Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

“Name is Chiron.”

“I’m Niels.”

The two men shook hands and then moved a short distance apart.

Centaurs have the body of a horse from the waist down and human from the waist up.

Therefore, their upper bodies are especially elevated.

Yet, they seem to be able to bend their bodies quite a bit, and shaking hands with Niels, who is a human, does not seem to bother them…

Chiron held a spear in his hand and a large sword suspended at his waist.

Niels was holding a sword… over one meter long with both hands and wore gauntlets over his hands.

He used to equip a small shield on his left hand, but not anymore, and if necessary, he could rely on the gauntlets.

If he were an experienced swordsman like Abel, he would have established his fighting style, but both Niels and Amon were still growing…

The referee, it seemed, would be the splendidly armed centaur from earlier.

“No dealing of finishing blows. If I deem it impossible to continue and that the match has been decided, it’s over. The match will also be brought to a close if either side surrenders. Are both sides ready?”

“Aye.”

“Anytime.”

Both Niels and Chiron answered.

“Then, begin!”

Niels spread his legs firmly and held his greatsword sturdily in front of him.

In the first place, the Centaur’s head and heart are almost at the same height as a person on horseback. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to deliver a fatal blow.

Of course, since it was a mock battle, killing was not allowed… but ultimately, he couldn’t ignore the height of the Centaur if he was going to place a sword to his throat or something.

That being the case, charging head-on was out of the question for Niels from the very beginning.

Chiron’s arms were higher than Niels’ head, who is one meter and ninety centimeters tall.

Plus the three-meter-long spear he wielded.

A battle of cavalry versus infantry so to speak.

The advantage of attacking from a higher ground is the same in both individual and group battles.

From the start, the battle was not in Niels’ favor.

Still, that didn’t bring Niels down.

He raised his hand, saying he wanted to fight.

Knowing full well that he’d be at a disadvantage.

“It’s fast…”

The one who muttered that was the dual swordsman, Gowan.

Next to him, Priest Zeke also nodded.

Chiron’s spear was fast.

Whether thrusting, jostling, or striking, the spear’s characteristics were sufficiently displayed, approaching Niels’ body from all directions.

But…

Niels carefully parried all of these attacks.

Since he was using a large sword, it was not a good idea to swing it wide against a swift opponent.

He stirred his sword with faint movements, parrying the thrusts, dodging the jostlings, and receiving the strikes.

A classic demonstration of how a swordsman defends against a spear-wielder’s attack.

His performance also drew admiration from the Centaurs.

Even an amateur could tell the ferocity of those attacks.

A discerning eye could appreciate the rock solid defense.

Niels sword technique was definitely that of a B-rank swordsman.

However… even though his attacks were being handled so perfectly… Chiron wasn’t feeling at all agitated.

His expression was one that seemed to say that he expected as much.

Since he’d grasped some measure of Niels’ strength from the moment they first met.

Just as Niels was an excellent swordsman as a B-rank adventurer, Chiron was also an excellent warrior among the Centaurs.

He had a wealth of combat experience and is quick-witted.

(Looks like he’s calculating the timing of my spear. Contrary to his appearance, he is a smart and calm man.)

Chiron muttered in his mind and braced himself, more than ever.

Their ‘Battle Festival’ was becoming more and more competitive.

Ten minutes later.

At first glance, it appeared to remain competitive.

However, there was a slight difference from when the ‘battle’ began.

The composition of the battle remained the same, with Chiron attacking with his spear and Niels defending with his sword.

However, Niels’s handling of his sword changed gradually.

He parried Chiron’s thrusts, dodged his jostlings, and received his strikes…with the gauntlet on his left hand.

Then, closed the gap a little.

Of course, Chiron, too, would fall back when those gaps close up, thus maintaining the distance between the two of them.

And those with discerning eyes were beginning to sense it.

The changes.

The change the spectators were looking for happened suddenly.

Niels received Chiron’s spear strike with his left hand… not only did he receive it, but repelled it back forcefully.

After which he closed the gap at once.

Taking a large step with his right foot, he wielded the great sword with his right hand, and struck at Chiron’s waist…where he could neither turn his upper body nor dodge with his legs, or even move!

Clang.

Chiron twirled the spear, which was forcefully repelled by Niels’ left hand, around with the same momentum, and flicked Niels’ thrust with the hilt, in other words, the butt of his spear, from below.

He then spun the spear around once more with the same momentum and unleashed the tip from below to attack Niels.

But that was within Niels’ expectation.

Before the spear could turn up from below, Niels took another half step forward with his right foot, stomping on the spear.

Thus completely exposing Chiron to his sword range.

And once again, he made a thrust!

Clang.

The metallic clash sound echoed again.

Chiron had pulled out the great sword at his waist with his left hand and caught Niels’ thrust with the side of the sword.

The spear had already been discarded, and it had become a sword fight.

Niels was connecting a series of thrusts, sweeps, diagonal slashes, and then rounding up with reverse diagonal slashes….

A complete reversal from defense to offense.

The sword fight began with Niels attacking and Chiron on the receiving end.

Both were wielding great swords.

However, the swordfight unfolded at a speed that didn’t seem like they were wielding very large swords.

Moreover, the sword fight, which began with Niels attacking and Chiron receiving, somehow switched to Niels being on the receiving end, and Chiron attacking.

Then, before you know it, Niels is back on the attacking side and Chiron on the receiving end.

The sword fight progressed, with offense and defense switching violently.

With both fighters using similar great swords, with no significant difference in skill, and with ample stamina, it was the most basic aspect of the fight that determined the winner.

As stated at the beginning.

An attack from a higher position is more advantageous on many fronts.

The sword that Chiron strikes down has gravity as its ally.

While the sword that Niels receives has gravity as its greatest enemy.

The most basic law of physics.

Objects are pulled by gravity and fall from top to bottom….

Niels’ stamina was slowly being drained as he continued to receive Chiron’s force-ridden strikes.

Three years ago, beginning with Ryo’s guidance, Niels had been working diligently to increase his stamina ever since.

However, as a human, he naturally has his limits.

He probably has more stamina than most B-rank adventurers.

However, the longer one wields a great sword, the more fatigue accumulates… that’s simply inevitable.

Even so, he has never cut corners in training.

He’s always trained to his limit.

In actual combat, he may take extra precautions for safety reasons, but in training, he challenges himself to the very limit.

To be able to wield the great sword longer than anyone else!

Chiron also wields a great sword.

Which he swung downward.

Niels dodged the sword, which he had been receiving or fending off until now…

He was utterly exhausted.

Chiron thought he would parry it, but he didn’t.

His great sword was now weighed down by gravity.

He hurriedly tried to pull it up, but….

Niels took a big step forward, stepped on Chiron’s sword, and stretched out his arm in one smooth motion.

As if thrusting his sword into Chiron’s heart!

“Halt!”

The referee’s voice resonated.

Niels emerged victorious in the ‘Battle Festival’.

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