Infinite Paths: The Raging Phoenix

With a surge of power, he pushed Jori's sword away and then rotated his body to hit him with a roundhouse kick. Jori was pushed in the air and then fell in an arc before landing and coughing a bit. It was amazing that he didn't tell and roll on the ground since the kick had been strong enough to make him fly for forty meters.

The orc quickly caught up with him and then used a rain of thrust attacks aimed at Jori's heart. Jori used his sword to block them and waved his body to avoid others, but he was barely able to do so… the enemies weapons began to cut his flesh a little and little more.

"That idiot… What is the point of holding back when you are being hurt in the process?" Reca asked after a long sigh.

The orc possessed a potent technique akin to a berserker rage, granting him a substantial increase in both speed and attack power. It shared similarities with Rain's Limit Breaker but had distinct characteristics.

Unlike Limit Breaker, which boosted physical abilities without affecting mental clarity to one hundred percent, the berserker rage sacrificed clear thinking for raw strength immediately. The orc's eyes blazed with an intense, uncontrolled fervor as this technique coursed through him, lending an aura of ferocity to his strikes.

Crucially, unlike Limit Breaker, the berserker rage did not enhance the user's defensive capabilities. Instead, it prioritized pure offense and swiftness, making it a formidable technique for overpowering opponents with sheer might and rapidity.

It became a clash of techniques, each with its unique strengths and weaknesses. Jori's Limit Breaker took a balanced approach, elevating his abilities while maintaining mental clarity and enhancing his defense. In contrast, the orc's berserker rage prioritized overwhelming power and speed at the cost of clear-headedness, resulting in a compelling battle of contrasting techniques.

"Maybe I can use that as well, even if it will probably increase the stamina consumption," Rain thought.

All of a sudden, Jori suddenly felt his back colliding against the wall of the arena. He looked behind for a moment, and then in the next, he saw the opponent's sword moving to his head. Jori moved his body to the side, and the swords only hit and pierced the walls made of silver.

In the next moment, he hit the opponent's torso with a body slam while he was busy pulling his sword that, put some distance between them.

Jori took a deep breath… fighting like that was hard, fighting not to kill while the opponent was definitely trying to kill him. They were in their turf, so they could do whatever they wanted, after all.

Still, Jori had gotten tired of staying on the defensive. It was time to fight seriously. When the opponent was about to attack again, Jori pointed his sword to himself and then attacked his wrists and heels. Everyone around looked like Jori had just done something insane… but then the weights fell from his limbs, and everyone was left speechless when they fell on the ground, making a loud noise.

"... I guess you guys are insane," Rain said while seeing that Reca was also fighting with her weights on, but they were hidden under her clothes.

"You are the one to talk," Reca frowned.

Rain was also wearing his weights, but it was only because he felt restless without them. In any case, Jori went to the offensive after he moved his body again and felt lighter like never before. It seemed that it had been a while since he fought without the weights.

Jori didn't use Impulse, he just ran toward the adversary, but he was fast enough. When he swung his sword, the opponent moved him to block the attack. Still, Jori suddenly used Limit Breaker to stop the attack and then move his sword upward before swinging down.

The orc didn't have time to change his stance and block the attack, so he jumped backward, but the armor in his chest was still hit by Jori's sword. The sound of metal colliding against each other echoed in the area, and when the orc landed, his chest armor began to fall on the ground, and a wound in the shape of a line appeared in it.

The orc was surprised that the blade actually cut through the armor like that. Jori was recovering from the effort that he just put in. Changing the sword strike while he was in the middle of it was dangerous since it could damage the muscles, so he had to cool it down before it suffered too much damage.

The orc's frustration manifested audibly as he emitted a deep, angry grunt. His face twisted with irritation and displeasure, clearly unhappy with the fact that Jori had outpaced him in strength and speed during their battle.

Despite the orc's substantial physical strength and muscular body, he found himself vexed by Jori's nimbleness and agility. This unexpected disadvantage chipped away at his confidence, as he had always relied on his brawn to establish dominance.

As the battle raged on, the orc's growing frustration became increasingly evident. The awareness that he was falling behind in the fight weighed heavily on him, and his angry grunts reflected his determination to regain control and surmount this unexpected challenge.

While the opponent was pissed, Jori changed his stance a bit… he moved his sword to his right side and then to his back while assuming the tail guard. He was wide open, and that kind of stance truly didn't agree with him that much. Still, maybe he was going to show some techniques of the swordsman path or even beyond.

The orc suddenly raised both his swords and moved them in front of him to create a cross-guard… It was probably the best option against a powerful attack. Rain thought that both Fighters were similar, but they changed stances again and again numerous times in the battle. It was time to show who truly had the upper hand.