that Ashley was still able to keep up.
"If Ren sees me like this, what would he think?! Will he think that the training he has given me wasn"t enough, or will he think that I"m a failure of a student? No matter which path I take-" Lara who was once again being succ.u.mbed by her own thoughts was interrupted.
"Aren"t you taking me a little bit too lightly!" Ashley was able to find an opening in Lara"s attacks and started her own counterattack.
"Thinking while fighting me, you really aren"t taking me seriously." Ashley who was given the chance to switch from defense to offense started fighting at an even quicker pace. She tossed all the swords she had and suddenly stabbed them onto the ground. The swords had now formed a circle around Lara and Ashley.
The moment Ashley did this her fighting style changed a bit. Ashley started attacking Lara with one sword and then letting go of that sword then picking up another and attacking from a different angle.
The way Ashley changed from sword to sword while attacking looked like a dance. Her movement as she switched swords while attacking and defending at the same time was breathtaking. Her silver hair swaying in the wind as she slashed upon her helpless opponent was a sight to behold.
The people who were already expecting Lara to win were now in awe of Ashely"s skill. They were all caught up in the beauty of her sword dance, as it was truly mesmerizing.
The only one who was not affected by the beauty of Ashley"s sword dance was her opponent. Lara who was being a.s.saulted from all sides suddenly did a heavy stomp making the ground shake. Ashley"s sword dance was disrupted because of that one stomp, which made it the perfect time to attack.
Ashley was already expecting a heavy attack from Lara but for some reason, the attack never came. It was then Ahsley felt a horrible chill enveloping her. She then looked at Lara and noticed that Lara"s stoic face changed and was now showing a very frightening visage. Not only did her facial expression change but even the amount of bloodl.u.s.t she was emitting was different.
"How dare you make a fool of me! If Ren finds out!... Whatever you just need to disappear now." Lara clenched her fist and gathered a ma.s.sive amount of mana into her right hand. When Ashley saw the intensity of mana that was gathering into Lara"s fist she had a premonition and saw the moment of her death. Ashley saw a vision of being pierced through by that fist.
The sword princess seeing that image instead of cowering in fear was feeling a bit excited. She took one of her two-handed swords that were on the ground and took a stance.
...
When Valdel and the others saw what was happening, they knew that this sparring match was turning into a deathmatch. Valdel and the others wanted to step in and stop the fight, but the moment they tried to do anything it was already too late. The two maidens had already initiated their final attack, even the fastest in the group wouldn"t be able to stop the attacks from those two at this point. In fact, if one of them attempted to stop the fight and got in between the final attack of the two, the only fate that awaited the one who intervenes was death.
Now the only thing Valdel and the others do was await the result and hope that no one died.