Not all fighters were better at close-range combat than long-range, and not all mages were more proficient at medium or long-range battles.
However, Dristel was a spear fighter and focused on the battles that took place within reach of his spear. And from what he had seen, Toz was better at long-range battles since he had learned two spells suitable for that. Toz's lightning and space magic also made it easy for Toz to keep the distance between himself and his target.
Dristel was confident in his assessment of Toz and in being able to strike him down before Toz could escape as long as he made an opening, which was why he used the two Piercing Gales to grab Toz's attention.
Dristel's spear flashed through the air. Since Dristel didn't know what Toz had done with Stris, he decided to maim Toz. Maiming Toz wouldn't instantly render him victorious since Toz would still be able to use magic, but it would be enough for Nester to wrap his chains around Toz.
Due to Nester having to wrap his chains around a target for them to display their full potential, Nester and Dristel couldn't really attack the same target at the same time. Nester's chains got in the way of Dristel's spear, and Dristel's spear blew away the chains.
That was why Dristel would first incapacitate and cripple Toz so Nester could easily wrap Toz in chains to seal his magic. After doing that, it would be a walk in the park to torture Toz about Stris's location or since they knew Stris was on Taienra, make Toz hand Stris over to them.
The spear headed straight toward Toz's legs. Dristel's eyes flashed with a triumphant glint. A single strike would be enough for him to get his brother back. Dristel only looked at his target as he swung his spear, which was why he noticed the sword crashing down on his spear only after the impact.
Toz drove Dristel's spear into the deck with his swing, narrowly avoiding having his legs cut off above the knees. He wanted to counterattack and launch a fireball at Dristel. At such close range, the damage would be devastating.
However, Dristel wasn't a ninth level fighter for nothing, and he easily recovered his spear. The momentum of his strike had offset most of the force from Toz's parry, and he pulled the spear out of the deck the instant after it went down.
Dristel continued the movement of lifting his spear, turning it into an upward diagonal slash that forced Toz to step back and cancel his magic.
Dristel pressed the attack and thrust forward with his spear, forcing Toz back yet another couple of steps.
Toz knew he couldn't back away endlessly since the space on the boat was limited, but he had felt from parrying Dristel's attack, that he wasn't quite at the same level of physical strength, especially not when he hadn't had the time to reinforce his body with his mana.
Toz made use of the opening he got by jumping as far back as he could to strengthen his body with mana. He then flooded his sword with metal magic, maximizing its sharpness and durability.
Since the sword he made using all of his six elements wasn't quite done yet, Toz used the sword he made when he still had four elements. The sword was durable, and his mana easily flowed through it, as long as it wasn't mana of the void or space attributes, which also meant he couldn't use combination magic to strengthen the sword's abilities even further.
However, if Toz only needed to withstand Dristel's spear, simple metal would be more than enough, and he held it up to defend against Dristel's charge.
Dristel had quickly covered the gap Toz made and thrust forth with his spear, using the momentum those extra steps gave him. The spear tore through the air and, empowered by Dristel's wind attribute martial energy, stirred up a gust that ruffled Toz's hair.
Toz didn't face the spear head-on as he sidestepped and held up his sword to block the spear after Dristel redirected his strike and slashed to the side.
Toz's sword scraped against Dristel's spear as he pushed closer, trying to narrow the distance. His arms trembled from the pressure, but as soon as there was an opportunity, Toz let go of one hand to grab hold of the spear shaft and pull Dristel closer so that he couldn't escape.
The streams of wind energy swirling around the spear were unexpectedly sharp, and the wind tore through Toz's hand before he could even grab the spear.
However, Toz saw the intention to create distance in Dristel's eyes, so he encased his hand in metal and void magic as fast as he could and pushed through the wind.
Usually, Toz wouldn't have been able to fuse the elements and activate the combination magic so quickly. However, his brain and instincts were roaring and rampaging wildly due to the intensity and thrill of battle.
The soft, dull grey metal covered his hand, protecting him from the wind energy. If Toz had the leeway, he could've seen how it seemed like the wind energy barely noticed the metal glove. The wind parted around the metal like a coursing river parted around a rock.
However, Toz's brain was too occupied with fighting against Dristel to care about the interactions of his combination magic and Dristel's wind energy. The only thing on his mind was the opponent in front of him. A small part kept watch over the surroundings in case the chain wielder decided to interfere, but all of Toz's thoughts were regarding how to defeat Dristel.
It wasn't Toz's first battle with an opponent stronger than him. But he also didn't have that much experience actually fighting beings stronger than him.
The Scorched Earth Rat King on First Ignition was a simple-minded and easily baited beat. After luring it to a death pit, Toz and the cats bombarded it with magic until it died.
The difference in power between Toz and the demons in the Tumbling Thunder Forest had been too great for Toz to enter an actual battle with them. He hadn't even been intending to fight them since his goal was to distract them while the cats saved Scrael.
The void beasts, such as the two catfish and the shark, were even more simple-minded than the Scorched Earth Rat King. A simple strategy and cooperation with the others were enough for Toz to defeat them.
Toz had sparred and scuffled with the Bunglehoppers and other pirates in Pirate Haven, but none of them were actual life-and-death fights where he would die if he blinked at the wrong moment.
The battle with Dristel spurred Toz's senses and mind into overdrive. Each move either of them made had endless possible follow-ups.
If Toz wanted to throw a lightning bolt at Dristel's feet, he would have to prepare for the ensuing sidestep and roundhouse kick that led to a wide slash of the spear if it missed.
If Toz swung his sword with just a grain of too much strength, Dristel would take advantage of it and intentionally shift Toz out of balance, forcing Toz to roll on the ground to dodge the overhead spear strike that almost shattered the wooden deck.
However, despite the spear brushing against the hem of his coat, Toz still used fire magic to try and light the ship on fire. The risk was well worth it since Dristel had to put out the fire or risk the entire boat burning and stranding him in the Void.
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