Chapter 169.3

Childe struck first, bolting all around Yomite with his Hydro blades, though his lunges were quick, and came from so many directions, Yomite blocked them all effectively.

Some he deflected with his sword, some he was forced to dodge due to the sudden change in pace of Childe's movement while others simply sliced through his defensive line.

Before long, the two met again, each fighting at full force, only getting ready for the next strike.

They swayed against each other as they danced between the blades, taking turns to strike at the other. The blades clashed in the air in lightning speed, two forces of nature that clashed without hesitation.

Then, as he blocked his onslaught, Yomite saw an opening and made the bold choice, tackling Childe straight off the cliff after series of exchanges

"Oi! What are you…"

Childe didn't seem fazed. Of course, Yomite couldn't count on the element of surprise against an opponent such as this, however he was being pushed back so he had to grab each and every opportunity to break through.

The two crashed through an old wooden bridge before Childe even realized what's happened.

He freed himself from Yomite with a kick, the two went slash for slash as they slid down the cliffside, the repeating clang of the blades and Hydro could be heard all the way down the rift.

When neither found an opening, Childe bolted up the unnamed valley.

Yomite swiftly landed upon another cliff, smiling across at Childe. "You scared?"

"You…really know how to rile me up! In the beginning, I was worried this fight would end way too soon, but it appears I was mistaken. Who are you, really? My intel didn't have anything about anyone called Yomite. You're clearly an abnormality that appeared out of nowhere." Childe stated lightly, laughing somewhat.

Yomite responded with a chuckle, crossing his arms, "Ah…I'm not exactly sure how you didn't hear about me before as I'm a handsome, sexy and affectionate, amazing and a successful man, but that's good, at least it gave me a bit of an advantage."

"...Seems like I need to do my research about you. After I kill you."

The two clashed again, first in midair as they soared past each other, then again the instant they both touched the ground.

Childe's bladework was incredibly fast, much faster than Yomite's.

However thanks to the training with Hu Tao, Yomite was able to keep up and strike back in retaliation, evading anything he could not counter. Hu Tao' strikes were much faster than his, therefore it wasn't that hard to keep up, but Childe's strange movement made it difficult for him to take the lead in their exchanges.

His slashing style was different from Childe's own, taking advantage of the blunted nature of the claymore, he avoided blows and swung high to chop, mostly at his legs to avoid killing him.

He wanted to get rid of the assassin, but he also wished to interrogate him, though he wasn't sure if he would be capable of bringing him in alive. But whatever happened, he hoped it wouldn't be because of a loss.

Most of Childe's strikes were shallow cuts along the sides of his arm and neck, some nicked at his skin, although none of them pierced deeply.

They fought for nearly half an hour, a tireless pace filled with complicated turns and maneuvers.

The friction between them turned up the temperature of the battle area tremendously, causing white smoke to seep through the air.

The scorching haze rose high into the atmosphere, forming whirlpools like particles of glittering snowfall. Only the blue orbs of energy remained constant, unperturbed by the churning dust clouds.

A few small pebbles littered the surface of the battlefield, but due to the continuous flow of energetic moisture, the pebbles flitted around like fairy-dust sprites on summer night.

There were many points when their weapons clashed loudly, shaking the earth, managing to cut the air like a sizzling wire, yet they somehow managed to remain afloat amidst the mist.

During such moments, each of them were quite convinced that they would prevail, eventually claiming victory by whatever means necessary, yet even during such invincibilities, it was not easy.

Nothing could predict how long a battle would last. There was no rulebook dictating such factors. Just like life itself.

Each blow required physical and mental effort to strike, yet there was no guarantee if it would be successful, even if a particular thrust was just right, every hit could cause some amount of damage or simply miss…

So instead of fighting for glory, winning would simply mean whether you survived, but even at this point, neither of them were significantly tired.

Childe was slashing at him, his energy of motion was steady and unaffected. His aim, accuracy and power did not waver in any form.

Once Childe let loose a burst of explosive force against him, sending a column of crackling waves toward him as a wave of deadly sharp Hydro followed; Yomite barely managed to sidestep.

However, due to a sharp flick of Childe's wrist, the force behind the attack deviated slightly and struck against him squarely, the burst of liquid Hydro hurtled away, knocking him backwards with all its force.

As for Yomite, it stung painfully against his chest, but due to Childe's less sophisticated use of the attack, the Hydro failed to detonate. Not without making some fairly visible marks, however.

He wasn't injured but his shirt was torn up in the middle of his chest from the attack that almost seemed like a much weaker version of a rasengan to him.

After a few rubbs on his chest, he drew the water off of his sword, some droplets remaining clinging to the silvery steel.

For Childe, to form a fine quality elemental blades was only possible if he used elemental magic from his Vision. A highly sophisticated feat for just a human, one which Childe practiced for years.