The shock Linley radiated alpable as he stared at the teen two years youhan him.

  Despite using [Super Sonic] to increase his speed and them being the same rank as warriors, Ace was somehow able to gee a lot more power than he could.

  “Oh the give,” D Cowart sighed in admiration as he looked at Ace from within the coiling drag. “Linley, you ’t fight him in close quarters. With him having prehended ‘Oh the give’, y to get close to him is nothing short of suicidal.”

  Linley didn’t respond; he simply gred unwillingly at his oppo. He was a desdant of one of the four supreme warriors, and even without having awakened his bloodline ability, he was still blessed with a body somewhat strohan those at the same rank a here he was being bullied by a boy two years his junior.

  Still, he wasn’t an idiot. Through the notes given to him by his father doting the path of a warrior, he was fully aware of what being oh your o. Thankfully, whilst he was a talented warrior, that came sed to his talent as a mage.

  “[Earth Spike],” Linley called out as he flicked his wrist and began ting the intation for his spell.

  Despite being so quick with his spell, Ace could literally see the earth esseherih his feet. Before the spell had even formed, he had already moved out of the way as he unched himself at his oppo, but Linley wasn’t done.

  “[Superfield gravity],” Linley called out as his give-wielding oppo neared.

  Ace suddenly felt the gravity in the area double, but he barely flinched as he elled more strength into his legs as he attempted to close the gap.

  Linley smirked when he saw Ace suddenly slow whilst uhe effects of the increased gravity. He was a Baruch, a supreme warrior desdant. If he couldn’t beat Ace up front as a warrior, he’d use magic to support him, but one way or another, he would defeat Ace as a warrior.

  He recast his [Supersonic] spell and charged in once again. This time he found it a lot easier to get in rao use his dagger, but Ace was still able to calmly react to each of Linley’s attacks.

  With his [Observation], he could clearly see the path of Linley’s attacks and skilfully use various parts of his polearm to defend without taking a si.

  One might think that his most signifit improvements over the st five years came from his various breakthroughs, but in truth, his biggest gain came in the shape of his battle IQ.

  One of the things that made Aiden su incredible warrior was how he could use minimal effort to defeat those much strohan him. He could see the weakness of his e a gnd use the least amount of strength required to take advantage of that.

  A lot of Ace’s time training ent sparring with his master, who would do nothing but attack his ots. Whilst Aever seemed to get any closer to closing the gap between his master, when fag the others, Amira included, he could use less and less effort to defeat them. That was the main reason why everyone, minus Amira, and Killian, refused to fight against Aymore. It was simply too frustrating.

  And now Linley was starting to feel that very frustratioe being able to use a lot more speed and strength than his oppo, Ace hadn’t taken a siep back as he blocked, parried, and dodged each of his oppo’s strikes.

  The thing was, the more frustrated he became, the more openings he left, and Ace was nothing if not decisive. As soon as he saening, Ace’s give was like a predator that smelled blood.

  “Ugh!” Linley grunted as he jumped back, using his empty hand to cover the bloody gash on his shoulder.

  Although it wasn’t deep, it was definitely a hindrance, especially in a battle of this level. Moreover, the pse in tration caused by the wound even caused the dispersion of the gravity spell.

  He couldn’t help but gnash his teeth in frustration as he looked at Ace’s indifferent visage. ‘Is the differeween us really this big?’

  Suddenly, Ace’s figure disappeared from his field of view, and Linley’s eyes threateo pop out of their socket.

  “[Wall of Earth], [Earth Shield],” Linley roared, insta-casting two weaker defensive spells and ung his body out the way as Ace appeared by his side and began ting for his spell.

  Seeing so much earth being used as a st-ditch effort to shield his target from harm, a disdainful snort left Ace’s mouth as the whole of his give turned pitch bck.

  Linley watched in horror as the now obsidian polearm sliced straight through his spells like a hot khrough butter, but Ace was far from finished. He had to patiently wait and bide his time under Linley’s relentless barrage of attacks when he was suppressed by the increased gravity. Now it was Linley’s turn to be on the receiving end of his attacks.

  As the jet-bck bde of Ace’s give desded, Linley felt as though he was standih a falling mountain. He immediately uood that not only had this young enemy of his prehended ‘oh the give’, he had also prehended ‘wielding light as though it were heavy’.

  It was at that moment that he thought back to the day his family had inally asked Ace to bee his personal guard. He couldn’t help but feel that Ace was more than justified in turning down such a position.

  He had heard from his family that although Ace had set a record for his spiritual essence, he had no affinities, so whilst there was a good ce that Ace would one day go on to bee a ninth-rank warrior, his being a saint was all but impossible. Still, as he looked at the unwavering fidehat radiated from Ace’s eyes, Linley felt there was nothing capable of stopping Ace’s rise.

  For the briefest of moments, Linley resigned himself to his defeat, but then the memory of his father entrusting him with the ’s future resurfaced in his mind. ‘I ’t die here; I have to survive!’

  “[Wall of Earth], [Earth Shield].” Linley roared as his mageforce sprang to life like never before.

  Uhe threat of death, Linley mao achieve a small breakthrough to bee a mid-rank five mage. The earth by his feet shot up and over his head to slow the ining strike, and right behind that was a floating shield of earth.

  Linley was under no delusions. He khat even with his minor breakthrough, these two spells would be nowhere near strong enough to protect him from this blow, but he wasn’t done.

  “[Earthguard]!” Linley roared as he raised his arms above his head and a yer of stone covered his body.

  This was the first time Linley mao insta-cast a spell of the same rank. Any other day, Linley would have been immensely proud of his achievements, but now, all of his attention was on Ace’s desding give.

  As he expected, the two weaker spells did o nothing in the face of Ace’s strike, but it did give him just enough time for his [Earthguard] to finish f. But, unfortunately, he still uimated Ace’s attack.

  Ace’s haki-coated give cut through the stone, leaving a long gash on his wrists and across his chest.

  Ace was just about to finish the job and lob off Linley’s head wheiced a bck shadow speeding through the air in his dire at a speed that caught even him by surprise. Still, he kept his calm as he smoothly transitioned from ‘wielding light as though it were heavy’ to ‘wielding heavy as though it were light’.

  His give was like a blur as it flickered into the path of the shadow.

  Ace’s dark eyes widened with surprise as he felt his arms numb and took three steps back to stabilise himself.

  “Bebe,” Linley said weakly as he tried his best to ignore his wounds. “Thank you for saving me again. It looks like I’m going to need your help after all.”

  “Scree!” The little bck rodent called out as it licked its boss’s wounds and gred threateningly at the one who caused all the damage.

  “ACE!” Amira called out worriedly.

  She knew Ace’s strength better than ahat st strike may have been redirected at the st moment, but he wasn’t holding ba the slightest, a, he was still forced to retreat.

  “I’m fine,” Ace said, sensing the worry in Amira’s voice. “I still don’t want you to interfere. This is something I o do by myself.”

  His voice remaiionless as his eyes stayed oiny mouse that was somehow able to get the better of him in a direct frontation.

  He may not know much about the various types of magical beasts, but he uood that that mouse was definitely no ordinairy magical beast, but it didn’t matter. All he knew was that a year from today would mark the first anniversary of Linley Baruch’s death, and if the mouse insisted oing in the way, he would kill it too!

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  P.atreon./ACoilingDragon: Book 4 - Chapter 8