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Chapter 69: Cunning Tactics

Magina grew more and more alarmed as they fought; in just half a year the scoundrel before her had advanced to a level that forced her to fight with all her strength.

Half a year ago, when she had recruited him as a sparring partner, she had not even used 50% of her power and had still chased him around like a rat, yet now he traded blows with her without falling behind.

Everyone knew Magina was a favored daughter of the Valencian Empire, pampered since childhood with the finest cultivation resources and instruction.

The power unleashed by her devilish figure was something ordinary peers could not withstand.

Yet the “Mage” in the magic robe before her could parry her slashes head-on and hold his ground, which both shocked and angered her.

It felt as if asking him to be her sparring partner all this time had actually benefited the guy!

Ashura suffered even more; every time Magina’s sword came down, his blood and qi churned, and whenever he tried to unleash the Tower Ascension Sword Art, she broke the sequence after only a few swings with her brutal strikes.

That was the weakness of the Tower Ascension Sword Art and a flaw he could not yet overcome.

Even so, he chose not to rely on his superior footwork to dodge; every strike clashed weapon against weapon, because if he wanted to beat Magina he had to set a trap.

As their battle grew fiercer, their position shifted, and soon they were no longer in the open space behind the shrubs.

The surrounding trees suffered as well, hacked to pieces by the two streams of blade-energy, and the commotion drew nearby students who were out for morning practice; everyone hurried over for the spectacle.

After another crash between the Twin Swords and the Horse-Cutter Sword, Magina stepped back once, while Ashura staggered 7 or 8 steps to the edge of a thicket.

Magina panted slightly; she had not enjoyed such an all-out fight in ages, and the battle-loving woman was delighted, her gaze at Ashura becoming almost predatory.

That look made Ashura’s skin crawl, and the image of Magina straddling him flashed through his mind; he shook his head hard to clear it.

He then shouted at her, “Is that all you’ve got? You won’t beat me like this… hurry up and use your strongest move, I’m still due in class!”

Magina narrowed her phoenix eyes, truly angered, yet she hesitated, because her Martial Technique was powerful and she was unsure whether the rascal could withstand it.

But Ashura simply yelled, “Come on, tyrannosaurus mom, have you decided or not? Otherwise I’ll unleash my finishing move first… don’t say I didn’t give you a chance!”

In Magina’s head the words “tyrannosaurus mom” echoed.

He actually dared tag her with such an ugly nickname; she was going to rip that foul mouth apart!

With that thought Magina stopped hesitating; she lifted the Horse-Cutter Sword behind her, bent her knees, and leaned forward.

Seeing the stance, Ashura’s lips curled… at last she was about to use that move.

After so many sessions as her sparring partner, Ashura had learned something about Magina’s Martial Techniques.

The move she was preparing to unleash was called Gale Crescent Slash, one of her strongest techniques.

Once activated she would rocket toward her opponent and swing the Horse-Cutter Sword behind her in a half-arc with terrifying destructive force.

Ashura also noticed that she had reversed the sword so that the spine faced forward and the edge faced back; he sighed in relief, thinking the little tigress still knew her limits and did not plan to slice him in two.

Before he could think further, Magina shouted the name of the Gale Crescent Slash… whether to boost her own momentum or to warn Ashura, he did not know.

Watching her blast toward him, Ashura was fully prepared; he also shouted “Gale Crescent Slash!” and drove Twin Swords Radiance to emit a blinding golden light.

Hearing his shout, Magina froze for a split second, then the dazzling light stabbed her eyes and she instinctively shut them while swinging the sword’s flat side forward.

After a crisp crack, the blindfolded Magina knew that was not the sound of blunt steel on weapon, nor of metal on flesh, but more like cutting into shrubbery.

Still airborne and charging forward, she had no time to open her stinging eyes when suddenly there was nothing under her feet and, with a splash, she fell into the lake.

So this was the trap Ashura had devised.

The other side of the shrubs where Ashura had been standing was a wide expanse of lake, simply hidden from view by the foliage.

Luring Magina here and then retreating several steps to the shrub line had all been part of the setup.

By insisting on weapon-to-weapon clashes from the start, he made Magina think he would never dodge her Martial Techniques.

When he saw her charge with the Gale Crescent Slash, he knew the trap had sprung; he did not actually know the technique, he had only shouted the name to confuse her judgment.

At the same time he used Twin Swords Radiance to blind the girl, causing her to lose her bearings for a moment and fall into the water.

Just as he expected, after plunging in Magina screamed “Bastard!” in panic.

She flailed wildly with both hands above the surface, while the heavy armor became a burden that dragged her downward.

What Ashura did not know was that when Magina was little she had almost drowned in a pond at home, and although her mother had saved her, she had been afraid of water ever since and had never learned to swim.

Ashura was feeling rather pleased with himself, thinking he had finally made the little vixen suffer a bit for hitting him so hard before.

But when he saw that her fingertips had not broken the surface for a long time and the bubbles were growing fewer, his heart sank.

He cursed inwardly and dove into the lake; in the clear water he saw Magina sinking like a statue toward the depths.

Cold sweat prickled over him… he had never imagined things would get so serious; he had only meant to trick her into the lake.

In the water her feet had no leverage, so she could not exert her strength; his plan was to drive her back every time she tried to climb ashore until she conceded.

He had not expected that she could not swim and would sink after only a few struggles; if something happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

Ashura swam desperately toward her; because of the heavy armor she sank fast, but he managed to grab her arm and hauled her upward with all his might.

The moment he broke the surface, he wrapped an arm around her waist and carried her rapidly to shore.

Yet the girl in his arms kept her eyes tightly shut and did not respond at all.

Panic seized Ashura; he laid her flat on the grass by the lake, removed the helmet of her heavy armor, yet her face was still deathly pale, and she seemed to have stopped breathing.

No matter how he shouted and slapped her, she did not react; in his anxiety Ashura suddenly recalled the emergency medical skills his grandfather had taught him.

He drew a deep breath and pressed his lips to the girl’s pale ones…

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