"Get away from her!" David yelled as he shot at Abasi while rushing forward. Abasi used his giant axe as a shield to parry the shots.
"Halt!" Jeanny motioned for David to stop. She then said to David, "I will fight him. You go ahead and aid the others."
"What? Why? We will defeat him faster if we work together," David argued.
"I have a history with this one. There is no need to worry. I won't lose."
Abasi grunted when he heard Jeanny's statement.
Jeanny took out her companion badge and summoned Garuda. The eaglefolk warrior appeared next to her. She gave the eaglefolk the command to follow David.
David was unwilling to leave. He didn't want to part with Jeanny so soon after reuniting. He wanted to be here to protect her, but he saw the steely expression on her face. He decided to respect her wish.
"Be careful," David said.
Jeanny simply nodded in response. Her eyes never left Abasi. David resummoned his steed and rode forward with Garuda following him closely from the air. Now, there were only Jeanny and Abasi on the lonely street.
"It's unlike an orc to ambush someone. Aren't you going to give me your war declaration?" Jeanny said when Abasi remained still.
"The battle had already started some time ago. There is no need for a declaration," Abasi returned. "Certainly not to you."
"I faced and defeated Abdu in a proper battle."
"You ganged up on him!" Abasi shouted.
"It was a battle. We outnumber him. What do you expect? Propose him a duel?" Jeanny shot back.
"I'm proposing one to you now. A duel to the death! Do you accept, outworlder?" Abasi pointed his giant axe at Jeanny.
Jeanny used her Inspect. Abasi was level 82. He was four levels higher than her, but he was just a rare elite. Considering she was equipped with two legendary equipment. A spear and a chest armor. That should be enough to cover the level gap. Additionally, she had martial arts and mana expertise. Fighting Abasi shouldn't be a problem.
However, Abasi was considered strong even among natives with the same level and grade. Additionally, Abasi had been Long's companion for quite some time. The orc certainly should have picked up some martial arts from Long.
Jeanny twirled her spear and said, "If that is what you want. I accept. Let us fight with honor!"
"Hmph!" Abasi grunted. "Seeing you outworlder pretending to know honor is making me sick!"
Abasi jumped a good distance back before charging forward with abnormal speed. The air around him seemed to burn following his charge. The fire generated from his charge became more compact with each step he took until he was completely covered in flames. What Jeanny saw by the time Abasi was close was a flaming meteor.
Jeanny wasn't intimidated by the display, she thrust her spear forward. Golden energy blanketed her spear as it turned into a giant energy drill. Jeanny rushed forward with her Heavenly Spear Drill.
The energy drill and the flaming meteor crashed into one another. The two went into a stalemate for a few seconds as sparks and screeching sounds were produced following their friction.
The standoff lasted until a loud bang was heard when the two skills destroyed each other. Jeanny and Abasi recoiled from the force but both of them were determined to not retreat.
Abasi stomped his feet onto the ground and pushed his body back in Jeanny's direction. Crimson tattoos covered his body as his stats surged.
Jeanny stabbed the bladeless end of her spear into the ground and also forcefully pushed herself forward. The spear in her hand turned into a blur as she used Hundred Spears. Uncountable spears generated by her skill aimed at the multiple weak points in Abasi's body.
But before these spears could pierce their targets, flashes of axes clanged into them. Abasi was as if surrounded by flashes of axe swinging at a rapid state. Each swing swept tens of Jeanny's thrust. None of her thrusts could hit Abasi.
This was the martial art Long taught Abasi, Vicious Rapid Axe. Relying on this martial art, Abasi could fight at an even ground against Four Winds whose Starlight Field had caused headaches to many of his opponents. Abasi practiced hard to master this martial art. His degree of mastery did not lose to those who had trained for years.
Their two weapons clashed hundreds of times in the span of a minute. Neither was willing to let up.
Jeanny was secretly surprised. She expected Abasi to learn martial arts from Long, but not this well. This was the first time she fought a native with such a deep level of martial arts. Not only that, she could sense that each of Abasi's swings was powered by mana manipulation. In terms of martial expertise, Abasi didn't lose to her. He must have trained truly hard to reach this level in such a short time.
Despite her astonishment, she wasn't willing to lose. Her Hundred Spears didn't stop. Though her thrusts seemed random, each thrust was carried out with perfect control. The thrusts were mixed with feints and misdirection.
Abasi found it harder to block her stabs as time passed. It was to the point that he took an involuntary step back. That one step made Abasi grit his teeth. It was shameful to retreat from his fated opponent. He pitied the fact that he had used many of his big skills when facing Four Winds earlier. Some of those big skills were still on cooldown.
Nevertheless, he was not planning to give up. He roared and forced himself forward. His axe swings became faster and more ferocious. Due to his forceful advance, he failed to block some of Jeanny's thrusts but he didn't care. He swung and swung. His axe was now bursting into flames, bolstering his power. It was Jeanny's turn to be forced to take a step back.
Unlike Abasi, she wasn't stubborn. If she had to back away, then she backed away. There was no shame in tactical retreat. She studied Abasi's swings as she took another step back. Her Hundred Spears consumed her stamina with each stab. She couldn't sustain the skill indefinitely.
She didn't need to. After clashing for so long, she had caught Abasi's rhythm.
When Abasi's swing was at its fullest, she canceled her skill and switched to using her spear art, Seven Spears Assaulting Heaven. Her spears stabbed with unbelievable speed six rapid times. Each stab hit the same spot on Abasi's axe.
Abasi's axe was at its weakest momentum. Hence, it was unable to resist the force from Jeanny's spear art. Abasi's arm holding the axe was swept sideways. His side was fully opened.
Jeanny didn't waste the opportunity. She followed up with another thrust using her special class skill, Brave Thrust.
