CHAPTER 303: THE DANCE OF STEEL AND STORM [PART 2]

Renard advanced like an unstoppable avalanche, each punch carrying the weight of a sledgehammer.

In contrast, Alistair moved with the wind, dodging, weaving, and countering with strikes that cracked like lightning.

The audience even forgot to blink, afraid they might miss something if they did.

Dust exploded, the air howled, and the training field became a storm-torn battlefield under their feet.

"Too slow!" Alistair barked, ducking beneath Renard’s heavy swing before driving an uppercut infused with compressed wind straight into his opponent’s jaw.

Renard’s head snapped back, the blow rattling his brain.

He took two three steps back, and just as he was about to take his third step, he made sure to plant his foot firmly on the ground before launching a fast jab that grazed the side of Alistair’s cheek, drawing blood.

That punch had been thrown subconsciously, and it earned Renard a few precious seconds to breathe.

His vision was still blurry, and yet, he understood that if he didn’t do anything, his opponent would be able to land another blow in his body, which might also be his last.

Out of desperation, Renard uttered a guttural growl that could be mistaken to come from a wounded wild beast about to fight to the death.

Despite knowing that Renard was still suffering from the after-effects of his punch, Alistair didn’t let down his guard as he pressed his momentum.

The soldier-like student advanced, his steps sharp, precise, like a blade carving through the storm.

He twisted his body, aiming a wind-laden hook meant to crush Renard’s ribs.

But this time, Renard didn’t evade. He stepped into the strike.

The blow thundered against his side, pain erupting like fire through his body, yet his massive arms wrapped around Alistair like an iron vice.

Before Alistair could pull away, Renard slammed his forehead forward.

The brutal headbutt was loud and crisp.

Alistair groaned in pain, as blood sprayed into the air.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Caelum felt a chill run down his spine as if the one who received the headbutt wasn’t Alistair but him.

Although it was a barbaric move in his eyes, it didn’t change the fact that there were no rules when it came to a battle of life and death.

The elf understood this completely, so instead of looking down on Renard, he was starting to feel that this teenager, who was weaker than him by two ranks, indeed had the qualifications to challenge him in a duel.

Ignoring the stabbing agony in his ribs, Renard heaved Alistair upward and hurled him against the ground.

The earth cracked, dust exploding in all directions, as Alistair’s body bounced once before falling down once more.

Renard didn’t hesitate to sit on his opponent’s chest and raised his right fist to pummel his opponent until he could no longer move his arms.

But just as he was about to punch his opponent to oblivion, someone grabbed his hand, stopping him in place.

"I think that’s enough, Renard."

Alex had arrived at the training ground, looking for the students of Faelarun who were under his responsibility.

When he arrived, Renard and Alistair were still exchanging blows with each other. Just like everyone, he watched the battle seriously, as if trying to learn from the two combatants fighting with all they had.

Just like everyone else, he felt an imaginary pain when Alistair struck Renard’s jaw, as well as Renard headbutting Alistair.

However, when Renard managed to slam his opponent’s body to the ground, Alex knew that the fight was over.

So when he saw Renard straddle his opponent with the intention of smacking the other to oblivion, Alex used his skill, Shield Charge, and canceled it before he slammed against Renard’s body.

He then reached out to grab Renard’s wrist, preventing him from giving Alistair serious injuries.

"You already won," Alex said firmly. "Alistair is already unconscious."

Renard’s mind and ears were still ringing. However, Alex’s words reached him.

He then looked down on Alistair and confirmed that the other had indeed fainted.

The teenage boy shuddered. As much as he enjoyed battles, the last thing he wanted to do was to beat up an unconscious person, especially someone whom he had asked for a duel.

Sensing that Renard finally understood the situation, Alex released his hand and pulled his body away from Alistair.

"Here, drink this," Alex said as he handed a healing potion to Renard before taking out another to pour over Alistair’s body.

Drinking a potion orally and directly applying it to injuries had different effects.

Usually, Adventurers would drink half of their healing potion and pour the rest to their injuries for the best result.

But Alex couldn’t possibly force an unconscious person to drink a healing potion. It would do more harm than help.

An unconscious body had no proper swallowing reflex, and pouring liquid down their throat could cause it to enter the lungs instead of the stomach.

That wasn’t just borderline dangerous.

It was potentially fatal.

Because of this, Alex only poured the potion directly onto Alistair’s wounds, letting the liquid seep into his skin where the magic would activate on its own.

Soft golden light spread across the injured fighter’s body, knitting the worst of the damage closed.

Fortunately, there were a few students from Alistair’s class who knew healing magic. So the moment their shock faded, they hurriedly used their powers to heal him.

A few minutes later Alistair’s breathing steadied, though he remained unconscious.

Renard, meanwhile, chugged half of his potion before letting the rest splash over his bruised ribs and battered jaw.

A soothing warmth spread through his body, dulling the sharp edges of pain.

The crowd exhaled in relief.

Some students had thought Renard would lose after that devastating uppercut.

Others believed Alistair would crumble after the headbutt.

None had expected such a brutal clash to end like this.

Renard was victorious, but not without scars of his own.

Chuck folded his arms with a knowing grin. "See, Caelum? Still think it’s boring?"

The elf didn’t answer right away. His sharp eyes lingered on Renard, still recalling the duel that had just ended.

Finally, he spoke, his voice calm but edged with intrigue. "Well, he’s not a bad sparring partner. Make sure to tell him that I, Caelum Veyra, wish to challenge him after he has fully recovered from his injuries."

"Okie dokie." Chuck nodded.

However, deep inside, he hoped that Renard would beat Caelum in their duel. Really! He didn’t want to face the Arcane Archer, who was a Rank higher than him!

Of course, the elf had no idea that the smiling human boy beside him was wishing for his downfall.

He had already expected that Frieden Academy would have their own geniuses, and he wished to challenge all of them to widen his own world.

Just like most of the Elves from Faelarun Academy, the exchange between academies was the first time they stepped outside of their Kingdom.

They hadn’t seen the human world until now, and seeing these "short-lived" humans made them realize a few things.

For one, they were not pushovers.

Caelum gave Renard one last glance before making a gesture for his fellow students to leave the training grounds with him.

But just before leaving the training grounds completely, he glanced at Alex, who was already following behind them.

’After I defeat Renard, I’ll be fighting this guy next,’ Caelum thought. ’I wonder, will our battle be just as exciting as the battle I watched earlier?’

Dim Dim, who was perched on top of Alex’s head, was busy telling its partner that Caelum wished to challenge him as well.

Alex said that he didn’t want to fight Caelum, so Dim Dim thought of an idea that might work.

After telling the young man about its proposal, Alex thought that it was an interesting idea, so he decided to implement Dim Dim’s plan.

"Kukuku!" the little bun chuckled evilly from on top of Alex’s head.

While it was true that Caelum was two ranks higher than Alex, that didn’t mean that his loss was guaranteed.

In fact, Dim Dim believed that no matter what Caelum or the other elves do, there was one field where they couldn’t beat Alex.

"Caelum, I heard from Dim Dim that you wish to challenge me," Alex said. "Is that true?"

"It is true," Caelum replied. "I plan to fight you after I defeat Renard. But since he needs time to recover, you can wash your neck until then."

"Why do we have to wait until Renard recovers?" Alex arched an eyebrow. "If you want to defeat me, I’ll give you an opportunity to do so."

"Oh?" Caelum arched an eyebrow. "Very well, I accept this challenge. Should we fight here in the training grounds?"

"No." Alex shook his head. "Let’s fight on a different battlefield. In fact, you and the rest of the elves can work together to beat me. I don’t mind."

The elves who heard Alex’s boast, couldn’t help but glare in his direction.

"It seems that you are itching for a fight huh?" Serenya, who was also itching for an action, asked in a teasing tone. "Are you sure that you can take us all?"

"Enough talk." Alex smirked. "Just follow me."

The young man then walked towards the Seventh Training Ground with a wide smile on his face.