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[F11 - PP - Shield & Beat] Clashing of the Titans


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It was very hard for Shield to resist rolling his eyes at Beat's clarifications. "Well, I suppose if we're going to count unarmed attacks in an armed combat, then we'll have to count Flame Aura in a Thorns match as well. 'Seven to six, my advantage' it is." He was not sore over the redefining of the rules. They were not what he had in mind, but it certainly gave Beat a lot more options. It would make the second half of their point match tricky. Shield ignored Beat's offered hand, instead rolling back onto his hands and kipping up onto his feet. "The old man hasn't lost any steps, don't you worry."

Shield was very distinctly aware of the similarities to their days in Crossreign. The biggest difference there was that he was not all turtle at the time. Though defense was his specialty, he could do more than poke Beat with his thorns. In this moment, he wished he had ways to punish back, but as that was not how the two of them were built to operate. It wouldn't be an accurate gauge of their skills. He wondered if including a riposte as a loose form of 'defensive damage,' but it was a stretch, and his level and reflexes that came with it were already an advantage. He didn't need to open the door to press other advantages.

Joining Beat in the center of the garden once again, he took up his stance, this time, guarding on the left and holding out his sword in a fencing position, elbow and knees bent, eyes calm and focused on his opponent. He reached forward and slapped the tip of Beat's spear to 'touch gloves' before resuming his stance.

Board reset. Time taken off of the clock. Speed chess. Board rotates. Make your move, white.

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Beat heard the irritation in Shield's voice at his clarification and he could see why, but they had defined the points as clean hits, so Beat figured it was a striking match more than anything. As they walked back to the garden, he spoke while going over their last exchange in his head, "Well, we defined points as partial and clean hits, not weapon strikes. Unarmed strikes normally don't do much damage, but they do offer advantages when landed and they take skill to use well. I was counting your flame aura with that shield hit, don't worry. It's fair game for sure." Beat was unusually fair when it came to tests of skill or combat and the last thing he wanted was any hard feelings one way or the other. 

It's not as interesting, but I can play keep away a little more if I need to and I do have a trump card I don't think he'll be expecting.

He met Shield's "touch of the gloves" and moved back to just outside of his own range. With the points so close, he saw no reason to conserve energy. It would be over one way or another in no time.

Vent Forth...

His spear shimmered as he took a quick step forward, making a quick, low sweep. Immediately, the spin would reverse and make a second sweep attack at Shield's mid section before coming back around for a third, this time at his head before Beat launched a thrust into Shield's mid section. 

 

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Shield's knees, already bent, sank even further, using the drop of his weight to stick the sharp downward curves of the manticore's wings into the dirt, caging in his legs and feet to protect them from the first sweep. He rose slightly, stepping with his back foot, making a subtle pivot to lead with his shield. As the second strike came, a slight turn of his wrist and his shield rolled with the strike, angling it upward so that it slid up and past his head. A slight turn of his body and a move of his elbow and his fortress moved around him, meeting the third strike on the opposite side and deflecting it once again over his head.

Seeing the final strike at his center, Shield posted up behind the Manticore Mask and did not move. Even as the spear head struck, the Stonewall mod refused any give, sending the shock of the strike right back up the spear handle into Beat's hands. The energy from the impact had to go somewhere, after all, and Stonewall lived up it its name, shutting it out entirely and returning the force pound for pound.

White opens with a blitzkrieg offense, but black opens his side to guard the king side pawn and then threaten white queen.

As the clash of metal on metal rang out, Shield advanced, pushing forward through the shaft of the spear, driving it back towards Beat. Despite his size, Shield's advance was sudden and as quick as his defense had been. His sword arm came up over the top, bracing his blade in the crook between the wings, rushing in with the point forward and the Manticore Mask forward, staring Beat down with its angry red eyes.

Black rook emerges from open side and pursues white queen!

Edited by Shield
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  • 4 weeks later...

Beat's face lit up with a smile as his hands tingled with the force of his strike being returned to him. He wasn't entirely surprised and his focus unwaveringly caught the sudden shift to offense as Shield pressed against his spear. Beat hopped backwards with the force, maintaining contact against the shield to maintain his reach advantage. As Shield's sword came over the top of his Shield, Beat made his move.

I'm not ready for you to get close just yet. You stay right there. 

With a final hop backwards, matching Shield's forward momentum, Beat's spear shimmered once again as his back foot dug into the ground, kicking off to the side to force the charging fortress to change with him if he wanted to keep up. 

Let's see your stonewall skill work while you're not grounded. Imperial Southern Cross! 

Beat's spear flew forward, six nearly simultaneous strikes probing Shield for openings as they moved at high speed around the garden. A final central thrust finished the sword art, Beat's feet staying mobile as his gaze intensified. They were playing for the last few points and one mistake would easily be the end for either of them. 

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