Battle 4

Trapped. His quarry for the past few weeks had finally been cornered. The sea ahead, and enemies behind. There would be no escape this time. He looked to his left and right for support, but in three of his allies he found none, and as he and his closest companion stepped forward, his other companion held the only support he had back. The four looked expectantly at him then.

What was this? A trial-by-fire, or merely fighting fair? It would be a one on one now, but it would never be fair like this. Even if they came at their opponent one at a time, by the third or fourth opponent, their enemy would be too tired to put up a real fight. He suppressed the urge to shake his head, and stepped forward alone. The man standing just so the waves beat on his shoes turned around, finally giving up on the escape, deciding to go down fighting.

“Surrender, and you won't suffer.” he offered the man. The only response he got, was a drawn sword. He sighed, and moved closer yet. As he stepped within range of the opponents sword, it was swung violently toward him. Betraying that the man had a great deal of skill, it slid through the air with a soft swish. In vain, as it cut nothing. But rather than letting the downwards swing fade and pull the sword back, the man turned the edge sidewards, and made a sidewards slash, the same way he had dodged the sword. He had to roll to get away from the swing. He came to his feet again, pulling out his sword in a swift movement as he regained his balance, not waiting for the opponent to launch another attack, he lunged in.

He opened with a stab towards the mans center of gravity, but the sword was deflected. He took a step to the side, and water splashed up around him as he entered the sea. He cut at the man from the side, putting all his speed behind the swing, and forced his enemy to jump backwards, but not so fast that he didn't receive a gash across the stomach. Blood started gushing out of the gap almost immediately.

As the man landed, he quickly went on the offensive, this time following suit, and going for a stab as well. Rather than deflect the sword he stepped to the side, making the sword narrowly miss him, and bringing his opponent well within range for an attack. Realizing the danger of his situation, the opponent took another step forward – where was he going? – as he launched his attack on the enemy. His sword narrowly managed to make a gash in the mans arm, before he stepped past, ending up behind him. He rolled to his right straight away – towards deeper water – and ended up with seawater to his knees. The fight continued, as his opponent launched an attack from three steps ahead, running deeper into the ocean.

This time the sword came up from the water, splashing salt-water everywhere, making it hard to keep his eyes open. He responded with a block, and the clear clang of metal interrupted the sound of waves beating on the shore. He was soaking wet now, and the advantage which had previously been given to him by his clothing was gone. They were sticking tight to his body, rather than obscuring the movements of his limbs. They also revealed the location of some of his hidden weapons. Not by far all, but some. He took advantage of the block, and provoked his enemy into a pushing fight, both of them pushing their swords against each other, trying to push the opponents sword out of the way, to create an opening.

He let his sword slide along his opponents sword, the scraping sound of metal against metal filling the air. Once their hilts were nearly touching, he suddenly took two steps closer to the man, spinning on the second so he was facing the same way as his opponent. Then he took a third step, and spun again, while stabbing at his side. The unexpected move could have killed the man, but he couldn't keep control of quite exactly where he was in relation to his enemy, and ended up only giving him another deep gash. He quickly took control of the situation again, and put his shoulder to the man, who was reeling from the pain his third gash was giving him. The man lost his balance and fell into the water. Staying down for a few moments before he regained his bearings, the ocean around him turned red, mixing with the white foam from the waves, making the water white and red.

He let the man get to his feet and bring up a guard, but it was clear who would walk victorious out of there. “Enough is enough, isn't it?” he asked the man, but received only panting in response. Perhaps it was too much, to expect a man to willingly give up his life for no apparent reason. He knew he'd fight until his last breath if he was in the opposite situation.

He launched another attack, but this time, his opponent was reduced to defending. Being pushed further and further back by each blow. Until he was waist high into the water. Taking advantage of the water, he decided it was time to finish it.

The water obscured his movements, and so, he made a low kick. The kick hit his opponent on the outside of the thigh hard enough to make him buckle. Unfortunately for him, the water kept him afloat as his sword pierced the man through the chest. He pulled the sword out again, roughly, and watched as the man floated up to the surface, arms scattered to both sides, and then floated out to sea on the waves. Leaving only a trail of red sea. He started walking back towards the shore, where his four companions had already started preparing to leave the location. With one last glance over his shoulder, he walked onto the beach and to his companions.