The Foolhardies 92 Street Fighter

As nicknames go, the Lord of War sounds a million times cooler than the Boy Touched by Fire. And if Azuma was hinting at what I think he was hinting at, then the name was well-deserved. It also meant I'd been outplayed. While I thought I was keeping the enemy busy, they were actually the ones keeping me away from supporting Great General Darah.

"Th-that's really high praise, you know… I'm not that important," I reasoned.

Even taking my last two contributions to the war effort into account, the attention they gave me seemed over the top. I was just a lowly hundred-man commander after all. Still, I needed to end this fight as quickly as possible and break through this trap they'd set for me.

The effort of holding up Azuma's spear with my falchion strained the muscles in my arm, and sweat dripped down my face while I pushed back against the pressure.

"Some Lord of War… your Great General Spellweaver's got his priorities wrong," I said while trying hard for a grin that might have looked more like a grimace in Azuma's eyes. "I'm not the one he should have watched out for."

I believed this. Instead of me, someone like Roger Thors would have been a better choice. And the thought of our center army general still in play sent relief into my mind.

"He may be an accomplished warrior, but Great General Spellweaver is not the Lord of War… It's his son who holds that t.i.tle," Azuma explained. "Ardeen Spellweaver is a master tactician who productively uses his father's martial strength. Their combination of raw power and tactics has given the Magesong clan's army its current prestige."

He momentarily raised his spear—removing the pressure on my shadowblade—before smas.h.i.+ng it right back down on me. Unfortunately for Azuma, he still hadn't figured out how good my eyesight really was. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

I saw his muscles tighten right before he lifted his spear, saw the twitch of effort on his face, and even the tightening of his fingers on his grip. These minuscule movements were enough to provide me with enough insight to know the exact moment for a preemptive attack.

My left hand let go of my falchion's sword-hilt and reached behind me for the shadowblade dagger I kept strapped to the back of my belt. I pulled it out in a reverse grip and sent it streaking into the narrow slit between the plates of Azuma's leg armor.

Blood splashed out of the wound, although I doubt it was deep enough to cause heavy damage. Still, it provided me the momentary break to roll to the side and out of his way right at the moment his spear came cras.h.i.+ng down.

Both shaft and spearhead slammed into the ground, causing the surrounding dirt to fly up. This forceful blow combined with the fresh wound on his leg forced Azuma off balance, giving me another opportunity to attack.

I re-sheathed my dagger and then launched myself to my feet. I took that moment to counterattack with a move I once used to win the finals of Starlight City's Under-Thirteen Kendo Champions.h.i.+p—a leaping sword slash that sent me charging at him with all the force my teenage body could muster. My falchion raised with both hands, I swung down on Azuma's exposed back—but, being the monster that he was, he'd seen me coming and launched a counterattack of his own.

His spearhead came hurtling at me like a deadly cobra's kiss of death. It would have skewered me in the heart, too, if I hadn't pulled my left shoulder back at the last second and dodged. Capitalizing on his failed attack, I followed through with the momentum of my shoulder moving back to spin around—one foot in the air, mind you—and with both hands still gripping my falchion, launched a sideward slash at Azuma like I was a batter about to hit an incoming fastball.

Just as I thought I was about to connect on his left shoulder, the man suddenly vanished from my target lock. I watched him twist his own shoulder back in miming of my earlier escape, and just like I did, Azuma made a turn that would send his spear shaft rocketing toward me from the side.

Sword and spear collided once again in a shower of sparks that spread out of the point of impact. Luckily, the explosive strength of his spear brought about by his earlier Augmentare was gone, and I wasn't blown back like before. Still, the collision of our weapons sent a shockwave into my hands that rose up my arms, numbing them momentarily in such a crucial moment.

Azuma capitalized on my sluggishness to show me he had more tricks up his sleeve than a magician at a Las Vegas Magic show—not that I really know anything about Las Vegas. I am still a minor, after all. The man push-kicked me in the stomach and sent me tumbling backward. Then he reached out to me with his left hand, grabbed hold of the back of my neck, and shoved me forward and down right into the path of his rising knee.

Have you ever been hit in the head with a metal plate? No? Well, let me tell you, it's no fun, and it hurts like n.o.body's business. Even worse, smacked in the right spot, like say, on the nose, and you get disoriented so badly your eyes tear up. Obviously, this also meant Fool's Insight was out for the count. Thankfully, the same couldn't be said of me. Although I will be the first to admit that I may have screamed like a little girl even worse than the time Azuma had stabbed me.

I staggered back, my eyes blinking with tears. My nose was stuffy. Something sticky and wet dripped down it. With two of my senses going wonky, my hearing suddenly rose up several notches, and I could hear the jeering coming from the enemies encircling me and Azuma. I even heard the groans coming from my own troops.

I raised my sword forward in a vain hope of blocking whatever came next. Perhaps even a Hadouken . After all, Azuma did just unleash an insane Street Fighter combo on me. Whatever I expected, it didn't come. Instead, Azuma's voice rang clear from just a few feet away from me.

"Well? Didn't you say you would set me free?" There was no malice in his voice. No taunt.

I blinked. My blurry vision cleared somewhat, and I could see the outline of my opponent back in his favorite fighting stance. I blinked twice more. Then a third time and fourth time. I blinked until my vision cleared well enough to see Azuma's face as he patiently waited for me to reclaim my bearings.

"I supposed I should thank you for nullifying the Curse of the Morrigan… Perhaps after I best you I might find someone else in this battlefield who can finally put me to rest," he said, laughing as he did.

Azuma arched his back down and lowered himself. His entire body was taut and ready to spring.

"The Spellweavers set a trap for the Iron Fist. They've even accounted for the elites fighting alongside her," Azuma admitted. "Surprisingly enough, the Lord of War's only concern was you. He called you a…" Azuma's emaciated face sent me an almost respectful nod. "He called you a distortion, a random element who could overturn a battlefield."

Azuma lowered himself even more.

"Exchanging blows with you now, I can understand why he might think so… I can understand why Jimmy Jonas might have lost to you," Azuma said in an amused tone.

Honestly, all this praise was making me blush. Fortunately, my face was bloodied enough that my red cheeks just made me look more beat up instead of embarra.s.sed. Weirdly, though, it wasn't embarra.s.sment at the top of the emotional hurricane swirling inside me. Sure, there was a worry for Darah and a fear for my life that were clear contenders, but neither of them was as strong as the pride I felt at being recognized by such legendary figures from this part of the Fayne.

These myriad emotions were enough for me to dust myself off. Then I stood up as straight as I could despite the pain in my entire body and raise my sword with my right hand. "S-sorry… I've made you wait long enough." I leveled the falchion at him. "It's time I earned the praise you've given me."

In my head, a single thought rose to the forefront. Round Two. Fight!