While Kan was still thinking of an answer to Clive’s question, Leo had already started his fight with the mayor. Like Clive, the mayor was happy that his great grandson wanted to challenge him. It was the perfect opportunity to show him what he should aim for in the future.

The mayor charged at Leo, and Leo could only stay and defend himself. He couldn’t move his body at all. The pressure the mayor was emitting had locked him down. Leo wasn’t strong enough to fight against it, so he decided to brace himself as the mayor came to attack.

The mayor appeared instantly in front of him and swung his sword down. Leo tried to use his own sword to deflect the mayor’s attack but it was futile. It felt like he was trying to push back an entire mountain. His deflection had failed and he was thrown back. He rolled on the dirt and couldn’t stop the momentum from the mayor’s attack. It was not until he hit a tree did he come to a stop. The mayor hadn’t held his power back at all.

The impact from the tree had him winded. He got up and tried to catch his breath because he knew this wasn’t the end of the battle. His entire body was shaking from pain, and he couldn’t feel his hands because they were numb. It was a miracle that he was even able to keep a grip on his sword.

He leaned on the tree and prepared himself for the mayor’s next attack which was already coming straight towards him. The attack was aiming for his left shoulder. His attack was coming so fast and so strong that Leo could barely see it. This attack was going to decide the end of the battle. Leo felt hopeless but he didn’t give up, he had a trick up his sleeve.

“[Burnout]!!!!!!”

Leo wanted to at least land a single hit on the mayor so he used his skill. His senses rose, his muscles pulsated, and he could finally see the mayor’s attack. He swung his sword with all his strength at the mayor’s sword. It made contact but this time he wasn’t completely overwhelmed. He was able to resist the attack just a little bit, but that was all he needed.

The mayor’s attack was slightly altered from its initial trajectory and made impact with the tree. The tree was pierced through but the mayor’s sword was now stuck. Leo took this opportunity to attack the mayor. He jumped up and brought his sword down towards the mayor’s head. This was his final attempt to deal damage towards the mayor. Behind this attack was his entire strength and energy.

“Good try Leo, but don’t forget that we’re also combat locksmiths.”

The next instant Leo felt his entire body sapped of energy. It was like his entire body was sealed. He fell down but not before the mayor caught him.

“I...i’ll get you next time grandpa.”

“Come at me whenever you want.”

The mayor had won the battle. Although the battle had only lasted a few minutes, both of them used all of their strength to fight one another. The mayor would never hold back because it would be disrespectful to Leo as a warrior. That is why he used all of his strength right off the bat, giving Leo no time to recuperate.

……

Kan stepped back and looked at Clive. He didn’t know why but he felt stronger than ever. After answering Clive’s question, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body. He had never felt this kind of sensation before; he scanned his body but couldn’t tell what kind of energy was invigorating him. It didn’t matter to him at the moment though, he was about to face the toughest opponent he has ever met.

He could tell that Clive wasn’t holding back. Just looking at Clive made him scared and weak in the knees. Clive was releasing killing intent so strong that it made it hard for him to breathe. If Kan was to compare Clive to the three horned Bone Bear, then Clive was at least 10 times stronger than it.

Before Kan was even ready, Clive began his attack. He dug his right foot into the ground and kicked forward. Chunks of earth were now rapidly flying towards Kan. Kan was caught off guard but immediately summoned a wall of earth to block the incoming attack.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Kan jumped back as soon as his earth wall was broken. He didn’t hesitate to shoot wind blades toward the earth wall as he saw Clive bash through it. But these wind blades didn’t do any damage at all. Clive ignored these futile attacks from Kan and charged towards him.

Kan landed a distance away and didn’t hesitate to unlock his entire body while also covering himself in wind mana. This is what Kan had learned before he was attacked by the Bone Bear. He had learned that it was better to combine both skills of a combat locksmith and a mage locksmith together. He hadn’t had time to train this combination so it used up a lot of energy.

Kan had become considerably faster but that didn’t matter in front of Clive. Clive immediately caught up with Kan. Kan shot out blasts of water and tried to slow Clive down by freezing him, but it didn’t work. None of his attacks were working at all. Clive was like a raging bull that wouldn’t stop until it was out of energy.

The only thing Kan could do was to keep retreating. He couldn’t afford to be hit by Clive at all. If he got hit even once then it would be his lost. But no matter how much he ran, Clive would be right behind him. If he didn’t think of something soon then he would lose.

Suddenly an outrageous idea popped into his head. He continued to run but as he ran his body was slowly being covered in different types of mana. First he was covered in earth, wind, water, and then fire. It looked like he was covered in fiery armor as he ran.

When his armor of elements was done, Kan stopped running and turned to face Clive who was chasing him. Although his running stance looked weird in his armor of elements, he kept on running towards Clive. His only objective was to reach Clive.

Clive was now in front of Kan and he immediately punched forwards without holding back. The armor of elements showed no resistance at all and he punched straight through its shoulder. Clive’s eyes opened wide with shock, he hadn’t hit Kan’s body at all.

That was when he realized that the armor of elements was starting to wrap and constrict around his right arm. As the elements wrapped around his arm, he saw the face of his son smiling. Kan’s face was only inches away from where Clive had punched the shoulder of the armor.

Clive hadn’t realized it, but the armor that Kan had made was slightly larger than his actual body. Kan had thought of this plan while running away, and it would only work because it was his father that he was fighting against. Kan knew that Clive would attack a spot that wouldn’t hurt him severely, so he gambled on the spot where Clive was going to attack. His gamble was a success because Clive had attacked the fake shoulder of the armor.

Catching Clive by surprise, Kan jumped out of the back of his armor. His entire armor had mostly gathered on Clive’s right arm and that was when he finished the final part of his plan.

“Explode!!!”

The four elements on Clive’s arm started to glow and finally it exploded. After it exploded, a cloud of dust filled the area. Kan watched in anticipation. This plan of his had used up all of his energy and mana. If this didn’t work then he would have nothing else against his father.

“Hahahahaha, that was an interesting plan Kan. Using your height to your advantage was a good idea.”

Kan’s face fell as Clive walked out of the dust. He hadn’t been injured at all and was fine, except his tattered sleeve. Clive slowly walked towards Kan.

Kan didn’t have any other plans to defeat Clive, but he wouldn’t give up until he lost. With the little amount of energy left within him, he ran towards Clive and punched him. This punch had no strength behind it and was Kan’s last efforts.

“Good battle Kan. When you grow up, you will definitely be able to defeat me.”

And that was the last thing Kan heard before he felt all of his energy disappear from him.