>>5609399>guaranteed successSira moves his left hand to the upper third of the blade and yank it back, all the while moving backwards.
Xam is insistent on grabbing the blade, remaining steadyfast on the ground and bending his knees, trying to get the center of gravity as low as possible.
Sira can work with this.
He angles the blade to be pointing at Xam’s shoulder and moves forward, letting his greater strength to pull the blade into his shoulder.
Since he has one hand on the blade, he can make corrections to the angles akin to a spear — this is half swording, a technique more commonly used in armored fighting as it shortens the reach of a longsword but grants a more precise thrust. Still, a useful trick if they’re in grappling distance.
The thrust to his shoulder hits him hard — the force of his pull, Sira’s stepping into the thrust, and Sira’s firm grip on the blade that prevented it from flexing (and dissipating the force) has caused quite a painful impact.
By this point, Sira has gotten so close to him that even swinging his sword won’t work — there’s not enough rotational energy to ensure a powerful cut. It’s not a good spot to be in
Xam let his hand go from the blade and tries to slap aside Sira’s forearm instead. The pain from that thrust costed him enough time for the slap that Sira is able to re adjust the tip and thrust it into his left forearm.
Xam decides to drop his sword and goes for grappling with right hand. A last ditch effort in an attempt to knock him off balance and lose his sword.
Sira follows up with a thrust to the chest, and lets go of the blade, allowing Xam to catch his left forearm, but not control the blade all together.
As his arm is grabbed, Sira performs a vertical cut to Xam’s head with just one hand on the hilt and follows it up with a knee to the crotch, staggering him.
His grip on his forearm remains tight, but it bought him enough time to perform one more strike — a diagonal cut that moves across his right shoulder and ending at his left hip.
The goblin announcer calls for an end to the round. It’s over.
Xam was probably the toughest opponents he ever fought this year. Had he not react in time, or misjudged his distance and time, he might’ve lost it all.
The cheers of the crowd doesn’t even reach his ears now. Only the exhausted breathing and frequent heartbeat are all that he hears.
