BXBX NOVEL Chapter 99 Battle
Even as she stood behind Xzavier, watching him and his opponent glare at each other in preparation for battle, Adalia remembered her very first encounter with him, and how it had also been tinged with bloodshed. She recalled how Xzavier had single handedly slaughtered the monsters that had encamped round her that night.
But even then, Adalia didn't realize just what level of trouble Xzavier was drawn to him. After being through a lot with him, she had come to understand that Xzavier's integrity was the backbone of his character. And because it was in constant opposition to this world, it always invited altercations.
Therefore, with this knowledge as her base, Adalia examined the situation, as well as the volatile elements involved, and surmised that this was going to be one hell of a violent altercation. With the fight looking more and more inevitable with each passing moment, Adalia then made the conscious decision to take advantage of the situation by slipping away unnoticed while all eyes were still on the two men.
This wasn't a decision that was based on cowardice. Adalia was under no illusion as to the extent of her own capabilities. She couldn't afford the luxury of being deluded enough to think she would be of any real help, especially in a situation like this. The objective-thinking maiden knew her place, she was only a woman with no combat skills, and she also had no magic at all. There was simply no denying the fact that she couldn't provide any assistance if she stayed.
Seeing that it would be considered rude of her to simply disappear without any word, Adalia quickly made her announcement to Xzavier before she dashed off;
"I'll be right back!"
Wishing she could run faster than the quickest horse, Adalia ran with all her might towards the governor's mansion. That was the only thing she could do.
Meanwhile, the standoff between both men continued. With almost a dozen feet of space between them, it was safe to say that there was a sizeable distance between both men. But that didn't stop the chief servant from lunging at Xzavier.
In the blink of an eye, he screamed at Xzavier and crossed the line separating them. His speed was both admirable and shocking. Because of his blinding speed, Xzavier was taken off guard and couldn't react appropriately. So, he was forced into a defensive position. His instincts took over, and he employed the cross-cross defense via his arms. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to deflect or even cushion the blow.
The chief servant's blow landed neatly on Xzavier's right arm with a crashing thud. Xzavier had factored in his opponent's speed, weight and arm power, and had therefore anticipated a certain degree of force, but unfortunately for Xzavier, the effect of the blow was more deadly than his original calculations had envisaged.
The moment his opponent's balled fist made contact with his arm, Xzavier felt the raw, crude power from the chief servant's arm. If it were possible, in that very moment, Xzavier would have loved to slow down time just so he could take a closer look his enemy's fist. But regrettably, that was out of the question. It felt like an industrial machine made of titanium had slammed into his organic arm that was made of flesh and bone.
The lingering effect of the pain was diabolical. The residual force dislodged Xzavier from his already formidable stance. Feeling like he had been knocked off his feet by a rampaging wild bull, Xzavier found himself suddenly flying through the air. His sorrows seemed to have multiplied. As he struggled to keep himself from going nuts because of the burning white pain that was searing through his arm, and bearing down on him, Xzavier was also cursed with the overbearing thought of anticipating the pain that was waiting for him the moment his back hit the ground.
Eventually, his nightmare came to pass. His back slammed into the wall of a nearby store, shattering the plastic decorations on the wall of the store. Xzavier was now battling pain on two fronts. His arm was still very much aflame with the agony of a shattered femur, the pain threatened to eviscerate his bone fragments and completely dislodge his entire arm from his joints. The pain at his back was a watered down version of the pain in his arm. But that didn't mean it wasn't in any way still agonizing. Xzavier suspected he had ruptured a few of his own ribs in the process of all this.
And this was only the first blow.
Suddenly, a familiar voice, sprung up within him, echoing his own suspicions.
"Major Xzavier, please be advised, a slight bone fracture has been observed in your left arm."
It was the military system! Its automated, generic voice announced the first casualty of this battle. Xzavier didn't think he would be hearing from the military system again after such a long moment of silence. This kind of brought on a blanket of solitude for Xzavier.
But that blanket was ripped off of him the very next second. As Xzavier tried to suck in a lung full of air, he seemed to have taking in a deep breath of burning ice cold pain instead of oxygen. With no other option in sight, Xzavier began to ride the pain on a wave of of anger. Anger was the only thing that could serve as a shield for the pain. This ancient, primitive reaction was what Xzavier turned to rely on. In that moment, it was all that it had.
It was his own defensive mechanism. Xzavier had so many reasons to be enraged. For one, Xzavier had expected this altercation to go the way most market brawls went. It was supposed to be a simple dispute. However, he had just been given but a small taste of what awaited him should he chose to tread on this path. The stranger clearly had every intention of killing him! The bloodlust in his initial attack proved to be all the evidence Xzavier needed.
From the beginning, when Xzavier saw the way this chief servant had positioned himself before he pounced, he knew that this was no ordinary servant. Even then, there was no possible way of discerning his true strength. Even now, Xzavier still hadn't been able to successfully psychoanalyze the enemy completely. But one thing was clear though from the severity of his attack; this was an enemy who wasn't afraid of bearing the consequences of killing someone in the presence of so many witnesses.
This new deduction showed how far away Xzavier was from the battle. Xzavier had somehow misread the severity of the entire situation. And all for what? Just so the delinquent act of a playboy prince could be swept under the rug?
While Xzavier ran a marathon through his own mind as he looked for reasons behind the opposition's justification for attacking with the intent to kill, the other man with a quiet pair of eyes was also making his own assessment.
He was a lot intelligent than he had let on. Unlike the other empty brained servants, this particular guy had a lot of brain power. His initial attack was no mistake. As destructive as it was, the attack had only been a calculated attempt to gain much needed Intel on Xzavier. The trial and error had proved that Xzavier was an ordinary person who could not do any magic.
"But why was he so confident back then? What strange card was he banking on that he had the impudence to lay his hand on a noble?"
These were questions that needed immediate answers. But in the heat of the moment, and with no time to actually ponder on such benign observations, the chief arrived at his own conclusions.
"So, at the end of the day, he's just a nobody after all…"
His cold expression hardened as he looked down condescendingly at Xzavier.
"Whatever you may be, I've got to hand it to you, you're a pretty bold bastard! I'll give you that for sure!"
His sarcastic tone now dripped contempt. Every atom of respect he previously had for Xzavier vanished like dust before the wind. All he saw now was a fraud, an empty, cocky bastard who had simply perfected the art of appearing to be a bad guy with dangerous abilities. To the chief servant, it was laughable and just pathetic.
But Xzavier wasn't done yet. The servant's guard was down having successfully figured out his enemy. He thought that this would be a breeze from then on. It turned out to be a disastrous mistake.
The first sign of danger didn't carry the ominous doom of an omen. The chief servant noticed Xzavier searching through his pockets as he lay on his size, half dazed. He was a bit cautious at first, but since he had already ruled out Xzavier to be a clown, he found himself leaning more towards curiosity than caution.