Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 39

The battle started the moment Instructor Murdok said "fight." Heracles, grinning like a madman, closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His downward swing was avoided when Caspian moved out of the way. When the axe struck ground, it unleashed a massive explosion that sent rock shards flying in every direction.

Caspian raised his arms to protect his face. He winced as numerous shards hit his forearms, some of them breaking the skin while others bounced off. The stinging sensation reminded him of pellets fired from guns.

"You left your guard open!" Heracles shouted.

Clearly taking advantage of how Caspian couldn't defend himself, Heracles tried to swipe at him with that massive battle axe of his. Caspian ducked underneath the blade, but even so, he could still feel it passing by overhead. The attack, fueled by Heracles' massive strength, pushed out air in every direction. The current was strong enough that Caspian almost fell to the ground.

Leaping back to his feet after the threat had passed, Caspian lunged at Heracles, thrusting out his sword to pierce the larger man. His foe wouldn't stand for this, however. Heracles stomped on the ground, which quaked under the impact and made Caspian stumble.

"Ha!" Heracles barked. "Let's see you avoid this!"

Caspian's vision was filled with Heracles' massive fist. He moved to avoid the attack, tilting his body to let the fist pass by. That's not what happened.

Pain slammed into Caspian's cheek as he was sent backwards. Stumbling, Caspian tried to regain his footing, but Heracles was on him before he could do anything. The air screamed as Heracles slashed his axe down at a vertical angle. The cut would have bisected Caspian from his right shoulder to his left hip, but he leapt back to try and put some distance between them.

Shock filled him when, even after leaving the attack's range, he felt something slam into him. It was like an invisible force pushing him back. The muscles in his legs strained as he struggled to keep himself grounded, but he was being pushed back. His eyes stung as wind slammed into his face, pushing his lips and the skin around his eyelids back.

This is...

"Nggg!" Caspian groaned as he dug a trench into the ground with his heels. When he finally stopped, it was to discover that he'd been pushed back for nearly two meters.

"Look at you!" Heracles threw his head back and laughed. "I can't believe someone as weak as you managed to make it into this tournament! Still, that makes things easy for me. I'll finish you off quickly."

Caspian kept a lid on his anger. This man was merely trying to rile him up. He wouldn't let this fool's words get to him.

"Come on, then." Caspian gestured for Heracles to bring it. "Let's see you beat this weak, pathetic peasant."

"With pleasure!"

Roaring, Heracles charged at Caspian, who prepared for another clash.

***

"That boy is doing much better than he did in his last bout," Lord Fuzen Taiga observed. "Yes, his movements are cleaner, more precise, and he's not struggling to keep up with Heracles."

Elincia stood in the viewing box with the other sorceresses and several foreign dignitaries, including Lord Fuzen Taiga, who had taken a keen interest in Caspian, it seemed. So had the others, for that matter. Caspian was what they'd been talking about for the last several minutes. She didn't know how to feel about that.

"Hm, he's not bad," Lady Aakarshana admitted. "But it's not like he's amazing either. That Heracles seems to have the upper hand."

"I believe he is fighting quite well, considering he just finished getting over a poison," Lady Akane said, raising a hand to her lips and smiling.