"Crack—"
The first time their swords met, the wooden swords in both their hands shattered. Splinters sprayed from the rough breaks, and deprived of suitable weapons, the two had no choice but to attack with their fists. Unfortunately, such a fight was utterly lacking in beauty, and the instructor called a halt.
"Stop. Switch to unsharpened iron swords now," he announced again.
Before long, iron swords with thick edges were brought over by excited students and handed to the two of them.
Grasping the iron swords, the two gave them a few simple swings. Once they had adapted to the change, they stepped into the sparring ground again.
This time, without waiting for the instructor's command, they charged at each other.
"Scrape—"
In their first exchange, their iron swords slid across one another, leaving deep, spark-spitting scars. Then they separated before crossing paths again.
Their footwork was steady and powerful, and both were exceedingly proficient with the sword. Since they had the same instructor and learned the same swordsmanship, there was no obvious gap between them.
"Clang—clang—"
The iron swords collided and trembled without cease, scattering several shattered sparks from their edges. A closer look at the two weapons would reveal that tiny nicks had already appeared on them.
They traded blow for blow. Solin prowled about from time to time before suddenly bursting forth, and every one of those ferocious attacks made it difficult for Mick to withstand. He had no choice but to defend with all his strength, and sometimes Mick even had to retreat several steps to ease that enormous impact force.
Yet from Solin's perspective, it was an entirely different picture. He had unleashed every ability and technique he possessed, but even with his overwhelming advantage in strength and speed, he still could not defeat Mick,