sonovelo Chapter 102: LOSING FIGHT
Chapter 102: LOSING FIGHT
"Bryan," Alfred called out, looking out at Bryan who was already charging up for another attack. "Leave this place and head to the city."
Bryan stopped his aether for a while and yelled.
"I can help."
Alfred looked at him, his gaze seemingly piercing through Bryan’s fragile soul.
"It was never a suggestion. This is a command, Grand General Bryan of the Veritas Corps, leave here."
Bryan withdrew his aether instantly.
He bowed, and his body shot into the sky, streaking through like a blue meteor.
"You can control your subordinates well," Aldren said with a smile.
"Let’s continue," Alfred said directly, not bothering to continue the monologue.
Aldren looked at Alfred. The confident expression on his face.
It made him angry, too angry.
Then, a slight smile formed on his lips.
"You think we are in the same situation, but you are heavily mistaken."
As he said those words, aether flared through his body, moving from his body into the earth.
"Why do I need aether to defeat you? You are just trash who could barely reach this level with the aid of my brother."
Alfred scoffed as he said those words.
"Whether you have aether or not, you’re still beneath me."
"You are placing your bets on that poison killing me," Aldren suddenly said.
Alfred did not refute, nor did he agree.
"You might want to use another method. In this place, all my injuries are healed immediately, including poison."
Alfred’s gaze narrowed.
There was no way he could defeat another marshal rank if he was relying solely on physical strength.
The gap was just too much.
But Alfred did not back down.
"So what? I would just find another way to kill you."
Aldren shook his head.
"Let’s see how long you can stay cocky."
His body blurred into motion, aether crackling through his frame and sword.
He brought his sword down in a vertical cleave at Alfred’s shoulder.
Alfred raised his spear, the movement almost too lazy.
The sword hit the shaft, sending a tremor that swept through the area.
Alfred’s left hand moved in a flash, too fast for Aldren to follow.
He pulled a short sword from the base of the spear and thrust forward, towards Aldren’s eye.
Aldren sidestepped, letting the blade pierce through empty air.
His free hand lashed out, catching Alfred’s hand before he could withdraw.
The air ripped as Alfred countered, his spear almost moving by itself as he pierced towards Aldren’s chest.
Aldren moved quickly, catching the spear with the flat of his blade.
He leapt backward, avoiding another slice at his jaw.
The short blade drew a thin, silver line in the air as it whistled through the space Aldren had been just moments ago.
Aldren drove in, his leg bursting with aether as it tore towards Alfred’s chest.
Alfred sidestepped, his body twisting just enough for the kick to pass him.
He returned the short sword to the spear’s base simultaneously and thrust forward at Aldren’s exposed ribs.
Aether condensed into a barrier at his side, the spear’s tip striking the barrier.
A shockwave spread from that point.
There was a pause between them.
The barrier cracked, a single hole that spread from that point through the entire surface of the barrier.
Aldren had moved before it shattered completely.
His body blurred as afterimages flashed in Alfred’s sight.
A metallic chime echoed through the air as Alfred caught a slash with the shaft of his spear.
He drew his short sword immediately, piercing towards the source of the attack.
Aldren caught the sword with the flat of his palm.
The sword’s blade shattered on contact, unable to bear the overwhelming power in Aldren’s hand.
Alfred did not mind; he pulled his spear back and thrust forward again, this time targeting Aldren’s rib.
Aldren sidestepped the thrust, his hand coming down on the shaft as it passed.
The spear bent from the force of it.
Alfred pulled it back as fast as he could before it could snap fully.
He looked up but Aldren was already within his reach.
He drove his free hand into Alfred’s stomach.
Alfred’s breath left him. His body bent inward from the impact and he skidded back several meters before he finally stopped.
Aldren did not give him time to reset.
He drove in, his sword streaking with a blue sheen as it whistled through the air in a downward slash at Alfred’s shoulders.
Alfred’s hands moved on instinct, raising the spear to catch the blade.
A screeching sound filled the air.
It was the sound of metal tearing through metal.
Alfred’s spear split in two clean halves as Aldren’s sword carved through it.
Alfred did not waste time; he discarded the lower half, his grip tightening around the upper half.
He lunged at Aldren, his blade piercing at only vital points.
One for Aldren’s head, another for the eye, another for the throat, and the last one for the chest.
Aldren moved through it, blocking the one for his head.
He sidestepped, narrowly evading the one aimed at his eye.
His neck whipped backward, letting the blade graze the skin on his forehead.
The last one, he caught with two fingers.
Aether flared along the fingers as he introduced more force.
Alfred’s gaze widened, for only a second, before the spear snapped under the increased force.
Its tip broke into splinters.
Alfred looked down, then at Aldren.
A fist was already near his face before he could even register the movement.
It connected with his nose.
Alfred flew, his body crashing into the earth far from there.
The area went quiet.
Alfred lay still for a moment, then he pushed himself upright, slowly.
Aldren did not move.
His sword flashed out of his hand.
He looked at Alfred for a while.
"Seems like you are already nearing your end," Aldren said with a slight smile as he looked at Alfred’s battered body.
Blood trickled down his head to his chin.
His clothes were mostly torn.
"What can I say?" Alfred said with a shrug.