Chapter 1084: doubt and Creation
Blades met, filling the air with the song of clashing steel. The combatants grappled, exerting their strength against each other, trying to gain an advantage.
A grin spread across Leon’s face as he pushed against Valeria, his training blade locked against hers. His expression was reflected on her face as her lips were turned up in a wild grin.
Neither was using much of their power in this duel, as difficult as that was for a tenth and eleventh-tier mage. They wanted their skills to speak for themselves, and for the most part, they were.
A pivot saw Leon gain the advantage as he redirected Valeria’s glaive instead of meeting it head-on. Valeria recovered quickly enough to just barely block his follow-up, but it took two exchanges for her to regain her footing. When she did, she started making more aggressive use of the butt of her weapon, meeting Leon’s blade with her own while going after his legs with the other end.
With more grace than a dancer, Leon avoided her strikes, though it prevented him from pressing any advantages he had in strength and leverage. He refused to disengage, however, since his fighting style emphasized aggressiveness and remaining on the attack.
A flurry of blows were exchanged, and several tiny mistakes were made, imperceptible to the mortal eye, but more than exploitable by both sides. By the end of the first bout, both Leon and Valeria had taken their fair share of hits.
“… I think that puts me in the lead?” Leon stated with a wide grin as Valeria rubbed her wrist where Leon had struck her with the training blade.
“You were keeping score?” was her sarcastic response.
A shrug was his answer.