Female Novel
Chapter 49
"In this spar, | will try one Martial Style after another. In case you don't know what a Martial Style is, let me give you anexplanation. Martial Arts have one or several different attacks, while a Martial Style encompasses the whole way you fight,"William explained.
Gravis thought about it and nodded. Fighting against different styles would help him get used to various enemies. He had foughtmany beasts before, but he had never really fought a human who was an actual danger to him in a real fight. If Gravis didn'thave experience against humans, then that could spell his doom when he fought one.
William smiled. "Alright, I'll start with the Flowing Crane Style." With that, William changed his sword's hold so that his sword armlooked up like it was imitating a crane's neck. His sword drooped down like it was mimicking the long beak of a crane. "You canstart whenever you want."
Gravis looked at William's stance and didn't see any opening. William could reach and block every direction easily. Gravis wasalso sure that William had already tempered his muscles. If he hadn't, then how could he have gotten his position inside theMartial Hall? So, overpowering also fell through.
Gravis decided to directly attack him with a slash. He charged at William while lifting his saber. When Gravis got close, though,he realized the best way to counter his attack would be a single stab forward. Gravis would not be able to complete his slashbefore the hypothetical thrust took his life.
CRRRSH!
Gravis rammed his feet into the ground to stop his charge. He was still about three meters away from William. Even though thisseemed to be an excellent opportunity for William to attack, he didn't take it, and instead, continued watching Gravis.
Gravis watched William's stance again. Any kind of slashing was a no-go since a counter stab would arrive faster than a slash.Stabbing was also a no-go since the opponent probably out sped him. On top of that, sabers were not made for stabbing. Gravisfelt like he was actually looking at a low-grade demonic beast crane.
‘Then why not fight like | would fight a crane?’ Gravis thought to himself. In his mind, he pictured a crane. Three meters tall with along slender neck and thin, fast legs with sharp claws. If he neared it, it would stab him with its beak, and if he attacked it from itsside, it would stab its claws at him.
‘Yet, there is one major difference between a crane and a human,’ Gravis concluded. Now, he had an attack plan.
Gravis ran at William and lowered himself to the ground while keeping his saber horizontally close to him. He reached William'srange, and William stabbed towards Gravis' head. If Gravis couldn't defend, William could stop the attack. He didn't want to killthe young man.
CLANK!
Gravis lowered his head further, and he pushed the sword upwards with his saber. This had required perfect timing. Yet, due tohis combat experience, Gravis had felt the perfect timing.
William grew shocked at the accurate block. One wrong move would have killed Gravis. Not everyone was ready to go all-in rightat the start of a fight. Yet, it had worked.
Gravis quickly went closer and readied his saber for a slash. William suddenly lifted one of his legs for a kick, but what he sawnext shocked him immensely. Gravis was not targeting his body with his slash, but the place where William's leg would be. Froman outsider's perspective, it looked like William was kicking right into Gravis’ slash. 'NO!" William screamed in his mind.
CLANK!
The blunt side of the saber hit William's shin. His leg was not hurt too badly. It only spouted a slight red bruise, yet if Gravis hadused the sharp side of his saber, the leg would have been severed. Both of them jumped back.
“How... How is this possible?" asked the young man to the side to no one in particular. "This is one of our highest fighting styles.How can it lose to someone without any martial training?" All the thoughts in the young man's head were swirling around. It wasincredibly difficult for him to form a coherent sentence.
Then, the young man shook his head. ‘It was luck!’ he shouted to himself in his mind.
“Ahahaha!" everyone heard a lough laugh from Jeros. "You lost only after a single exchange!" Jeros shouted while continuouslyhitting the floor in hilarity. "Fuck, this is so good."
William couldn't bother with Jeros right now. "How did you know | would use a kick?" he asked Gravis, intense interest showingin his eyes. He had intended to show Gravis the mistakes in his fighting style, but William now realized that he could maybe useGravis to further his own Martial Arts and Styles.
Gravis scratched the back of his neck. "You looked like a crane when you fought, so | thought about how | would fight a crane. |realized that a crane has his beak and his claws as a weapon. Yet, the difference between a human and a crane is that humansdo not have claws on their feet. It was kind of obvious that you would try to kick me."
William's eyes widened. This was definitely not obvious! The kick was the secret weapon of the Martial Style, and it alwayscaught people by surprise. When people with weapons fought, they mainly focused on the weapons and were not prepared forsuch an attack.
"Interesting," William muttered. "Would you mind going for another round, while | use a different technique?” He asked.Gravis shrugged his shoulders. "I want an additional free Martial Art," he simply said.
"Sure!" William agreed without hesitation. Who wouldn't accept this trade? William would have to pay Gravis' expenses, out ofhis own pocket, but gold could be found anywhere. Yet, an opponent that helped to better his fighting style was rare.novelbin
William changed his stance. He grabbed his sword with both hands and held it in front of him. His muscles swelled, and helooked like a tiger ready to strike. For some reason, Gravis had immediately seen a tiger-image when William changed hisstance. 'So, it's a tiger now?’ Gravis smirked inside.
Gravis had the most experience fighting big cats. The lion and the tiger popped into his mind. This would be easy.
This time, William was the aggressor and charged at Gravis with unbelievable speed. Gravis felt like he was fighting the tigerfrom Wilderness Town again. William lifted his sword and chopped down, imitating a bite coming from a tiger.
Gravis also ran forward and slid on the ground again, just like when he fought the lion in the last practical test. He timed it justperfectly and wasn't hit by the chop. Without losing his cool, Gravis simply lifted his saber to his left side.
SHINK!
William's right knee had immediatelymoved to the left, imitating aclaw-strike from a tiger. If that had hitGravis, he would fly, rseverab N\mperon sit illiam's weightas behind that knee strike. Yet,William had only hit the sharp side ofthe saber, which drew blood. Gravishad not held the saber in place, and itflew away. If he had actually resistedwith his power, William's knee wouldhave left his body. The content is onNovelDrama.Org! Read the latestchapter there!
Gravis couldn't do what he just did, against a tiger. Ducking under its bite would leave him open to a claw strike, and those weredangerous. Yet, humans didn't have claws.
The young man's eyes widened again, and his thoughts transformed into static.
“Ahahaha! 2:0," Jeros shouted from the side. "Man, you can't even put up a defense against him. You always lose in oneexchange. I'm so happy to see that," he continued slamming the ground in hilarity.
William still couldn't bother with Jeros. He looked down and thought hard. "Is it the same reason again?" he asked Gravis.
Gravis simply nodded, and William continued thinking. His thoughts swirled around in his head, and he was trying to understandthe reason why his Martial Styles didn't work against Gravis.
“Actually,” William heard Gravis say and looked up. "I have a question," Gravis stated.William nodded for Gravis to continue.
"Why are you fighting like a beast,even though you do not have thebeast's weapon?" Gravis asked. "Youdon't fight like a hu apy Yu imitateb sts aid their str ngths, withouthaving their strengths. Yet, you don'tmake use of your strengths as ahuman. You don't use the flexibility ofour upper body. You don't make useof our ability to crouch very low. Thisreally confuses me," Gravis spoke histhoughts. The content is onNovelDrama.Org! Read the latestchapter there!
Suddenly, William felt a light go up inhis head. He was fighting like a beastwithout having the Beast's weapons.This was the reason w, itwasigaeasy fore du er him. Yet,without extensive fighting experienceagainst beasts, this would beimpossible. "Maybe, you're right."William sighed and looked at thesundown on the horizon. It wasalready evening. "What have | beendoing all my life?" William askedhimself. The content is onNovelDrama.Org! Read the latestchapter there!