Epic Of The Demonic Sage

And the shield suddenly disappeared from Viscountess Blackshield's left hand and reappeared in the vulnerable area.

Lucius's eyes widened and he became stunned for a moment, lowering his sword as he had used up all the charges of the Wind Scar Sword.

'That… that is the full extent of her abilities?' Lucius thought. 'It is far greater than I have expected. At my current state now? With this body and its limitations… this does not seem like a winnable fight. I have used up my possible ace and she countered it effectively.'

Viscountess Blackshield on the other hand squared her shoulders, withstanding most of the attacks on her own. She was slightly off balance, but then quickly dashed forwards to Asher and gained her footing that sway.

The Viscountess swung her mace and launched several attacks on Asher. This time, they were even stronger than the last time. A huge grin on Viscountess Blackshield's face.

Asher's last series of attacks had made her blood pump in excitement, and she was thrilled to have such a fast opponent with such tricks at his disposal.

The Viscountess Blackshield thought she had her edge, getting used to what Asher provided earlier, but he managed to shock her.

"Incredible, Young Lord Asher!" Viscountess Blackshield's mace struck the training ground hard, cracking the ground slightly.

Even without any enhanced strength like Gellor, the mere strength in her attack was enough to surprise others as Asher's own footing became slightly off balance.

While it was no Captain Donald's tremor stomp, the radius of the attack was enough to make Asher lose his footing just enough and the Viscountess threw one last mace attack… stopping it directly at Asher's face.

"Hah… That was a good fight," Viscountess Blackshield said. "I am not sure how you'd react to a bash to the face though, Young Lord Asher."

"You would have destroyed my head, Viscountess Blackshield. I admit my defeat." Lucius chuckled and sheathed his Wind Scar Sword. "You have a greater advantage than me, Viscountess Blackshield. It was an enlightening experience."

"You did well, Young Lord Asher." Viscountess Blackshield made her shield disappear and she offered her mace to a nearby servant before she offered a hand to the young nobleman.

"Thank you. But I understand where I need to do work," Lucius said as he accepted her hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.

Elsewhere across the training ground, there was a certain silence that emanated from the crowd of watchers.

All of them were all stunned by the results and didn't know how to react.

Albus suddenly clapped and then everyone suddenly joined in. The silence was dispelled as the individuals descended into a roar of conversation.

"That was amazing! I didn't think Young Lord Asher could keep up on his feet, but even without any kind of Gift, his reflexes were amazing, wasn't it?" Ian said.

"Yeah. It was a good ending." Alex nodded. "To be able to survive that long against the Viscountess is already a feat in of itself. My own Gift wouldn't have been able to survive that long against Viscountess Blackshield."

"You'd just bash yourself in her shield and knock yourself out," Jay commented.

"You wouldn't do any better than yourself." Alex chuckled.

"I hope that all of you learned something from watching this spar between them. We could all learn how to use everything to our disposal," Captain Donald said. "Even without any gifts, you saw all how Young Lord Asher managed to last against someone as powerful as Viscountess Blackshield. A gift can only get you so far without any plans."

Elsewhere, the three mercenaries were also talking about how the spar ended.

"How would you have faced someone like her, Albus?" Gellor asked. "Do you think your Crane Legs could match the extent of her gift?"

"Are you joking with me, Gellor? Unless I suddenly manage to get to two places at once, I don't think I can penetrate her defenses either." Albus chuckled. "But it's a good thing that we work as mercenaries, eh?"

"I might be able to do something about it, but I'll have to use up a lot of Aether just to get attacks in." Barty commented. "Actually, what Young Lord Asher did with the Wind Scar Sword, is something that I would have done myself on a larger scale."

"Yeah, Young Lord Asher was brilliant." Albus said. "I'm glad we managed to watch this. You don't see this kind of vicious fighting elsewhere. I'm so glad it was a spar."

Meanwhile, Lucius himself was also running the fight through his mind and glancing at Viscountess Blackshield as he caught his breath.

'The way that Viscountess Blackshield used her gift is different. One can really tell that she has trained her gift to a terrifying extent. To call this a Rare Rank gift is underestimating the actual capabilities that she's displayed. It's not Blackshield as Kiana said but Black Bulwark indeed.' Lucius thought.

A servant offered to retrieve the Wind Scar Sword and the other offered refreshments, which Viscountess Blackshield happily accepted.

"Young Lord Asher." Neta quickly approached with a basin of water and a towel for the young nobleman.

"Thank you, Neta." Lucius accepted the towel and wiped the sweat off his brow.

'I can't help but wonder if the original Blackshield Gift had the capacity to make different types of shields, but I am sure that the ability to have the shield disappear and then reappear at different locations is not something a Rare Rank gift can do.'

"Have something to drink, Young Lord Asher." Viscountess Blackshield said, noticing his stare.

"Thank you, Viscountess. I'm still catching my breath. You've caught me off guard with your gift," Lucius said.

"Then it means that you did not hear about my gift in great detail before," Viscountess Blackshield chuckled as she finished her drink and then rubbed her shoulders. "Ah, it seems like my age is getting to me. It's nice to be as limber as you are, Young Lord Asher. I don't think I would have lasted if it weren't for my family's gift."