[Round 4] Bishop vs. Snow

The scar left on his left abdomen still ached briefly, despite it being mostly healed in the aftermath of Round 3. A wound that was a reminder to the swordsman on how his skills have diminished greatly these years..

Even the change of scenery - another terrain advantage to the swordsman - couldn't lift the more depressed mood he had for the remainder of this tournament. Not that it was anyone's fault that he was getting rather rusty, but still, the feeling wasn't something that can be ignored or shrugged off that easily. Furrowing his eyebrows to focus more on what the battlefield would look like, he frowned at yet another sandy arena, reminding him of his first round against the earth user. While there was the addition of salty water nearby...

The surrounding fires did little to make the swordsman feel any better, it's uncomfortable heat already starting to make his cloak feel warm, despite his...attuned element.

"Hm..."

The long flight to here gave quite some time for the swordsman to think about some things, as he walked to the center of the battlefield to get things started. Under the undeniable fact that there was a need to re-work on his basics... Should he stick to just plain physical combat, in order to retrain some of the foundation he lacks as of now? Getting first place isn't a possibility anymore, with Tenkai - the man that gave him the scar, taking the winning spot...

Should he, as a result, just take things more easily then? No more need to worry about getting a win every single round and finding himself troubled with each new problems. No more need to be frustrated or win at all costs, even if he contradicted himself in the last round... Is it all right if he just played casually, for once?

His eyes glanced up a bit at the stars starting to appear, the face more forlorn in expression.

Entertain himself, perhaps...?

"....Why not?"

The swordsman immediately drew out his Halberd from behind him, holding it with both hands and having the axe held close to his left side. Placing his left hand close to where the back of the axe was, he elevated the weapon up so that the axe was held just above his head, as his right hand was placed in the middle of the staff - pointing the end point of the staff in a downwards slant to the ground a few meters in front of him. Similar to a person holding the sword above their head for a downwards strike...the swordsman took that similar stance and applied it to the Halberd, waiting for the foe to appear and ready themselves for the fight ahead.

His left foot shifted back a bit onto the uneven sand, putting the swordsman into a slight right stance while he waited, taking in a deep breath... And beginning to gather in some water in the humid atmosphere, stocking up some energy for use later.

It isn't too often that the swordsman fights against someone with a shield. Much less an unfamiliar weapon like a mace, for that matter as well - but having been put through things much worse than this, if there's anything that he should already know about -

Is that things that look ordinary, most likely aren't. Especially in a tournament setting like this.

The swordsman would turn towards the opponent who had finally shown up, aiming the end point of his staff towards where the foe stood. With the staff being roughly more than six feet in length - not including the axe, which was an additional two feet by itself - it seemed that the swordsman is adopting a different style to use for today, already in a poised strike with the axe held just slightly above the left side of his head.

Keep it simple...

A lone orb - nearly transparent but giving off a dull blue glow, materialized near his presence by then; a single charge of energy that he had gathered while the opposition was late in his arrival. Chock full of condensed water, it would float lazily around the swordsman's figure as he kept his mouth shut, raising an eyebrow in question at the term 'Wheaties' that the foe was talking about.

What the hell was wheaties anyway? Some kind of drug or candy that made people go high or something? Strange words it is.

The end point of the staff would still be pointed at the foe's general position - particularly aiming at the foe's chest as an interference to a possible rush or offensive attack. As the swordsman would continue to charge up a second orb for use, narrowing his eyes to get a better look at the foe's situation...

He eyed the shield on the left... Mace on the right...

"Hm..."

Some of the swordsman's experience gave him some rough ideas on how the foe would act with that combo. If he is using those types of weapons...and if his hunch is correct... The axe held to his left side started to move a bit further away from the swordsman, giving him more room to swing from the side as he shifted from an implied, poised downward strike to a poised diagonally downward strike.

"In any case."

His grip tightened for a brief second.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

His other weapons - dual katana blades, which was hung on both sides of his hips rustled slightly with his motion as he start to finish his second charge, the foe taking the initiative in the fight. Seeing the foe lead with the shield, it wasn't hard to fathom that the tactic would probably be...

Deflect using the shield, followed by a swift counter by the mace. Or....shield bash? Perhaps shield bash followed by swift counter initiating - ahh, fuck. The swordsman's assuming too much right now.

Taking a readied stance already, the swordsman only knew one thing; In terms of distance, the swordsman himself has the edge at landing a first strike with his staff. It'll leave him to a possible counterattack, most likely but... Brief flashbacks of his fight against Tenkai, followed by the feeling of loss after that round flooded his vision for a split second. And, with that overwhelming his hesitation...without further qualms anymore, the swordsman suddenly delivered an attack at Bishop immediately after he got into his staff's range.

But not with the axe. No. Instead, it was the end point of the staff that was thrusted forward briefly, aiming downwards to smash at Bishop's left kneecap when he moved in, above the boots the foe wore. As the foe was most likely attuned to keeping his awareness at the shield he held, aiming for a low blow to immobilize him should be a bit unexpected for the mace-wielding opponent. Besides, the short thrust should be fairly unseen, especially with the shield blocking most of the view from the opponent's gaze. (no given size of the shield)

It also gave the swordsman some quick follow-up methods he can use after the attack, depending if the thrust was successful in hampering the leg or not.

Meanwhile... Two orbs would be floating around the swordsman, glowing a bit more brightly as if foreshadowing a possible use of them soon.

Landing a successful strike on the knee, the swordsman continued on the offensive as the end point of the staff was further pushed to tangle and be placed right between Bishop's footing, right after the attack. Adjusting his footing to follow Bishop's movement to his own respective right, the swordsman would have anchored most of his weight onto his left leg, using his right foot to glide along the sand and keep himself mostly faced towards the mace-to-shield wielding foe.

With a quick shift of his right hand however, the staff that would be between the opponent's legs would suddenly be flicked upwards - as if aiming for an upward strike right at the opponent's groin. But that was not the swordsman's intention.

Instead, one of the already charged orbs would disappear, being drawn into his Halberd, giving an insight on what the swordsman has in mind before -

A bright blue color shot down from the top of the Halberd towards the end point of the staff like a pulse. Making sure that there is contact of the opponent's unarmored flesh on the staff... A burst of razor-sharp ice erupted from the bottom part of the weapon like a thorny vine a split second later, bursting out of the condensed orb that the swordsman just channeled into his weapon. Used with the intent to impale and dig deep into the opponent's inner thighs at point-blank range, the swordsman would take a quick step back quickly by pushing off with his right leg, using the spikes like a hook to further tear through the flesh and maim the opponent's ability to move.

While he is unsure as whether or not the attack would actually go as planned, regardless, the swordsman would be increasing the distance briefly between himself and Bishop from the step-back, the weight now anchored onto his left leg. If this wasn't exactly a planned retreat, then the pose which the swordsman took gave him another good follow-up, either for a heavier strike with the end point of his staff, now bristling with sharp, jagged ice growing out of the bottom...

Or the axe, his left hand secretly tightening its grip around the back of the Halberd.

(( Mainly steel. And, since we're talking about the staff, here's a pic of the Halberd, just to give a better visualization instead of describing it. ))

Thankfully, the swordsman had decided to use ice instead of the more fluidic water for the previous attack. Having sent his energy into the weapon prior to the release, the Halberd was left brimming with a layer of ice coating all over the staff - and not to mention that the opponent's electrical charge was sent from where the icy spikes has struck the flesh.

If there's one thing with ice that electric users should be aware of... Ice doesn't work well in conducting electricity.

An immediate, slight tingling sensation erupted from where his hands held the staff, revealing how the ice was severely hampering the transmission of the charge to the swordsman's body. While it significantly toned down the result of the shock, it did however alert the swordsman to one thing;

"!"

Shock user!

His sense of touch, mainly his arms, stiffened a bit from the effects of the shock. But not too preoccupied with the fact that he's fighting a shock user, the swordsman was more preoccupied with the retaliation that would be coming any moment now, from the opponent's mace. Though the sound of the chains breaking loose gave the swordsman something to be concerned about, as he adjusted his Halberd to face the incoming -

Was the mace that long before?

CLANG!

Something impacted the staff he held, the Halberd's own length being used to intercept and block the swinging blow. Striking close beneath the upper portion of the staff, the swordsman fended the blow off that would have landed onto his left torso/chest section, noticing the chain binding some round object under the flames, being kept moderately away, to his left at bay by his staff. It wasn't hard to figure out that the mace had an extra extend function, now that he saw the trick. But if the weapons - and the opponent's body were all electrical based... The swordsman didn't think any further, already taking a sudden window of opportunity to discharge his second orb right into Bishop's mace. A brief glow followed suit as the orb impacted the opponent's weapon, disappearing from view.

The swordsman would continue on with the step back as planned, yanking the spiked end point of his staff out of the opponent's inner thigh, just as the orb that he discharged onto the foe's mace would - literally, in a split instant - blast off, a high stream of water bursting from behind the mace head, causing the head to fly backwards with quite a bit of force.

Towards Bishop's own unguarded right chest/torso area.

Originally, the orb was intended to be augmented onto his weapons to accelerate or redirect a strike back to target. In this case however, the swordsman instead augmented Bishop's own weapon to redirect the strike - or swing - elsewhere, turning his orb into a guided rocket nozzle to blast off. If it were simple blades or staffs, then perhaps disarming or knocking the weapon out of the foe's grasp would be a more suited role for this idea, but in a less successful manner. The problem here is the chains though.

Those gave good leeway for hurling something back, especially with the chains' flexibility.

To leave that as his parting gift, the swordsman would use that timing to quickly increase the distance between him and the foe, the mace that now became a weapon against the foe being a good enough distraction for the time being.

By then, the swordsman would have raised the end point of the staff to point at the foe's central chest once more once he acquired proper distance, using the length of his Halberd again as an impeding factor to stall or interfere with a possible rush at the swordsman. Water that would have gotten onto his cloak from the discharge would freeze to become ice, revealing areas of glitter where the trail was made by the departing mace head.

(( The pulse beforehand. There's no way that steel can have ice burst out from itself without anything on it - so the ice has to be coating the steel beforehand. I also had the orb channeled from the top of the axe down to the bottom part - meaning that I injected my orb onto my weapon, and had the surface coated with ice during its travel downward before the majority of the ice on the bottom burst outwards as spikes. Of course, since the spikes were the primary concern to the attack, I didn't find the need to mention the staff being coated with ice since it was passive - which, now I think about it, I should have mentioned just in case. >_>;

As for the mace head, I assumed that you were attacking the mid left section of my body, since that's where I thought you're aiming...but even if it is aimed for my left arm, I quickly adjusted the position of the Halberd so that the upper portion of the staff - beneath the axe - would be in the way of the swing. Hence, placing the upper portion of the staff in the way of the swing - impact - followed by me discharging my second orb onto your mace head while I made my retreat.

o3o Does it make things a bit clearer now? ))

"Tch."

It missed. Not the best outcome he had hoped for, and a dire waste on one charge in trying to land a surprise attack at Bishop's uncoordinated position. Having no charges left for emergency use, the swordsman had two possible routes he could take right now in this given moment;

One. Start up a charge and gain some distance to take the fight to long range. Two. Quickly return to the offensive while the foe is still reeling from the attack. None of them were great in regards to giving the swordsman an edge in this fight. While the wound he gave was enough to hamper and cause trouble for the foe... The swordsman needed to force the opponent down onto the ground - or inflict a major injury onto the foe's body. But with the foe sprouting lightning like an electric eel when he stabbed into the opponent's leg, only one thing is needed for the swordsman to do as the foe was in the middle of speaking.

Anchoring his weight down to stabilize his stance on the soft sand, the swordsman quickly slackened his left hand, releasing his hold behind the axe of the staff. With his right hand held in the middle portion of the staff initially, his hand went accordingly with the swinging motion, the axe sailing from his left side outward for just a short while before being brought down in a fast slashing motion from the inertia.

Being aimed in a general smash for Bishop's right knee/ankle section. A whopping two feet of sharp steel would be careening towards the foe's leg section once again, the swordsman aiming low to bypass the shield and - hopefully - the mace as well, attacking a place where it would be hard to block. After whittling down the opponent's ability to move quickly to increase his chance in landing this blow, the pants/boots that the foe wore most likely would provide some decent degree of resistance against the sharp edge of the Halberd. Though - then comes the problem of the weight behind the swing. For if the slash doesn't cut through the respective limb, then certainly the blunt force behind the swing should trip, if not also deal a concerning injury to the foe's leg as a result.

Also mindful that the opponent's body is still dangerously packed with electricity, the swordsman would, in the meantime, have more rough ice form on top of his palms and the contact with his Halberd, increasing the resistance against electric shock. Being coated with his initial orb already, while the swordsman should not be too worried about receiving an electrocution...

Well. Better safe than sorry.

The force withered away from the Halberd, it's cleaving momentum being degraded by the shield that blocked its path. Dropping to the ground like dead weight after the block, the Halberd was now in a slant on the sand, the right hand holding the weapon near the middle and keeping the lower section aloft from the ground.

This should have given a fair warning to the foe. More expecting the foe to shove in with the shield and pin down the Halberd to disarm the swordsman, rolling around the staff to attack his right side was a potential opportunity which the swordsman would take advantage of. To respond to the incoming threat, with a swift motion, he moved his right arm far away from himself, the lower section of the staff being used to strike at the chain just beneath the mace head that came careening for his right elbow. Pulling a bit backwards immediately once the chain beneath the mace got intercepted by the staff, the swordsman would use the spikes on the mace to get it tangled with the lower section of his staff - which, as Bishop would remember, is coated with icy spikes.

Tangling the mace and chains so that Bishop's primary offensive weapon would be temporarily useless at that instant. And even though the swordsman can't use the Halberd effectively at this point...

There's still his katanas which dangled on both sides of his hips. Not to mention his left hand, which is already free to move around, unlike Bishop's preoccupied hands.

SHING!

It wouldn't be hard to figure out that the swordsman's left hand just unsheathed a weapon from one side of his hips. And without a second to spare --

BAM!

The swordsman delivered a thrust with the pommel of his katana as he twisted his footwork to face Bishop's body, the weapon unsheathed from his left side, going for Bishop's exposed back. Just above the waist, and aimed right at the foe's backbone in general. The katana was held in a reverse dagger hold, the wrapped handle of the blade being held by his left hand as the pommel went for its mark.

With most of Bishop's back almost facing the swordsman during the full rotation, when the pommel strikes the back the foe should be in for another chilling surprise. A sharp frozen spike, frozen right on the pommel to add a piercing ability, allowing what would be a nasty blunt blow to the backbone... To become a more serious wound, especially with the backbone being the main nerve control system.

Paralysis is what the swordsman might be going for. But if that isn't his objective, then most likely... It's to deliver a maiming injury to paralyze Bishop's back with heavy consequences.

Even if his thrust missed, slashing into Bishop's back with the sharp spike in the process would also be all right for the swordsman.

With yet another failed attempt at paralyzing the foe, the swordsman could fathom the outcome of the foe's rotation - the surface of the shield reflecting under the fires that surrounded the arena. While the pommel strike struck close to the target, delivering a nasty gash onto the foe's body was not what he had intended for; simply because the wound would be shallow and not sufficient enough to render the foe immobile, or maim him in the process.

Narrowing his eyes, his expression revealed a more sinister intent when the idea of clawing into the wound sounded good - adding more to the injury and perhaps inciting a scream if he clawed hard in the process. Conjuring spiked ice onto his hands or fingers would make the action more easier, tearing up the flesh while he was at it, however...

His mind unexpectedly had a flashback, remembering his fight with Tenkai. That fight was still fresh in his mind, even now, and recalling how Tenkai moved when he fought him... The twirl of countering. The motion of attacking. The drawing of the sword from the scabbard.

Hit and run! Keep it basic!

"!!!"

The swordsman suddenly retreated, pulling his left hand back to sheathe his blade back into his left scabbard - the pommel coated with the foe's blood as he took a giant leap back from his advantage. Letting his right hand slide back to the end point of his staff, spikes of ice quickly vanished from the weapon as it came back to his right hand, being collected in the meantime when the staff was wrenched out of his right grasp, being hauled to his respective left from the foe's momentum. And, already losing his grip and in the middle of leaping back, the shield that came crashing in delivered a glancing blow to the moving swordsman - striking him hard at his right forearm, cutting right into the cloth and into...

Resistance?

KRRRZZTT!

A glint of light reflected off of the object underneath the swordsman's sleeves, its glossy features giving the foe a good incentive on what the swordsman has equipped.

Armor. To be more precise, a bracer. Designed and made as a gear to fend off sword blows and strikes, the bracer did its job in fending off against the razor-sharp shield that came for his arm, though the composition of it however did gave Bishop's electric jolt a few...

ZAP!

A sudden loss of feeling washed over his right arm. While the ice he had gathered back from the staff did help in reducing the full-blown jolt of the extra charge, it didn't stop his right arm from suddenly twitching, a few arcs of electricity crackling around the affected area.

"Ugh!"

Landing well on both feet, a few meters away from Bishop, the swordsman stumbled a bit backwards, a searing sensation of extreme discomfort spreading up like wildfire over his right side. Suffice to say, the extra boost in electricity did seem to affect the swordsman more seriously than he had expected.

"...."

His left hand immediately went to fully unsheathe his other blade, this time, from the right side of his hips. Fully aware that the foe would probably rush him - despite all the injuries the swordsman has inflicted onto the foe's inner legs and the nasty gash on the foe's right side - the swordsman didn't prefer taking chances against something that is an unknown factor;

The previous match being a perfect example of his own assumptions. But what can he do with just a katana held on his left hand, and his right arm nearly paralyzed from the electric jolt? Even moving the fingers or clenching proved to be discomforting, since he can't determine a touch on his senses - numbed by the foe's damn electrical current.

But if there's one thing he needs...

Cold air once swept around the swordsman like an invisible veil, ice starting to form around him as he began to prep a charge for emergency. Granted, the amount he had gathered from the staff was sufficient for one orb...but. He'll have to reconfigure the command on it before he can use it quickly in the next few moments of this fight.

Quickly now....quickly!

The swordsman could foreshadow Bishop's tactics pretty well, the fight starting to reach the climax. If the body acts like an electrical eel, and the weapons are extensions of the current to pass through... Then close range combat is certainly what Bishop would stick with.

Not surprising, with the foe already rushing at the swordsman to take the split advantage there. The affected arm continued to tingle and twitch in uncomfortable spasms, but the nullified touch might actually work for the swordsman. Though it meant taking more damage than he would have liked to.

Ah well. Exchanging shots wasn't his best forte after all. He'll improvise instead.

The eyes quickly focused on the body coming in for a bash. Returning the gaze back at Bishop, it seemed as if the swordsman acknowledged the determination the foe gave, a small smile barely seen under the guise of the night. The fire raged on around the two fighters as the foe got into range, the swordsman tilting his head slightly to the right while he anchored his left foot firmly...

Keep it basic!

Before he roughly timed his action, pushing off with his left leg and taking a large quick step to his right, moving himself out of the shield check in a simple, yet effective side dash to his own respective right. Shuffling his footwork against the uneven sand to keep himself in balance and in motion away from the shield's range, the swordsman retaliated with his left blade by slashing low at Bishop's left knee area in a simultaneous motion, his left hand gripping the blade firmly as the sharp edge went for the unarmored spot.

Intentionally using the full rush and Bishop being focused on the body check, the swordsman aimed low while he dodged once more to this time... Effectively chop Bishop's left leg completely off, if not cut into the vital muscles around the area.

And with the blade's range, the swordsman can use the most sharpest edge of the katana to cut deep into the area - hopefully through the entire leg - just as Bishop passed by, before he would shuffle a bit more to the side, turning his body around to face the foe with his footwork, the left blade pointed at the foe - similar to how he used the end point of his Halberd to prevent a rush. This time, should Bishop try to shock him upon his weapon coming into contact with his body, the foe would find it unfortunate that the katana isn't completely made out of reinforced steel.

After all; The handle which the swordsman holds the blade is completely made of wood, a highly resistant material against conduction.