The 2 old masters eyed each other intensely, like the calm before the storm. Ken said, "I know we had our differences but I didn't expect you to defect to Miran. How do they address you now?" Ryu proudly replied, "Staying by your side was way too boring. I always wanted a death match with you to prove who's truly the best. In recognition of my strength, I'm officially a member of the 5 Pillars of Miran, Ryu of the South!"

Ken sighed and spoke gently, "Ryu…can't you see the reality of your predicament? Your forces are largely incapacitated and are no longer able to battle. Your command post is also down. Why don't you surrender now? If you do, on account of our old friendship, I could request for a more lenient punishment for you and your men. Let's end this pointless bloodshed now, shall we, old pal?"

Ryu massaged his chin in deep thought before laughing maniacally. He cried, "Yes, I agree my situation is rather bleak and the most rational option would be to surrender to minimise further loss of lives. However, I think you misunderstand my motivation for participating in this battle. Victory in this battle would be preferable, but my key aim is to fight all out against you, even if it means death! I'll never surrender without a fight, not till I'm contented!"

Ken shook his head and mumbled, "Very well, if that's what you wish. Shall we do it like old days, beginning with just martial art techniques before progressing to the use of mana and beyond?" Ryu grinned and cackled, "Alright, we'll do as you say. In unarmed combat, there's punching, kicking, grappling, jabbing, tripping, throwing, slashing and palm strikes. Let's start with punching first, shall we, hahaha!"

The 2 grandmasters jumped towards each other, clenching their fists tightly as they exchanged fierce punches with each other. Soldiers from both sides watched on in amazement at the intense yet enthralling moves of both men. What impressed them even more was that both duellists had stuck to their code of honour, never seeking to gain an unfair advantage by suddenly infusing mana into their attacks.

After the collision between both their fists which power blew them both back, Ryu cried, "Kicking now!" Immediately, both grandmasters made the seamless transition to use their legs instead of their arms, exchanging relentless kicks with each other as sole struck sole, shin struck shin and heel struck heel.

All observers were mesmerised by the intensity of their attacks and how well they could match each other's unbelievable frequency in attacks. Ken exclaimed after exchanging roundhouse kicks with Ryu, "Grappling now! Looks like you ain't rusty at all, ha!"

The 2 old fighters started attempting to grab each other while shaking off their opponent's grip. Ryu winced in pain when Ken successfully fractured a rib or two with his monstrous grip strength before lashing out towards Ken's right shoulder, injuring it with a powerful thumb press. Ken quickly backed away as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

Ryu winked before he brought his fingers close to each other as he launched a series of fierce jabs at Ken. Ken recognised that these weren't aimless strikes as they were all targeted towards his acupuncture points in order to immobilise and weaken him. Ken instinctively dodged as many of these jabs as possible while retaliating with his own.

After both suffered the brunt of a couple of jab strikes, they remained stationary for a while as they tried to unblock their acupuncture points which were keeping them immobilised. Ryu recovered faster and he immediately launched a sweeping kick at Ken's ankle. Fortunately, Ken recovered in time and narrowly avoided being tripped with a skip.

The pair then exchanged a series of sweeping kicks meant to trip their opponent as they stayed low to the ground. Soon, they progressed to stepping across each other's legs in an attempt to force the other to lose his balance. It wasn't long before they commenced with wrestling, as both attempted to throw the other onto the ground. It was to no avail however, as both failed to establish a proper grip on the other.

Eventually, they began clawing at each other's throats and bodies, as both suffered numerous cuts on their arms and chests. Finally, they were exchanging intense palm strikes which power was clearly seen by the resultant miniature shockwave with every strike.

Ryu panted, "You're really good, Ken. As expected, only you have the guts and the strength to equal me in a fair close combat contest. I guess it's time to move onto our respective special techniques, I hope you're ready!" Ken replied eagerly, "Bring it! I hope you haven't been slacking off these days! If not, I'm going to have an easy time with my [Buddha Palm] technique!"

Without hesitation, both launched their palms forward in an epic clash. Emerging from Ken's palm was an invisible shockwave that rushed forward while Ryu's palm conjured an illusory dragon which bared its fangs as it flew towards Ken's incoming attack. An explosion was created as a result of their collision, leading to a strong gust that blew across the expanse of the battlefield.

Ken mused, "Your [Dragon Slaying Palm] is still pretty strong, humph! I might have to raise this by a notch further!" Ryu replied confidently, "Your [Buddha Palm] is still as monstrous and destructive as ever, however, against a technique like my [Dragon Slaying Palm] which was designed to assassinate a small number of opponents, an overly widespread technique like the [Buddha Palm] won't last longer than 10 minutes against my highly efficient [Dragon Slaying Palm]! You'll see!"

The 2 aged contenders continued exchanging a flurry of palm strikes with each other that belied their age, the crushing might of the [Buddha Palm] against the focused sharpness of the [Dragon Slaying Palm]. Eventually, Ken's attack gave way as foretold and shattered upon impact with Ryu's [Dragon Slaying Palm]. The conjured dragon howled and tore through Ken's arm, leaving it seriously mangled.

Without batting an eyelid, Ken attempted to raise his mangled arm but realised that it was probably too damaged to even perform such a simple function. Ryu laughed crazily, "How do you like my enhanced [Dragon Slaying Palm], it now comprises of mana sharp enough to rip even steel to shreds! That arm of yours is as good as crippled, at least for now, as all your nerves and muscular tendons should have been severed by now. Hahaha! Victory is mine!"

Ken looked on calmly at his limp arm which was still bleeding profusely from the numerous cuts. He muttered, "Well, this looks pretty serious but there's only one thing I got to worry about now. Defeating Ryu."

Ken looked at Ryu in the eye, with not a single hint of pain or anger in his facial expression before smiling as he chuckled, "My, my, you really got me there! No wonder they say this is the technique that can shred a dragon's tough scales and tear its innards. The last time we faced, your technique wasn't as dangerous as this. Nevertheless, I have to and will bring you to your knees for your misdeeds. Prepare yourself!"

Ryu howled in laughter, "Don't joke with me, Ken! You can't beat me with one arm only! Time to die!" Ryu leapt forward, both arms coated in mana as he swung them one by one in an anti-clockwise fashion. Ryu cried, "[Dragon Slaying Palm - Twin Dragon Twister]!" as he launched 2 illusory dragons flying towards Ken while twisting around each other.

Ken merely stood still, his uninjured right arm raised, forming a palm facing left in front of his face, reminiscent of a half-praying stance. To Ryan's surprise, he could sense incredible mana welling within Ken as his mana slowly materialised around him. The now visible mana slowly grew and shaped itself to form what appeared to be a gigantic deity with innumerable arms.

Instinctively, 2 of the deity's palms chopped swiftly in front of Ken, dispelling Ryu's attack instantly. Before Ryu could react, the deity quickly struck him down to the ground with one of its huge palms, forming a huge palm imprint on top of an omnidirectional shockwave that shook the ground.

Before Ryu could recover, the deity swiftly followed up with a merciless flurry of palm strikes with its numerous arms, creating a huge crater in the ground where Ryu once stood which only grew larger over time.

After a minute of non-stop attacks, Ken ceased his attacks and muttered, "To make me reveal my ultimate technique obtained after decades of cultivation, my [Avatar: Thousand Arm Bodhisattva], Ryu really is a handful after all these years. Hopefully this attack would be sufficient to shut his lights out."

Unfortunately, to Ken's horror, he heard a familiar laughter within the dust cloud that has yet to settle. Ryu explained, "I always suspected that you had acquired this technique a long time ago. With your expertise in both the inner and external workings of martial arts, you should have had the ability to shape your mana to the truest representative of your indomitable spirit.

Some people call it a guardian angel, but I believe it's more aptly called 'Avatar'. Only those who had reached the peak of mana manipulation and physical attributes can hope to acquire this technique. Sadly for you, I'm also a wielder of this unique power. Meet my Avatar, the [Avatar: Dragon King]!"

When the dust had finally settled, Ken witnessed that Ryu too, was covered by an enormous amount of mana that took the form of a gigantic oriental dragon the same size as his [Avatar: Thousand Arm Bodhisattva]. Ryu provoked, "Come, let's see whose Avatar is stronger, shall we?" as the 2 Avatars stood facing each other before what would be a titanic clash.

Meanwhile, back at the Nirvanian Command Post, Breeze was occupied with reorganising the Nirvanian troops stationed nearby as they defended against the unexpected ambush by Miranian forces. From the reports submitted by eyes on the ground, the Miranians attacking were supposedly an elite force which purpose was to eliminate the already weakened top fighters of Nirvania.

Even though this elite force only comprised of 75 troops, they were all at least mid-Master tier combatants, which made them more than a handful for Breeze especially with the troops she currently possessed. Moreover, though Breeze's forces had a numerical advantage over her enemies, their skill in dispatching a large number of foes at one time thanks to their expertise in area of effect damage made this edge negligible. Simply put, her forces were mere fodder for her current adversaries.

Breeze's situation became increasingly bleak as time progressed, as more men under her charge were dying and all they had achieved were the deaths of 15 fighters on their side. Breeze realised that she had to intervene personally to minimise losses, diving straight into the enemy ranks as she dodged a [Giant Fireball] spell with a [Flash Step] before executing its caster with a [Finger Pierce] to the throat.

Despite successfully assassinating a few more enemies who were distracted by her allies, soon enough, the enemy realised her presence and immediately surrounded her, cutting her off from the rest of her allies. Breeze attempted to force her way through to link up, but she was kept entrapped by her enemies, some whose close combat skills weren't inferior to hers.

Breeze's heart raced as she realised that she was in a precarious position. There was no one strong enough to rescue her. Delvin was unconscious. Her father was still weak from his earlier battle. Grandmaster Ken was engaging the enemy general, which meant that she was really all alone to fend for herself.

As the battle dragged on, fatigue set in as Breeze was stabbed in the back with a sword which she could normally avoid. Breeze retaliated weakly with a [Wind Leg] that somehow managed to nick the throat of one of her enemies by chance. As her world slowly started turning black, the last thing she saw was a boulder flying towards her.

Suddenly, a blur appeared in front of her and smashed the boulder with a quick forward kick. The mysterious figure then jumped towards the Miranian troops, dodging their attacks with precise zigzag turns before swinging a hard, strong kick towards their heads, killing them.

This mysterious ally wasn't alone. The Miranians soon realised that a few more fighters that outclassed them had slipped amidst the Nirvanian troops. Before they could react however, all they could see was a shadow slipping through their files and after the shadow stopped to reveal an attractive young lady whose blue hair was tied in 2 long pigtails, the Miranians realised that they were immobilised.

The lady snapped to her fellow Nirvanian comrades, "What're you guys waiting for? I'm leaving them to you because it's against my beliefs to kill!" The Nirvanian troops were stunned for a second at her words before they got to work soon after and cleanly killed their immobilised foes who were helpless like frozen statues.

The lady swiftly immobilised a few more approaching enemies before rushing towards Breeze. When Breeze looked up to see who was helping her clear the foes that had trapped her, tears welled within her eyes as she saw a familiar face. "Sister Mei Lin!" she bawled as she tearfully burrowed her face in the slightly older lady's chest.

Mei Lin attempted to comfort her by stroking her back gently, cooing, "Hush, it's alright now…you did a great job holding the fort down here. It really isn't easy for a young lady like yourself to lead an army all on your own, not to mention these foes were of a much higher class than ordinary soldiers."

Breeze quickly retracted herself from Mei Lin, her eyes still red from crying. She asked, "What're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the Martial Arts Federation HQ with the other masters to defend Nirvana? Who else is here?"

Mei Lin replied calmly, "Slow down, sweetheart. There are only 4 of us here in total. Kyo, Kuma, Ryan and myself. You've got to thank Ryan, he was the one who insisted on supporting you guys in front of the rest of the Martial Arts Federation despite vehement objections from the other masters. Glad that we made the right decision coming here!"

Breeze exclaimed, "Brother Kyo and Master Kuma are here? Ryan too? Where's he?" The 4 new entrants to the battle were all martial arts exponents famous in the Martial Arts Federation. Well, maybe all except one. Ryan was still considered a disciple, but his hard work and natural abilities made him climb the ranks quickly, earning the moniker 'Vampire Brawler'.

The other 3 were renowned masters in their respective disciplines. Mei Lin was a master at acupuncture which made her especially deadly to magicians as she's capable of blocking their use of mana. Her husband, 'Demon Leg' Kyo, is famous for his powerful kicks capable of denting steel and grinding bricks. Finally, 'Bear Wrestler' Kuma was one of the best grapplers and wrestlers in the Martial Arts Federation, famous for his immense grip strength and powerful chokes.

The entry of these 4 individuals turned the tides of the battle in Nirvania's favour, as they quickly brushed aside their enemies. Kuma was busy snapping the necks of his enemies as their attacks hardly fazed him. On the other hand, Kyo was delivering lethal kicks in rapid succession so powerful that the air was shot like bullets towards his enemies, gunning them down.

It didn't take long for Breeze to locate Ryan, whose white hair gave away his location easily. Despite appearing physically exhausted with his characteristic dark eye bags, Ryan fought with vigour which belied his plain expression as he tore through his foes with ruthless efficiency.

The leader of the Miranian taskforce, a middle-aged man with a scar across his right cheek, cried, "Darn! Everyone, get your act together! You're not Master tier combatants for no reason! Focus on our mission, which is to assassinate their fallen elite fighters!" He quickly drew a katana from his scabbard as he began cutting his way forward.

With his skill in the sword, it wasn't long before Scarface had opened a path towards the medical tent where Nirvania's fallen were resting in. Just before Scarface could reach the tent, his path was blocked by Ryan. Ryan coldly warned, "Take one more step and you're dead. Don't test my patience."

Scarface's eyes narrowed before he disappeared in a flash. To his surprise, the blade of his weapon stopped short of Ryan's neck as it was caught between Ryan's fingers. Scarface immediately streamed mana through his blade, refining it to increase its sharpness greatly. Ryan instinctively released his grip on the sword as Scarface swung it wildly at him.

Scarface was horrified when Ryan had dodged every single strike. He muttered, "Impossible, to dodge every single attack of mine, no one has been able to avoid all my quick draw slashes before. Who are you?"

Ryan replied in a monotonous voice, "I'm a nobody, just here to do my job of protecting my teachers. Hhhm…it's been some time since I last fed. Will you oblige to my request and offer resistance no more? That way I can still guarantee a relatively pain-free death."

Scarface gulped as he sensed an ominous aura from the young man in front of him. He couldn't believe that he was intimidated by a lanky plain-looking man. However, to play it safe, he decided to catch his opponent off-guard by dropping his weapon.

Of course, with his speed, all he needed was a momentary lapse in his opponent's defence to kill him with his [Sonic Draw] technique. Scarface released his weapon as planned and noticing his opponent become visibly relaxed, before his sheathed katana to hit the ground, he drew it in a flash much faster than before, aiming for Ryan's midsection.

Upon the completion of this technique, Scarface grinned slightly as he was confident of victory. Unfortunately, his joy was short-lived when he realised that his blade was broken. Turning back, the last thing he saw was an injury-free Ryan rushing towards him and plunging his fist through his chest.

Scarface displayed a bewildered expression before collapsing onto the ground, dead. Immediately, Ryan picked up the dead body and gently sunk his teeth into Scarface's exposed neck. After having his fill, Ryan's complexion noticeably improved as he licked his lips clean.

The surviving Miranians looked on in horror as their leader, a high Master tier combatant, was so easily disposed by a frail-looking young monster. They immediately surrendered after the death of their leader, as they were smart enough to realise that this was a battle that couldn't be won.

Ryan said coldly, "All's well ends well. Glad you're ok, Breeze." as he continued licking his bloodied hand. Breeze punched Ryan in the head, exclaiming, "God! Could you keep your disgusting vampiric urges in private! You don't talk to me while still licking the blood on your hand like delicious ketchup!"

Ryan argued, "I can't help it, I'm a half-vampire! Anyway, it really does taste nice, you want to try?" Breeze continued arguing with Ryan as the other 3 masters looked on. Mei Lin remarked, "Ah, that's young love! Right, honey?" Kyo nodded and smiled, albeit awkwardly.

Kuma commented, "Our job here is done. All that's left is Grandmaster Ken's battle."

Meanwhile, the most intense battle in the whole battlefield continued, as Ken's Avatar attacked relentlessly with its innumerable palm strikes. However, Ryu perfectly countered every strike by combining his [Dragon Slaying Palm] with his [Avatar: Dragon King], as the gigantic dragon continually twisted and turned around Ryu, corresponding his hand movements like a dance as they thwarted every attack.

Ken thought, "If rapid attacks don't attack, how about all at once?" as he directed his Avatar to launch all its palms at Ryu from nearly all directions. Ken said, "Take this, [Thousand Arm Bind]!" Initially, Ken's change of approach appeared to be working, as Ryu's Avatar was gradually crushed as the palms of Ken's Avatar drew closer together.

Eventually, just as Ken thought he'd succeeded as he had managed to reduce Ryu's Avatar to almost nothing, Ryu mustered all his strength as he released a huge amount of mana, breaking free from Ken's grip. Ryu immediately started gathering mana between his hands, his Avatar's mouth opening where his hands were gathering mana.

Sensing the incredible amount of mana and recognising that this could be the final blow, Ken reciprocated Ryu's gesture, gathering a huge amount of mana in front of himself, as his Avatar extended its arms to surround the growing mass of mana.

Ryu cried, "This is the finale! [Dragon King's Breath of Destruction]!" as he shot a gigantic stream of destructive mana which resembled electricity. Ken responded in kind, "[Bodhisattva Glory Radiance]!" as the huge ball of mana which resembled the sun burst forth in a dazzling beam that clashed with Ryu's attack.

Initially, both forces refused to concede as both duellists poured in more mana. However, in the end, Ryu couldn't persevere any longer as Ken's attack soon engulfed his own and his Avatar. As Ken's attack scorched him, Ryu laughed maniacally before composing himself to say his last words, "Thanks for the duel, old friend."

Ryu then slowly disintegrated into ashes as Ken watched on weakly, deactivating his Avatar. He muttered, "Goodbye, old friend." as the wind blew away the last traces of Ryu.