The sharp edge of the spear struck the blade he whipped back.Kael then turned backwards. "That was a good move..If it was directed at a person without any experience,he would have died." Vale’s figure dissolved into the darkness around the arena once again. His body cloaked in a swirling shroud of black smoke. He slipped from shadow to shadow, his movement silent and sharp like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. From what Ariana reported,this crafty bastard used a spear to fool the enemy and when the opponent had least expected,he would use a dagger to take you by surprise. If not prepared it could be fatal. In an instant he reappeared behind Kael, his blade coated in darkness, aiming straight for his heart. Kael turned just in time, his sword emitted a spark on meeting the spear emerging from the shadow, the clash sending out a wave of black and silver sparks that shook the ground. Vale did not linger around.The moment he felt that his attack failed,he would switch again. He vanished again, merging with the darkness, striking from another angle. Each attack was carried with deadly precision. The power of manipulating shadows gives him speed and unpredictability. Kael’s eyes narrowed as his senses heightened to the max. All he could see was patches of blur zooming in and out.For the first time Kael found himself on the backfoot, barely able to keep up. It was really exhausting to keep up with senses and keep guard all the time. ’Should I use hexagram!’ ’The bad luck might fuck me and I met have no chance if it affected me.’ ’But I can’t keep on defending standing here.Who knows how long he can go on and I have to keep defending.’ The best way to deal with it was to run away and use the opportunity when the enemy made a mistake.Yeah,it’s another thing in case you have some kind of blessing to deal with it. However,Kael’s area of movement was quite restricted. He can only move around the circle. It was dangerous yet Kael decided to use it. With a quick movement, he used a hexagram. Unlike before where he just felt the invisible energy. This time he could feel the glowing shape lit up with symbols of fate, twisting and turning with each pulse of energy. As Vale’s blade came down once more, the hexagram triggered, shifting luck itself. Fresh chapters posted on novel[f]ire.net As Vale took his stance,the soles of his feet got stuck into the crack. The blade cut the air where Kael had stood, missing by a hair’s breadth "That should not have missed," Vale muttered as his eyes flickered with unease. Kael smirked slightly, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Thank God it didn’t backfire on me." Vale was hardly able to react as the kick slammed on his torso sending him flying. Using the opening, Kael countered with a powerful strike, his sword glowing with a sharp reddish tint. Knowing his location,Kael immediately used his first step to cut through the space. It slashed through the air and struck Vale’s cloak, tearing away part of the darkness that hid him. For the first time, Vale was forced to step back, his face revealed from beneath the shadowy veil. The audience gasped as Vale’s cold eyes stared out with burning rage. Vale hissed and spread his arms wide to conjure the shadows again. The shadows thickened, stretching across the ground like rivers of black ink. He sank back into them, ready to strike again. But Kael had already formed a plan. With quick hand movements, he summoned the power of shadows around him, each one tied to the flow of light. Kael used Hexagram again. Vale reappeared mid-strike, caught off guard as his darkness collapsed on itself. Kael lunged, his blade aiming for Vale’s chest. Vale barely managed to block, the sound of steel echoing like thunder. Sparks burst, shockwaves rippled, and cracks split the ground under their feet. Again and again they clashed. Vale’s shadow strikes carried deadly precision while Kael’s swordsmanship combined with fate-twisting hexagrams made him unpredictable. Each strike sent shockwaves outward, tearing fissures into the earth. Dust and rubble exploded with each collision, and the roar of their battle drowned out all else. One clash erupted with such power that the air itself seemed to split. A violent wind blast surged outward, sweeping across the arena. It was not just wind but raw force, sharp and deadly, capable of cutting flesh and bone. The audience cried out in fear as the wave rushed toward them, strong enough to kill without effort. But before disaster struck, a shimmering barrier rose around the stands. Golden light spread like a dome, shielding the spectators from the destruction. The deadly wind struck the barrier with a deafening crash, rippling across the surface like water. The people behind it fell silent, realizing how close death had been. On the battlefield, neither Vale nor Kael slowed down. Both of them stood breathing heavily, eyes locked on each other. Vale’s cloak of darkness flickered like dying flames, but his killing intent only grew sharper. Kael’s hexagrams glowed faintly, pulsing with light as if alive. "You think tricks will save you," Vale growled, his voice low and cold. "I don’t know what spell you are using but you can’t rely on luck everytime." "We will see," Kael replied, tightening his grip on his sword. Vale launched forward once again, his entire body erupting with black flames of shadow. Kael raised his sword, his hexagram flashing with blinding brilliance. The ground beneath them trembled as if the earth itself feared the battle of two S-rank powers. Their clash this time was not just steel on steel. It was darkness against fate, shadow against light, and neither side showed any sign of breaking. The battlefield turned into chaos. Fissures spread out like webs, swallowing the stone floor. Shockwaves tore apart what was left of the arena’s ground. The sound of their strikes echoed like thunder rolling endlessly. The spectators behind the golden barrier could do nothing but watch, their hearts pounding as the fight pushed beyond the limits of ordinary men.