Blood dotted the arena floor in fine splashes, scattered like red petals across the dust, and Shen cried loudly in pain.
Shen's breathing was ragged, his abdomen was cut deep from right side, at the last moment he twisted with full force and saved himself from getting stabbed but still got a deep cut, but along with that deep cut he counter attacked at the last moment and gazed Tarak on his shoulder. The crimson was soaking into Shen's tunic, but his grip on his daggers was still iron tight.
They circled each other slowly now, no longer rushing, every step calculated. The crowd was silent .
Tarak's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on Shen's stance. "You've got skill," he said, voice low. "But you're not fast enough."
He lunged both daggers flashing in a blur of inward arcs, aiming for Shen's ribs and throat in the same motion. Shen dropped low, barely letting the first blade whisper past his cheek before twisting his own dagger upward in a defensive sweep. Sparks hissed as steel met steel.
Tarak didn't slow. His reversed his left hand taking his dagger into an icepick grip, stabbing downward toward Shen's collarbone. Shen caught the strike on the flat of his blade, but the force sent him stumbling back.
The Vice-Commander pressed, footwork relentless a forward spin into a low slash, followed by another spin but due to them being near and short distance, the hilt of the dagger hit Shen on his shoulder without stopping Tarak quickly put his daggers in sheath, put both hands on Shen's face holing him in place and a brutal knee aimed at Shen's face. The blow landed nicely. Shen blackout for some seconds coughing, and the crowd roared at the sight of the young challenger faltering.
Tarak's didn't strike he stood at one place and said "you have got talent boy but your speed is no match for me you still need practice".
Shen tried to get up Tarak said "stand down boy ". But Shen got up, Tarak snapped and came like a storm rapid and fierce, and punishing. His daggers flowed in alternating arcs, cutting shallow but precise lines across Shen's forearm, his shoulders, his side. Blood began to drip steadily from Shen's wounds, then a final slash across Shen's thighs, and his leg buckled.
Tarak's voice was calm, but it carried the weight of certainty "This is over".
Shen's head dipped. His breath came in heavy pulls. Shen looked like a bloodied monster as blood came out from every part of his body but only the cut he received on his abdomen was deep rest were minor cuts and he was not in a dire situation as he looked but if this kept up due to blood loss he could die. For a moment, it looked as if he was about to drop his daggers. Then "Click" without warning he straightened, hands going to the straps around his forearms and ankles.
The sound was faint, because of the people murmuring.
Four dense, iron cuffs fell into the dirt with heavy thuds one from each limb. The dust swirled around them. The crowd blinked in confusion.
Tarak's eyes widened "You… were wearing weights?"
Shen smiled faintly "Now," he said, rolling his shoulders, "let's see who's not fast enough."
Shen moved lowering his body for a kick start, his first step launching him forward with a speed that made Tarak's reaction too late. The first strike caught Tarak across his ribs before he could raise a guard. The second followed instantly, forcing him into a desperate backstep.
Shen pressed in, his daggers no longer merely defending but attacking fiercely. His strikes came in tight, precise forcing Tarak to keep his guard up not letting him to attack, but Shen somehow keep finding the gap between his guard .
Tarak waited patiently for a counter and after a short time Shen attack came to stop the moment he stopped Tarak without even looking just following his years of experience slashed both daggers where Shen should have been, leaving his guard wide open , but Shen he was also waiting for this very moment he knew Tarak would do this. Instead of backing away when Shen stopped his attacks he crouched down and when Tarak slashed Shen jumped and hit Tarak with his hilt on his chin ,Tarak stumbled without stopping Shen stabbed low into the space between armor plates and a sharp kick to the knee that forced Tarak down to one side
The dust settled, and both men were breathing heavy like they had ran through fire. Tarak's daggers hung lower now, his grip slipping. Now he and Shen looked same.
But the fight wasn't over, the tide had turned but it could be turned again.
Tarak clenched his teeth, a growl rumbling from his throat. He tightened his grip and lunged again, abandoning his defense for sheer force. His right dagger swept in a vicious horizontal arc but Shen slid past it, rotating on his heel so close that the blade's edge brushed his tunic.
The second dagger came up toward his jaw.
Shen caught his wrist mid-strike, twisting sharply, the joint popped, Tarak's dagger falled in dirt.
The Vice-Commander roared in pain and swung with his remaining blade, but Shen stepped inside the strike, their chests almost colliding.
In that heartbeat, Tarak suddenly leapt, driving both feet into Shen's chest with a brutal dropkick.
Shen went sent flying backward.
Tarak rolled to his feet, bit down his lips hard, and with a sharp pop, forced his dislocated joint back into place. Without hesitation, he retrived his fallen dagger from the dirt, his eyes locked on Shen once more.
His left-hand dagger swept upward in a vicious slice. Tarak spun mid-air, bringing his right hand into a arc, attacking fiercely . Shen, still on the ground, scrambled backward on both hands and feet, barely avoiding the steel. He kicked himself upright in one fluid motion and raised his daggers.
They began circling again, the crowd roaring for blood.
This time, Shen struck first.
He sprang forward, raising both daggers high and bringing them down in a momentum fueled strike. But Tarak's timing was perfect his boot slammed into Shen's abdomen. Shen staggered back, coughing, blood spilling from his lips.
Tarak pressed instantly as Shen faltered, blades flashing in a relentless assault. Shen fought back, his left hand clutching his wounded stomach, knowing he couldn't last much longer.
As Tarak's killing blow descended, Shen made a desperate choice. Instead of retreating, he spun inward, closing the distance so the strike might only graze him. Steel hissed past his cheek, barely missing and by some twist of fate, the hilt of Shen's dagger smashed into Tarak's temple.
Tarak froze mid-motion, blacked out for a second. Watching Tarak stop and not attacking without wasting a moment Shen ran towards him in one smooth, brutal motion, he drove both daggers into Tarak's abdomen. As the pain surged through his body Tarak jolted awake his weapons slipping from his hands as his knees buckled as he cried in pain. Shen poised his dagger on Tarak's throat.
"Yield," Shen said, his voice low and unshaking.
The arena fell into absolute silence. Tarak, breathing raggedly, met Shen's eyes, for a long moment, Tarak's glare burned into him the kind of glare that held grudges for lifetimes. But in the end, the Vice-Commander's chest rose and fell once more… he sighed .
Slowly, he nodded and opened his hand in surrender.
A single shout broke the silence, then another, and then the arena erupted in a roar that shook the air.
Shen stepped back, lowering his blades, his face unreadable as he also fell to the ground and fainted.