ASTG: Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Raoh rolled his eyes once he saw the challenging look on the face of the Fire Nation’s greatest swords master. 

It seems that he must take this battle, just to prove he is worthy of a sword. 

Piandao lifted his hand and turned to the students. “You can take a break for now. Go back to the camps.” 

The students bent down, and left, leaving the large yard free for the two of them. 

“Are you sure that you want to spar words with me?” Raoh asked. 

“Please, don’t hold back,” Piandao said. “You may be the Ripper, but I too have fought countless battles with my sword against benders and non-benders. What about you?” 

“I…” Raoh scratched his chin. Flashes of five-meter large people getting cut by him appeared in his head. There were other flashes of him fighting someone who can bomb any part of his body. Other flashes of him fighting someone who moves faster than sound. “I guess I fought a few benders. Quite difficult.” 

“Acting humble? Let’s see your skills down.” Piandao jumped down and walked to the edge of the yard. There was a shelf with swords. Piandao picked up Jian type sword, and he turned to Raoh. “What’s your type.” 

“Usually, Katana, or Great Sword. But I can use any type of sword” He said. He was sure that in Avatar world they had Katana type. He remembered that girl, whose face was so white from makeup and living on Kyoshi Island, using it. He just forget her name. 

“We don’t have Katana here. Before it was taken down, Kyoshi island was making that type of sword. But here is a Jian.” Piandao picked up a sword and threw it in Raoh’s direction. 

Raoh jumped and picked it up, landing in the middle of the yard. He unsheathed the sword. “So the deal is like this. I beat you, and you show me how to craft a good sword.” 

“Humph. The deal is, show me your swordsmanship, and I’ll show you how to craft a proper sword.” Piandao walked to the middle of the yard, facing Raoh, only a few meters between them. 

“Okay, let’s dance.” Raoh held the sword from the sheath and stood still. 

Piandao unsheathed his sword and squatted slightly. His gaze was piercing Raoh, waiting for him to take his sword. Yet the latter seemed not to be doing that any time soon. Piandao decided to be the first one to attack. He held the grip with two hands, charged at Raoh, and pierced to his stomach. It was a very swift attack that can take his guts out. 

Raoh waved the sword, and the sheath parried the strike. He then spun and slashed, still with a sheathed sword. 

Piandao lifted his sword to his forehead to protect himself from the strike and jumped backwards. 

“You are not half bad,” Raoh said. 

Piandao blinked twice. People used to travel the world to come for his teachings about swordsmanship. Yet this young man is telling him that he isn’t half bad. 

“Unsheathe your sword.” 

“This is my style. Iai.” Raoh said. 

“Iai? Never heard of it.” Piandao dashed forward and rolled on the ground. In instant, he appeared in front of Roah, squatting. He spun and slashed, threatening to cut his legs. Raoh parried the strike easily with the sheathed sword. Piandao rolled backwards, stood up, and started waving his sword left and right.  

“Sheath and draw. Be careful. It’s made for lethal strikes.” Raoh said as he still parrying each strike. He was taunting Piandao. “Come, after all of that talk about how graceful the swordsmanship should be, you’re still not showing me anything.” 

Raoh waved his sword down, hitting Piandao on the legs, lifting him off the ground. Piandao rolled in the air, and he pierced forward. Raoh was forced this time to take a step to the side to dodge. 

He smirked as his foe landed, and he said. “Now this is a fight.” 

Roah squatted his left hand on the sheath and the right on the grip. 

Piandao took a few last breaths, and he said. “Impressive. Never seen someone like you. But it will end here. I won’t hold back anymore.”

“By all the means, don’t,” Raoh said. If there was someone who had been holding back, it would be Raoh himself. 

Piandao half-closed his eyes. He still has his pride as the legendary swords-master. He had cut fire, earth, and ice. There is nothing he shouldn’t be able to cut. 

He stabbed forward at a blinding speed. 

At that moment, he heard a metal clash. 

The next second, Piandao opened his eyes widely. 

His sword was broken in half… No, It was cut in half, the blade was flying in the air. 

In front of him, Raoh was already pointing his sword to the side. He smirked. “I could have taken your arm, you know that. But I chose to cut the sword.” 

Raoh surely had an unfair advantage which was called Observation Haki. He could predict every movement, its speed, the pattern, and his opponent’s feelings. 

“I’ve lost.” Piandao closed his eyes and gave a slight bow. “Your Iai style, it’s really a graceful art. Not to mention you cut my sword. Thank you for showing me that there is more to learn here.”

Piandao found someone who had already surpassed him in swordsmanship. Too bad he didn’t teach him. 

“You’re welcome.” Raoh lifted his sword and a deep frown appeared on his face. The blade was scarred, and it seemed to have the durability to cut steel only a few times. 

“I see now why you need a new sword,”  Piandao said. “Luckily for you, I’m a master smith. The swords that we make in the Fire Nation for Royalties can cut thousands of rocks without getting ruined. Of course, I only give those to my students. And so far, I didn’t have many.”  

“Like the dual Dao swords you gave Zuko.” 

“Yes,” Piandao said.

 “So, when do we start?” Raoh replied. Although, he still smelled something fishy. But he still nodded.