Chapter 39: Calculations

This wasn’t a life-and-death situation, nor was I facing some mortal enemy.

This was meant to be training, so there was no need for me to go extreme in order to win.

But...

I had to make the man before me realize the limits of his thinking.

To be second in command, he had to broaden his horizons.

In a battle, every single thing counts. It might be different for someone who specialized in hand-to-hand combat, while the one wielding a spear may find it different.

There was no fixed rule, when the only thing one needed to do was to kill.

Yes...

For me, the essence of combat is to first kill and then survive, not the other way around.

I value my life above everything else, but it had to be noted that if one preferred surviving against a strong enemy instead of eliminating the threat,

Then...

A wounded animal is far worse than an apex predator.

It was my prime rule to never let my enemies see the other day.

That would only make my life troublesome. So whenever I fought, I preferred to kill my enemy for sure and then try to make it back... alive.

Saving one’s life by letting the enemy live wasn’t worth the horrible death one may suffer in the future.

As for my calculations...

They were supreme compared to anything out there in the world.

There was no arrogance in it.

Just pure facts.

Though I wouldn’t deny the use of instincts...

But—

Those are for animals.

If you need your body to move faster than your mind, then you had already lost the battle.

That was my judgment.

It may not be suitable for all, but considering the fact that I had lived till date was enough proof.

I cracked my neck a few times to loosen the stiffness in my body.

"Let’s spar again, shall we?"

"..."

"And you don’t have to stand in the same place. You can move as you see fit, just keep the restriction on your mana."

I wasn’t a fool.

I considered myself supreme.

But that didn’t mean I was invincible. Being smart didn’t mean I could defeat the gods on my whims.

One had to know the limits of his body to be able to truly understand his enemies and... kill them.

My eyes were calm.

My breath was steady.

I felt my heartbeat, the blood in my body warming for the fight.

The previous spar with Arthur had made my mana reserves drop to nearly half of their original level.

Still, that wasn’t an issue.

Even if I had double the reserves, they wouldn’t make a dent in the defense of the person before me.

"I don’t think this would be a good idea, but..."

Arthur looked into my eyes.

"You wouldn’t listen to me anyway...

Sigh.

Let’s do it then. The condition stays the same. Make me bleed, even if it’s a drop of my blood."

Arthur said in a defeated voice.

Yes.

Defeating him in my current state was near impossible.

Not totally impossible.

But that would require me killing myself in the process if the need ever arose.

And how would I kill one of the strongest people to ever walk on this planet?

As I said, if something bleeds...

Then it can be killed.

Even if it’s a god.

But there would be so many conditions to be fulfilled to make a plan potent enough to slaughter Arthur Dimitri.

"You strike first."

Arthur raised his hand, fingers pointed in my direction.

I walked towards him.

Snap... crunch...

The twigs cracked under the weight of my feet.

Arthur observed me.

Silence.

I stopped a foot away from Arthur, staring into his eyes.

He met my gaze with determination, not breaking eye contact.

Neither did I.

But soon, a light frown appeared on Arthur’s face.

He blinked once, as if stepping back.

Swing!

I moved my sword with precision, directly aiming for his neck.

Arthur’s reaction was equally fast.

He reacted to block my strike.

Clank.

I put my right foot forward, switching my stance.

And...

Rotated my body.

The sword moved in a circle before aiming for Arthur’s legs.

Arthur stepped back, narrowly dodging the blow.

No.

That wasn’t the exact description.

His movements were slow and fluid; it felt like he avoided my attack by a hair’s margin.

But I could tell he was using the least movement possible.

He wasn’t limiting his strength. On the contrary, this was the most efficient utilization of one’s stamina.

Not wasting a single movement.

I preferred to fight this way, but Arthur had a choice...

I didn’t.

He was physically stronger than me. I had to use every ounce of my power just to follow his movements.

Before I could execute the next move, Arthur’s sword came down from above.

Screech...

My blade glided against his sword, creating friction.

Sparks.

Bending down, I balanced my body on my right hand, and raising my left foot—

An upper side kick to the neck.

Bam!

Arthur blocked my kick with his left hand.

Expecting it, I used the blocked kick as a base to twist my body mid-air.

My right foot came in a spinning kick.

I directed it at the other side of his neck.

Arthur’s right hand held his sword, while his left hand was occupied.

Swoosh...

Arthur bent his neck backward, avoiding the kick.

Before I could react, he grabbed my left leg and...

BOOM!

Slammed me into the hard ground.

Cough...

Blood spilled from my mouth.

But...

My aim stayed the same.

The sword in my right hand moved toward Arthur’s chest, who was dangerously close to me, holding my leg.

Clank.

He deflected it.

Again.

I moved the sword in a horizontal slash.

Arthur tried to let go of my leg to avoid the attack, while slashing the sword in his right hand at the same time, aiming for my core.

But...

I didn’t panic.

I yanked my left leg and pushed down on Arthur’s hand with force.

Reflexively, he tried to lift my leg again...

That was what I wanted.

Using the opposing force, my body soared into the air—

My right foot slamming under Arthur’s jaw.

Crack!

Arthur must have suffered damage as he stumbled backward.

But it was my foot that cracked under the pressure.

His body was tough.

But so was my—

Regeneration.

My body began to heal as I charged toward Arthur.

Out of his momentary shock, he bent down and...

Threw his sword like a projectile.

I sidestepped.

Swoosh!

The sword grazed my cheek.

That was close.

"Slow!"

Arthur’s voice fell on my ears.

My eyes widened, as he had already closed the distance.

I tried to dodge his charge, but...

He grabbed me by the waist and lifted my body from the ground.

Losing my footing, I elbowed him in the back...

Thum... thum...

He didn’t budge.

I twisted my wrist, directing the trajectory of my sword toward his collarbone.

But before the blade connected, Arthur spun my body and...

Sumo slammed me.

THUD!

Haa.

His body pressed against me as I was pinned down.

I could feel a smirk forming on Arthur’s lips.

He won.

At least, that’s what he thought.

But did he?

I grabbed Arthur between the legs and...

Flipped him.

Bam!

His body crashed onto the ground, directly above my head.

Arthur didn’t let it affect his awareness.

He immediately leaped toward his sword that had landed a few meters away,

Trying to retrieve it.

I grabbed my sword from the ground and charged toward him.

Arthur had already sensed me.

His movements became faster.

With a roll, Arthur grabbed the hilt with his right hand and stood up—

His sword aiming right in front of his body, ready to defend against the attack he thought might appear.

But...

Slik!

Arthur’s eyes widened as the sword pierced my body, its tip exiting my back.

As for my sword—

It was directly aimed at Arthur’s face with a powerful thrust.

Still, as the veteran he was, Arthur moved his neck backward at an inhuman angle...

My sword felt like it had failed to reach the target, but I moved forward, letting the blade in my stomach pierce deeper.

Spurt!

A small hole appeared on Arthur’s neck, just beside his voice box.

Silence!