Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

1014 AF Lightmonth

She was fast, Arial mused as the blue-haired girl threw a blow with her fist.

He avoided it using a Ground move, Snake Slither, sidestepping and quickly positioning himself behind her before returning a blow with his elbow.

A sound wave was created from their clash.

Arial seemed to recognize her fighting style, the Linzi style from Linzi Temple, though it was heavily modified making her attacks deadlier.

Not only that. The attack seems to be imbued with killing intent and oozes with the desire for battle.

He soon changed his mind of thinking that her martial arts come from the Linzi Temple.

Her technique was too vicious to be described as Linzi.

It seemed that she was a practitioner of external martial arts. Her body was unbelievably sturdy and tough, her stance powerful and domineering.

She tried to punch Arial again, but he quickly dodged her. His Lightness of Being technique was not to be underestimated.

"Stay in one place!" she yelled, clearly annoyed that Arial had managed to dodge every single one of her blows.

He laughed. "And let you punch me? I don't think so."

She was looking more and more annoyed.

Her attacks were ferocious, but what good were they if they did not reach their intended target?

Arial did not believe that the girl could surpass him in terms of internal energy, but when it came to technique, her fighting skills were far better than his.

After all, he had only learned about the martial arts through books that he had memorized and had focused his attention on honing his swordsmanship.

He knew nothing of external martial arts because the Vern imperial family had only collected books that focused on internal martial arts and their use of internal energy which Arial knew how to harness for fighting.

The blue-haired girl attacked again with a claw like hand and Arial barely dodged her strike, feeling the wind swoosh across his face.

She had just used the Eagle Snatching Snake technique, a high-level skill that had effectively stopped him in his tracks and forced him to use another move.

The crowd was in awe and cheered frantically as Arial distanced himself. His opponent looked at him, puzzled.

"You are fast," she said as if she could not believe it.

"Thank you, my lady, but so are you. Pity that such a young woman like you has learned such a vicious technique."

"I didn't… I mean it's not that vicious," she stumbled and then her face turned red after realizing what she had just said. "So, what!" she yelled, "why are you holding back!?"

"You noticed?" Arial answered back, quite surprised.

"Yes! Why didn't you use your internal energy?" she asked, frustrated. "Are you looking down on me?" she added, her nostrils flaring.

Her eyes flickered for a moment and her face filled with anger. Whoever this woman was, she was full of pride. A fatal flaw, Arial thought.

"Because I am a woman?" she continued, narrowing her eyes and directing her lethal glare at him.

Arial observed her techniques, but could not recognize them.

This excited him a great deal because it meant that he was facing a worthy opponent.

She was an equal match and Arial did not want to spoil the feeling by using his internal energy to gain the upper hand.

He had no intention of patronizing her and was actually amazed by her fighting skills.

In his original timeline, he would have never imagined taking it this easy with this kind of opponent, but he wanted to know how much of his own skills he could improve and what technique was being used by the blue-haired girl.

The Renasian woman attacked him again with such force, it seemed that she was intent on killing him.

She had great agility, but Arial made use of his own weight and power to counter her intense attack.

She moved fluidly, like water, and stealthily, striking him twice in the stomach. He was like a mountain that could not be broken by mere punch and kicks.

Heaviness and slowness to counter the fluid water-like movement.

Luckily, he used his internal energy to reinforce his body and the girl was thrown back.

"What was that!?" she yelled as a look of fear gripped her face. "How can you have so much internal energy?" She had clearly sensed it when she struck him.

The crowd, seeing that she was losing the fight, began to cheer even more.

"I train my lad—"

Before Arial could finish his sentence, she lunged at him with her Piercing Spear technique.

Luckily, he knew the move well and feared it, which had prompted him to learn it thoroughly in theory, but not perfect its form.

Arial fell on the stage as the crowd gasped in surprise.

He was dazed, but he quickly came to his senses and got back up. The crowd cheered loudly as he regained his composure.

"Are you… fine?" the girl looked more confused than before.

'Impossible!' She could not believe that Arial had bounced back after suffering such a violent blow.

Arial now understood how dangerous this woman was.

He had only used a quarter of his internal energy to protect his body, rendering the sensation in his stomach painful. Otherwise, he would have died.

"You are the Eastern Devil's disciple?" he asked her.

The crowd quieted; some spectators backed away. Everyone knew the stories about the Eastern Devil.

"How… do you know?" she stammered.

"Piercing Spear is one of his trademark techniques. No wonder your attacks are vicious and cruel; you are one of his disciples."

She puffed out her chest. "Yes! I'm his disciple!" she yelled. "Do you fear me now?"

Arial smirked. "No, but it just got more interesting."

He had once met a disciple of the Western Serpent or more like one of the few lucky people who were taught a few techniques of the Western Serpent.

Now he had the honor of fighting a student of the Eastern Devil.

"Your Piercing Spear technique has a lot of flaws," he continued, "the force and the stroke are all wrong. Even the intensity. This is an internal energy attack from the internal martial arts repertoire." She was shocked to hear him give her advice on her technique.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Someone from the crowd yelled the answer.

Arial recognized him as the son of a merchant who frequented the Vermont family castle and who enjoyed talking about textiles with his father.

"It's a bad day for you, my dear! That boy is Regent of the Duchy of Arrandy, a son of House Vermont, ruler of this city. His name is Arial the Dragon!" The crowd gasped and looked at Arial, this time more attentively.

Whispers could be heard.

"That is Arial?"

"Shhh, he is a lord."

"The Dragon?" someone chimed in.

"Look at his white hair!" said another.

"An equal match. A handsome young lord and a beautiful feisty girl. A match made in Heaven," they whispered.

The girl blushed. She heard it too.

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Part one fo the chapter. See you all tomorrow