The first man rushed at Caius with a dagger and even blocked his first strike, but Caius was stronger, pushing the man backwards. He dodged the second assailant also rushing after him, then kicked out the legs of the man holding the dagger.
As soon as he lost his footing, Caius pierced his sword through his heart and, without missing a beat, pulled it out and struck the second bandit across the neck as he turned to try to attack Caius again.
The man stopped with his arms raised in the air, holding a sword, and blood poured out the side of his neck. Caius kicked him, and his sword slipped out of his neck. The man fell backward with a thud.
Ryder stood so feet away, swinging his sword around then sheathing and unsheathing it. Caius was glad he had stayed back. If Ryder had been the second bandit who tried to attack him while his hands were busy, he wouldn’t have easily evaded and countered.
Ryder smiled again while Caius’s eyes scanned the periter. He had been worried Ryder would use Rose as a shield. That would have been terrible, but he was grateful Ryder thought he could take him on.
Caius shuffled while the three of them slowly approached him. He glanced at Rose, and she still hadn’t moved from the spot—but at least she wasn’t within strike range.
Two of them rushed forward while Ryder remained behind, but Caius knew Ryder wasn’t nice enough to give him the chance to fight off his n first. Ryder was looking for an opening to attack him while his hands were full.
Caius parried the first strike and barely avoided the slash from the second man. It was hard to fight two n without a shield, but that wasn’t the most concerning thing—he could see Ryder from the corner of his eyes.
Caius swore. He had to move quickly. He doubted the sa trick would work twice. He parried another attack and then another while taking a step back. The ground was uneven; it made movents difficult.
They simultaneously attacked. Caius slashed one of them, his sword slicing open his arm, while the other struck him in the side. The force caused a dent in the armor, but Caius had risked it to strike one of them. Caius noticed that Ryder was closer now. He had to move faster.
The man who had a cut in his arm jumped away, and Ryder glared at him. "What are you doing?"
The man moved closer, gripping his sword, but Caius had cut his dominant hand. He was bound to have trouble striking as before. It wasn’t that Caius could take them out as easily as before, but he had to be wary of Ryder.
The uninjured one rushed at him, and Caius didn’t hesitate—aiming for his neck even as the latter tried to strike his chest. His sword passed through the bandit’s neck, and blood burst out, splashing onto his face as the man stared with a dazed expression.
Everything went eerily quiet, and the bandit with the cut arm scrambled, as if running towards Rose. This distracted Caius for a bit, and with his sword still in the neck of the dead man, he panicked, taking his eyes off Ryder.
Caius saw it coming but couldn’t move fast enough to avoid it or stop it. He felt the slash just as he saw it. Ryder had slashed the space between the armor on his forearm and arm. There was no armor there to allow ease of movent.
Caius jumped away, his sword already out of the dead man’s neck, who had fallen just as Ryder attacked. Caius glanced at his arm—it was a deep cut, and his arm was bleeding.
Caius looked at Ryder, who was coming closer, and the older man sneered. Caius tilted his head and tightened his grip on his sword, determined to end this.
The man who had run off wasn’t running toward Rose; rather, he rushed toward Caius’ horse and got on it. "I will go tell the others!" he yelled as he rushed away.
"You little bitch!" Ryder yelled toward him.
Caius took a step, rushing towards Ryder, who was distracted by telling the man off. He struck Ryder, aiming for his neck, but the latter easily blocked it and smiled in Caius’s face.
They exchanged strikes for a bit, each one echoing through the woods. Caius didn’t back down.
"You’ve gotten stronger," Ryder said with a grin, as Caius easily pushed him back with his attacks.
Caius struck again, this ti aiming for his neck, and Ryder easily blocked it. It felt like he had the upper hand—but sothing was off. It was Ryder’s attitude; the latter seed a little too confident, almost like he was toying with him. He also seed to be only on the defensive—not attacking, only defending himself from Caius’s attacks.
Caius made to strike him—and was suddenly rooted to the spot, like a puppet whose string had been cut. He pushed through it, but his attack was slow, and Ryder struck him. Caius jumped backwards, his armor barely saving him.
"Finally," Ryder said with a little grin. He ran a hand through his hair. "I thought the poison would never kick in. Such strong strikes you have—definitely not close to the pathetic ones you had before."
Poison!
Caius’s eyes widened in horror. Was Ryder’s sword coated in it? Was that why he had seed overly confident—because he managed to cut him? Caius swore—he should have thought about this. There was no one else who used more underhanded thods than Ryder.
Caius noticed his grip on the sword wasn’t as strong, and his legs felt a little wobbly—but he could still move, and he could still fight. Caius charged, raising his sword as he rushed for Ryder.
Ryder shook his head. "So stubborn, still!" He charged again, and the two of them struck swords one more ti—but this ti, Ryder had a huge, satisfied grin on his face.
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