The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 94 - Spar [1]

Chapter 94: 94 - Spar [1]

"Huh?"

Kaiser muttered unconsciously, unsure what he heard was right.

"We’re going to spar?"

He asked to make sure.

"Yep."

Brock replied with a grin.

"Like, right now?"

"No, after we rested for a bit more."

Kaiser was stunned, he didn’t know what to say.

"Why, you don’t want to?"

Then suddenly, Brock asked him that.

Kaiser snapped out of his stupor and shifted his attention back to Brock. He saw him looking at him, raising a brow.

Then, after a while of silence—

"No, I’ll gladly accept the spar."

Kaiser shook his head and declared that, smiling a little bit.

"Hehe, that’s what I like, kid."

Brock stated.

"..."

Meanwhile... Jin, Khan, and Viktor were looking at the two, a complicated expression on their faces.

’They’re both impulsive.’

’Ugh... I bet Brock just got bored.’

’These two are insane.’

They thought in order.

Anyway... They know this wasn’t going to be an ordinary spar.

Jin looked mildly amused, but his eyes were sharp.

Khan had his arms crossed, lips pressed together, as if trying to guess how long Kaiser would last.

And Viktor... he frowned slightly. Not out of doubt, but concern—he knew how strong Brock was.

Even so, no one tried to stop it.

They knew Kaiser wouldn’t back down even if they tried to, after all.

...

...

...

*****

Kaiser, Brock, Khan, Jin, and Viktor rested for a while, for about more than half an hour. They regained some of their energies back after eating and resting.

So with that—

"You ready?"

Brock asked Kaiser, turning to him with a smile.

And Kaiser, he nodded his head without hesitation.

"Yeah, I’m good to go."

He said.

"Then let’s get going, kid!"

Kaiser and Brock immediately started heading to one of the arenas in the training ground.

"Haaaa... Brock has too much energy to spare."

"Hmm, Kaiser recovered a lot too, it seems."

"Yeah, he recovers fast... Kaiser has a weird body."

Jin, Khan, and Viktor immediately followed after them.

Anyway, as their group walked together... They began to draw attention from the people around the area— both guards and other fighters.

They recognized Brock, Khan, and Jin. The three of them were famous after all, especially among the Silver Rankers.

But what caught their attention the most... was the presence of the two newcomers walking among them.

"Hmm? Do those three know that two kids?"

"Seems like it."

"That kid walking with Brock looks familiar."

Curiosity brewed as more eyes followed them.

Then after a while... They saw where the five were headed— one of the arenas!

"Are they... Going to spar?"

"No way, right...?"

"What the hell? Are they planning to kill the kids publicly?"

Whispers spread after they realized that. Frowns formed on their faces.

And just moments later...

TAP—

They watched as Kaiser—still young, a literal kid in their eyes, stood on one end of the arena with a wooden greatsword in hand!

Then across from him—

TAP!

"Hehehe..."

Brock stood with a grin on his face, wielding a wooden greatsword of his own with just one hand.

SWOOSH~

He swung it easily like he was just using a one-handed sword! Kaiser’s brows furrowed at the sight of that!

"..."

"..."

A subtle tension built in the air.

Fwip—

Kaiser rolled his shoulders and adjusted his grip on the wooden greatsword. The weapon felt light compared to his usual training sword, but it still carried enough weight to demand focus.

Across from him, Brock casually twirled his greatsword once before resting it on his shoulder.

"Don’t hold back, kid... Or you’ll regret it."

He said with a grin.

"Fuuuuu... Don’t worry, I don’t plan on doing that. Instead, I’m asking you to take it easy on me."

Kaiser took a deep breath, planting his feet firmly into the ground. His eyes locked onto Brock’s.

"..."

"No way... They’re actually going to have a spar."

"Hmm, would that kid be okay?"

"Dunno, probably not."

Around the arena, more people began to gather. Some stood in silence, curious. Others whispered predictions to each other.

Then—

FWISH~

Brock dropped his sword down, pointing the tip toward Kaiser.

"Let’s start."

He casually said.

Hearing that—

"..."

Kaiser lowered his stance.

And in the next second—

BAM!

He kicked off the ground and rushed at Brock, both hands gripping his weapon tightly!

"Heh."

Brock only smiled, calmly watching his approach.

Then, upon reaching him—Kaiser swung a horizontal slash!

TWHACK!!

Brock blocked it effortlessly, using just one hand. Despite the weight of the wooden greatsword and the force behind Kaiser’s attack, his control was precise and unshakable.

’Welp, I’ll be damned.’

Kaiser frowned, realizing it in their first clash. Brock’s mastery over his weapon was on a whole different level.

But without wasting time—

F W I S H~!

Kaiser spun the opposite direction of his last slash and followed it up with a spinning strike aimed at Brock’s side!

But Brock saw through it.

Bam-

SWISH—

He stepped back with ease, completely avoiding the attack.

Then, as a response—he slashed downward with one hand, aiming straight at the top of Kaiser’s head!

"...!"

Kaiser’s eyes widened. Desperately, he raised his greatsword above to block it!

Then—

B O O M!!!

Their weapons collided with a loud crash! Kaiser was stunned. The force behind Brock’s strike was far more than he expected!

CRACK-

His weapon cracked, and a sharp pain shot through his hands!

But instead of falling into panic—

"GRAAAAAAHHH—!!!"

Kaiser roared and twisted his weapon to the side at the last moment—deflecting Brock’s greatsword by pure grit and luck!

B A M!

Brock’s weapon slammed into the ground beside him, the impact cracking both of their wooden swords.

And in that exact moment—

"HAAAAAAAAA—!!"

F W O O S H—!!

Kaiser raised his weapon again and swung it downward in a heavy, desperate counterattack!

Though—

"That’s a good attempt."

Brock just said that casually, then he turned his whole body sideways—

B O O M—!

Kaiser’s wooden greatsword barely missed him by a hair’s breadth and slammed into the ground.

CRACK— C R A S H!

And upon impact, the weapon snapped and broke into splinters.

"Still, you should’ve gone for faster strikes instead of a heavy one. Maybe, just maybe, you could’ve grazed me by a miracle."

Brock smugly stated, now looking down at Kaiser.

"...!"

Kaiser looked up, his eyes wide in shock. But before he could even try to move—

BAM!

"GURGH...!!"

A solid and fast punch landed straight on his face!

Brock’s empty left hand smashed into him with enough force to send him flying a couple of meters back!

THUD-

Kaiser crashed onto the ground, landing hard on his back.

And seeing that, a smirk was formed on Brock’s lips.

"That’s it for now, brat. I just wanted you to know how hard our bet will be."

He said, waving lazily over his shoulder.

"Ugh...!"

Kaiser groaned, still conscious. And seeing that—

"Whoa, you’re sturdy, huh."

Brock said, genuinely impressed. He thought he hit hard enough to knock him out.

"My nose hurts."

Kaiser grumbled as he pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"Here, let me help you."

Brock walked over and extended a hand to him. Kaiser took it, and with a pull, got back on his feet.

"Looks like I’ll be taking a beating every day, huh."

Kaiser muttered under his breath, wiping the blood dripping on both holes of his nose. Brock grinned at that.

"Haha, that’s right. Prepare yourself."

He said, giving his shoulder a pat.

The two were about to leave the arena, but suddenly—

"Umm, excuse me."

They heard Viktor’s voice.

Both Kaiser and Brock turned toward him— and saw Viktor facing Jin.

"Hm? What?"

Jin asked, raising a brow.

Then, without hesitation nor beating around the bush—

"Can I ask for a spar?"

Viktor declared that.

His words shocked Kaiser, Brock, and even Khan.

"...?"

Jin just frowned slightly.

"I use dual axes. I saw how you handled those dual machetes in your fights... and I want to reach that level of control."

Viktor said seriously.

"I want to see how far I am from that—through fighting you."

Then he added, eyes firm with resolve.

"..."

Jin’s frown deepened. He looked like he wanted to refuse— but seeing the determination in Viktor’s eyes... And it’s not like he have something urgent to do—

"Ugh, sure, whatever."

He gave in with a sigh. Though, he wouldn’t do this if Viktor wasn’t a friend of Kaiser.

Moving on...

Viktor’s face lit up with a small smile after hearing his answer.

"Then I’ll get ready."

He said, heading toward the weapon racks without another word.

"..."

Kaiser, Brock, and Khan just stood there, silently watching the unexpected development unfold.

But then, they decided to just remain silent and watch how it will go.

’Jin is like the stronger version of Viktor, I’m curious how it will go.’

Kaiser thought.

On the other hand, Brock and Khan are curious about how strong Viktor is.

And there’s no better way to do that than watch Jin fight him.