Chapter 156: Combat Disciplines
Watching from the sidelines, a small gasp escaped Tristan’s lips the instant he saw Aldren stumble...
For someone equally versed in the fundamentals of combat, Tristan immediately recognized the significance of what had just occurred.
It was not merely a loss of footing; it was a breach in one’s stance, a fleeting but potentially decisive lapse in structural balance.
Against an ordinary opponent, such an opening might amount to nothing more than an inconvenience. Against someone like Maverick, however, it could very well decide the tempo of the battle.
From Tristan’s perspective, Aldren had entered an undeniably disadvantageous position.
His center of gravity had shifted, his footing had broken, and most importantly, his guard had momentarily opened.
If Maverick chose to capitalize upon that opening, and judging from everything he had displayed thus far, he almost certainly would; then Aldren would be forced into an extremely difficult situation.
Perhaps, that single mistake would be enough to determine the outcome of the spar...
"Aldren’s in trouble." Maven’s deep voice suddenly broke the silence surrounding the younger generation.
The bulky youth had not taken his eyes off the arena since the battle began. In truth, he had been invested in the outcome long before the two even stepped onto the platform.
After all, he had personally witnessed Aldren challenge Maverick and that very suggestion alone had piqued his curiosity.
The reason for his interest was quite simple.
He genuinely wanted to see what kind of person Maverick had become after spending nearly a decade within the Frozen North.
Stories about that desolate frontier had circulated throughout Valoria for generations. Most people painted it as a land where survival itself was a daily battle while others said it was a land where only the strong endured.
However, the general conjecture was that it was a land where children matured beneath blizzards instead of sunlight and this is accepted across Valoria.
Naturally, because of these, Maven wanted to know whether those stories had merely produced another capable noble... Or whether they had forged something far more terrifying.
Was Maverick merely another prey hardened by harsh circumstances... Or was he himself the predator that had learned to survive by hunting everything around him?
Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for a response as the battle had already begun answering that question.
If Maven were to speak honestly, he was impressed, deeply impressed even.
To an ordinary observer, it appeared as though Aldren had controlled the flow of the battle from the very beginning.
There was his relentless advances, his overwhelming physique and his aggressive spear techniques; things that suggested he was dictating the pace of the spar.
Yet, that was not how Maven saw it. If anything, he believed Maverick had been the one exerting greater control over the exchange; not physically, but tactically.
He belived Maverick was the more proactive combatant and the reason behind this conclusion lay within one of the oldest principles of warfare...
Contrary to what most inexperienced fighters believed, attacking was rarely the difficult part of combat.
Launching an attack required decisiveness, conviction and the willingness to seize initiative.
Once a fighter committed to an offensive movement, the burden naturally shifted onto the opponent. And the defender became responsible for solving every problem created by that attack.
The attacker needed only to execute. The defender, however, had to read, interpret, calculate and respond; things that aren’t easy to do.
Every strike carried countless possibilities; would it continue forward? Would it transform midway? Was it genuine? Or is it merely a feint designed to provoke a reaction?
Every fraction of a second demanded judgment. One incorrect decision... And the battle could end immediately.
This was why experienced warriors often claimed that attacking was instinctual but defending was intellectual.
However, true defense was not simply blocking a weapon. Instead, it is the art of surviving while preserving the ability to retaliate.
To establish an effective attack, a combatant generally relied upon three essential principles which includes...
Commitment. Once an attack was initiated, hesitation often proved fatal...
Timing. An attack delivered too early or too late seldom reached its intended target...
And pressure. Every offensive sought to force the opponent into making increasingly unfavorable decisions...
These three elements formed the foundation of nearly every successful offensive technique.
Defense, on the other hand, demanded an entirely different set of qualities...
The defender required perception to accurately read the incoming attack, he also required positioning to ensure his body occupied the safest angle possible, and finally, he required composure as panic destroyed defensive structure faster than any weapon ever could.
These three principles transformed defense into something considerably more demanding than simple offense.
Yet, even that was only the beginning. Because above both attack and defense existed another discipline entirely. Something known as... Counterattack.
Counterattacking represented the highest expression of practical combat.
It demanded that a fighter successfully defend an attack without becoming trapped by that very defense.
To execute one successfully, a warrior had to synchronize numerous principles simultaneously.
Perception to recognize the attack; timing to intercept it at precisely the correct instant; distance control to remain within striking range while avoiding injury; balance to maintain complete control over one’s own body despite external force; precision to exploit the smallest opening available, and finally... Adaptability.
Adaptability is required because no counterattack ever unfolded exactly as planned. The battlefield is fluid; opponents adjusted, weapons shifted, and mistakes happened.
A fighter incapable of adapting would inevitably fail regardless of how technically perfect his initial response appeared.
Missing even one of these six principles greatly diminished the probability of executing a successful counter. But missing several made it virtually impossible...
It was precisely because Maven understood these fundamentals that he found himself increasingly astonished by Maverick.
Throughout the battle, every single time Aldren launched an offensive... Maverick somehow transformed the situation into one favoring himself.
Sometimes he defended, sometimes he redirected, and sometimes he simply yielded ground. Yet regardless of which option he selected, his movements invariably ended with Aldren being forced to defend in return.
This was something extraordinarily difficult to accomplish.
Rather than allowing himself to become trapped beneath Aldren’s relentless pressure, Maverick continuously stole the initiative away through seamless transitions between defense and offense.
It was almost beautiful, but terrifying at the same time...
"Not yet." Cassian suddenly spoke, refuting Maven’s comment.
Unlike the others, his voice remained calm and completely devoid of excitement. Even his golden eyes never left the arena neither did they wander toward his companions.
And this unwavering focus and analytical demeanor of his made him resemble less a spectator and more a seasoned battle tactician calmly dissecting every movement unfolding before him.
"What?" Tristan frowned, his brows knitting together.
He pointed toward the arena and spoke. "How is Aldren not in trouble? Maverick already has him off-balance. What exactly do you think he can do from there?"
Cassian nodded slowly.
"I understand that Maverick had certainly found an opening..." He spoke evenly. "But finding an opening and successfully exploiting one are two entirely different matters."
His gaze remained fixed upon the combatants as he elaborated.
Aldren’s balance has been compromised; that much is true. But notice something, he hasn’t fallen. He still possesses both his weapon and his footing. More importantly, his lower body remains active."
Cassian paused briefly before continuing.
"If Maverick hesitates, even for an instant, Aldren will recover his stance almost immediately. In fact, even if Maverick decided to press his advantage without delay, Aldren still has options."
Tristan frowned more deeply. He tried processing Cassian’s words for a few moments before he eventually asked. "What options?"
Cassian answered almost immediately.
"A pivot recovery. Aldren only needs to rotate around his leading foot while withdrawing his rear leg. The movement simultaneously restores balance and reorients his spear between himself and Maverick. The moment that happens, the opening disappears. It won’t be as though it never existed, but it will no longer be exploitable."
"That..." Maven nodded thoughtfully. "Theoretically, what you’re saying makes perfect sense."
He then folded his arms and continued.
"But actually pulling something like that off in the middle of a fight is another matter entirely. For one, you’d have to recognize the danger immediately, react correctly, and execute the recovery before Maverick capitalizes. If Aldren fails to do even one of those, then he’ll lose."
Cassian offered no response. Instead, his attention returned fully toward the arena, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched.
Then, in a quiet but unwavering voice, he said,
"There’s no point speculating and we’ll soon find out whether or not Aldren would lose the spar."
Their discussion had consumed only a handful of seconds. But despite exchanging observations, not one of them had truly stopped watching the battle.
Years of training had conditioned them to speak while keeping their attention upon the battlefield.
Consequently, the instant their conversation ended, their eyes remained exactly where they had always been...
Just in time to witness Maverick taking full advantage of the opening he had painstakingly created...