Chapter 314 Fortification Versus Crane Sword Style

*CLANG*

Their swords clashed in the middle, sending a powerful aftershock toward everyone.

The wave of shock brushed against the hairs of the onlookers.

Leon and Lyrian jumped backward for a moment, before lunging in once again.

With fierce and quick movements, they began to unleash a barrage of sword attacks.

Leon thrust his blade forward, a machine of pure skill.

Lyrian stepped to the side, slashing toward Leon's abdomen.

Leon lifted one left up and spread both hands out like a bird, dodging Lyrian's attack as his blade flew toward Lyrian's head.

Lyrian jumped back but was pressured further with several strikes. historical

Finally, with a slight parry of Leon's blade, he stepped forward, unleashing a powerful punch into Leon's abdomen.

The punch caused Leon's feet to slide back over 5 feet against the ground, and he used his sword to stop himself.

Without hesitation, the two stepped forward again, continuing their battle.

It continued like this for a minute more. The two provided the crowd with a mesmerizing spectacle.

After a minute of non-stop dueling, Lyrian decided that he would end the fight.

He Enhanced his feet slightly more than before--dashing forward with concentration.

His steps were quite precise, as he traveled next to Leon without him even noticing.

However, at that moment, Leon sheathed his blade and abruptly dashed across the arena. Lyrian was slightly thrown off by this and turned to face Leon again.

"It seems you're finally playing seriously now," Leon stated, quickly following up with, "Recently, I've unlocked my technique second form... I will show you what it means to be a swordsman. Fight intently, Lyrian."

With this, Leon unsheathed his blade once again, as Lyrian prepared himself.

At once, Leon's eyes burst into a white flame. Lyrian became surprised to see that the luminescence of Leon's eyes was now more than double as before.

"If that's the case... I'll do something more too." Lyrian said, taking on a basic stance.

He stood straight as he thought to himself, 'Throughout these months, I have used Panda Kung-fu, and have nearly perfected it.'

[Panda Kung-Fu Mastery: 84.5%]

'Along with that, I've learned that each of the technique's 5 forms have weapons suited to be used in that fighting art. For the sword, the best form-fitted is the... Crane.'

Under his breath, Lyrian muttered, "Panda Kung-fu: Second Form: Crane."

At once, Lyrian raised one leg, standing on the other. By now, Lyrian had mastered the balance of the crane nearly perfectly.

"I guess I'll call this... Crane Sword Style."

He moved his sword over his head, and his other arm in front of him.

A few noticed this stance, surprised by it, as they had never seen it before. Others understood what it was almost immediately.

'The stance of the crane?' Kaith, Drake, and a few others noticed.

'The tiger form is best with the spear, the monkey is best with the rod, the snake is the best with the scythe, the dragon is best with the nun-chucks... however, for the art of fighting with a one-handed blade, a crane is the strongest.'

"Second Form Of Ultimate Iron: Fortification."

Leon uttered these words under his breath, as the two fighters faced off against each other.

...

At once, the two blitzed toward each other with immense speed. As soon as they clashed in the middle, Lyrian understood how much stronger Leon had become.

This fortification form didn't seem to increase his speed any, but his strength was undoubtedly greater.

Using the elegant flow of the crane, Lyrian moved his blade unpredictably and slashed across the side of Leon's shoulder with one swift movement.

'I see... his body is far stronger than before. That must be what this second form of his technique does.'

Lyrian mused, seeing his blade only cut through a thin layer of Leon's skin.

He didn't intend to slice Leon's arm clean off but was aiming for at least half an inch under the skin.

Still, it seemed his evaluation of Leon's defense from before was now thrown off the rails.

Leon began to attack, unleashing several strikes in Lyrian's direction.

However, with the grace and speed of a crane, Lyrian swiftly moved to get right outside of the range of the attacks.

Finally, Lyrian jumped back, spinning the air as he landed--and then lunged back forward once again.

He continued to spin in the air, and just as he landed in front of Leon--who thrust forward--Lyrian moved to the side and behind his opponent.

His blade quickly went around Leon's neck, as the fight came to a stop at once.

After a few seconds of silence and shock from the crowd, Leon sheathed his blade, and Lyrian assumed a normal stance.

"Powerful... you have gotten far more powerful. I wasn't even able to show the true capacity of my second form, because you defeated me in seconds."

Leon said as Lyrian chuckled before speaking himself, "Hey... if it's worth anything, you passed my test."

"I told you before that there will be no test. This was a duel, one which I lost."

"You did say that... but I still tested you." As they conversed, the silent crowd continued to bathe in their bewilderment.

"Did I really just see that?"

"It was too fast... I didn't"

"What even happened?"

"Lyrian Theageld... what a monster."

"Look at him smiling, as if he didn't just destroy his opponent with ease."

Finally, Drake even stepped forward, "Lyrian, what was that? You didn't use that during our duel a while back. Did you just learn it recently?"

Hearing about their duel, other students instantly became intrigued. Even Jalern perked his ears, realizing that he had forgotten about their duel.

'That's right... they fought apparently. They were just rumors, but Drake just confirmed it. That means it really happened.'

The students from Rerth's and Gator's classes already knew that it happened, but the other students had no clue. This was the case for all the first years as well.

"Yeah... you could say it's new," Lyrian replied, getting off stage.

"Ah, I see... If you had used that during our battle-" Drake paused himself, looking around.

"Never mind... we can talk about this another time."

"Alright..."

'All I was going to say was that he was going to get a better chance... but that would only make things worse for his reputation, so there's no point in me doing that. He isn't a bad person, as far as I know.'

With this, Drake also left the training grounds.