Return of the Woodcutter

The dark and white suns in the sky shone brightly, abnormally closer to each other than before as if merging. Their edges touched, shining a pale grey light on the arena that progressively expanded with the passing seconds. 

Yellow grains of sand, brown rocks, black and red blood. All colors deemed losing contrast. 

And yet no one paid attention to it.

Speechless, the orc crowd had their eyes glued on the two figures fighting at the center of the arena, unwilling to miss a drop of the action. 

They had never seen the Khan fight seriously before, not to that extent at least. Both man and orc's weapons spew sparks with each collision. The wind itself seemed to flee for dear life with sudden shock waves produced by Aito's skill, creating clouds of sand and dust. 

Even if they looked carefully, the crowd missed 2 out of 3 blows.

Aito and the Khan were so fast, their vision barely kept up. Only a few elite orcs like Krugan, who were spectators, managed to pick up the entire scene. 

To most, the human and the orc chief were at the same level. Exchanging blow for blow. But Krugan knew better. It could see the slight difference in rhythm and speed. The Khan had the upper hand. 

Noticing the grey light, Krugan calmly lifted his head upward. The Khul and Khan, the black and white sun, were merging, overlapping.

Every orc, adult or child, knew what it meant. 

'It's almost time,' Krugan thought, sighing. 'The strong warrior has lost any chance of winning.' 

No one paid attention to the other challengers who managed to defeat the last elite orcs in the wooden fortifications, regrouping, healing their wounded, honoring their dead companions. 

The crowd's heavy gazes alone attested to the immense pressure Aito felt on his shoulder. He could feel an invisible aura pushing him downward, ready to bury him underneath the scorching sand, never to resurface.

Was it the crowd or the imposing being, that despite the injuries, currently facing him with a content toothy smile on her face? 

Probably a mix of both. Such was the pressure of this fight. 

He himself was riddled with wounds. Fist-sized dents on his breastplate and helmet. Cuts on the arms and jaw. Bruises on his abdomen, legs, and back. 

Fortunately, his weavedmail protected him most of the time.

Once again, he could taste his own blood mixed with dried saliva. 

They've been fighting for almost ten minutes and neither of them had fallen. Yet, it seemed like an hour or two had passed. 

Although it hasn't been that long since he faced a deadly situation, it felt like an eternity since he fought an opponent capable of injuring him that badly. 

It made him realize he was growing accustomed to being at the top of the food chain, or maybe bored with easy enemies, much like the Khan. 

Even though he kept his guard up against such leisurely thoughts, he couldn't help but grow conceited due to the previous lack of danger. 

And so he welcomed and also dreaded the Khan's strength.

In that sense, Aito felt he could understand her, an orc who had reached the apex of her race, at least within the Tower's limits. Who knew what kind of monster the Khan could have become outside?

Without the gods purposely barring her evolution.

The slight smile on Aito's face betrayed his pleasure of meeting a worthy foe once more. The Khan was clearly enjoying their fight, appearing to give her all, putting her life on the line. It no longer seemed to seek glory but pure enjoyment. 

Aito's ax blade was already dented, still usable though. Most sparks had come from his own weapon, due to small pieces of it flying. A good sharpening tool would certainly help his case, but if he kept hitting her blade with his blade, he feared it would break it. 

Weirdly enough, her weapon looked fine, as pristine as when it came out of the smithy. 

The Khan dashed towards him, covering the short distance in an instant. Such speed, at Aito's level, was considered normal. However, he had yet to accustom himself to it entirely.

With no time to dodge, he defended himself. His steel shield met the Khan's ax with a loud thud, adding yet another mark to Aito's protection. 

He countered the attack with a quick thrust to her throat. The Khan escaped the strike by a hair's length, leaving a scratch on her helmet, before kicking in between his legs. 

Dangerous for all kinds of painful reasons, Aito promptly swept that blow away with his knee, taking advantage of his positioning to kick her stomach. 

BAM!

The Khan welcomed his powerful blow, taking three-step backward to absorb the impact. Aito dashed with the intent to chain his attack, coating his ax blade with everything he had. 

—Active Skill: Durability (Overload)— 

—Active Skill: Weight Control x10 (Overload)— 

—Active Skill: Impact (Overload)— 

His weapon vibrated with power as he hacked down, aiming for the kill. The Khan riposted with a powerful strike of her own. Blade vibrating yellow, her ax once more met his, colliding in a brutal shockwave. 

Thanks to the added weight and momentum, Aito pushed her back but dealt no glaring injury. As the Khan regained her balance, Aito noticed the pale grey light shining upon them. In fact, it was now shining in the entire arena. 

Everything turned grey. It almost reminded him of those old black and white movies if it wasn't for the fact he was actually playing in that movie. 

He charged at her, unwilling to leave the Khan any opportunity to rest. 

More small cracks progressively appeared on Aito's ax as they were exchanging a flurry of blows. A situation where he was at a disadvantage. 

Aito tried to avoid that kind of situation from occurring. Fighting in short bursts before retreating to create space and prevent her from continuously attacking. 

Not that it worked wonders for him. 

The Khan had probably reached Agility level 4 and was faster than Aito. He was struggling to keep up with her speed. It was only thanks to his training and occasional Intuition that flared up from time to time Aito could somehow exchange blows and was not entirely overwhelmed. 

Or it could also be that the Khan let him strike back. That realization worried him. 

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