"Who would have thought you were hiding here? I thought I would never find you."
I instinctively ducked my head as something grazed through my hair and then hit the three behind me. I jumped back onto another branch to create some distance between us.
There stood a 20-year-old teen with a buzz cut. His oversized clothes weren't able to hide his bulky body. I knew who he was. He was one of the strongest among the traitors within the camp. He should have made an appearance a lot later in the novel but he was not before me.
"I don't understand why he sent me to hunt you down when you are this weak. Such a bothersome job to do..."
'This man is dangerous. I am not sure if I can even beat him.'
He was the son of Ares, god of war. His aggressive attitude was a common trait among Ares' children. Being the son of Ares, his battle senses and knowledge were sharp and collected.
As we intently stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move, I caught a glimpse of his quad muscles contracting, indicating he was planning to lunge at me. I enhanced my senses to react to his attack.
Just then, he vanished from my sight, leaving the subtle sound of the wind behind him. My senses weren't able to locate him. Before I knew it, he had already appeared behind me. He thrusted his elbow towards my neck which I was barely able to pair with my crossed forearms. The force of the impact pushed me back a couple of steps and my forearm hurt really bad.
"Not bad, kid. It would be rather disappointing if you just died after the first strike."
'This guy is beyond my league. I gotta make a run for it.'
"If you think so mighty of yourself, how about you try to withstand my punch while standing still, huh?"
The man raised one of his eyebrows, surprised by the challenge I presented to him. Since he didn't say anything, I continued.
"I will take your silence as no. I guess you are scared to even confront a weak freshman like me."
"Fair enough. I accept your challenge. If you lose, however, you will face a terrible death in my hands."
'He actually fell for the bait. What a muscle head.'
One thing Ares and his children struggled with was their pride as warriors. Since all the children of Ares knew was how to fight. In a way, they were demonstrations of what a muscle head was. If they were confronted with a challenge that questioned their physical prowess, they would accept the challenge to protect their pride and prove themselves.
"I hope you don't die from this..."
I murmured loud enough to let him hear me, taunting him to feel an extra need to protect his dignity. The divine energy spread across my body and I dashed towards him. As he readied himself to take my attack head-on, I suddenly changed directions halfway and started running away. He was left with a dumb look on his face.
"Stop! I said stop, you piece of shit! You will pay for this dishonorable act with your own life!"
"If you think you can catch me, I respectfully advise you to give up on trying!∼"
"Killing you is gonna be quite fun!"
For the next 10 minutes, I ran away as fast as I could, and finally arriving at my destination, I halted. My opponent also came into sight behind trees. We were in a relatively secluded area of the forest.
"Nowhere to run now..."
He dashed towards me, leaving chunks of dirt scattering away due to the force his foot applied to the ground. I took my stance and cooled my mind off. I didn't have a second chance in this fight.
The first hook came from the right, holding great force. I quickly lifted my arm up to guard my head. As soon as the punch hit me, I felt a pain cruising through my arm. Gritting my teeth, I kicked his knee to make him lose his balance. Following the kick I swiftly threw an uppercut. Although the uppercut landed right on his chin it did nothing but force him to take a few steps back in shock. On the other hand, I felt like hitting a rigid stone.
I waggled my hand to ease the pain. Coming back to his senses, his eyes locked on me with killing intent.
"What a surprise..."
All of a sudden, he disappeared from the spot.
'Is he behind me?!'
I turned around, thinking I would confront him but there was no one behind me. I scanned the surroundings to detect where he was. However, before I realized it, a shadow dawned on me. He was coming at me from above. He had lifted his katana up and was probably planning to slice me into two as if cutting butter.
I unsheathed and reverse-grabbed my daggers, holding them in a crossed position to defend myself from the incoming attack. The blade connected with my daggers and a shockwave jolted from my arms to my upper body. I tried to stand my ground but he pushed his blade down with more and more force.
Eventually, the strength in my arms drained away and I couldn't keep withstanding his blade anymore. My hand gave out as he penetrated my defense and daggers slipped out of my hand to the ground. Without anything standing between his sword and me, he shoved the blade down on me.
The blade aimed at my heart, planning to kill me in one go. I had no other chance but to protect my vital points by sacrificing another part of my body. So I turned to the side at the last moment to divert the sharp blade into slashing my arm.
"Aargh!"
As the blade dwelled deep into my skin, the pain numbed my mind and senses. I lost control of my body for a split second. But it was enough for my opponent to kick me in the abdomen. The kick sent me crashing into a tree.
Reappearing in front of me, the man gripped my throat and lifted me up. I could feel the sensation of blood coming through my mouth. My eyes were blurry and I couldn't feel or control my right arm. I could see a deep cut running across from my shoulder to my forearm. The blood was steadily dropping to the ground through the tips of my fingers.
"It's over, kid. You will be buried along with your camp."
A menacing voice entered my ears. However, the man before me didn't receive the reaction he was expecting.
"Hehe..."
"What's so funny, huh?"
"You had lost before the fight even began..."
I could see a bunch of vines crawling its way towards us.
"Tsk... I guess you lost your mind. Did I hit you that hard? Anyway, goodbye!"
Just before his hand was going to pierce my chest, his hand stopped halfway as the vines clung to his legs.
"What the hell?"
Before he could comprehend what was happening, the vines pulled his legs off, causing him to fall onto his face. As a result, I was freed. Taking advantage of his vulnerable state, a hidden blade came out of the sleeve of my functioning arm. Before he could defend himself, I thrust the blade at the vital spot on the back of his neck.
Without making a single noise, his struggling body halted. I had a direct stroke at the point where the rest of his nervous system and his brain connected, killing him instantly. Without an ounce of strength left in my body, I collapsed onto the ground. The rattling of war in the distance sounded husky.
"hahah... haha..."
Giggles of relief found its way out of my mouth involuntarily.
'I won.'