Chapter 634 - The Second Duel
Newest Chapter For Highest Tier (August 2021)
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Archdemon Empress Luna
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Sir Tristan was charged for Luna, and she ran backward while facing him.
The knight was fast, but she was faster than her motion created a mini-sandstorm in the arena. Yet, despite the haze and the dust particles infiltrating her visor, her eyes were wide open, not daring to lose their opponent out of her sight.
Sir Tristan halted, and she also did.
Luna heard him cough, but she didn't attack yet, searching for the right position to stage a surprise attack.
Her legs widened in a fighting stance as one foot stepped forward.
Their battle was almost similar to dance as she watched his movements mirroring hers.
They circled one another as they gripped their swords.
Luna gave him, which radiated superiority to intimidate him.
If Apollyon was her second, her husband might have told her that it was too early to celebrate victory when she hadn't brought Sir Tristan down to his knees, but she couldn't help but smirk.
In this duel, she got the upper hand.
She was that sure.
Luna didn't even bother searching the arena for the Archdemon Familiar, wondering if he had already landed a blow to Princess Ourania because she trusted him enough that he had kept her at bay. At the same time, she focused on the Knight from the Fall Courts.
Sloth had warned her about the pretentious Knight—her future father-in-law— if she didn't kill him first.
Sir Tristan chasing her as his first target instead of Sloth?
How cowardly of his to chase after a woman first.
She grinned sardonically.
If Sir Tristan thought that she was weak and a vulnerable Empress, then he thought wrong.
She will let him have her but only for a bit—just enough for her to play with him.
Nobody had inflicted first blood yet.
The pressure had already taken a toll on her.
Instead of making her anxious, it made her scowl at the Knight with determination.
Her muscles relaxed as she lulled Sir Tristan to a false sense of security.
This made the Knight pursue her with aggression.
Her outstretched hand shot pierced her narrow blade to the Knight's chest, but she wasn't able to reach him.
It was either she finessed out of the way as he retreated as if he had predicted it, or her arm wasn't long enough.
The Knight slashed his sword to her forearm with blinding speed, but she was able to lift her small shield in a second to block him.
Then, as she infused more strength in her arm, she stepped forward and lunged at him to deliver the blow.
She drew momentum with a jump, pushing him so that he would fall helplessly to the ground, but Sir Tristan was able to retreat.
As she bounced to the balls of her feet, Luna cursed the Knight when she realized he was able to hold his own as he parried at her, she gave him another powerful strike that almost sent him flying backward, but he still stood his ground in defense.
His feet were anchored to the ground like a rock.
Luna gritted her teeth in frustration when he blocked her next attacks.
Sir Tristan was a force to be reckoned with despite her having Archdemon strength.
She guessed she just had to wear him off.
She slid forward to slash at the arm which held his blade, but he slightly turned to intercept her weapon with the shield.
Her foot stomped hard on his foot that the metal should be enough to crush his toes, forcing him to lose balance.
Luna decided to quit relying on her sword and kneed him in the groin.
Then, she raised her sword to execute a stab.
Sir Tristan could only duck low.
Suddenly, Luna felt dizzy, and her limbs were tired and trembling like she was about to fall asleep.
She couldn't move a muscle, nor could she think clearly about her next step.
There was this painful tightness in her throat.
Everything happened in slow motion.
She was breathing harder.
Luna felt like she had lost control over her physical body as if someone had sucked the energy out of her.
Her entire being was wrapped in this toxic miasma of negativity similar to a demon.
She was hurt, battered and bruised like a decaying trunk of a tree.
Luna was an Archdemon, so she can recognize the magic that was drawn from Hell.
Yet, this was different.
The ground shook as it seeped her life force from the top of her head down to the soles of her feet.
Her demonic senses perceived that it came from nature.
So why did the arena smell earthy—the kind of scent where the gentle rain had saturated the dry soil from dusk till dawn?
Luna wrinkled his nose as she breathed.
Her flesh and bones turned sore as green spots clouded her vision.
Something tickled his nostrils, and she almost sneezed from the spores permeating in the atmosphere.
The ground exploded, and the sand floated in the air before she could figure out what had occurred.
She coughed uncontrollably as the tiny granules infiltrated their lungs.
Her brows furrowed in confusion.
Was this a fungi attack?
Sir Tristan's face was so close that for the first time and Luna slowly blinked, witnessing the color of his eyes from the visor.
They were blue-green similar to a deep beautiful lagoon that only hides a cutthroat, pretentious and sly, competitive fox like Apollyon's cruel mother.
She would have thought that this was the first and the last moment she would witness how Princess Ourania's fiance looked like despite wearing that bronze helm he had since he arrived from the Fall Courts.
Sir Tristan was able to regain his footing as he swiftly moved to the left.
Her consciousness withdrew in and out from the reality that she was about to get killed.
She could only stab her sword on the ground so that she could have something to lean on and keep upright.
Taking the offensive, Luna could hear the Knight chuckle darkly as his sword's edge aimed to cut at her torso.