’Roughly ten minutes. That’s all I got before the rest of them get back to their feet,’ Adrian mused upon checking the status of the heroes.
Meanwhile, it seemed Rowan had finally gotten serious about Adrian. A cold breeze blew, gently tugging his long black hair, tied in a ponytail, as he adjusted the grip on his katana.
A thin, murderous smile curled on his lips as his blade shimmered with a faint aura. It was the strength bestowed upon one of the seven rare classes in Nexaria.
The aura surrounding Rowan’s blade was weak because of his weak mana, an after-effect of Libra’s attack. Still, it was strong enough to manifest before their naked eyes, alerting Adrian.
Suddenly, Rowan lunged forward with a lightning-quick strike, aiming for Adrian’s chest. The latter deftly parried the blow, but Rowan wasn’t done.
Rowa, wielding a katana, had a speed advantage over Adrian’s broadsword. In his capable hands, Rowan could attack Adrian from several different directions while Adrian would only manage to block a few.
However, due to Libra’s interference, Rowan only performed three continuous attacks without straining himself. Surprisingly, Adrian blocked two of Rowan’s attacks, but the third one hit him in the shoulder.
The impact was loud as the katana tore through Adrian’s clothes and slashed the armour. Even with the potent aura surrounding the blade, no blood seeped from Adrian’s ’wound,’ shielded by Ogre’s tough skin and the lightweight armour concealed beneath his clothing.
"What!?" Rowan exclaimed in surprise. "How the heck are you unaffected after that?"
Instead of replying, Adrian just smirked. Watching his opponent smile was like rubbing salt in a wound for Rowan, and he lost his cool. He began attacking Adrian recklessly, leaving a lot of openings.
However, Adrian didn’t strike Rowan even once. Had he used [Minon Fury] again, there was a chance Rowan would’ve dodged like before. That’s why Adrian wanted Rowan to be so engrossed in attacking him that he wouldn’t notice when things suddenly went wrong for him.
With a swift spin, Rowan unleashed a flurry of strikes that forced Adrian to retreat, parrying desperately to ward off the relentless assault. However, it wasn’t like Adrian wasn’t getting affected by the attacks.
After all, the ogre skin patches only covered some of his body. The rest of his skin was still vulnerable to Rowan’s attacks, and there were plenty of moves to pin him down.
The Church courtyard seemed to shrink as the two swordsmen moved with astonishing speed, their forms a blur to the unskilled eye of the commoners around them.
Despite all that, Adrian’s confidence remained unmoved. Blocking the strikes, he was bidding his time to strike. Rowan’s agitation and Adrian’s calmness clashed like a song of fire and ice. Slowly but surely, the icy coldness of Adrian began overpowering the fire behind Rowan’s strikes.
Then, at the opportune time, Adrian released [Minon Fury] right into Rowan’s face. The latter tried dodging the attack like before, but Adrian was already prepared for it. He interrupted the sword’s flow and changed tactics to take down Rowan by surprise.
With a calculated sidestep, he jumped before Rowan and struck him with a precise thrust. The blade met its mark, grazing Rowan’s shoulder and drawing a thin line of crimson blood.
A tinge of pain reflected in Rowan’s eyes as he gritted his teeth in frustration. The courtyard seemed to hold its breath as the two swordsmen locked eyes once again, only this time, Rowan was out for Adrian’s blood.
Rowan raised his katana once again, but something was stopping him. The exertion from going against the Zodiacs and then recklessly attacking Adrian had finally taken a toll on him.
Rowan’s muscles burned with exertion, his breaths heavy and measured. In contrast, Adrian, though marked with a few wounds, was in a much better condition.
"This... was your... plan all along?" Rowan asked, panting.
However, Adrian shook his head. It wasn’t his plan, but just a part of it. Now that Adrian had Rowan where he wanted, it was time to end the farce.
With a swift and sudden movement, Adrian kicked Rowan’s calves, making him fall to his knees. It was a disgraceful position for an elf, but Adrian wasn’t thinking about it.
He had an opportunity to win, and he wasn’t going to pass it up because of some stupid code of honour. For the next phase to work, Adrian had to ensure Rowan was in a dazed state, so he did what any sane man would and began slapping the heck out of Rowan’s face.
The onlookers were confused yet found the scene to be hilarious. The so-called Alfvanian prince was getting smacked like a brat right before his beloved followers, and none of them could help their prince.
Soon, Rowan’s pearl-white cheeks turned red as a lantern and swollen like a puffer fish. One of his eyes was bloodshot, making Adrian wonder if he had gone overboard.
’No backing down now,’ Adrian mused and was about to use [Illusionary eyes] on Rowan when a notification got his attention.
[The Harbinger of Strength Who Completed 12 Labours, makes a special request from the User. ’You forgot the other cheek’, he says, laughing wildly, and sponsors 5 attribute points to the User.]
’The elves are going to kill me,’ Adrian thought and closed his eyes before he began slapping away.
It was a humiliating side for the elves, except for Vincent, who was slowly returning to his senses. He didn’t know who the stranger was, but the man was undoubtedly worthy of his acknowledgement.
’That man... he seems familiar. Though it must be my imagination. No one I know would dare humiliate an elf like that in a public setting.’
After all, the stranger did something he had been trying to do for years, making a considerable dent in Rowan’s public image. If Vincent played his cards right, he could gain his fellow elves’ respect and acknowledgement.
But for that, he would have to stop his benefactor first. Grabbing Amelia’s discarded bow and arrow, Vincent took aim for Adrian’s legs and fired away.
However, at the last moment, Adrian kicked Rowan instead of slapping him, dodging the arrow. But Rowan wasn’t that lucky, and the arrow hit him straight in his manhood, forcing him to let out an abyssal scream.
"ARGHHH!!!"