Chapter 181: Central Sector [10]

CLAP!

His body vanished. In the next moment he appeared beside a thick cluster of red spikes, and his blade was already cutting through the air.

SHING!

A bright flash swept across the battlefield and the whole cluster burst into red drops before it could hurt anyone.

Adrian did not stop.

CLAP!

He vanished again and appeared farther down the line. His sword flashed and another cluster fell apart.

CLAP! SHING! CLAP! SHING!

He moved through the hanging needles faster and faster and cleared a path for the warriors below. Behind him Cecilia kept the rest frozen, and her mana kept them from speeding up again.

Zeus clicked his tongue as he watched them. His plan was falling apart in front of him.

"Now there are no more distractions," Leon said. He stood a few meters away with his blue eyes locked on Zeus. "Why don’t you focus on me, Vampire?"

Lightning crawled across his shoulders and arms. He lowered his body into a steady stance. His face was calm, but the ground under his boots had already started to crack.

BOOM!

Blue lightning exploded around him and he shot forward like a streak of light. The electricity spun around his body and gathered into a sphere that whirled faster and faster as he got close. It crackled with enough power to tear the air apart.

Zeus’s eyes narrowed. He twisted his body and stepped to the side. The lightning sphere flew past him and crashed into the ground behind him.

KRA-BOOOOM!

Stone and broken earth blew into the sky. But Zeus did not even have time to turn around. Leon was already in front of him, and his right fist was flying toward Zeus’s jaw.

Zeus leaned his head back and the punch brushed past his face. At the same moment he thrust his palm at Leon’s chest. Leon twisted his shoulders and let the strike slide past his ribs. Instead of backing away he stepped closer, right inside Zeus’s reach, and snapped his left elbow up toward Zeus’s chin.

Zeus raised his forearm to block it. But Leon had already shifted his weight. He turned on his planted foot and whipped his right leg at Zeus’s knee. Zeus pulled his leg back just in time. Leon used the momentum of the miss to spin all the way around, and his left heel swung toward Zeus’s temple.

WHOOSH!

Zeus ducked and the heel passed over his head. Leon landed lightly on his other foot and drove his knee straight into Zeus’s stomach. Zeus crossed both arms to block it.

THUD!

The hit pushed him back half a step. For the first time his face tightened.

Leon did not give him a single breath. He pushed forward with fast, short punches, sharp elbows, and low kicks aimed at Zeus’s balance. He did not swing wildly with all his weight. His movements stayed small and tight, and each attack flowed right into the next one.

When Zeus raised his guard to protect his head, Leon hit his body. When Zeus dropped his elbow to cover his ribs, Leon changed his stance and struck from the other side. Every time Zeus tried to hit back, Leon was already moving somewhere else. He ducked under a swinging arm and rolled his shoulder past a backhand. Then he slipped around Zeus’s side and drove a fist at his exposed ribs.

BAM!

Zeus caught the punch with his forearm but the force pushed his own arm into his chest. His red eyes widened a little.

’This way of moving...’

Leon jumped back to avoid a sudden counter and landed with one hand touching the ground. Then he stood up smoothly while lightning flickered on his shoulders. A small smile appeared on his face.

’I see. The Veyne Assembly’s teachings really are paying off. Especially in close combat.’

Back in Apothesis he had not understood why they cared so much about footwork, balance, and turning the body. He had wanted to learn how to physically become stronger and run faster and crush enemies with raw power. Instead they taught him to control the space around his body. To move his weight without wasting any motion. To turn a missed attack into the start of the next one. And most of all to spot the smallest opening before it closed.

Now those lessons were saving his life.

Leon dashed forward again. Zeus raised his guard, ready for another storm of punches. But at the last moment Leon changed direction. He planted his left foot, twisted his hips, and dropped his shoulder under Zeus’s arm. His whole body spun and his right leg swung up in a powerful kick.

His heel hit right below Zeus’s left armpit.

KRAK!

The sound of the hit was brutal. Zeus’s body bent sideways and his feet scraped across the ground as he flew several meters away. For a moment the whole battlefield seemed to go quiet.

Leon stood up straight with blue lightning dancing across his arms.

Zeus slowly lowered his left arm and pressed a hand to his injured side. His face had turned dark and a muscle twitched in his jaw.

’This human... He is stronger than I expected.’

He had thought Leon was a newly awakened spirit mage who only knew how to use the raw power of his Spirit. Someone fast and dangerous, but young enough to be played with. Instead Leon mixed that crazy speed with his ThunderGod Spirit that made him almost impossible to read. And that kick hurt far more than Zeus wanted to admit.

Before he could attack again...

CRACK!

The ground under his feet moved. Huge rocks burst out of the earth and wrapped around his boots. They climbed up his ankles and locked together like the jaws of a trap, pinning both his feet in place.

Zeus’s eyes widened.

"What is this?"

He looked down. Glowing lines of mana ran through the stone like a seal. Then he noticed a small figure at the edge of his vision.