Building The Strongest Territory With My Sacrifice System
Chapter 35: Spar (1)

Chapter 35: Spar (1)

"You guys have finally mastered every move included in the technique," Old Man James said with a cheerful smile.

Standing before him were Ragnar and Noah, drenched in sweat, breathing raggedly.

It was the mid hours of the afternoon, and the sun still beat down harshly on their bodies.

"The Starving Sword Dance, I developed this technique solely in my prime and also at my darkest moments of life," Old Man James narrated.

"I was in my late twenties when I was sent on a mission to a distant town. On my way there, deep inside a vast forest, I was set upon by a pack of ferocious horned wolves. At that moment, I overestimated my strength and underestimated my enemies’, thinking I could fight and defeat them," he continued, shaking his head in regret over his mistakes.

"I managed to hold my ground against the horned wolves for almost an hour without any warning, but then I was utterly spent and out of breath. I began fleeing as they pursued me relentlessly, vengeful for their pack members I had slaughtered,"

As Old Man James spoke, the two youths’ eyes lit up with eager interest. They settled on the rough, uneven ground, comfortably listening to his tales with intrigue.

"Fortunately, there was a rushing river ahead of me, and horned wolves are known to hate water, so I plunged into the current and swam to the far side, where immense hills and jagged mountains awaited me,"

"Yet the horned wolves never relented, they established themselves on the river’s far bank, relentlessly watching me with no hope, stranded on the solemn narrow shore between looming mountains and certain demise,"

Noah and Ragnar took in every detail of the horned wolves, they secretly prayed they would never face a creature so vengeful.

"Hours passed, days slipped by, and I survived solely on that unforgiving river water. A few days later, I found my strength steadily decreasing as starvation firmly took hold of my body,"

"The forest was my only nearby source of food, and the horned wolves were blocking my path,"

"Starving yet determined, I began forming new sets of moves in my head. The river’s shore served as my notepad, I exhaustively wrote down and drew countless techniques, then filtered the best ones before I finally began training,"

"I trained for several days, partially mastering the technique, and then finally boldly set out on my journey toward freedom,"

Ragnar and Noah’s ears perked as the old man’s tale neared its climax.

"I crossed the river with my eyes fixed on targets. The horned wolves witnessed my arrival and tensed, ready to tear me down the moment I set foot ashore," a smile spread across his face.

"When I finally reached them, starved and half-conscious, they pounced upon me at once. Then I tore through their numbers using the new meticulously forged techniques I had developed, every horned wolf that met my blade fell, and after hours of relentless battle, I finally stood victorious."

"Wow! That was truly heroic," Noah said with a grin. "To think such powerful techniques were forged in a moment of darkness, no wonder these moves are lethal."

"Yes, the technique is incredible," Ragnar added.

"Haha, the Starving Sword Dance is still truly no match for the other techniques I have witnessed," Old Man James waved his hands dismissively, "but it would definitely aid in your quest for power and go a long way in the fight against goblins and even the monsterborn."

Ragnar and Noah nodded, even before he spoke, they already instinctively knew these moves they had learned were truly, undeniably lethal.

Although they had practiced only with wooden swords, the force generated by those moves was strong enough to fell an adult. With a sharpened blade, their power would be ten times greater.

"Unfortunately, I’m too weakened right now to spar with you guys and gauge your strength," Old Man James sighed. "However, I’ve assigned my best former students to train with you."

At that very moment, Kendrick and Roger emerged from Old Man James’s hut and gently strolled toward them, smiles on their faces. Both of them held the swords Ragnar had given them a few days ago.

"Kendrick and Roger were the best of their cohort six years ago," Old Man James introduced. "Both easily managed to defeat me in our sparring contests, clearly surpassing my skill."

Kendrick and Roger warmly smiled upon hearing their praise.

Noah and Ragnar, on the other hand, grew determined to prove to their master that they were stronger.

"These two will be sparring with you to assess your techniques."

Ragnar and Noah gulped nervously, staring up at the adults.

Ragnar and Noah were standing at about 5’7" , compared to the two adults who towered over six feet.

"Don’t be nervous, we also brought our training swords as well," Roger said with a smile. "We’ll go easy on you guys."

"We want to fight with real swords," Noah declared.

"Huh, are you sure about that? I can’t guarantee your safety if we use real swords," Roger replied.

"How can this be a real spar if you lot hold back?" Ragnar asked, he too felt the urge to prove himself stronger than his predecessor.

Kendrick and Roger chuckled at the two’s sheer bold audacity.

"The kids are up for the challenge, I doubt they’re afraid of getting injured at all,"

"But Master..." Roger began to protest, but Kendrick swiftly interrupted and agreed to the fight.

"Master said they are geniuses, I want to test that for myself," he said, turning his eyes to Ragnar, "you will be challenging me."

"Sure," Ragnar grinned.

Roger sighed, defeated and finally agreed to take on Noah.

Ragnar retrieved two swords from his inventory, he handed one to Noah and held the other one himself.

A few minutes passed.

At the moment, Ragnar and Noah were having a faceoff against Kendrick and Roger, with a distance between them as they prepared to spar.

Old Man James stood behind them, a smile plastered on his face.

"Let the spar begin!" he announced.