"Tsk, you're not as dumb as you look and sound," Rui offered while he rotated his palms, massaging them. "That hurt."
He had managed to disperse most of the impact with a remarkably well-timed Flux Earther. He had to hand it to the grade-nine technique. It was damn good when he nailed the timing. On the other hand, the timing was everything with this technique, it wouldn't be able to disperse even a grade-one technique, or even an Apprentice-level technique if one mistimed.
If not for the fact that the patterns in his dash were easier to read, he would not have gotten the foreknowledge of how and when he needed to time it.
That was the reason he could walk away largely unharmed from a powerful attack of a high-grade power-oriented Martial Art.
It was a shame but he couldn't possibly replicate this level of defense for every attack he ran into.
Squire Drevolus on the other hand was bewildered. ('He's… a defensive Martial Squire? He has to be! No one can take my Meteor Dash head-on if they're not specialized in defense or power. And he doesn't look like he's specialized in power!')
He felt as though this was an intelligent deduction, it was only a few seconds later when his rationality caught up, and recalled that he had exhibited long-range techniques against Squire Saiwal.
('So he's a defensive Martial Squire with strong long-range techniques?') He frowned. ('But he hasn't used them against me yet.')
There was a reason that Rui had abstained from using Pathfinder, or Transverse Resonance against someone like this. The Pathfinder technique was great because it allowed him to tag his opponent over great distances, preventing them from evading his attacks over long range, allowing him to prevent them from ever getting close to him with well-nailed shots.
It did not do well against opponents who did not care to evade and simply rushed forward to evade. It was why he had used it against Squire Saiwal. She did not have great defense because she relied heavily on the counter-offense that her frictional skin brought her. Meaning she could not just rush through a barrage of attacks. Nor was she fast enough to wind through them.
Those were the circumstances where his Pathfinder and long-range techniques were most useful.
However, Rui could already tell this guy was the kind that would just bullrush past his attacks in an attempt to get to Rui. He could not overpower a power-oriented Martial Artist with his long-range attacks either, unfortunately.
Thus he ruled out long-range offense as a way to adapt to him.
('Close-range it is,') Rui took his stance as he exhaled deeply. Squire Drevolus also prepared for another bullrush.
The two of them locked eyes momentarily, before dashing towards each other.
The air grew tumultuous under the sonic booms that they produced as they coursed through the atmosphere.
BOOM!
Rui struck him with a powerful Flowing Canon, yet, much to his surprise, the man withstood the attack with the power of his bullrush. In fact, he was pushing forward.
Yet, Rui simply grinned.
He was just getting started.
He spun out of the way of the pushing contest as he began delivering a barrage of swift blows to the man's bodies. A combination of Wind Breathing, Outer Convergence, and Reverberating Lance, and his conditioning tough body with Adamant Reforging resulted in waves of powerful heavy blows that hurt the man to his core.
"RARGH!" The man swiftly kicked Rui only to widen his eyes when Rui's image disappeared.
('You balance your weight between your legs too evenly,') Rui mused with narrowed his eyes. ('Every shift in weight you make makes it easy to read your next move.')
He had already begun picking apart at such patterns, predicting the man with greater and greater ease. Rui's movements became increasingly more fluid as he began growing more and more comfortable with his predictions.
He never ceased the onslaught.
Squire Drevolus was subjected to wave after wave of heavy and incredibly swift blows that seemed to hurt deep in his body far more than the strikes should have for some strange reason. Squire Drevolus threw powerful and swift kick after kick with enough to shake the entire arena.
Yet what use was power if it never hit?
Rui moved so sharply that Squire Drevolus could hardly believe it. He wasn't able to put it in words, but it was as though…
('As though knows me better than I know myself…') His eyes widened as his lip trembled.
"RAAAARGH!" The man screamed in frustation as he launched flurry of kicks. Short and swift combos, as well as powerful attacks that were thrown with tremendous accumulated torque and momentum.
Yet, they never landed.
CLASP!
Rui rushed in after the man threw a powerful high kick with ready arms that coiled around his neck and head. Kicks were powerful and hard, but they had their own downsides, and one of the was the compromise of defenses to prevent attacks and people from entering close-range.
Rui effortlessly squeezed his arms around the man's neck as he got him into a rear choke hold. He squeezed with Outer Convergence as he applied an immense amount of pressure on the man's carotid arteries.
Seven seconds of prolonged restriction of blood flow to the brain was all it took. Yet seven seconds was a ton of time to a Martial Squire, especially to those of their caliber.
The final stretch of the fight began as the man thrashed around violently, truly putting Rui's grip strength to the test. His powerful legs launched them around while he also kicked hard at Rui to the best of his abilities.
Rui simply gritted his teeth as he withstood his body getting bruised by the man's powerful kicks. Every attack rattled at his body as he realized just how much power than man held in his legs.
CRACK!
Rui felt a bone crack in his foot when the man simply stomped on it!
Yet, sure enough, his body eventually weakened, before going limp.
