After Ki had disarmed the largely built man of his big axe, she did not stop her movements and circled around him with disorderly steps.
The flask on her waist was held in one hand and the sword in the other as she used her thumb to push the lid from the flask.
The man opposite her kept a vigilant watch on her as she tried to circle around him and find a weakness.
In his eyes his opponent was like an experienced assassin who was patiently waiting for flaws to be revealed.
He had already underestimated the enemy before himself once already and he could not do it again.
As a transcendent martial artist he had reached the realm through his own efforts and through life and death battles but after seeing the thin and small figure he did not put forward his best capabilities and suffered a loss because of it.
At first he figured that the mercenary group that was hired were just too weak to handle the two people but now he was sure that the two people that attacked were not ordinary people and there were also showing signs of additional people in the forest area.
He knew that his time was running out and it would not be long before the mercenaries were wiped out.
He looked a little confused at the small and thin figure of the person opposite him and spoke. "A young transcendent… what kind of organisation can raise such a monster? Have we provoked someone we should not have?"
In his eyes someone with such a small build had to either be someone who had not yet passed thirteen years in age or suffered from body defects.
Very few places could raise a transcendent martial artist that was around that age and the sects that could do so would not be a part of the martial alliance.
Most likely the person opposite him was either a hidden monstrous genius disciple of either one of the unorthodox alliance sects, the blood sect or the devil sect.
He gripped his fists tightly and ignored the axe by his feet as he knew if he took his eyes off the person opposite him then he would be dead.
Ki took a drink of the wine in the flask and began to be put into a tipsy and enlightened state.
Her footsteps became more disorderly as she circled her target, she stopped suddenly and then looked like she hiccuped.
Then she lost her balance and leaned backwards but as she was about to fall back she adjusted her steps to stabilise herself once more.
It all seemed so natural as if she had stabilised her body and stopped herself from falling purely by luck with her disorderly footsteps and movements but in fact it wasn't.
The man felt the unusual atmosphere after Ki's action of raising the flask to her mouth mid battle but he had seen such acts before and they were usually taunts to lure him into a trap.
If an enemy blatantly shows weakness then they must have some way planned out to defend themselves or they are just purely arrogant and reckless.
The person opposite him did not look like the reckless type as they were always watching his movements during every step and movement.
After the small body became more sluggish and acting drunk he was a little confused at her actions but when he looked towards the hand gripping the flask and sword he saw that they were both firmly held.
He slowly approached as he reached for two daggers at his waist and held them facing downward at the bottom of his palms while his fists were clenched.
He cautiously punched out towards Ki's chest but all of a sudden by accident she stumbled out of the way avoiding the strike by a small distance.
As Ki fell to the side narrowly avoiding the punch the hand that had struck out headed towards her direction once more as the tip of the dagger was pointed towards her throat.
The sword in Ki's hand was now held downward and she looked like she did not care too much about the incoming dagger.
The flask hit her lips once more and her head and neck moved backwards narrowly avoiding the dagger aimed at her throat.
The hand and dagger passed through the gap between the bent arm holding the flask to her mouth.
All of a sudden like a wooden branch or a snake the arm coiled and wrapped around the man's forearm as the other arm holding the sword swept upward towards his armpit and before he could try to use his other dagger to counterattack or free himself from her arms restraint.
All of a sudden his entire arm had been barely attached to his body after the cut went through his armpit and cut through some of the connecting bones and muscles in his shoulder then the figure of Ki staggered back after cutting the arm and fell on her bottom narrowly avoiding another dagger targeting the back or side of her head.
Her sword once again swept towards his leg and cut off his lower leg.
The first cut almost removed the man's arm, it was still barely attached to his body and he could no longer use it but he held in his scream to ensure his survival and sent out a quick and decisive blow to turn the tables but it seemed like his movements were predicted by his enemy and took advantage of him once again.
He fell to the ground and let out a howl of pain, the tears in his eyes clouded his vision a little but he could still see the figure who was bending their head backwards while drinking from the flask with one hand and all of a sudden a sword struck out towards his throat almost like a snake striking at its prey or a tree branch snapping back into place after being bent by the wind.
The cut was precise and swift but also revealed the flexibility of his opponents body and swordsmanship.
In fact it could no longer be considered as swordsmanship, it could instead be described as part of a drunken sword dance and the final strike was the ending performance.
It was almost like man and sword had reached a state of harmony with one another to reach a stage of perfection.
As the man died his eyes showed a deep longing and regret towards his enemies talents and skills.
Perhaps if he had a chance to choose how he could live his life then he may of gladly bowed his head to someone like this person before him so he could get a chance to break away from his stagnant progress.
Not too far away Ki witnessed his final look and somewhat understood his gaze. "Indeed a gaze of someone who would choose to follow someone they believed worthy but in fact throughout their whole life never had the right to choose who to serve."
She stood up and raised her flask towards his dead body to tribute him for the well fought battle and then took a drink on his behalf. "If only the world were not so cruel then maybe we could have fought together. Not everybody gets to choose their fate… some are just born in a position where they have no choice but to serve those who can provide them a way to survive in this world. He may have chosen that path but somewhere down the line he must of had some doubts. So… what could it be that made him have doubts in the end?"