It was an all out assault that seemed never to end. Nasiah could neither attack nor get close without being blown away or have his blows be knocked aside.
Most of the other soldiers retreated, taking as much force as they could, and left while the elite guard and Jossel fought back against Nasiah.
The wind currents they generated altogether were so strong, coupled with the vacuums that would accompany them, ensured that the valley they fought in was reduced to an endless volley of wild tornados.
Even the volcano tactic would not work here, as the rocks and lava would be redirected away in the fury of the wind.
This was the might of the Sky Cleaver. The power to lay waste to whole cities was not just too sheer might but teamwork, for a tornado is formed from multiple winds clashing against each other, wreaking havoc all around it.
Jossel made it after seeing storms and studying how their wind patterns worked. He and his guards worked for days and nights at a time to perfect it, ensuring it was the inspiring force that stood in front of Nasiah.
He enjoyed every second of it. The boy could feel their intensity, their desire to protect their nation. He respected each and every one of them to the core of his being.
"You all are amazing! You should be proud of yourselves as guardians of your nation!"
His voice howled with the winds as it caused them all to raise their eyebrows while behind their helmet. This man was quite strange, complimenting them in the middle of the battle.
Jossel was good at picking up tones from his talk with nobles. He knew what arrogance and true praise sounded like, and his enemy was providing the latter.
This did not sway him from his goal; however, in fact, it empowered him even more. He had to win to show the pride and glory of his glorious empire.
"Thank you. But now you see why you cannot hope to win. However, I see that you won't give in either. You had such potential if only you were not on the wrong side."
He sliced the air with his massive cleaver, creating a massive vacuum that sucked the rocks around it into itself. Nasiah resisted the pull by planting his feet on the ground.
Nasiah tilted his head. The wrong side? What was he talking about? He was just fighting to help free himself and his mother so that they could soon rule the world. That was the best possible side!
"Hmm? I side with the path of the stars. I will show you the glory of the trail that I make as the king of this world!"
The elite guard swung their swords once more, creating a tornado in the valley that carried massive boulders around it and sent it against Nasiah, who just stood still.
Jossel was confused. First, he spoke of being a knight in his army; now, he spoke of being the king of the world. He knew the rebels were ambitious, but were they really that full of themselves?
"The path of the stars was determined by Queen Verichiel. The Queen you stand against. You have no right to be in her way!"
He cut the ground into massive chunks before having the horse he was on kick it to the tornado, adding to the debris that was thrown around.
Nasiah watched it all, formulating a plan in his head as it unfurled. He just needed a way to get close and take out those guards first.
He looked at the threads that were being bundled up thanks to the Magick they were using. He focused on each individual thread he could notice, which one would cause these winds to falter.
That's when he realized it was not what was already in the winds that was the key; it was simply what was not. If he added a new foreign element or changed a small yet important one, perhaps these tornados could fall.
Then he remembered his fight with Forenus, when he caused the air around him to freeze him in place suddenly.
To the surprise of Jossel and the elite guards, Nasiah rushed into the tornados.
He reached out with his hand and grabbed the thread Named 'Temperature'; sliding it across his hand, he created cool air that slowed down all the winds, causing a chill to rush over the valley.
Jossel, seeing this, raised his cleaver to slice apart the cold air to make a vacuum once again. However, Nasiah decided to play with one more thread.
He noticed that since the Magick they used bundled up several of the threads together, even the smaller grey ones, that when he affected the temperature, it affected all the winds at once.
So, if he affected another small thread, this could lead to an even bigger chain reaction. And from that realization, Nasiah grabbed 'Energy' and tugged as hard as he could.
In an instant, the air itself began to freeze over, the water vapor around cooled to water, and even that began to freeze over.
The elite guard who was generating the wind had their movements nearly slowed down to a crawl, and even Jossel, who managed to resist it, was slightly slower.
Just slow enough that Nasiah propelled himself across the battlefield and knocked out all of the elite guards in a consecutive flurry of punches and kicks that sent them flying over to the cliff side, knocking them out.
When he went to Jossel, however, the knight managed to block the boy's blow just enough that he was simply knocked off his horse.
He took a deep breath in total awe of what his enemy pulled off. "You… are a worthy opponent indeed, but…."
Jossel stood up straight, dragging his giant cleaver across the ground as he stared at Nasiah who walked towards him. "As I still breathe… you will not force us to surrender!"
At that moment, they rush towards each other, weapons in hand and ready for the next round.