Chapter 129: Tricked!

Chapter 129: Tricked!

In response, Airael heightened her vigilance.

Her big eyes were glued to Arthur, not daring to relax for even a second.

Suddenly, Arthur’s figure vanished from sight.

He charged straight toward Airael.

Airael was momentarily confused.

Was he really this reckless?

In the blink of an eye, with no time to ponder, Airael darted forward as well.

The lightning that had weakened within her surged back to its full glory in an instant.

However, just as Airael launched her charge, Arthur abruptly changed direction.

He circled to Airael’s left side.

Though Airael saw it with her eyes, her body reacted a beat too slow.

After all, in terms of martial skills, she couldn’t quite match Arthur.

Magic could temporarily boost her hard strength, but the gap in soft skills was glaring.

Moreover, the boost from magic didn’t last long.

And it took a toll on her body.

Despite her momentary panic, Airael quickly regained her composure.

She was a Battle Mage, after all.

Facing the approaching Arthur, she instinctively unleashed a bolt of lightning.

As the thick lightning shot out, the electric glow surrounding her dimmed slightly.

Arthur kept his eyes fixed on Airael’s movements; after she unleashed her lightning attack, he once again changed direction.

Narrowly evading Airael’s electrifying assault.

With the attack failing, Airael’s expression soured a bit.

However, she soon rallied and refocused on the charging Arthur.

At this moment, they were already very close.

Arthur could reach her in an instant, and the next moment, he indeed did.

He zipped past Airael, whose back was turned to him, striking her hard with his sword.

At the same time, a surge of lightning shot from Airael toward Arthur.

“Boom!”

“Crash!”

Their attacks hit almost simultaneously, sending Airael flying away.

Arthur stood there, engulfed in crackling electricity.

After striking Airael, he remained frozen in place.

Clearly, taking Airael’s powerful electric shock at close range left him feeling quite miserable.

At the very least, his body was paralyzed, making it difficult for him to move.

But at this moment, Airael was also feeling the pain.

Having been sent crashing to the ground, she felt like her backside was blasted apart.

Although the solidified lightning armor helped absorb some damage, Arthur’s earlier blow clearly fell into the blunt force category.

The intense shock coursed through her lightning armor and destabilized her inner energy.

Not to mention the painful landing.

That hurt like crazy!

After calming her rolling energy, Airael used her sword to prop herself up.

At this point, the electric armor enveloping her had dissipated.

Arthur’s earlier strike had not only knocked her away but had also temporarily disrupted her control over magic.

In other words, Arthur had interrupted her spellcasting.

Fortunately, she had already channeled plenty of lightning into Arthur before that.

Stand up and spotting Arthur still not moving and still partially surrounded by electric sparks, Airael chuckled, “Looks like I’ve won!”

Arthur couldn’t move, while she still could and was ready to attack.

With that, she raised her sword and charged at Arthur, aiming to declare her victory by landing a hit.

Just then, Arthur moved.

He gazed at the straightforwardly rushing Airael and leaped back.

Seeing Arthur suddenly able to move, Airael immediately realized she might have fallen into a trap.

But at this point, there was no turning back; she had to push forward.

In the next moment, Arthur and Airael’s swords met in mid-air.

With a “clang,” Airael was forced to retreat repeatedly.

Arthur seized the moment and pressed the attack.

His sword struck continuously at Airael.

Airael deftly dodged Arthur’s strikes with her keen eyesight.

If she couldn’t evade, she used her sword and staff to block.

The tremendous force of the attacks pushed her back repeatedly.

Fortunately, her footing was stable.

She didn’t lose her balance and fall in a panic.

This created a vicious cycle until she could no longer hold on.

At that point, she would just lose to Arthur.

Or maybe it wouldn’t even take that long; during this struggle, Arthur might find a flaw in her defense and end the fight then and there.

No matter which scenario played out, she needed to come up with a solution quickly.

Watching Arthur relentlessly attack, Airael steeled her resolve.

She took aim at a brief opening in Arthur’s assault and charged forward, prepared to go all out.

Airael’s move took Arthur completely by surprise.

Was she really going to put her life on the line?

Was it really necessary?

Arthur immediately halted his attacks and distanced himself from Airael.

With Arthur backing off, Airael also came to a stop.

Facing Arthur’s questioning gaze, Airael lowered her head, feeling quite guilty.

“Ailia, do you have any idea what unimaginable consequences your actions could have just now?”

Arthur regarded Airael with displeasure.

“Any consequence is better than defeat. If I don’t take the risk, I’ll definitely lose; it’s just a matter of time. But if I do, who knows, I might turn the tables.”

Arthur was at a loss for words for a moment.

He had to admit, Airael made a valid point.

In that situation, he had full control of the situation.

In a real fight, it would only be a matter of time before Airael was killed or captured by him.

But by taking the risk, Airael might’ve been able to achieve a different outcome.

Just like how he had stopped attacking out of fear of hurting Airael.

Though others wouldn’t think like him, faced with Airael’s reckless determination, they, too, might hesitate to engage her for fear of being hurt.

Not everyone was reckless.

Most people valued their lives greatly.

Thus, Airael’s desperate strategy wasn’t necessarily wrong.

Even so, Arthur’s thoughts centered on not wanting Airael to face danger, yet she had risked it all right in front of him.

Looking at Airael, Arthur coldly stated, “This battle is mine to win.”

“Excuse me? We haven’t concluded the fight yet! I protest!” Airael argued unhappily.

She was still ready to keep fighting.

“If I hadn’t held back, you would’ve been dead already,” Arthur bluntly declared.

Airael pouted and lowered her head, falling silent.