29 - THE WOLF IN THE TREE

Not far away from the inn they’ve rented, under a big tree, Edgar was practicing his sword skills, with eyes closed. The sky was gloomy, and the winds were picking up, resulting in as many floating leaves as he’d like. He was trying to cut as many leaves as he could.

But he didn’t spend his entire time trying that challenge. He also practiced the basics such as simple thrusts and slashes, trying to keep his movements sharp and precise. He remembered his master’s words:

“Fighting isn’t just swinging the fists and blades. Though raw strength and speed can win you battles over novices, a lot of little things matter when you fight against experts. From the way you move your feet and grip your sword to how you read the flow of the battle and put yourself in your opponent’s shoes so you can predict their next moves… These little things can be acquired best through real battle where lives are on the line, but since we can’t fight death-battles everyday, we have to take our practice or sparring sessions all the more seriously. If you slack off during practice, then you are basically digging your own grave.”

Edgar practiced with different hands, one at a time, for a while, and then he swung with double-handed grip, too. “The front foot moves as you move forward, and the back foot moves as you move backward,” he murmured and repeated the sentences his master had drilled into his brain through repetition. “Smooth transitions will make the sword swift. Less flailing gives more balance. Keep swinging and learning, but also remember that straight thrust is the source of everything. One tight move hits harder than a hundred loose moves.”

He tried underhand and overhand thrusts for a few dozen times before switching to straight thrusts and guarding with a double-handed grip.

As the wind settled, he heard a feminine voice. “Those are some decent moves. Not bad.”

When he opened his eyes and looked up, there was a girl in a dark brown cloak with silver designs resting leisurely on a high branch. Every bit of her image was hidden from her toes to the ends of her hairs. Her hair and face were completely hidden by the hood and the white wolf mask with red markings.

Edgar was sure that nobody was there before he began the practice, so she must’ve come afterward. To think he couldn’t notice her at all, he felt a bit alarmed, but he maintained his composure. He could see that she was carrying two short swords. “Want to check your luck with my... decent moves?”

A second of silence later, he heard a smirk from behind the mask, and then she replied, “If that teaches you anything…” she rolled to the side, causing her earrings to jingle a bit. For a second, Edgar thought that she was going to fall, but she caught the branch by the hand and hung there for just a second before letting the branch go. Then followed a swift landing and the unsheathing of the swords. She was as tall as Edgar, but she seemed slimmer even in the cloak. Edgar had grown some muscle after spending a few months in the Tempting Woods. So he looked a little sinewy.

“Why aren’t you coming?” she asked.

“Can you see well with those things on?” Edgar couldn’t help but ask.

“You should be worrying about yourself,” she scuttled toward him, and her earrings made a faint jingling sound whenever she made quick movements, especially of the head.

Suddenly the sky rumbled, and she stopped.

Edgar smiled. “Did that scare you?”

“Hmph, it just startled me, that’s all.”

“Oh…” Edgar nodded his head twice. Having stayed in the mountains for so long, he was pretty accustomed to hearing sudden rumblings, so he could understand why people who lived in towns and cities would react the way she did. Edgar looked up at the sky, “The wind is dying. It will rain soon. Do you—”

RUMBLE~~!!

Edgar suddenly formed a cross-block with his blades and stopped the swords from slIcing his upper chest and maybe throat even.

“Oi!” Edgar put his strength into his arms to push her, but she diverted his momentum, then ducked and swept her foot at his ankle, making him roll to his front. (This girl!) He fell flat on his face.

“Did the rumble scare you stiff?” she spun the swords in a smooth fashion, which was not to show off but to flex her muscles a bit. However, there was a tiny bit of singing in her voice, as if she poked fun back at him.

Edgar got back to his feet, trying his best to hide his embarrassment.

After looking at each other, they both dashed forth. The white lightning cut the sky above and dropped chilling rain without delay.

Upon getting closer, she spun and attacked him with one sword after another, and pushed him back to the tree, but at the very end, he dodged the sword, which dug into the tree deeper than an inch. Using that opportunity, he thrust both the blades at her chest. She moved ahead and got behind the stuck sword, then grabbed its hilt. With a jerk of her hand, she pulled the sword out and used the momentum to slash at his waist, but he blocked it. He spun closer and swung the other blade at her mask, only to meet her other sword. But the force behind the blade pushed her against the tree.

“Ngh!” She was surprised by his increased strength. Before he could get closer and push her any further, she kicked him in the belly, sending him a good two, three steps back. That was a solid kick, enough to make him rub his belly. But she didn’t give him the time and came at him with the menacing swords. The four weapons clashed unceasingly. With every step their feet took to the front or to the back, their weapons met numerous times, showcasing the speed at which they could swing their arms.

Weapons barely kept missing each other’s bodies. It didn’t seem like they were simply sparing anymore.