One mont she was calmly standing a dozen ters away from , the next she was already there, her sword moving in a blur as her blade neared my temple.
Yes, Trish moved fast… but not nearly fast enough. Compared to Leo and Nero, she was a turtle.
My eyes were easily able to track her as she delivered her downward cut. Not only had I expected such a display of speed, but I was also prepared for this attack.
Quickly sidestepping, I raised my tang dao to intercept Trish's blade.
Our blades clashed and bit into each other, connected into a bind as both of us refused to back down… or so I thought.
Apparently, Trish had led into a trap – sothing that was hard for to believe.
Instead of trying to push her way through my blade with brute force, Trish twirled her sword and delivered a slash over my blade!
Swoosh—!!
"Fuck!" I cursed as I hopped a step back to safety, barely avoiding Trish's slash that was about to cut down my eye.
But I didn't just play on the defensive.
Thwack—!!
While jumping back, I shot my leg forward and thrashed my foot into Trish's abdon with force, causing her to stagger back in sudden pain.
And with this, the montum of this spar was now on my side. I rushed forward and ramd her with my shoulder.
Trish was thrown back before her back from the impact before she crashed on the hard wooden floor and rolled a couple of tis, finally coming to a stop.
Without wasting any ti at all, she pulled herself to her knees and raised her sword in an attempt to block whatever attack I was going to throw at her.
However, my blade never ca for her… at least, not from the direction she was looking in.
I had used the mont while she was off balance to swiftly circle around her, positioning myself to her side.
"....?!" Trish finally turned her head to look at as she noticed my presence, but now it was far too late.
My victory was already secured!
From her side, I stomped my foot on the ground to acquire proper footing and then threw my blade forward in an arc, aiming for her throat.
"...Heh!"
But right at that mont, the startled expression that had been on her face from earlier dissipated into a triumphant grin, giving off a snug sense of victory. It was almost as if she felt that she had already won.
And it was only then that I realized I had been led into yet another trap.
Before my blade could make contact with her throat, Trish, who was still on her knees, rolled forward in my direction.
Like a bowling ball striking a pin, she collided with , sweeping off my feet.
My loss of balance sent sprawling face-first onto the unforgiving wooden floor, while Trish effortlessly rolled to her knees behind .
It was a bad position. She was already on her knees, whereas I was lying on the floor, belly-down. Even if I sohow managed to get up quickly, my back would be turned to her, leaving wide open.
No matter how I looked at it, it was indeed a checkmate for … or was it?
Trish swiftly rose to her feet and charged forward as I was in the middle of pulling myself up onto my knees.
Before I could even spin around to face her or do anything against her follow-up attacks, Trish brought down the cold, tallic edge of her sword to my neck.
Usually, in a sparring match with real swords, placing the blade's edge against your opponent's vital organ would result in a technical victory.
That was why, with her sword's edge resting at my throat, it was clear she had won. Both of us stopped our movents, awaiting the official declaration of the outco.
As if awaiting that cue, the old man loudly cleared his throat as if wanting to gain our attention and proclaid, "The match has ended in… a draw!"
suddenly furrowed her brows in shock and cast a questioning gaze toward her great-grandfather.
Trish, who had a bright smile on her pretty face up until now, suddenly furrowed her brows in shock and cast a questioning gaze toward her great-grandfather.
"...Huh?" She exclaid. "No, it's clearly my victory!"
The old man stayed silent and only gestured for his great-granddaughter to glance downward.
Perplexed, Trish followed his gaze and looked down to see a sight that made her widen her eyes.
I knelt on the ground, my back turned to her, with her sword resting at my throat. But at the sa ti, I held my sword in a reverse grip as it was thrust backward.
Right now, my blade was re inches away from piercing her liver. Trish took in this scene with her mouth agape, her dull silver eyes quivering with astonishnt.
"But... when?" She asked through trembling lips.
I withdrew my blade and rose to my feet as she did the sa. "Right before you were about to end the match. The best mont to play a final gambit is when your opponent is sure of their victory."
Trish listened to attentively, her eyes wide. As I turned to face her, she took a deep breath and composed herself.
"I don't like gambling," she said in a soft tone, returning to her reserved and timid self.
I shrugged. I wanted to ntion that a gambit wasn't only used in gambling. It was also a strategic tactic used in logical gas like chess to secure positional advantage, but in the end, I chose to remain silent instead.
"Alright, let's continue this discussion outside, where we can also go over what both of you could have done differently," said the old man.
Trish nodded and took the lead, exiting the training hall first, leaving the old man and to follow behind her.
However, before the old man could even take a single step, I reached out and grabbed his arm, causing him to turn toward and give an inquiring look.
"What's on your mind, little one?" He asked with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, I posed my question, "Tell the true reason you agreed to teach , and I don't want any of that nonsense about doing it for my master."
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