Flat-Brim Samurai Chapter 24
He dodged and blocked their blows with minimal effort, and counterattacked with attacks of his own that caused Cias and Apollo to wince back in pain. ,"I hope you guys aren't tired after JUST THAT" Hiroto said plainly, grimacing the smile of a warrior. The duo further increased the output of their power as the fight went on and were trying to focus on their movements but all they thought was (He's too strong). After all of their training, they had only a fraction of a fraction of their master's power, almost as if they hadn't even scratched the bottom (which they basically hadn't). Hiroto maneuvered his staff like the Art: Spear Thrust Cias's family had as their family Art (although he didn't put any ki into the Art) and hit both Cias and Apollo on their foreheads. THONK THONK, causing their brains to bounce back and forth like a kid in a bouncy house. Their consciousness slipped for just a second as their eyes went to the backs of their heads. They had learned their lesson, do not discount any techniques that they could use as techniques Hiroto would use. And thus they became more vigilant of the attacks that were up and coming.
Their battle IQ increased as Cias saw Hirotos every move, the way he shifted his weight, his balance, and the way he manipulated his limbs was on another level from what the duo could do currently (Was this replicating someone just above their skill level) Cias thought. Incorporating his techniques was really the only answer as Cias told Apollo ,"Look at the way he moves, copy his moves". In that moment where Apollo was distracted, Hiroto threw up his weapon and swept him with Osoto Gari (A move in which you pull someone's arm down in one direction, put your hand on the other shoulder to help push him down, and swing the leg and hit the back of their calf with yours with the side that you're pulling down). He hit the ground with a THUMP, spitting out some saliva and getting the wind knocked out of him. Cias jumped in to save him, basically taking the fight for himself and used his Art: Spear bolt to score a hit on Hiroto.
Although he blocked it, it did send him back a few meters and allowed enough time for Apollo to get back on his feet. Apollo walked next to Cias, ready to start fighting together more in tandem…
Their team strategies were getting better as time went on, their growth making Hiroto internally smile. But it wasn't only their mental growth but also their physical growth, as their muscles and bone structures were receiving damage the Art: Recovery they used every now and then explosively increased their physicality. Then Hiroto, figured now was as good as any time to unleash his ki. The ground shook, the stones of the ground that were broken began to float. A light blue aura peaked out of Hiroto's body, electricity intertwining with the aura. He smirked and said ,"And now, you'll figure out why… back in the day… they called me…The lightning conqueror" the ground sank and space distorted around him as he stood defiantly, awaiting their moves. Hiroto then said ,"Well, come on then" and the 2nd level of the battle for the right to leave the dojo had started.
The two dashed at him, Apollo sending out multiple of Art: Ki Wave and Cias sending out a few of Art: Spear bolt. They were hitting their target but Hiroto unfortunately blocked, and sent out a lightning blast that was tuned down to the level they could still dodge it (It was tuned down to about 5x the speed of sound). They dodged it within a hair's breadth, once again launching their medium level attacks, they were not yet ready to put out their heaviest hitting stuff until the end. WIth this, they were keeping up, but the gap was still a little big for them to handle. Focusing on attacking for now, they fanned out, ready to do a pincer attack. Apollo and Cias got to either side and launched at Hiroto, but when they thought they had him, the reality was much harsher, Hiroto had caught their blades with his bare hands and smiled, forcing their weapons into the ground, he kicked Cias and punched Apollo. Hiroto then said, smiling even more ,"Good you too, you're finally starting to give me a warmup".