Chapter 48 Ch. 48: Screwed [3]
Breezes swept through the area and the buzzing leaves filled the surrounding area. The man stood on guard stance and soon brass knuckles appeared on his hands. Alexander couldn't help but smirk, albeit his body was muscular, surprisingly he wasn't a muscle-head.
He noticed something suspicious with his enemy's blade and decided to use a weapon to confront him. Since Elemental Sword didn't work against him, Alexander decided to pour his mana onto his feet to match his speed.
Not long after, the two flickered and left their previous footing with swaying dust.
--Bang!
They suddenly materialized on the ground with their weapons collided and metallic sparks created around their clashing weapons. The man used both of his weapons to block Alexander's attack and shoved his blade away.
"Urg!"
Alexander stumbled a few steps backward and of course, going against him in terms of power was not a wise choice. He hastily stabilized his feet and swung his sword diagonally aimed at his head.
--Bang!
The man stopped his strike with just one hand and Alexander gritted his teeth when saw his attack being shut off effortlessly. He immediately drew his sword the moment the corner of his eyes saw a flying fist.
--Bang!
Alexander was forced to pull his sword a split second right after he stopped his attack as another fist came.
--Bang!
And the man flung his punch at Alexander without warning.
--Bang! --Bang! --Bang!
They exchanged blows at an incredible velocity and the only thing visible in the darkness was their weapons which spat out flickering fire dust and scraping metal. However, as Alexander was about to block his attack, unexpectedly the man raised his knee and kicked him in the waist.
"Urk!"
He puked out a red liquid before his body shot away.
--Bang!
Eventually, he stopped once his back hit a tree trunk.
"Cough!"
He vomited another handful of blood. Regardless of how hurt his body was, Alexander forced his body to roll sideways.
--Bang!
A hole was created in the tree trunk just after his punch landed and Alexander hopped onto a nearby branch.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
He gasped heavily as he eyed him from above. The man jerked his hand off the tree and spun toward him, his red eyes furiously glaring at him. He hurriedly stood on a left-hanging guard stance as his brain signaled a dangerous siren.
"Haa... Haa... Haa..."
Alexander's stamina and mana ran low, even his vision started to blur. His body hurt a lot and it was only a matter of time before his mana completely dried out. The man disappeared, he blinked before him and launched his attack.
--Bang!
Alexander succeeded in blocking his attack, however, as he was too late to draw his sword, his other hand grabbed him by the neck.
"Urk!"
The man pushed forward and pinned his body on the tree trunk. Alexander let go of his sword and used the remaining power to remove his clenching hand away. The man raised his arm and swung his fist.
'Am I going to die?'
But before it landed, a woman's voice was heard.
"Stop."
His fist stopped just a few millimeters away from Alexander's head.
"Huh?!"
He snorted angrily and turned to the source. After discovering who it was, he returned to the boy that he had strangled. Ignoring her words, he raised his arm once again but halted midway.
"Let him go."
He stared at the golden eyes before him with his death glare and suffocated him more powerfully.
"Cough! Cough!"
Alexander panted heavily when his lungs could no longer access oxygen.
"Don't make me repeat."
"Tsk."
He clucked his tongue in annoyance and released his clutch. Alexander slumped to the branch and suddenly his stomach was kicked.
"Urk!"
--Thud!
The boy's body fell flat on the ground.
"Cough! Cough!"
Alexander threw up a mouthful of blood. He looked upward and his shaded vision caught a woman's figure. Her long red hair danced with the wind, and even though he couldn't see her face due to being shaded by the leaves, he knew who she was. He clutched the soil tightly and gritted his teeth.
'That woman! It's her!'
The man on the branch vanished and reappeared beside the woman.
"That brat knew about us."
"That's because you showed yourself, right?"
He bit his tongue as he couldn't refute it, but still opened his mouth.
"That's because he used the long-lost technique! Elemental Sword!"
"Hm?"
She turned to Alexander whilst humming in curiosity and their eyes locked each other. She emitted a smile while looking at him interestingly.
"That's why sis, we must kill him."
She shook her head.
"Nah, we've completed our mission. We're going back."
"But--"
"The Emperor won't stay still if one of his heirs died and--"
Her red eyes glanced down and his blackened area had now reached the elbow.
"We need to treat your wounds as soon as possible, and it seems his reinforcement is coming."
A faint cry of soldiers could be heard and in the end, he gave up.
"Alright."
She nodded and glanced at the boy who was lying.
"We'll meet again, Prince."
She spoke with a playful tone and winked at Alexander. With that, the two of them disappeared into thin air. He couldn't help but flop his head on the forest floor and breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Haaa..."
Alexander rolled sideways and now he faced the night sky and somehow, the stars looked so bright today. But damn--
'I thought I was going to die!'
Although he trained days and nights, he couldn't even defeat their prototype.
"Tsk."
He clucked his tongue in annoyance. It seemed he needed to reevaluate his training once all of this shit was over. He took out Elixir and Tonic from his magical sphere and drank the medicine.
He was just glad that the amount of mana to open it was considerably low and after a few minutes of waiting, his aching body started to diminish bit by bit. He got on his feet and drank his Tonic to replenish some of his energy. However...
"Your Highness!"
Alexander turned to the voice, Wyatt and the soldiers were seen moving toward him. However, he couldn't help but frown once they arrived before him.
'What the hell are they doing here?'
"We greet the future Sun of the Empire!"
They gave Alexander a sword salute and Wyatt took a step closer, then bent his back lightly.
"Your Highness, it is such an honor to be able to fight under your wings! Upon seeing Your Highness' great chivalrousness, we feel at ease because the Empire's future is without a doubt, certainly bright!"
At this point, he was perplexed and ended up dropping his bottle in his hand.
'Just what in the world got into him?'