My Servant System

Chapter 443 442: By One

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Anput PoV

My blood boiled as I watched Lady Fenryas slam her palm into Kat's nose, sending the Dogkin stumbling back as blood oozed from her broken nose, before Kat managed to put up a last ditch effort to attack the Demon Wolf.

When she slapped Kat's arms away, I flinched at the sound of Kat's wrists getting damaged slightly, before my eyes widened as Lady Fenryas did it again, worsening the damage done to Kat's wrist before she grabbed her by the head.

She spoke to Kat about her performance, but I couldn't hear it from where I was, nor would I have been able to hear it over the sound of my heart drumming inside my chest.

I was angry at the treatment given, even if I knew full well that that was the type of training we were to begin undertaking from this point out.

This woman wouldn't care about whether or not we could take the abuse she was dishing out; if we broke, that just meant we were weak and unfit to train under her.

I know that, but it still didn't ease the pain and anger I felt when I saw just how she hurt my mate; Canine Beastkin were territorial and possessive by nature, and seeing what was mine being damaged made me growl.

When she finished up with Kat, the Demon Wolf turned towards me and began making her way over, her strides confident and measured as she grinned at me, her silver eye gleaming with thinly veiled amusement.

The rod in my hand had already shifted into a double edged sword - the weapon I was most comfortable with - as I strode out to meet her, making her grin widen.

Without any words we began our spar, my body shooting forwards as I closed the gap between us.

The sword slashed down towards her shoulder before flicking back towards her throat as she twisted to avoid it, making her nod in approval as she narrowly dodged the thrust as well.

Gleaming silver arcs appeared around the woman's body, and she used small movements to evade each and every single one, before she nodded again as I shifted the sword into a spear, creating distance as her arms began to tense up, like she was preparing to launch her own attacks.

With distance between us now, I thrust the spear towards her as swiftly as I could, utilizing the reach to maintain this status quo as I peppered the air around her with metal, my arms moving quickly.

I focused my eyes on her body, not her eyes as I observed the ways her chiseled muscles contracted and bulged, gauging her movements through those - though, I did occasionally check her single silver eye, since that could give away more information to use.

When she prepared to lunge forwards to grab the shaft of the spear, I yanked it back and changed the weapon in my hands once more, creating a long, thin katana that was as light as a feather.

Planting my feet, I took a deep breath before launching myself forwards once more, cutting through the air with the honed edge of this curved blade.

Lady Fenryas danced around each and every blow, her feet never remaining on the ground for longer than a moment as she evaded everything I sent her way.

Our dance lasted for a long time, as I ran through my repertoire of weaponry to try and surprise her.

War scythes sliced through the air and tried to cut into her limbs, only for her to twist her arms and legs out of the way.

Rapiers were batted aside as I thrust the light weapons towards her torso.

Claymores forced her to dodge completely as she rolled and jumped away, each blow leaving deep gouges in the sand beneath us.

Kamas and sickles were only used once since she managed to land a solid palm on my shoulder when I got too close, brushing the skin and almost dislocating my arm with the force - I managed to barely twist away from it in time, leaving me with both my arms intact for the remainder of the spar.

I could barely sense the Knights that crowded around us, watching our spar with interest as I managed to remain standing - despite the gap between the two of us being so apparent with how she handled my attacks.

Like Kat, I knew that this was her test for me, the woman finding out just what I had for her to work with before she ended it all in one single blow, and that made everything tense.

Knowing that the person standing opposite you in a fight was just toying with you was mentally straining, as you never knew when the predator you faced would lunge forwards and claim its pray.

Everything this woman does in combat has reason - every small movement, every decision, they all hold meaning, and it was up to me to figure out anything from her actions.

To learn what I could through this spar of ours.

It all comes to an end, however, and Lady Fenryas ducked beneath the swing of a club and tackled me to the ground, pinning me under her as she smacked the rod away from me, disarming me.

"Very good weapon skills, pup. You started with emotions clouding your judgement, weakening your initial barrage of attacks, but you reined yourself in quickly enough. The use of magic was admirable; constantly shifting styles is no easy feat, young one. If honed further, few would be able to stand against you with ease. You didn't crack under the pressure, but instead remained focused on the fight itself, not the mind games that were in play. All in all... not too bad, pup."

She grinned down at me, and she tapped my cheek as she added "Honestly, if I was your age I'd be doing everything in my power to tie you down to my bed. You'd make a perfect partner for me, but... oh well. You have some sharp fangs for a whelp. Let's see if they chip or not."

Getting off of me, she helped me to my feet before pushing me towards Kat, who was sitting besides Nirinia and the Marquess.

One of the other Knights tossed me the rod, and I nodded to them before plopping down besides her and resting my head on her shoulder.

I was... exhausted.

The mana usage for that trick of mine was draining, since I needed to keep the rod - it's base form - shifted constantly using my mana, which was a constant drip feed from my Core to the rod.

Add on the fight itself and the mental exhaustion from having to focus so hard to not get overwhelmed, and well...

Yeah, I was tired.

So, I leaned on my mate's shoulder and welcomed the tart scent that was so comforting as everyone watched as Jahi stepped forwards, preparing to face off against Lady Fenryas.