The oblique angle had been establishing the distance he needed. Now he closed it — faster than his previous approaches, longer strides, the full extension of his reach advantage driving him across the arena floor with the confidence of someone whose primary counter had been neutralized.
He was going for the third contact.
William assessed his available options in the fraction of a second he had.
Fire — degraded, below required precision for technical application. Available for blunt force at reduced effectiveness.
Wind — available, full precision. The turbulence counter from the first exchange. But Renner's guard structure had been adjusted specifically to resist wind technique since that exchange. Not closed — adjusted. Harder.
Water — available, not his primary affinity, required more essence allocation for equivalent output. Useful for disruption, not ideal for contact.
