Chapter 201: Damian's Strategy

A sabre and swords in terms of shape, size and use differed slightly, but the fundamentals and length of blades were quite similar in this case, giving Damian the opportunity to sharpen his technique and skill.

Against beasts, he would rely on speed, his strength and the sharpness of the blade, however, while fighting against the mercenary, he realised that there was more to wielding a blade than that.

Sabres are curved blades that have a cutting edge and are mainly used for slashing and slicing attacks. 

Swords also have sharp edges, but they aren't curved and are usually thicker than sabres and also have a sharp point, making them heavy, and allowing them to be used to stab and pierce.

Both had their advantages and disadvantages, while they also had similarities and differences, but overall, sabre wielders were likely to be able to unleash fast and precise sabre attacks, while sword wielders have a wider variety of capabilities, but may lack in speed against a sabre.

"You are quite an intelligent brat aren't you, however, you are severely underestimating the difficulty, complexity and intricacy when it comes to using blades, especially a sabre"

"It is the weapon of a killer" bellowed the mercenary as he suddenly began increasing the speed and power behind his slashes.

Damian was shocked by the sudden increase in his opponent's speed and power, and although he could sense that the mercenary was holding back slightly, he didn't think that his true power was that much higher.

Despite that, Damian was still managing to parry all the incoming attacks and had also changed the shape and form of his Fire Sword to become one that was similar to the mercenary he was facing.

However, he did so subtly so that the mercenary he was facing couldn't notice and Damian felt as though he could replicate all the attacks that the mercenary launched towards him.

Although they might not be exactly the same and wouldn't be as high quality, Damian's learning speed was incredibly fast and it seemed as though his mind and perceptivity had greatly improved from his experiences in the beast wood.

He felt as though his mind and senses had opened up and become much stronger to the point that after watching something once, he could copy it.

Damian was on the defensive and parried all the attacks as he continued being pushed back.

Despite Damian appearing to be completely dominated by the mercenary, he was still yet to be hit once by his opponent's blade and also hadn't consumed as much energy as he continued learning and improving from the mercenaries attacks.

No matter how hard he tried, the mercenary seemed unable to slash him and it was all because his attacks were starting to become wilder and he was becoming more and more frustrated by Damian.

It was exactly as Damian had hoped and he made sure to smile at the mercenary, mocking him and also annoyed him by using his own moves and also integrating them with moves of his own.

The clashing of their blades lasted for another minute and they were both beginning to sweat and their arms were starting to ache slightly from the impact that they experienced each time their blades clashed.

Watching the entire battle, the perceptive mercenaries were impressed by Damian and observed that he seemed to have the upper hand despite the gap size, age and cultivation.

Although from how the battle was going it wasn't clear that Damian had the upper hand, he was carefully setting up his trap and waiting for the mercenary to make a big enough mistake to give him the opportunity to strike him down.

Damian's Fire Blade also had explosive and burning properties and the mercenaries arm and hand were starting to experience great pain after fighting against it for so long.

A sabre could usually only be wielded efficiently in one hand, unlike a sword that could be wielded in one or two hands, depending on the size, weight and type of sword that it was.

It was quite clear that the mercenary was skilled and well-trained, so it was highly likely that he could use a sabre in both hands, but he currently only had a single sabre and his right hand and arm were starting to become sloppy.

Just like Damian had hoped, the mercenary quickly switched hands that he was wielding the blade with and also took an instant to switch stances.

It wasn't long enough for Damian to land an attack and he was impressed by how seamless the mercenary made the switch appear, however it was enough time for Damian to use that attack he had been preparing.

With the Fire Blade, he was wielding that at that moment looked more like a sabre than it did a sword, he slashed downwards towards the mercenaries head.

The downwards slash was quick and carried a lot of power behind it, which the mercenary could clearly see and put the sabre, that he wielded in his left hand, to block the attack, which was the biggest mistake he could make.

It was too late for the leader of the mercenaries to warn his subordinate and he was the only one that realised what Damian was doing, and in the blink of an eye, the fire blade that was previously slashing down towards the mercenaries head, suddenly swept to the side and slashed downwards on his leg.

Damian had really managed to successfully pull off the Sabre Skill that he had only seen the mercenary use once!

Although it couldn't be compared to that of the mercenary in terms of speed, technique and effectiveness, it was still enough to completely turn the tides of the battle.

Since Damian had been pushed back very far by the mercenary, which he had allowed to occur and was part of the plan that he had thought up, there wasn't enough time for the other mercenaries to intervene and save their companion.

That gave Damian a few seconds to finish off that mercenary and prepare himself for many more even stronger mercenaries.