Chapter 747: A Knight’s Pride (Part One)
As soon as Sir Carwyn gave the word, Rain charged in, rushing forward in a display of strength and power as he sought to overwhelm the younger, less experienced Ollie with powerful punches to the head.
To the average onlooker, Sir Rain moved like an experienced brawler, throwing two rapid punches almost directly at Ollie’s nose before following up with a powerful hook to his temple. It was a lightning quick move filled with explosive power that had likely ended a number of bar fights in a single exchange.
To Ollie’s eyes, however, Sir Rain’s punches felt ordinary and slow. Compared to practicing with Sir Thane or learning how to move his hands quickly with knives from Sir Marcel, Sir Rain’s punches could, at best, be called a little quick.
But even though his punches looked fast and strong, his movements held no guile or subterfuge. From the moment he raised his shoulder to punch, Ollie could see the movement and quickly stepped out of the way, slapping the burly knight’s punches aside before they could come close to hitting him.
"Coward," Rain spat as Ollie ducked out of the way of another heavy punch. "Sissy. Are you here to fight or are you here to dance?" he taunted.
At this point, however, Ollie felt like he had a good understanding of his opponent’s movements. Just as Marcel had taught him, a knife fighter had to get in close and exploit openings and weaknesses if he was going to cut or stab something vital. Until he was sure he could land a blow, he wouldn’t make a move.
Sir Thane had taught him differently, including teaching Ollie how to take a blow in order to land one of his own. A knight should trust his armor, Thane had said, and use it to gain advantages in attack as well as defense. Now that he had become the Cypress Witch and his body had become more durable, Ollie took Thane’s lesson to heart, stepping forward the next time Sir Rain punched instead of retreating.
-SMACK-
A thick, meaty slapping sound filled the air as Ollie used his left hand to catch Sir Rain’s next punch. His palm stung from the move but his fingers closed on the other man’s hand like a vice, trapping it long enough for his right hand to deliver a powerful blow to the inside of Rain’s forearm.
The crowd exploded in cheers but Ollie barely noticed them as he shoved Rain’s hand away, stepping back and opening up the range between them again.
"Sone of a whore!" Sir Rain shouted, shaking his suddenly numb hand and desperately trying to force his fingers to curl back into a fist after they’d gone numb. Tingling pain shot up and down his arm, all the way from his elbow to the tips of his fingers, and for a moment, he couldn’t do anything but move away from the young knight in the hopes there wouldn’t be a follow up blow.
Ollie, however, stood there calmly, allowing the rain to soak his hair and tunic while he waited for Sir Rain to regain use of his arm.