Kingdom's Bloodline

’"Aida, swing your blade.

’"Fight like a Sacred Elf.

’"We are the strongest race of all. Even the Great Dragon is no match for us.’"

Aida abruptly opened her eyes and her face turned grim.

Countless moves and fighting styles poured into her mind as she inhaled.

They ranged from active to passive moves, and she mimicked the graceful figure of a knight embedded in her memory. She then pushed into Kaslan’s personal space, being just less than three steps away from him.

With a swoosh, her machete swept down like a storm.

In this instant, she relied on the fact that the Soul Slayer Pike was too long to be pulled back immediately, delivering a slash at lightning speed!

Out of instinct, Kaslan, who was expressionless and thirsty for blood intended to response with an attack like he did earlier.

However, he felt a surge of coldness on his neck.

’Danger.’

In a daze, he reacted accordingly.

The tavern owner jerked his left hand, and pulled back the Soul Slayer Pike instantly!

In a flash, he had his right hand on the shaft, a foot away from the pikehead, forcefully turning the long pike into a short pike.

Kaslan completed his defense in that second, swinging the coal-black pikehead at the machete.

Aida was alarmed.

She preserved some stamina after the lightning speed attack earlier so she could strike again at any time.

If the opponent managed to undermine her attack with a countermove like the last time...

She could chop off Kaslan’s head before she was impaled by the Soul Slayer Pike.

’Such a shame.

’Forget it.’

The elf reached out to a wraith-like silhouette amid her hazy memories, trying to recall that unique move.

Aida’s eyes brightened as she switched the direction of her machete’s attack in mid-air.

*Swoosh, Swoosh! Swoosh!*

The blade slashed through the air thrice!

The blade took three consecutive turns, with each slash being a feint.

Kaslan felt a hint of coldness on his abdomen, left arm, and chest.

What surprised Aida was the fact that Kaslan stood still in the same position as he faced a wave of bewildering attacks. His eyes and ears had reddened, while the pikehead of his weapon stayed traveling the same course.

Every move she made was a potentially fatal blow. How could he stay calm at a time like this?

’Perhaps he’s thrown away his consciousness, and he’s relying purely on his battle instincts?’

Aida gritted her teeth softly, turning her last feint into a deadly hack.

The blade glided towards Kaslan’s right shoulder, threatening to chop off his arm from the bottom!

However, at that very moment, Kaslan bounced into action.

His feet and hands moved swiftly. The position of the pikehead was shifted to meet the blade.

He swung his pike at the machete!

Aida scowled, withdrawing her machete.

Due to her Wariness of the Soul Slayer Pike, she had to evade the pikehead.

Aida heaved a sigh internally.

Her wave of attacks had been rendered ineffective by him. She had to look for another opportunity.

This old fellow managed to predict her attacks with high accuracy.

The earliest surprise attack did not work, and it was the same for three feints that masked her fatal strikes.

Instead, he stopped her attacks by relying on his pike and position.

It was the fourth time.

It was the fourth time her attack was parried.

Throughout her long life, she had witnessed countless duels, and met countless supreme level warriors. Although most duels between those fighters were brief, a number of them left quite an impression on her.

The pressure and menacing aura of her elder sister when she fought could drive an opponent crazy. The ever-smiling Chara was a legendary figure with precise, exquisite movements. The quiet Midier was known for formidable, deadly strikes that killed countless souls.

Old Scarback liked to psychologically torment enemies through lurking and stalking. Keira, the philanderer often turned the tables at the gravest moment, changing his fate entirely.

The pedantic Stoke excelled at maintaining his steady pace and impenetrable iron-wall defense. The malicious Knight Lawson often stayed put and delivered a sudden lightning-speed, blitz-like attack only when he had to. Perrille the vampire’s best move was an infinite series of deadly, elusive, feints masking fatal strikes.

The double swords wielded by Heart of the Rain could perform a swift assault faster than the speed of sound; lazy bum Zakriel was an all-rounder, an extremely gifted knight. He was great at identifying his opponents’ weaknesses through probing and observation.

However, Ground-Shaker Kaslan continued to be able to ward off her attacks at the last second. Each time he did, it was like a miracle that allowed him to escape death.

Those moves of hers were perfect imitations of the legendary warriors’ attacks. Nevertheless, all of them, whether it be Lawson’s blitz or Perrille’s infinite feints, were seen through by this old man in an instant.

Moreover, it happened under the circumstance where he shut out his conscious and relied completely on his battle instincts.

After numerous failed attacks, the undefeatable legend on the battleground, Aida took a deep breath. ’How did Zakriel deal with this monster?’

But the duel had yet to end.

Motivated by the dexterity of her weapon, Aida was prepared to strike again, but she was surprised to find that her enemy responded quicker expected!

*Clink!* He turned his pike abruptly.

Kaslan’s eyes reddened. The Soul Slayer Pike shot forward in his hands, taking a peculiar turn with a twirl. It steered away from Aida’s block, and aimed right for her chest.

Stoke’s impenetrable iron-wall defense surfaced in Aida’s mind.

Facing the sudden fatal stab, Aida relied on her agility at the next second. She did not evade, rather she countered his attack with a hack!

The elven machete slammed onto the vicious pikehead of the Soul Slayer Pike.

*Tink!*

An ear-splitting metallic clink sounded.

The first time since the start of the duel, Aida’s exquisite machete clashed with Kaslan’s pike in a crude fashion. The recoil of the collision was massive.

Kaslan began to instinctively swing his pike!

Aida felt a shudder in her body. A strong, seemingly endless force was surging towards her from the pike.

At that very moment, all the bones in her body were quivering. The joints in her arms groaned, and it was followed by a numbness as well as sharp pain.

The elf was astonished.

’This strength...

’Is he really over sixty years old?’

The ground moved beneath her feet; she was about to fall.

In a duel between supreme level warriors, the results could be determined within a second. If one collapsed amid a battle of this nature, it spelled death.

Aida’s eyes dimmed.

It seemed like the end.

She recalled her elder sister’s advice given to her when she was young.

The forgotten memories had come back to her again.

There were the fighting techniques she obtained with sweat and hard work before her telepathic psionic ability awakened.

Those were the wonderful, carefree days.

She had learned to fight the deceitful and cunning armored dwarves, as well as battled against the hypocritical, unscrupulous desert orcs. She learned how to deal with her similarly agile but wicked fellow elves from Late Dusk Kingdom, and the snobbish but boorish vampires on Grand Banquet Hill. She also learned to fight the moronic and ludicrous humans, who wielded the Power of Eradication—all those adjectives above came from her elder sister, whom she respected, feared, loved, and worshipped.

’This opponent however...

’An invulnerable warrior—now, I’ve finally met one.’

All of sudden, an image of a timid boy surfaced in her mind.

’It was him.

’That kid.’

Aida smiled bitterly. She still remembered how she watched him grow up to be a graceful, lively teenager; then a jaunty, dashing young man being trained to become the most formidable warrior; and in the end, give up everything he was about to attain.

She also recalled his unique movements when he fought.

’Wait.

’His fight!’

Aida immediately refocused her gaze in just a few milliseconds.

Just as she was about to fall at the next second, Aida gave her wrist a sudden twist.

Aida’s blade was stuck to the Soul Slayer Pike’s shaft, but she did not apply pressure to block his attack. Instead, she lifted her legs off the ground, and allowed herself to be propelled by Kaslan’s force, regaining her balance mid-air.

She levitated as his pike moved horizontally.

The next moment, her legs crossed and touched the ground. She bounced up after her landing like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water. She was heading relentlessly towards Kaslan!

Driven by his battle instincts, Kaslan gave his pike a little jolt in an attempt to shake Aida off.

However, the elf was stuck to the pike like a spider, impossible to get rid of. She was moving towards Kaslan at a high speed.

Kaslan could instinctively feel the impending danger.

*Ssssss*

Aida’s gaze was determined. Her blade grazed against the pike and as she advanced, she charged at Kaslan’s pike-wielding hand.

The machete she pressed against the Soul Slayer Pike controlled its direction. She refused to give her opponent any chance to fend for himself or make a counter-attack.

Everything happened in a split second.

As his hands were about to come into contact with her blade, Kaslan released the Soul Slayer Pike without hesitation!

Kaslan instantly took a step back with his left leg. With a twist of his waist, he moved his left shoulder back, and pushed forward with his right shoulder. His right hand had long since been clenched into a fist.

Aida’s machete was now reaching for his chest.

But Kaslan was faster than Aida.

His right fist pounced forward like lightning!

*Thump!*

It was a startling thud.

Kaslan’s heavy punch landed on Aida’s right shoulder.

*Crack*

A blood-curdling sound of fractured bones came from Aida’s shoulder.

Aida’s face instantly contorted from the searing pain. She clenched her teeth and groaned in distress.

In that instant, the elf lost all balance, and stumbled towards the ground. The machete flew from her grasp.

Nevertheless, the sense of imminent danger in Kaslan did not wane. It did quite the opposite. He lifted his chin like a terrified beast, sniffing for threats.

Right after however, Kaslan felt a chill in his chest.

Kaslan looked up subconsciously and his left hand rose to the left side of his chest!

*Clink!*

Another clear metallic strike sounded.

Oddly enough, Aida’s machete, which had supposedly fallen to the ground with its owner, appeared in front of Kaslan’s chest.

The blade had been jabbed into the tavern owner’s left chest, and blood was gushing out.

Aida collapsed limply on the ground.

*Clunk!*

At that very second, the Soul Slayer Pike fell to the ground with a clunk.

At the same time, Aida plummeted and landed with a loud thump. Her right arm went limp as it was sprawled across the ground.

Her shivering left hand was frozen in the air in its machete-throwing posture.

And her blade was quivering in Kaslan’s chest.

Kaslan finally snapped out of his primitive battle mode as a chilly wind blew past.

The duel between the supreme class fighters had ended abruptly.

Aida lay on the ground, her right shoulder bone completely shattered. Her face was contorted and she could not stop trembling.

Kaslan was panting in pain, but his towering torso remained upright.

The result of the duel was revealed.

The legendary Ground-Shaker, Kaslan Lampard’s bloody left hand was upon his chest. He clutched Aida’s machete, stopping it from going farther into his body.

With her heavily injured shoulder, Aida was shocked.

Drenched in cold sweat, she gawked at her machete, which was stuck in her opponent’s chest, and then at Kaslan, who was holding the blade.

"How could this be?" she mumbled. She could not believe what had just happened before her.

Earlier on, the second Kaslan delivered his deadly slam, Aida moved her right hand, letting go of the machete. She then grasped its handle with her left hand.

Additionally, Aida tossed the machete in her left hand when Kaslan shattered her right shoulder bone while she was defenseless.

It was aimed at Kaslan’s heart.

It was the final blow that decided to whom victory belonged. It was a matter of life and death.

An astonished look lingered on Aida’s face. She was supposed to sacrifice her arm to pierce Kaslan’s heart at the last second.

’But...’

Aida stared at the blade that was stuck in her opponent’s chest, shaking her head in disbelief.

’Impossible.

’Impossible!

’I obviously... obviously...’

Kaslan saw the situation at hand clearly as he panted in pain.

Enduring the pain, he pulled out the machete, which had sunk an inch into his chest, and tossed it aside.

Blood streamed out of his chest.

The machete then fell to the ground, emitting a metallic clunk.

Kaslan’s mind was clear. He did not grab the blade, which was aimed at his heart in time.

He was still alive due to another reason.

Feeling the acute pain in her right shoulder and the numbness in her right arm, Aida’s body spasmed. Her left hand went limp and it was lowered to the ground.

She lost.

"This is impossible..." the defenseless elf mumbled in shock. "You are not in an armor. You didn’t block the attack either."

Wearing a gloomy expression, Aida lay weakly on the ground, enduring the searing pain in her right shoulder. With great effort, she said, "I was supposed to stab you in the heart before you stretched out your hand... but..."

Kaslan slowly refocused his gaze, and heaved a sigh as Aida glared at him.

Aida’s face was drenched in cold sweat. She gawked at Kaslan, who could not stop panting. She struggled to speak with her croaky voice, "Why... Why can’t I finish you off?"

Kaslan fell on his bum.

He was panting and smiling with relief.

Sunlight shone on the street and the north wind blew, swooshing by the both of them. One was lying down, while the other was sitting on the ground.

"Instructor Aida... Kahk, kahhkk... You..." Kaslan was coughing violently, and with much difficulty, he said, "You have horrible luck."