Lightning Is the Only Way

"See? That's what I've been telling you all this time," Jeros shouted from the side at William. "Your Martial Styles might be strong against inexperienced opponents, but their weaknesses get quickly exposed by an experienced one!"

"Shut up!" The young man couldn't take it anymore and stood up. "You don't understand the strengths of Martial Arts!"

"Be quiet!" shouted William and looked at the young man with narrowed eyes.

The young man lost some of his drive. "But Master! They are insulting our Martial Arts," he continued.

William took a deep breath and sighed. "That might be true, but they have the right," William said between deep breaths. "I am the strongest person in the Martial Hall, and they have both defeated me," William bitterly smiled now. "If I, who has mastered most Martial Styles, lose to two people with their own fighting styles, it only shows the weakness of our Martial Styles."

Gravis was impressed by William. William was an old man and had, probably, practiced Martial Arts and Martial Styles for his whole life. Renouncing his own experience and ideology required a strong heart and will. Being able to do that was very rare, and Gravis felt like he had met another incredible man today. The young man, on the other hand, went silent and continued watching.

"Yet," William turned to Gravis. "Martial Styles might be useless to you, but Martial Arts could still improve your fighting strength." William's eyes were blazing. "Martial Styles mostly imitate the strengths of beasts, but Martial Arts take advantage of the human body to increase their power. Watch!"

William took out his sword again and turned so Gravis could see his side. "This is a normal chop with my full power." William's sword slashed downwards with incredible speed. Gravis could hear the wind being cut from several meters distance, and he realized that he couldn't block this attack. His arms would break, at least. William's body was way stronger than Gravis'.

"And this," William lifted his sword again, and Gravis felt a peculiar sensation emanating from William's body. "Is the Wind Splitting Chop!" William shouted as his body bent slightly to the back, and his sword cut down with even more speed than before. Yet, this time, Gravis could not hear the wind getting cut. The attack was completely silent.

To Gravis, the second attack felt more dangerous than the first one. The first one looked like it would break anything it hit, but the second one felt like it could cut the world itself. Of course, William didn't have the strength to do that, but just the change in aura was tremendous.

"The Wind Splitting Chop makes no sound and uses the whole body's power to elevate its killing potential beyond a normal attack," William looked back at Gravis with fire burning in his eyes. "You might not have the muscle strength to hurt a middle-grade demonic beast, but if you used such an attack, you could break through such a beast's defense," he said with confidence.

Gravis grew excited but calmed down quickly because there was a problem with this attack. "It might raise the killing power of your attack, but the wind-up time is longer too. If someone took advantage of that time, you have no way to defend," Gravis explained.

"Exactly!" shouted William loudly. "That is where Martial Arts and Martial Styles differ. Martial Styles encompass a whole fighting style, while Martial Arts are singular attacks with impressive strengths, but also with weaknesses." William smirked slyly. "But you are not required to use it every time you attack. Wait for a chance, where the enemy is not ready for a counterattack and use it. Martial Arts may have weaknesses, but all weaknesses can be made up by timing!"

Gravis' eyes lighted up, and he pondered more. If he timed an attack right, he might be able to even injure middle-grade demonic beasts. Having a slight possibility to deal damage was better than having no possibility at all. "Show me more!" Gravis shouted.

William smiled. Martial Arts were still useful because they were based on the human body. "Attack me with a chop! Be serious, and try to kill me with that! As long as you don't follow up with another attack, nothing will happen to me. I will lower my strength to be just as strong as you," he shouted to Gravis and readied his sword.

Gravis trusted William and gripped his saber. He charged with his full power and released all his strength in a chop. William blocked it, but his legs buckled, and his knees shook. "If we were in a real fight, I would lose the initiative, and you would overwhelm me with your attacks. Blocking is the worst way to stop an attack in a fight. Now, attack me again!"

Gravis lifted his saber again and slashed. William angled his sword and parried, but he still got pushed to the side, Gravis' eyes following him. "Parrying is a better way to block an attack, but it requires better timing and better control of your power. My parry could be considered ok, but it was not perfect. Now, Attack again!" William continued explaining.

Gravis was not sure what William wanted to show him. He already knew all that. Yet, he attacked again. This time, William jumped back. "If I retreat from your attack, you will keep pressing the advantage and eventually overwhelm me."

"As you already know, the last way to stop an attack is a dodge. Yet, without perfect timing, this could end very badly. Yet, there is another way. Attack me again!"

Now, Gravis grew excited. He wanted to see what William would do. Gravis used another chop, but suddenly, William vanished from his sight. Gravis was shocked because he couldn't find William with his eyes. Yet, he somehow felt William to his left and turned his head. Sure enough, William stood to his left with a grin.

"You might not believe me, but I have only moved as fast as you," he explained with a grin.

Gravis really wasn't sure if he believed him. That was just too fast. He even lost track of William. "Please explain."

William jumped back to his position. "Look at exactly how I am standing. At first glance, it looks like any normal fighting stance, but all my weight is actually concentrated on my front foot. This means," William's other leg, as well as his whole body, rotated on the front leg and he quickly rotated 90°. "If I rotate like this, and you attack from the front, I will quickly stand beside you while only moving one leg."

When Gravis saw it from a distance, it didn't look special. Yet, just earlier, he had seen its effectiveness with his own eyes. "Of course," William continued, "this only works on straight attacks from the front. A side-ward slash would make this whole thing useless. Yet, with the right timing, you can surprise your opponent."

William stood up straight and mightily puffed out his chest. "If you have a Martial Art for every possible situation and use them at the right time, your whole strength will multiply! You dodge faster! You attack faster! You attack stronger! Every Martial Art is designed to elevate one key component of your strength while sacrificing another. With timing, you can ignore the disadvantages and make full use of the advantages!"

Gravis was impressed by William's performance, and he saw that Martial Arts could elevate his fighting power to the next level.

"Show me!" Gravis shouted, and William and Jeros grinned. They wanted to see how far Gravis' strength could increase.