The Arks 164 The Ark Of Pankration

"Li Ling..." murmured the d.u.c.h.ess as she witnessed her childhood friend utterly decimating the Umbra.

Ling proceeded to lock the Umbra's neck, bending the entire body. She then let it go, switching positions and holding her stance.

The Umbra then tried to kick her in the face, but the Viscountess skillfully caught the foot. She then pushed the Umbra onto the ground, still onto its leg. She delivered punch after punch on its face.

"She's never shown us that!" shouted Vernice, trying to get a look at the fight.

"That's the Greek way of Martial arts," said Z, in utter shock.

The Umbra then dematerialized and appeared behind her.

"I praise you for doing such a bold move. But a human is only human. this limits what you can do."

After the Umbra's warning, it then tried to strike the Viscountess's head from behind.

"Pankration!"

But Ling, without hesitation, pulled on its arm, yanking it forwards. The Umbra was slammed onto the floor, from Viscountess Ling's back.

"And you are only a Shadow. This limits your expectation of us Humans. Because."

The Viscountess ran towards the Umbra's front, crouching down slightly. It looked p.i.s.sed as it prepared to strike her face. But Ling pushed the attacking punch away.

"We don't rely on Magecraft to survive. What you can't do with your powers is what we can do, using human ways."

With her other arm, she hurled her attack. She gave an uppercut towards the Umbra, sending it flying towards the corner of the wall. The Umbra landed easily on the wall, pushing itself up and quickly dashed to the Viscountess.

The Umbra appeared, trying to punch her. The Viscountess dodged each attack. She went on to attack its legs, making it fall onto the ground. She sat on the Umbra's neck, her legs restraining its head.

The Viscountess fiercely pulled on its arm by hooking the Umbra's arm around hers. Pulling on it, the Umbra howled in utter pain. With its neck locked and arm breaking, the Umbra was forced to lie there. The more it struggled, the more it hurt.

"This is payback!" yelled the Viscountess as she pulled on the Umbra's arm.

The small and weak Viscountess image in Vernice's mind quickly dissolved as she saw her childhood friend utterly send the enemy into a world of turmoil and pain.

"How is that possible? I thought she couldn't fight..."

"Then it's time for you to learn more about your friend," replied Z, looking at the fight.

"But why did she keep it from us?"

"Even until now there are things that I do not know about Mavislin. So I treat every day as a surprise."

"Don't view anyone as weak. Because once your lower your expectation of them, the easier it is for them to lower your head in defeat."

"Hmph, this is nothing!" replied the Umbra, disappearing.

It appeared in front of her, trying to punch her face. But she continued to dodge attacks, shifting from left to right. All of a sudden, Ling ducked down after the Umbra delivered a strong punch. She grabbed its waist and hauled the being above her shoulder.

Without missing a heartbeat, she slammed the Umbra down onto the cold, rock floor. The Umbra landed with a huge thump, arching its back and coughing up blood. But it quickly recovered, firing off water spearheads right at Ling.

"I've already told you..." murmured Ling as she looked at the flying water spells.

"Dodge it!" yelled Vernice, her eyes widened.

"Magecraft does not affect hand-to-hand combat," finished the Viscountess, with dulled eyes.

Ling effortlessly caught the spearheads and crushed them all with one hand. She cracked a proud smile and gave thanks to the fallen Valkyrie.

"Never thought your backup plan would work," murmured Ling, looking at her palms.

As she looked at her open hands, the feathers that were inserted under gloves glowed, albeit slightly. She then clenched her fists and looked at her current opponent.

"Impossible! She destroyed the Umbra's Magecraft!" shouted Z, with shock.

Beside him, the Valkyrie cracked a small smile as she peeked at the duel in front of her. Z was too petrified to notice the Valkyrie waking up.

"You go..." whispered the Valkyrie.

"Win the fight."

"Those feathers are what's left of my remaining strength, even if I were to fall. They are my Elemental Core, the strongest defense on any Mage's body. Place my feathers on any body part, and that place will be rendered invincible," explained the Valkyrie, as she recalled how she gave Ling a secret plan.

If Z or Mavislin loses, Ling was to use the given feathers to her advantage to destroy the Umbra. Ling placed the feathers into her gloves.