The men of the Royalist Faction surged up their mana and began attacking the guards.
âTriple Tornado Slash!!â
They shouted out their special move names like the above. This one apparently required you to spin in the air three times before swiping down your sword.
The whole thing looked extremely retarded, but thatâs what magiswords be.
The guards werenât falling behind much either.
âSwayback Spin!!â Yelled another man, dodging a thrust from a guard. Right, good dodge, Iâll give you that.
But do you have to keep spinning like a ballerina?
Both offense and defense seemed to involve lost of dance and rhythm.
I mean, sure, as an enterprising power in the shadows, I too put value in the performance, but too much is careless and unnecessary.
âButterfly Step!!â
âDeath Spiral!!â
It seems shouting out the name each and every time is also part of it.
Letâs just say itâs like the âMen, dou, kote!!â in kendo.
The type of âstrengthâ Iâm going for is completely different from what they consider strength, but actually witnessing it is sort of refreshing in a way. Just goes to how that everyone has a different way they see fighting.
As a matter of fact, even though it looks to me like theyâre messing around, theyâre all completely serious.
But along with actually winning, they also try to present beauty in their sword.
For them, true victory consists of also beating the opponent in style.
They have mutual rules that both parties agreed to adhere to.
So honestly, I shouldnât make fun of it too much.
Anything goes in a fight, and might is rightâ that is my way. That is how I choose to fight.
But that shouldnât mean I can just deny any other forms of fighting.
Itâs been a long time since I had a chance to observe a style so different from my own. Itâs exciting.
Go for it!!
Yeah, you too, enemy team!!
Nice, now, a swift kick to the balls!!
What are you doing spinning there, go for the nuts!!
Argh, fine, then stab the eyes, nowâs your chance!!
Stop spinning already, what the hell man!!
Sink your teeth in, right in the jugular!!
Daamn, he keeps spinning⌠fine, you do you.
Hey, maybe striking the crotch and eyes are forbidden or something. Canât you like, bend the rules a bit, and do it stylistically?
This kind of reminds me of the martial arts tourneys I used to watch on New Years TV. I was young and immature back then.
Oh, huh, itâs almost the end of the year here tooâŚ
As I was ruminating in my thoughts, the tide of battle had once again shifted in favor of the Royalists.
Most of the guards are down. They arenât all severely injured but mostly exhausted of their stamina.
With all that spinning, why am I not surprised.
Also, the Royalist guys arenât delivering any finishing blows to the downed enemies.
What, is that supposed to be some kind of chivalry on their part?
Like medieval knights, or sengoku samurai? I donât really get it, but they seem to have a âwayâ of the blade dancer.
Perhaps these blade dancers have developed a style of fighting much more civilized that the rest of the world.
If all wars were fought this way, world peace mightâve been a lot less of a problem.
I wouldnât like it though.
I love the kind of world where pure and unadulterated violence beats all. What I was witnessing currently was frankly a bit too white dove for me.
Okay, looks like itâs over.
âVictory for Oriana! Now, you shall stand aside.â
âD-damn youâŚâ
âWe won, we really wonâŚâ Clara sighed in relief.
Yup, allâs well that ends well. Wait, now that I think about it, I didnât get much time to shine.
Ah well, itâs just a concentration camp event. Iâll be sure to get more chances once outside. MaybeâŚ
So while I was considering making a forced appearance anyway, one man made his move.
âThis farce has gone on long enoughâŚâ
He, one of the Royalist guys, muttered and then suddenly cut down one of his allies.
The middle aged man who was slashed down his back collapsed to the ground.
âBatt!! Stay with me, BattâŚ!â Clara screamed and ran over to the downed man.
âGuin!! What, whyâŚâ She thundered at the man who cut one of their own.
âHe was an obstacle for my goals. That goes for you too, miladyâŚâ
âGuin, I donât understandâŚâ
âThen let me show you.â
He then pointed the tip of his sword at Claraâs neck.
âI donât plan on giving my life for a clueless lass like you.â
âN-No, Guin, you told me, you said that you believed in meâŚâ
âWell, I lied. You donât have the right to rule over others. Didnât you know? All your so-called subordinates laugh behind your back every time you look at their faces for confirmation. They call you the idiot yes-girl.â
After listening to his jeers, Clara held her head down in shame.