The Ashen Dominion
Chapter 95 - Spar [2]

Chapter 95: 95 - Spar [2]

Viktor and Jin immediately began preparing after they agreed to spar.

Jin moved with a lazy pace, clearly just wanting to get this over with, while Viktor was buzzing with quiet excitement.

For him, this was a chance to test his limits—an opportunity to fight someone who had reached the level he was striving for.

’Kaiser got easily defeated by Brock... and I’m not that much stronger than him.’

Viktor thought to himself as he tightened his grip on the wooden axes he’d chosen.

His eyes shifted to Jin, who was calmly examining his pair of wooden machetes.

’Jin’s probably on the same level as Brock, at least in strength...’

He exhaled sharply. The odds were clear—he was going to lose.

But even so—

’I’ll still try my best... and aim for the win.’

He declared it in his head, smiling, refusing to let the inevitable stop him from giving it everything he had.

Meanwhile, across the arena—

Jin stood with one hand on his hip, spinning one of his machetes with little effort, his expression unreadable. He looked at Viktor for a moment, then spoke flatly.

"Let’s just make this quick."

He said.

It was clear that he knows he was going to win, but instead of feeling disrespected—

Viktor just nodded silently. He lowered his stance and steadied his breath.

"Fuuuuu..."

Then from the benches—

"..."

"..."

Kaiser, Brock, and Khan watched intently. Brock leaned forward with a grin, clearly entertained. Khan crossed his arms, eyeing both fighters with a serious expression.

Then, without warning—

BAM!

SWOOSH—

Jin kicked off the ground, his speed explosive!

And the duel began!

"...!"

Viktor’s eyes widened the moment he saw Jin approaching—fast, too fast. His movements were clean, fluid, and razor-sharp.

But instead of panicking—

Fwip—

His grip tightened around his weapons. He braced himself.

And the moment Jin entered his range—

SWISH!

Viktor slashed vertically downward with his right axe, aiming straight at Jin’s head!

TWHACK!

Jin casually raised his left machete and blocked it overhead, his stance solid.

And almost instantly, he twisted his body and followed up with a horizontal slash using his right machete!

THACK!

Viktor reacted just in time, intercepting the attack with his left axe. The force shook through his arm—Jin had held back, and Viktor could tell.

If that hit was serious, he wouldn’t have been able to block it with one hand.

Still, he didn’t falter.

Viktor immediately lifted his right leg and launched a front kick—

THUD!

But Jin met it effortlessly, blocking it with his raised left knee. And since his leg was already up—

BAM!

He countered with his own front kick, slamming it into Viktor’s stomach!

"KEUK...?!!"

Viktor coughed out sharply, his body jerking from the hit. But at the last second, he managed to leap back to soften the impact.

And while he was in the air, his eyes stayed locked onto Jin—

FWOOSH—

Then Viktor hurled the axe in his left hand at him!

’Oh? He has good accuracy.’

Jin thought, impressed for a brief moment.

TWHACK!

Then he deflected it with ease using his right machete, the spinning axe knocked harmlessly to the side.

But that was just the setup.

Tap—

The moment Viktor landed on the ground, his legs tensed—

BAM!

He kicked off the floor, bursting forward!

There were only a few steps between them. In the blink of an eye, Viktor closed the distance!

This time, he didn’t swing recklessly.

Fwip—

He reached out and grabbed Jin’s right wrist with his left hand!

Then with a powerful twist—

SWISH—!

He slashed horizontally with his right axe, aiming to land a clean strike on Jin’s ribs!

Though—

BAM!

Jin suddenly launched a sharp kick with his right leg, striking Viktor square in the chest! And in the same motion, he used Viktor’s body as a footing to leap back!

FWISH~

The wooden blade brushed past Jin’s stomach, missing by a hair’s breadth.

He had broken free from Viktor’s grasp.

"GUGH?!!"

Viktor groaned, stumbling back. He had just enough time to tense his abs and harden his core, but the impact still knocked the wind out of him.

He gritted his teeth and looked forward.

And there stood Jin...

"..."

Calm and composed, casually rolling his shoulder as if warming up again.

Then opening his mouth—

"Take your other axe. Let’s finish this."

Jin said flatly, nodding toward the wooden axe lying on the ground beside Viktor.

"..."

Without a word, Viktor reached down and picked up his fallen axe.

His grip tightened on both weapons as he faced Jin again, his breaths now steady, his eyes sharp.

He knew what he was doing.

This wasn’t about winning anymore—this was about learning.

"Gurgh...!"

With a grunt—

BAM!

He kicked off the ground and rushed forward once more.

FWOOSH—!

His speed was impressive, especially for someone still fresh into the Silver Rank.

Jin remained still, eyes focused, body relaxed. He didn’t move an inch until Viktor got within striking range.

THUCK!

A downward diagonal slash came from Viktor’s right axe—swift and strong. Jin lifted his left machete and blocked it cleanly, without even stepping back.

CLACK! THACK! WHAM!

Three more strikes came in quick succession—left to right, then spinning to slash with the back edge of his axe.

But Jin kept up, blocking each one effortlessly, deflecting just enough to disrupt the flow, but not enough to break the rhythm.

To Viktor’s credit, he didn’t slow down.

FWISH—TWHACK!

Another series of fast slashes came in—low, high, right, left—Viktor was doing everything he could to break through.

The muscles on his arms tensed as he swung with power, trying to match it with speed.

He gritted his teeth. His body ached, but he didn’t stop. He needed to land at least one solid hit—just one!

TAK— TOK! THACK—!

"..."

Jin, meanwhile, had yet to move a step.

He parried, blocked, and deflected with the calm grace of someone who’d done this more times than he could count.

His expression remained unreadable, his breathing controlled. Every swing that came at him was swatted away like a buzzing fly.

"Tch—!"

Viktor clicked his tongue in frustration.

He twisted his body and came in low, aiming for Jin’s thigh.

CLACK!

Blocked again.

Then—he quickly pivoted his foot and launched an upward diagonal slash toward Jin’s side!

THWACK!

Jin blocked it again, this time his machete locked with Viktor’s axe for a moment. Their eyes met, and Viktor could see it—Jin wasn’t even straining.

Bam-

"..."

Viktor jumped back a few steps to reset.

His arms were burning, and his legs were starting to wobble. But he refused to stop. Not yet.

"Still not enough..."

He muttered under his breath.

Then, with renewed determination—

"HAAAAAA—!!"

BAM!

He dashed again and began another barrage!

This time even faster, chaining short bursts together, mixing in feints. He slashed at Jin’s head, then twisted and went for the ribs. He tried to catch Jin stepping with a reverse grip slash from below.

But again—

TAK! CLACK! THWIP!

Jin was unreadable.

His weapons moved like water, flowing around Viktor’s attacks with ease.

Though, suddenly—

’Huh?’

Viktor saw a small opening. Jin’s right arm was just a bit slow retracting from the last block!

Viktor’s instincts kicked in—he used the moment.

SLASH—!

He suddenly ducked, stepped inward, and brought his left axe around in a swift backhand slash aimed at Jin’s exposed side.

’Got you!’

He thought.

But before the edge of his axe could reach—

TWHACK.

Jin turned his wrist and casually parried the strike away using the flat of his right machete, not even changing his posture much.

The move was effortless. Like batting away a leaf.

"...!"

Viktor’s eyes widened. He was baited.

He was about to try to step back, but it was too late—

THAP!

Jin stepped in.

In a flash, he flipped his left machete, and the blunt wooden edge stopped right at Viktor’s throat.

"..."

Everything went silent.

Viktor froze, his body halfway in motion, caught mid-breath.

The tip of Jin’s wooden blade didn’t touch him, but it hovered close enough that even the slightest twitch would draw contact.

He had lost.

And not just lost—it wasn’t even close.

"Hah... hah..."

Viktor let out a shaky breath, his shoulders falling.

Jin slowly pulled his machete back, spinning it once before lowering his stance.

"You’ve got good instincts."

He said, looking at Viktor directly.

"Hone it properly."

Viktor didn’t respond immediately. He lowered his axes, still catching his breath. Then finally—he let out a laugh, small and dry.

"I didn’t even land a single clean hit, huh..."

"Nope."

Jin said bluntly.

Viktor let out a small chuckle again, then turned to where Kaiser, Brock, and Khan were watching from the side of the arena.

They were all still watching in silence.

Kaiser was wide-eyed, impressed. Brock had a smirk on his face, arms crossed. Khan’s expression was neutral, but his eyes were sharp, analyzing everything.

Then Viktor looked back to Jin and gave a small nod.

"Thanks for the spar. I learned a lot."

Jin just gave a short nod back.

"Keep training. You’re not that far off."

With that, the match ended.

Viktor stepped out of the arena, his body aching and his pride a little bruised—but in his chest, something was burning.

Motivation.

A hunger.

And an acknowledgment that his goal—to reach their level—was still a long way off.

’But it wasn’t impossible.’

He thought.