Exhaustion. Pain. Stress.
As Daneel hastily got up after being blown back the third time since the beginning of the fight, he finally began to take some damage from the incredible amount of force which each of the arrows of the Axelorian Commander contained.
He was on his last barrier trinket, which would soon be broken if he had to sustain one more arrow from this relentless man in front of him.
What was most frustrating about the situation was that he saw numerous ways in which he could have achieved victory already if he were allowed to use Paragon power.
Sadly, he had no choice but to suppress them and carry on this battle which looked like it could go either way at this point.
Known as "Wood Cleaver", the axe that had almost formed over his head was the signature attack of the Grand Court Mage of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
Drawing from his experience as a woodcutter, Kellor had designed this attack himself.
When Daneel had previously spoken to him on the matter, he had said that he had been set upon this path by his Master whom he still sorely missed to this day.
According to him, each and every Mage and Fighter had to develop attacks on their own which resonated with some core concept or idea which was dearest to them.
Although he hadn't explained clearly why one should do so, he had given the hint that it could be the key to the highest level on the continent.
Even though he had asked the system regarding the matter, Daneel had gotten no information about it.
Thus, he had kept it in his mind before asking Kellor to display his attack.
Knowing that it would be a waste to let go of such a brilliant opportunity, Daneel had made it so that the system got enough chances to observe the attack so that it would be able to develop it using the Technique Development Tool.
Sure enough, that had come as handy as he had developed the spell and was now casting it in his Grand Court Mage's place.
The fight would soon end, as the full conjuring of the spell would result in either his opponent dying or fleeing.
Knowing this, Daneel took a moment to reflect on the fight while taking care to keep using evasive maneuvers to stay away from the Axelorian Commander.
This novel situation had let him experience exactly how regular Mages and Fighters fought, allowing him to understand even more so exactly what kind of advantages he had as a Paragon.
Being put through each situation in the battle, he had been able to develop strategies at each step to grasp victory using his unique powers.
Thus, in essence, his understanding and experience of battling had grown by leaps and bounds, courtesy of the Axelorian Commander whose bald head shone with sweat under the sun.
Still, deciding that it was time to end this farce, he raised his right hand above his head after casting one last dust cloud to make the enormous woodcutter's axe with a 10-foot long body and 3 foot long blade swing forward at the Commander, as if it were ready to cleave through anything and everything in its path no matter what resistance came in its way.
....
How the hell can this unmistakeable Grand Court Mage be so damn difficult to handle?
This was the question that repeatedly ran through the Axelorian Commander's head as he tried repeatedly to get close to the Mage in front of him.
As per the reports of his Kingdom, he knew that the Grand Court Mage was above average when it came to fighting prowess, which was evidenced by the few times he had taken to the battlefield before he had been appointed in his position.
Granted that the last fight was over 5 years ago, it just didn't make sense as to how he had been able to improve so much.
It was as if his every move was clearly seen through by the crafty eyes of this mage who conjured endless obstructions to stop him from getting close.
His prized bow, which he had spent a fortune to obtain, was of no help as the barrier repeatedly blocked his strikes.
Seeing his opponent raise his hand to command the gigantic axe to attack him, he knew that it was time for desperate measures.
Taking out a trinket that looked like a blunt pocketknife from a hidden compartment in his armor, he put his axes aside before rapidly striking himself in multiple locations all over his arms, legs, chest, stomach and legs.
Each strike only took a fraction of a second, making it so that 80 strikes equally spread out all over the front side of his body were executed in barely a few seconds.
Also, he had made sure to do this when another dust cloud was obstructing both his and his opponent's vision. Apparently, this dust cloud had just been conjured by his opponent to try to stop him from seeing the angle of attack of the axe.
In an instant, his body began to turn red while his veins swelled, now clearly visible through his skin.
It was as if each breath of his made him swell, as his entire body grew by a factor of 1.25x while his face contorted into an expression of entire pain.
Ignoring the sensations that were coming from his body which made him feel as if he were being burnt alive, he took another step behind him.
BOOOOM
Unlike any of the steps so far, this one made a hollow in the hard ground while a dust cloud flew up due to the intense force which had directly broken the earth.
Shooting forward with a speed that was at least three times faster than before, the Axelorian Commander closed the gap between him and his opponent in 2 seconds.
Above him, he could feel the axe swinging down, attempting to split him into two parts before he could reach the body of its creator.
Yet, he was too fast.
Directly punching forward with the full momentum of his dash, the Axelorian Commander broke the barrier protecting the Grand Court Mage easily before lunging forward with his other hand to catch his opponent's neck.
Seeing the expression of panic on the face of the man who had been peskily avoiding him till now, the Axelorian Commander couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth despite the pain before squeezing his hand to deal the final blow.
This was the Grand Court Mage! The right-hand man of the King himself!
Just as he was about to imagine himself going back this time with the highest of achievements on his record, he realized that there was another Grand Court Mage lying on the ground right in front of him. His dash had been too fast, making it so that he had seen nothing but a blur in his vision until this point.
POOF
SHHHHHKKK
"AAAARGHHHH!"
As soon as this realization dawned on him, three sounds echoed on the battlefield.
The first was caused by the clone he had caught in his hands disintegrating into elementary particles, while the second was the sound of the 3 foot long blade of the Wood Cleaver cutting into his side.
As for the third, it was the scream of agony that came with the feeling of almost being cut in half.
Indeed, although the axe had intended to cleave him entirely, his sturdy body and armour had managed to stop it mid-way.
Right now, he was like the stump of a tree which needed just one more swing to be cut down.
Yet, he wasn't dumb enough to give that chance.
With another scream of rage both at the pain he felt from his body and the pain he felt from his head due to being defeated in the battle, the Axelorian Commander bit down hard at a specific spot in his mouth to break a trinket that had been affixed there.
CRACK
With an audible sound, the space lock around him instantly broke, making it clear that the trinket was definitely at the Warrior Grade due to the fact that an Exalted Human Fighter had managed to break a space lock instantaneously using it.
Immediately, the Exalted Human Mage of Axelor who had been tasked with rescue operations teleported to his side.
By this time, the commander had already managed to take a step back, making sure that he wasn't in contact with the axe that had just begun to move.
His body dangerously swaying with the tissues at the cut rubbing together resulting in a veritable river of blood, the Axelorian Commander gazed one last time at the Grand Court Mage who was lying on the ground before being teleported away by the mage.
Witnessing that gaze, Daneel couldn't help but shudder seeing all the hate and unwillingness present in it.
Knowing that this was the time any foe would unleash their most desperate attack, he had taken the precaution to replace himself with the clone which only swung its hand for show.
His caution had actually ended up saving his life.
With sweat appearing on his forehead due to the close shave with danger he had just had, Daneel got up immediately, but started running back towards the border gate due the message from the real Kellor that had just sounded in his ears.
"My King, the attack on the Palace has begun."