There was a moment of silence on the battlefield. All Martial Apprentices focused full on their opponents, sizing them up, evaluating the situation and what course of action to take.
That moment ended quickly.
And all hell broke loose.
The three Martial Apprentices of the Lowminer Industries shot towards the bandits. They fired a storm of attacks forcing the bandits to diver their attention towards them.
That's when Fae, Kane and Rui jumped in. The three of them sandwiched the bandits against the Martial Apprentices, punishing them through sheer numbers.
Dalen and Milliana circled a little further back, attacking and pushing them back any time one of them tried to squiggle their way through. Their Martial Art were not suited to belligerent attacks like the ones their peers were conducting.
Furthermore, trying to prevent someone from escaping was much harder than trying to not get beaten, which is why the bandits were proving to be a handful.
Yet, despite six-to-four disadvantage, they somehow were just barely managing to not get instantly overwhelmed.
('This blondie is strong.') Rui had recognized that long ago.
He was able to fight Rui and Kane at the same time, something Rui didn't think was possible within the Martial Apprentice Realm, but evidently, he was wrong.
The man had distractingly golden hair and eyes, almost as if they were emitting light rather than reflecting it. Yet his hair and eyes were only the second most attention drawing trait about him.
His Martial Art was remarkable, he had a wide wealth of Apprentice-level techniques, even more so than Rui and Kane combined.
What Rui found interesting was that he was an all-rounder. He had no distinct shortcoming and he was truly strong in all categories.
He avoided a kick from Rui while blocking an attack from Kane. Rui shifted as he threw a barrage of a Vital Pressure strikes, which the man calmly proceeded to parry with a single arm, swinging his other arm with remarkable speed and power towards Rui.
Rui bent backwards narrowly avoiding the strike, however that left him wide open for a follow up, which the man promptly launched.
Kane managed to throw him off by blasting him with swift kicks, forcing him to divert his attention. What shocked Rui was that he wasn't much slower than Kane, despite having a well-built frame. He used a variety of Apprentice-level maneuvering and speed techniques allowing him to keep up with Kane despite that.
Rui came to have more and more admiration for the man. An Apprentice-level technique for everything, a solution for everything.
This is what Rui strived to obtain. This is what Rui strived to become!
Why had he gone through the pain of putting himself in such dangerous missions? So that he could obtain techniques of higher grades to develop and expand his Martial Art!
He grew more and more driven as the fight proceeded, fighting with greater vigour than before.
Dalen pushed him back as he tried evacuating.
"Tsk." He tutted before dodging a kick from Rui and blocking jabs from Kane.
He slammed Rui away with a powerful spinning kick technique, Rui felt a huge impact despite having used both Elastic Shift and Acute Edge.
('This battle would have been over long ago if it was just me.') Rui recognized that. He had been saved by kane multiple times, and he had bailed Kane out multiple times. They both did their best to prevent him from focusing too much on one of them.
They both knew that if he did manage to focus on them for long enough, they were dead.
Speed just a level below Kane.
Striking power just a level below Fae.
Defense just a level below Dalen.
They both felt insignificant. The pressure he emitted as a result of his power was greater than any Apprentice Rui had ever seen, including the Apprentice instructors at the Academy.
What made Rui feel worse was that all-rounders were the worst type of style for the VOID algorithm. Because they had no straightforward shortcomings that could be exploited. The VOID algorithm loved shortcomings; it loved gobbling these weaknesses.
Strikers generally had a wrestling shortcoming.
Wrestlers generally had a striking shortcoming.
Speedsters generally had a power shortcoming.
Tankers generally had a mobility shortcoming.
But all-rounders had no such thing. Meaning the VOID algorithm had to go through greater pains to develop a counter-style. Furthermore, Rui hadn't fully adapted the more advanced version of the VOID algorithm to suit the Martial Art of Gaea.
These were the impediments that stood in Rui's way this time.
The man managed to knock Kane down, and was about to pummel on him when Rui just barely managed to draw his attention with Flowing Canon.
He spun out of the way of the strike, generating enough torque for a powerful strike.
Rui just barely managed to block, reeling from the impact.
For a moment there, the man was free of both the pests holding him back. Yet just as he dashed away for an escape.
Dalen charged into him, pushing him back into the fray where Kane showered him with a flurry of swift strikes.
And back to step one again he was. His frustration was growing more and more palpable the longer this dragged on.
He had long given up on the Sky Crystals, they hadn't even crossed his mind ever since the three Martial Apprentices of the Lowminer Industries popped out.
He had one, and only one, objective.
The Sky Crystals, his patron, his subordinates.
None of those mattered to him at this very moment. He would gladly sacrifice all of them on a silver platter if that meant he would be able to escape this predicament.
('I will not die a dog's death on this battlefield.') He swore in his heart. ('I am destined for much greater things.')
He demeanor became more and more desperate as he began fighting far more ferociously. The longer the battle went, the lower his chances of escaping and surviving.
This was his final chance.