The boots of the Vampire Knight crunched against the frozen wooden planks.
He glared at the scattered ashes of his fallen patrol and drew a two-handed broadsword from his back, pointing the steel tip directly at Kai.
The orange light from the nearby torches reflected off his iron armour.
Kai raised his left hand.
He intended to fire a quick volley of ice shards to test the commander's reflexes.
Instead of a sharp projectile, a dull ache radiated through his chest.
The magical energy flickered weakly at his fingertips and faded into a harmless white mist.
'Freezing half a lake actually drains the mana pool a lot faster than I calculated,' Kai thought.
He took a slow step backwards to put some safe distance between them.
'I am almost empty.'
"Running out of breath already, little human?" the Knight mocked.
He rested the broadsword against his shoulder and let out a rough laugh.
"You caught my grunts by surprise, but they were just cheap fodder. You are fighting a true noble of the blood now."
"I was just giving you a moment to reconsider your life choices," Kai replied smoothly.
He offered the monster a relaxed smile.
"It is not too late to jump in the water and swim back to your queen."
The Knight growled in annoyance.
He lunged forward and swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc.
Kai ducked under the blade, feeling the rush of cold air ruffle his hair.
He tried to counterattack quickly, stepped inside the guard and slashed his Fang Sword against the commander's waist.
The steel blade simply bounced off the iron plating with a loud clank, failing to leave even a scratch.
'Basic physical attacks are useless against that armour,' Kai realised.
He analysed the situation while backpedalling away from another swing.
'I need to break his defence entirely, and I only have enough mana left for one good trick. I have to make him open himself up.'
"Is that a butter knife?" the Knight laughed loudly.
He brought his broadsword up for a devastating overhead chop.
"You cannot even scratch me!"
Kai threw himself to the side.
The blade missed his shoulder by inches and buried itself deep into the frozen wooden dock.
Wood splinters flew through the cold air.
"You are slow," Kai taunted.
He circled the trapped weapon, keeping his posture relaxed to infuriate his opponent.
"Did they put you in charge of the loading docks because you are too fat to march with the real army?"
The insult landed where Kai wanted.
The commander's pale face turned red with anger.
He yanked his broadsword out of the broken wood with an angry shout.
Tied to the wooden post nearby, Eevy watched the fight unfold with wide eyes.
She expected the arrogant young man to get crushed immediately.
The Knight was twice his size and completely covered in iron.
But the stranger was not fighting a traditional duel.
He was using his words and his footwork to control the pace of the battle, intentionally making the angry monster swing wildly and waste his stamina.
"I will mount your head on the bow of this ship!" the Knight roared.
He charged forward, swinging his blade in a frantic series of heavy chops and wide slashes.
Kai dodged every single strike.
He relied on his upgraded agility, moved backward step by step, parrying only when absolutely necessary to deflect the deadly momentum.
He was leading the angry commander toward the very edge of the dock, right where the ice from his initial spell was the thickest and slickest.
"Are you just going to run away?" the Knight demanded, panting heavily from the exertion.
"I am right here," Kai said.
He stopped moving entirely and stood his ground near the edge of the frozen planks.
Seeing his target finally stand still, the Knight raised his broadsword high above his head for a final execution strike.
He stepped onto the thickest patch of ice.
Kai did not try to block the falling sword.
He dropped quickly to one knee, placed his bare left hand flat against the wooden floorboards and pushed every single drop of his remaining mana into the existing ice beneath the Knight's boots.
He did not create a new spell from scratch but manipulated the frozen water that was already there.
A thick spike of ice shot upward from the floorboards. It angled perfectly to jam straight into the moving knee joint of the commander's iron armor.
The expanding ice popped the iron rivets and snapped the leather straps holding the greaves together.
"GAAHHHH"
The Knight let out a loud shout of surprise as his leg buckled completely.
Losing his balance on the slick surface, he crashed down hard onto his knees.
His broadsword slipped from his grip and clattered loudly against the wood.
Kai stood up smoothly.
His magical reserves were completely drained, but his passive physical strength was still fully active.
He stepped directly into the commander's guard before the monster could recover.
"Checkmate," Kai said calmly.
He placed his open palm directly against the center of the Knight's chest plate.
Kai used the very last spark of his freezing magic to drop the temperature of the iron instantly.
The metal frosted over, turning pale white and becoming extremely brittle in the cold air.
Pulling his right fist back, Kai channeled his physical stats into one perfectly timed blow.
He drove his knuckles straight into the frozen chest plate.
The armor shattered completely.
Sharp pieces of cold iron exploded inward, heavy punch caved in the Knight's chest, destroying his heart in a single hit.
The commander collapsed backward onto the icy docks and stopped moving entirely.
[Enemy Defeated: Vampire Knight Lvl 25]
[Level Up! Current Level: 20]
Kai let out a long, tired breath.
He shook the sting out of his knuckles and rolled his shoulders.
The fight had been a drain on his resources, but the tactical gamble paid off perfectly.
Walking over to the wooden post, Kai looked down at the bruised and tied up rogue.
Eevy stared back at him.
She just watched a lone traveler dismantle an entire vampire squad and outsmart a armored commander using nothing but a sword, some ice, and a very sharp tongue.
"You look like you could use some help," Kai noted, offering her a casual smile.