The Foolhardies 90 Knights of Badassdom

As the older brother, I always felt it was my role to be the white knight. But Luca, being the stubborn kid he was, always wanted to steal my thunder. As if a seven-year-old knew better than a nine-year-old about how to handle imaginary hottie princesses after we rescued them.

Luca always demanded we flip a coin for it, and I was just generous enough to agree. But more often than not, I'd end up losing the stupid coin toss.

I really had crappy luck back then, but now I suspect Luca's fairy handlers were fudging things up for me to help Luca out. How else do you boost a seven-year-old's confidence and prepare him for a life of servitude in a world that treated most humans as little more than cannon fodder? 

Why am I mentioning this now when I'm in a life and death struggle with my numero uno rival? Well, I always hated playing the role. I just didn't think being the black knight was cool enough. But facing off against Azuma, a dude with incredible fighting skills, and whose fashion sense was limited to a monotone color scheme of black—even the long hair billowing behind him was shiny obsidian—I was reconsidering my opinion of the black knight's lack of coolness. Azuma was certainly showing off how much of a badass black knight he could be.

Shadowblades hummed as they whipped through the air. There was an audible clang. Sparks flew. The swish of sharp-edged weapons being drawn back, and then, like lighting smiting the earth below, the booming thunder of two high-speed metallic objects crashing into each other for a second, third, and then a fourth time. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Fiery sparks—bright even against the pale light of the Fayne's golden moon—flitted between my eyes as I repelled the pointy tip of Azuma's spear with my falchion's shadowblade.

"You're slower than I remember," I hissed through gritted teeth. Pain spiked up my sword arm as blocking just one of his blows felt like smacking my hand against an exploding rocket. Still, I held my sword up knowing death would come the moment I dropped my guard. "Guess losing your immortality's made you weaker."

That was a lie, of course. Although he seemed less reckless than our first battle back in the good old days, the Azuma I was fighting against now was way fiercer than he was before. Unlike the raging river he used to be, now he was like the calm surface of the sea that hid great currents underneath it.

"And you're a lot more chatty than I remember," Azuma shot back at me in that wispy, tired voice of his.

He lunged forward, his spear whipping at me like a king cobra striking out against its prey.

I pulled on Myth Chaser's reins and urged him back. At the same time, I sent my falchion's shadowblade down to swat away the incoming spear. Unfortunately, this left me leaning sideward just long enough for Azuma to, in a quick twist of his hand, send the butt of his spear twirling up to my face.

The guy was just all finesse, chaining one move after the next. I couldn't help but feel admiration for his skill. The surge of pain that shot up my brain from the attack to my jaw quickly erased that sense of awe however and all that remained was more pain.

My head reeled back. My left jaw burned. There was a momentary disorientation. It would have been fatal if it weren't for Fiery Blessing.

I dodged a spear thrust aimed at my chest with a twist of my shoulder.

Times like this one, you learn to appreciate the gifts fairies provide us non-magical folk. Too bad I had maybe twenty seconds left before it ran out and all I would have left was Fool's Insight. If ever there was a now-or-never situation, it was definitely here.

I urged Myth Chaser closer, pushing him to stand neck and neck with Azuma's swifthart and allowing me to come inside his range. This wasn't as easy as it sounded though. To ensure both my safety and that of my mount, I had to parry and block a succession of spear thrusts that would have been impossible to achieve without my two cheats. Still, I managed to get under his range with just a few dozen new scratches on me.

Another audible clan rang out as his spear's metallic pole slammed against my sword's blade.

"You've gained more experience in the time since we last fought, haven't you?" he asked, his voice sounding almost impressed.

"Didn't you hear? I took down a general just the other night," I countered, although I didn't really feel like bragging about it.

"Yes, I heard," Azuma said, and there was a smile forming on his wraith-like face. "Jimmy was always too soft on kids… and you're not used to fighting on a swifthart's back." 

After his obvious attempt to razz me, Azuma pulled his spear back and readied it for another pummeling of pincushions, but I had other plans.

He was right. I had no real talent for this mounted fighting, and as soon as Fiery Blessing vanished, I'd be in deep trouble. But he wasn't the only badass knight in this fight. So, it was time to level the playing field, or rather, time to return to the field.

As soon as Azuma pulled his spear back far enough, I did something no one should ever attempt while on horseback, or in my case, swifthart-back. Using all the bonus strength Fiery Blessing gave me, I jumped off Myth Chaser and launched myself at Azuma. And with my falchion raised high with both hands, I sent my shadowblade slashing downward with all my might.

Azuma blocked it. He raised his spear up with both hands and blocked my attack with the center of its shaft. I expected this. I'd be a fool not to think he could do at least this much even with all the strength I poured into my attack.

However, this first attack was nothing than a feint. My real goal was to take advantage of our momentary struggle to latch onto the thing I knew would really twist his bonnet. While my sword hand kept its hold on my falchion, my other hand reached out and grabbed as much of Azuma's annoyingly long hair as I could, right before yanking it down to the side as hard and as quickly as humanly possible.

The howl of pain that reached my ears immediately afterward was music to my, well, ears. But even this move was a feint.

Even as my momentum sent me down, I slackened my grip on my falchion and allowed it to fall to the ground beneath me while noting exactly where it would probably land. Then, with my now free hand, I reached out for Azuma's exposed neck—as I already turned his head to the side with my twisting of his hair—and hook onto it. Finally, I let gravity take the lead and send me and a surprised Azuma off his mount, forcing us both to go crashing onto the wet grass underneath us.

The ground beneath me was soft. It smelled of blood and dirt and fresh-cut grass.

I spent a second and a half feeling the shock of falling off a horse-like creature explode into my body before the last dregs of Fiery Blessing kicked in and helped me get back onto my feet.

A second or two passed before I felt Fiery Blessing leave me. My muscles tightened. Fatigue hit my bones like the splash of ice-cold water.

I stumbled, and I would have fallen to my knees with zero gas in the tank if I hadn't caught sight of the twin-headed falcon crossguard and the wooden handle of my sword-hilt a mere eight feet away.

I got lucky. My Fool's Insight was still active. This made catching sight of my sword-hilt easy. In fact, I also owed Fool's Insight for the earlier opportunity to grab at my Azuma's hair and neck without harming myself too badly. Seeing all of his minuscule movements in those few moments was really crucial.

"Come on, Dean!" I whispered encouragement to myself. Then I mustered all the remaining strength and ran for my sword-hilt.

Another five to ten seconds flitted by before it was in my hand again. Afterward, I felt the soft hum that came out of the falchion after the shadowblade had extended out of its hilt.

With my weapon ready, I turned my gaze on Azuma. He was already up and waiting for me, his spear tip raised forward with both hands.

"Ah, shit," I swore. "Guess it's time for round two."

Chapter end