Chapter 183

Ardis who had closed the distance rapidly made his move first . Drawing back his sword with both hands, twisting his waist, he stabbed along with his running momentum .

It was a straight forward attack from an outside perspective . Moore easily dodged it by twisting his upper body in an angle .

But in the next moment, Moore would immediately realize that his opponent is not that straight forward but a shrewd bastard .

Ardis’s thrusting trajectory changed, and then moved inwards to Moore’s right arm .

「Ot―to! 」

Moore panicked at the unexpected feint from Ardis . But Moore is not an average swordsman as well .

Immediately turning his arm away and avoiding his sword being deflected by Ardis, he tried to strike against Ardis’s sword with the blunt of his shield .

Ardis immediately released one grip off his sword, with one hand now free, he directly grabbed at the edge of the shield and stopped its movement .

「Oi oi, what the heck was that . What kind of reflex do you have . 」

「Nope, it was really close . 」

Just as Ardis said so, he tried to pull the shield towards himself in hopes of making Moore stumble .

「Not that easy――! 」

Moore didn’t go against that force, but instead used it to his advantage and got closer to Ardis in one go . At the same time, from behind the shield, he tried to attack from Ardis’s blind spot .

「I thought so! 」

Ardis who had expected there will be something coming in advance easily released his grip on the shield without hesitation and retreated . This time, it’s Moore’s turn to pursue Ardis as he retreats .

As if shovelling, Moore’s attack came from below and aimed at Ardis’s head . But Ardis deflected it easily by swinging his own sword downwards .

The sword exchanges continued between the two who had stopped moving again . At first glance, the spectators probably wouldn’t be able to determine who has the upper hand .

But Moore who was already known for his swordsmanship in the first place might be seen advantageous . Ardis’s true forte is swordsmanship imbued with mana .

Needless to say, body strengthening, making footholds and jumping in the air limitlessly, and using flying swords enables more attacking methods for him .

In that sense, Ardis not being able to use magic right now would certainly mean a disadvantage . Ardis’s current swordsmanship is probably only seventy percent of what he can do when he can enhance himself with mana .

But even without using mana, Ardis’s swordsmanship that was trained through many battlefields is topnotch . He can easily defend against Moore’s sword and even counterattack .

Rather, it’s Moore who should be praised . Even if Ardis cannot fully unleash his true strength, the match had gone for longer than three minutes .

Moore struggled against Nedulos in the other world but, it’s not like his experience with a sword is a show . If he was born in the other world, no doubt he would’ve become a famous swordsman . But of course, that’s only if he―― .

「Can survive . 」

Ardis’s unintentionally spilled some words while crossing swords .

「What survive? 」

「It’s nothing . 」

Moore asked more clearly regarding Ardis’s words that had no context . But Ardis just dismissed it along with a sword aiming for his leg .

But Moore’s sword would intercept and block its trajectory . As if dancing with blades, the two repeated movements of attacking, dodging, defending and counterattacking .

The show of the two not willing to let even one step filled the arena with cheers .

For a while now, Moore had been continuing hacking at Ardis without stopping . It meant that Moore’s swordsmanship is just that good but, Moore also revealed that it isn’t the only factor .

「By the way, your original appearance is that right? 」

Idle chattering while their swords didn’t stop . Moore’s words caused Ardis’s eyes to narrow .

「If you’re different from your original appearance――」

A strong blow from Moore shook Ardis’s sword slightly .

「There should be some misalignment between your body and your swordsmanship . 」

It is a clever inference . Just as Moore said, Ardis’s current body is much different in age than his original’s . His stride, his arm length, his body weight, and even the height of his vision .

Ardis’s swordsmanship that was tempered through the years was not with his current body as a baseline .

The movements imprinted in his mind will cause a discomfort because of the incompatibility, and that would be a gap in a fight . But that’s if there’s a change to his body suddenly .

「I mean, I’ve been in this form for quite long already . 」

Ardis had been in his younger form for quite a while already . It’s not strange that he would be more used to it after more than seven years .

Although there’s still some slight discomfort, he didn’t intend to let it be a flaw when he’s fighting, and it hadn’t affected any of his battles so far .

Despite so, Moore still aimed for that insignificant disparity, of course with the ability to make it happen .

With an angle and timing that Ardis considers obscene, Moore struck at a position where misalignment between his reach and viewpoint would likely happen .

「Sorry for 『Fighting with Handicap-san』 but, I can’t see a way to win if not for this . 」

Moore continued striking while aiming for the cracks where Ardis would even have the slightest discrepancy .

「I shall take this one! 」

「Don’t worry, I don’t think it as a handicap! 」

「Why thank you! 」

Moore swung hard at Ardis, holding Ardis’s sword down . Ardis albeit slowly, his body is certainly growing, and he now looks like sixteen or seventeen on the outside .

On one hand, there’s the activeness of youth, but it also can’t be denied that he’s lacking the trained body of battlefields like Moore’s . Ardis normally would’ve been able to cover for it by using mana and raising his physical ability .

But now that using magic is forbidden, his body is no more than a young swordsman’s . Although he didn’t intend to lose in swordsmanship, Moore certainly have the upper hand when comparing raw strength .

Making use of the fact that Ardis’s body is still not at its prime, Moore continued formulating attacks basing on that . I see why he can be a commander, as Ardis felt impressed at his strength .

Ardis not being able to use mana is not a terrible inconvenience . If it’s a match when they first met, Ardis would’ve probably easily won against Moore .

However, among all participants of the Lotus Cup now, Moore is the one who understands Ardis’s abilities the most .

Exactly because that he has a good grasp of Ardis’s strength that he wouldn’t be taken by surprise . Exactly because that he knows Ardis’s original appearance, he could come up with the idea of aiming at the disparity between Ardis’s body and his swordsmanship .

Those two are the advantage that Moore had that no other participants had .

「I have made my preparations . Of course, I will have some chance! 」

「Just as I thought! 」

Moore continued attacking utilizing the information he knows and the rule of the Lotus Cup as his backing against the difference in strength that would be hard to fill normally .

Moore’s sword style would be power if choosing from either power or flexibility . Of course, Ardis knows how to use a power sword style too . But his current body doesn’t have enough arm strength to fully utilize it .

If so, then Ardis’s best bet is to retaliate with a flexible sword style . Ardis quickly gave up trying to fight back with strength, but to use speed and swordsmanship to counterattack .

That would probably be the most intense and most beautiful counter that had happened so far in the Lotus Cup . But that wouldn’t continue for eternity as well .

Ardis retreated five steps behind after deflecting away Moore’s slash . Firming his grip and taking a small breath, he focused and dived deeper into his consciousness as he thought it is time to settle the match .

「Oi oi, why not take it easier . 」

He must’ve realized Ardis’s change in atmosphere . Moore tried to call out with an easy-going voice .

「It’s a rare grand stage . It’s wasteful to let it end just like that right? There’re not many chances to be fighting under so many cheers and gazes, you know . 」

Moore tried to prolong the match by convincing Ardis .

「I won’t fall for that . 」

But Ardis wouldn’t fall for it .

「……It’s obvious huh . 」

Moore clicked his tongue having his intentions seen through . Now that Ardis cannot use mana, it’s not just arm strength that Moore has an upper hand in, stamina would be the same .

It’s easy to imagine that the longer the match, the more advantageous Moore would become . But of course, even if Moore becomes more advantageous, the chances of winning only increases ever so slightly .

「But――」

Ardis sent his praise inwardly to Moore who stuck to it even though it is such a slim chance .

「――That’s exactly why! 」

Closing the distance in a blink of an eye, Ardis swung his sword from the side aiming for Moore’s thigh . Moore who barely managed to react to it slipped a shield between the sword and his leg .

A dull sound rang as the sword was blocked .

「That’s quick! 」

Not giving a chance to Moore who was complaining to counterattack, Ardis already moved onto his next move . Weaving below his own sword by ducking, Ardis spun a half revolution clockwise and got through Moore .

In the midst of that, Ardis incorporated another attack at Moore’s left shoulder in the spinning motion .

「Uoo――! 」

Moore who had barely managed to avoid Ardis’s everchanging sword had his stance crumbled .

On the other hand, Ardis already went to his next move . After aiming for Moore’s shoulder, Ardis had already gotten a position diagonally behind Moore on the left .

On top of that, as Moore was still facing forward, it can be said that Ardis had taken his back completely .

「Shi―! 」

Moore’s panic in his face manifested in words as well . He must’ve realized that he wouldn’t make it in time even if he turned around .

He tossed himself wholeheartedly forwards while his back still facing Ardis . Exactly like diving, Moore tried to get away from Ardis at all cost but, of course that wasn’t allowed easily .

Ardis pursued not letting the chance slip . Ardis has his own share of agility even without physical strengthening with mana .

On the other hand, it doesn’t seem like Moore’s thoughts caught up with the sudden development . Rather than logic, he must’ve thrown himself forwards as a warrior’s instincts to save himself .

But the thoughts behind that movement is so simple that it’s impossible to shake off Ardis .

「It’s the end! 」

「Wai, sto――! 」

Disregarding Moore’s panic cries, Ardis sword approached . Managing to turn around halfway, Moore’s sword that was trying to deflect it hit nothing .

Ardis easily weaved through the uncertain parry and stopped his momentum just as his sword approached, before lightly hitting Moore in the neck .

「Kuh! 」

That would be a vital wound in an actual fight . Even if it’s a dulled blade, if Ardis swung at his full power, even Moore wouldn’t get by unscathed .

「That’s it! Match! 」

The judge’s voice that had announced the end of the match reverberated in the arena . The moment when Ardis’s victory was evident in everyone’s eyes, the entire spectating area was filled with cheers .