Chapitre 188: Duel for Honor

"Aren't you going to put on your armor?" Tabbris asked when he saw Gerald just stand there in his leather clothes.

"My body is my armor," Gerald struck his chest with a weird grin, "And Toothpick is my weapon!"

Just as Tabbris wanted to complain about Gerald mocking him again, the latter took a brutal-looking spear from his Space Pouch with the word 'Toothpick' engraved onto it.

"Are you trying to mess with my mind in hope that I might make mistakes? Don't bother, it's not going to work!" Tabbris shouted with a smug smile.

Gerald shrugged his shoulders and decided to stop fooling around since his opponent saw through his tricks. "Well then, any rules I should be aware of? If you have anything to say, say it now, because I won't be stopping until you beg me to!"

"Confident!" Tabbris commented and unsheathed his sword, "The rules are simple: We will fight until one of us gives up or is unable to continue! Killing is forbidden by the King, so we don't have to take it too far. Other than that, anything goes!"

Tabbris confidently stood opposite to Gerald with the tip of his sword drawing lines in the air as he was warming up his shoulders.

"Anything goes, huh?" Gerald burst into a laugh, "I hope you won't regret your words later!"

His opponent didn't take his words to heart and also laughed. Then they requested Arthur Rosecloud to give the signal to start the fight.

"Okay! Are you ready?" the man paused for a moment, and both warriors nodded, "Then go!"

Gerald immediately took two vials and chugged them down, throwing the bottles away immediately after. Meanwhile, Tabbris mumbled something and Mana spread across his body, giving him some sort of buff.

"Hah!" Gerald was the first to attack, holding the spear in the middle for better balance, and swung it with one hand with his super-human strength.

Tabbris smiled confidently and lifted his sword to deflect the strike, but then his expression suddenly changed as he realized he couldn't. He crouched down at an amazing speed and the tip of the spear grazed the top of his helmet, producing sparks.

"Holy shit!" He rolled on the ground away from Gerald and jumped on his feet soon after. "This had to have been a fluke, right?"

He didn't have much time to think, however, as Gerald already almost caught up with him, swinging the spear like a madman. Each strike made a whistling sound as the blade cut through the air, barely missing the opponent. Tabbris jumped around, ducked, and weaved, barely avoiding those dangerous strikes like a slippery eel.

Bang!

The Toothpick struck the ground by mistake and the stone underneath cracked where Tabbris' foot used to be just a moment ago.

"Let me hit you! Just once is enough!" Gerald roared and laughed madly. He was using two spells at once, Juggernaut and Wind Body, and he was like an unstoppable, crazy rhinoceros, trying to impale his opponent.

Tabbris didn't respond to his words and simply continued to dodge and deflect strikes to the best of his abilities. He might appear to be barely holding on, but his eyes were calm and his gaze cold.

After a few minutes of dancing around, a small smile formed on his lips and he suddenly thrust his sword forward just as Gerald's swing missed. The strike was fast and precise, aiming for Gerald's shoulder of his right hand.

Clang!

"Hm?!" Tabbris reacted in surprise. He just felt as if he struck metal armor, but he was sure that Gerald had nothing under that thin layer of leather.

'Whatever, he might have some hidden armor plates in his clothes…' Tabbris mused and instantly retreated, preparing for another opportunity to strike.

Gerald was honestly surprised that the guy managed to strike him, but he was not worried. Attacks of that magnitude couldn't hurt him anyway.

Clang!

Another strike landed, this one aimed at the side of Gerald's knee. The sword bounced off harmlessly once again.

Clang, clang!

Tabbris struck him again and again, sparks and loud sounds filling the arena.

"What kind of… Stop moving so much!" Gerald was getting frustrated. With all of his speed and strength combined, he still couldn't hit his opponent.

"Hehe, how do you like my Falcon Dance Combat Art? It's great, isn't it?" Tabbris laughed and sped up his attacks. His blade danced in the air and the sharp edge collided with Gerald every so often, while he avoided every attempt Gerald made at striking back.

"Agility-based Combat Art?" Gerald used his Magic Eyes and saw Mana moving through his opponent, but he couldn't copy it in the middle of a fight. Even if he had time to patiently observe it, it seemed quite complicated, almost as if there were more spells combined into one.

"Ah fuck, it's increasing his speed as well!" Only now did he notice that the guy was as fast as him, if not even faster. He couldn't even touch him!

"Give up already! You can't beat me!" Tabbris laughed.

"Fuck off!" Gerald swung the spear horizontally to get some space from the annoying mosquito trying to hurt him.

'I just need one strike! If I can disrupt him for just a second, he's done!' Gerald's mind filled up with ideas, some quite tame, others as crazy as it gets. He quickly decided on a plan of action and went on the offensive once again. He rushed forward, striking and swinging as fast and aggressive as he could.

Suddenly, with a thought, a Stone Spike shot out of the ground to where Tabbris was about to move.

The guy noticed at the last second and twisted his body in an uncomfortable position and jumped sideways to avoid it. But then, another Stone spike shot from the ground, aiming for his waist. Then another rose and blocked his escape path, forcing him into an awkward position closer to Gerald.

"Shit!" Tabbris Northendark cursed under his breath. He jumped straight up, high above Gerald, and performed a somersault.

"Gotcha!" Gerald suddenly released the spear and slapped forward with an open palm.

Boom! Boom!

Two simultaneous explosions were created from his hands, propelling him back towards Tabbris. He twisted his body from the force of the explosion and arrived in front of his opponent just as the latter touched the ground.

Bang!

It was a direct hit. Gerald put all of his strength behind his punch, even going as far as to punch with his metal hand to push himself to the limits. The ground where his foot touched the pavement just before the delivery of his strike cracked from the immense transfer of force.

Tabbris was sent flying through the air and rolled on the ground after a rough landing. He stayed unmoving thereafter. Many people held their breath at the sudden display of power and a reversal of events. Nobody expected something like this to happen to the most famous warrior of the young generation.

"Brother!" Aster shouted and tried to jump into the arena, but was stopped by one of the members of the Phoenix Knights.

"Don't panic! Look, your brother is just fine," he said and pointed at Tabbris who was already getting back on his feet.

Gerald was not happy to see that, but he also didn't expect the fight to end just like that. He already guessed he would have to reveal some of his trump cards this time.

"Haha, that was a good hit!" his opponent laughed after standing up. He did not look too shaken at all, instead, he looked more relaxed than before.

"Not many people know, but this armor is a real treasure! It can absorb a big part of the energy of an impact, protecting me from most harm!"

Tabbris patted his chest plate, "Look, I'm completely fine, barely a scratch! If that was the most you can do, I suggest you give up! You are not breaking through my armor in this lifetime!"