Bang!
The goblin king drove his axe down with crushing force, slamming his weapon into Eliron's slender saber.
Once steel met steel, a bright flash erupted from their blades, sparks spewing out of both weapons as they ground against each other.
Eliron felt a shock travel up his arm, and that was all he needed to know that the goblin king had been holding back its strength when it threw its axe.
The truth was it was far stronger!
Eliron shifted his weight, slipping away from another strike, then lashed out with three coordinated strikes of his own, each of them fluid.
The king blocked each blow, clanging sounds filling the air as he deflected the attacks and swung at his head.
But Eliron swung the tarp he still had with him in the air, temporarily blinding the goblin, then dodged and snaked his way into his guard.
Swish!
In an instant, he was already at the other side of the goblin king, his sword dripping blood.
Sword fighting had evolved over years back on Earth, and one of the things the art had adapted into its style was the use of capes.
Around the 15th to 17th centuries, cloaks had been integrated into sword fighting and could be used to blind opponents, snatch up blades and even misdirect attacks.
For the goblin king who had never seen anything like it before, he was in for a one sided beat down.
The king stared at the narrow cut on his chest then smiled. "N-not bad."
And then he spun, swinging his axe from above his shoulder, the strike so fast that his axe moved like a blur.
Eliron struck as well, strengthening his legs and holding his sword with both arms as he swung upwards.
Bang!
A shockwave cut past them from the intensity of their strike, the wind between them turning turbulent.
The goblin king's mana was eating at Eliron, searing his skin each time it lashed out at him.
But Eliron kept his composure, focusing entirely on his swordsmanship and nothing else.
When the goblin struck next, Eliron waved the tarp in the air again. This time, the goblin king cleaved down at it, only to strike empty air.
Two strikes placed in quick succession sliced into his shoulder and side, causing the king to stumble back in pain.
And then it lunged forward, enraged.
Booom!
The two fighters clashed for dominance, moving so fast that it was hard to tell what they were doing.
Eliron's swordsmanship was astute, a well honed skill that was sharper than any blade and his use of the tarp only made matters worse for the king.
But the goblin king was not helpless either, he fought in a domineering manner, using his strength and mana to try and gain dominance over the fight.
Flashes filled the space with each strike, the ground quaking from their rumble.
Vwooosh!
Eliron ducked underneath a wide slash that could have taken his head off.
Bang!
He blocked an elbow strike from the goblin, jumped into a tumble as he ducked underneath a kick that shattered the ground— then he wrapped his tarp around the goblin's head, pulling him down to the floor.
Before he could get up, the goblin king's calf was sliced right open, spewing blood out of the wound before Eliron swiftly pulled his tarp free and dashed a respectable distance.
"AHHHHHH!"
The king screamed out in rage, anger burning in his eyes as he watched Eliron.
Eliron scoffed. "Is that all you've got, come on, I'm sure you did not become a king by lying in the dirt."
The goblin king stared at his injured leg and cursed, this time in his language.
Throughout the fight, while Eliron had landed countless blows, the goblin king had failed to land even one solid hit, which annoyed him to no end.
Eliron had slaughtered countless of his people and yet, so far he had been unable to avenge them, instead he was lying in the dirt like a slave!
The thought of losing to an elf—a leaf sniffer, caused a guttural scream born out of rage to tear through his throat.
"You bastard!!"
Vwoosh!
The goblin's mana flared even further. Red currents began to spark around the monster, his hair levitating as the mana encompassed every part of his body.
His muscles grew more compact, his eyes turned crimson, his mana grew more sinister, and his axe began to glow with a fiery red aura.
[Rage]
A goblin skill that uses mana to strengthen every aspect of the body.
Immediately the skill activated, Ash's eyes widened in fear.
So far, Eliron had been handling the fight pretty well, but the goblin rage skill could potentially double the king's strength.
Still, even as much as he wanted to run into the fight and defend his lord, Ash knew that he would be useless in that fight.
He had seen the clash between the two, they were not just strong, they were monsters and he was nowhere near their level.
Yennefer seemed concerned as well, but she kept her composure, her golden eyes locked on the fight that was about to unfold before her eyes.
'Don't die, Eliron.' She thought, offering a silent prayer for him.
Meanwhile, Eliron had a very different reaction.
"Now that is what I'm talking about!" He shouted, excitedly.
For the past few days he had been memorising skill after skill, but there had been no justifiable reason to use them even as he was itching to do so.
SSSR swordsmanship skill was just too efficient and effortlessly fatal.
But now, there was no reason to hold back.
Eliron began to activate all the skills one by one.
[SSS Ranked skill, Mana Breathing]
Allows the user to breathe in mana from the air, converting it to usable mana in his core that boosts strength, speed and endurance.
[SSS Ranked skill, Wind Spirit's Aura]
Surrounds the caster with a veil of wind, reducing all incoming damage and boosting all wind based spells by 100%.
And then finally, the skill he had been itching to try out for so long!
As Eliron read through the description of the skill, the spell began to burst into life.
There was once a man who wished to walk through fire…
Eliron wrapped the tarp around his neck like a cape.
A lonely soul who toiled for centuries, till he reached the very peak of fire magic.
And then he sought out a new goal...
To meet the sun, the very pinnacle of all fire magic, the greatest fire spell in all of creation.
So he tempered himself in molten steel and bathed himself in the fire of dragons.
This is the legacy of the Arc fire mage, Arkana.
And a gift of love from himself to the sun
[SSS Rank skill, Primordial Blaze]
[Base Level]
The tarp suddenly burst into flames, several different colours of fire burning at his back as they formed a cape made of pure unfettered fire.
His entire body felt encompassed by a heat that burned from the inside, his mind was sharper and Eliron felt like he could burn through the very earth.
He stared at the goblin king, all aspects of joviality burning from his vision along with the fire.
Then Eliron breathed out steam and laughed.
"Well damn."
'I don't have much time…'