Chapter 23 - Difference

Unlike his father's attack that Zaos saw a few days ago, that one wasn't aimed at his shield but at his left shoulder. Zaos tried to move his arm and block the attack, but then he noticed that he could only block a part of the attack with that stance. Unless he raises his shield and loses sight of Tars for a moment, the bigger kid would easily surpass his block.

In the end, Zaos decided to compromise in all senses. He raised his shield and lost sight of Tars' right side, but by doing so, he blocked the attack and gained some time to move backward and avoid the full power of the attack. Regardless, Zaos's shield trembled since that had been an awkward position to defend.

Tars didn't hesitate and stepped forward with his sword raised and shield, ready to block any attempt of resistance. Zaos clenched his teeth and just accepted the attack with his shield raised. This time he successfully blocked it without losing sight of Tars, but the pain in his left arm was starting to trouble him.

"How can I spar when I know a single move?" Zaos thought while biting his lips in annoyance. "This is so stupid."

Zaos noticed that he didn't know a single move… he was trained to use it in different situations. Still, then he recalled that Smash could be used just after a type of parry that he hadn't practiced yet. While trying that without any previous attempt was dangerous, the opponent was just a six years old child. So, the danger level was laughable. The only problem was that the stance was to parry frontal attacks, but not the ones that come from above.

Before Zaos could come up with an answer, Tars prepared another attack. In the end, he instinctively raised his wooden sword and aimed at Tars' hand. Since that wasn't a move he had practiced, Zaos missed. However, his sword still got in Tars' way, and the speed of his attack decreased due to the obstacle.

Zaos used that chance to suddenly move his shield and hit Tars' sword to the side. While his stance broke, he didn't expose his chin. Only his right side was unprotected. Zaos faked an attack with his wooden sword. Still, the very moment Tars' strengthened his defensive stance to receive the attack from above, Zaos stopped his arm's movement and then charged with his shield close to his left shoulder.

Tars were caught off guard by the sudden attack, and he ended up getting hit by the charge and knocked down on the grass. Zaos relaxed a little since he finally landed a hit… even though it had been with an attack that certainly didn't belong to any sword style.

Tars quickly got up, and Zaos recalled that the spark would only end once one side gives up. That brief moment of rest allowed Zaos to calm down and then relax a little bit. He was facing a kid who was only two years older but that also knew only a couple of things. Instead of trying to cheat with the knowledge he obtained a few days ago, Zaos decided to improvise with the things he already knew and practiced. With his shield raised and protecting half of his face, Zaos began to run to his right side. That caught Tars off guard, but obviously, Zaos wasn't fast enough for him to escape his sight.

Tars began to spin while Zaos was running in circles around him. When the bigger kid got impatient and prepared an attack since he was starting to get dizzy, Zaos increased his speed. That forced Tars to give up in attacking, but then Zaos suddenly stopped and charged at him when he corrected his stance. Tars were caught when he was still spinning, so Zaos managed to land a hit on his right shoulder. Tars fell on his knees while he slightly moaned in pain, but he managed to get up and assumed his stance in the end.

"As expected, this kid was trained to become a slow but sturdy knight," Zaos concluded. "Well, I guess it is enough of trying to win here. I should make most out of this spark."

Using his brain to win against a kid wouldn't be that satisfying since Zaos already knew that he could do it. So, he assumed his defensive stance. In the end, he would obtain much more by enduring the attacks of someone who was slightly stronger than him than winning just because he was faster.

For quite a while, the two of them stopped moving and only focused on attacking and blocking each other's attacks. Since Tars' attacks were pretty obvious, Zaos managed to avoid some of the damage by parrying them with his shield, but at the end, when the spar already surpassed one hour of duration, Zaos made his decision.

"I give up," Zaos said after a long sigh.

Zaos had plenty of confidence in his stamina, at least when it compared to other kids. Still, he didn't lose because of stamina but because his left body had been fractured. He was one hundred percent sure the other kid wasn't in a much better situation. Still, unlike Zaos, he had a glow in his eyes that made him think that he would fall unconscious due to blood loss first instead of saying give up.

"Thanks for this opportunity, sir," the armored knight said to Laiex. "I believed my son learned a lot. I don't think he had the chance to spar against an opponent as stubborn as him."

"I also thank you for this, let's make our kids spar again once they improve," Laiex said.

After saying that, the knight and his son left the residence. Zaos imagined that the kid would be scolded for not being able to defeat a smaller kid faster. Still, in the end, he patted his son's head before using a spell to heal his arm. In any case, Zaos wasn't expecting the same kind of action from his father since he could feel his cold stare.