Friendly Fight (Zhi Fang)

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Wu. Autumn, 184 AD.

The barracks of the great and magnificent city were like all others. Consisting of building forming an area of residence for the soldiers, as well as a huge rear area for training and working sessions in all areas of exercise, it was quite a large complex. A few storages full of weapons and various items, including dummies, ragged and torn, were where the trainees would grab their necessary equipment. Of course, personal training required the bladed weapons, but wooden swords and spears were available for safe dueling.

Cheng Pu strode into an empty area of the training grounds, a corner easily going unnoticed. He had no intentions of drawing attention to himself and thus ruin the training session. Pushing through the wooden door of the nearby storage, Demou reached in and pulled out a wooden spear and sword, turning around to see if Zhi Fang had arrived yet. They had promised to meet here at about that time, to engage in a small friendly duel.

The spear was for himself, sword for Zhi.

[Cao Cao]

Zhi saw Cheng Pu go through the doors to the training grounds. Zhi followed him and he saw Cheng turn around with a wooden spear and a wodden sword. Zhi waved at Cheng and walked towards him and took the sword."Lead the way to where we shall duel Cheng. This is my first time in here so I don't know my way around."Zhi waited for Cheng Pu to take the lead.

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"Why don't we just settle this right here and now? Ready yourself."

It was a friendly engagement of war. Cheng Pu had no intentions of beginning a cheap, cheated assault on his ally. Gripping the wooden spear tight, he twirled it about once casually as he stepped further away from the storage container and onto sandy ground, facing Zhi Fang. He twirled his spear above his head once more, before gripping it with both hands, left hand before the right, the latter controlling his moves from the rear of the weapon. Left leg before the right as well, but only by a slight bit, Demou's stance was firm.

"I'll let you make the first move."

[Cao Cao]

Zhi smiled and charged at Cheng Pu. Zhi got close to him and he swung diagonally at Cheng Pu. Right before he swung, Zhi placed his feet so if needed, he could make some distance between them. Zhi Fang wasn't looking for a hit, he just wanted to see how Cheng Pu would react to it.

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Cheng Pu held his spear at an angle to block Zhi's attack. It didn't even take him any skill or even effort to meet the wooden sword midair, but that wasn't what surprised Demou. It was the simplicity of Zhi's moves that honestly disappointed him. He couldn't quite grab the point, but something about the young man's attack just wasn't meeting the expectations that he had been holding for him... not exactly sure why. Maybe Demou's natural expectations or standards or just high.

With little effort, Demou pushed the sword away with the shaft of his spear, following his counter closely as he bound forward, quite close to Zhi Fang, a hint for the man to move back now; it would do Fang no good to stay where he was up close. And as he did, a propel from the sand before Demou leapt up slightly into the air and sent a kick headed toward Fang's abdomen, withdrawing his spear as he did and holding it about him and ready to block any attack toward his right foot. Left foot close to the ground, just for the sake of regaining his balance swiftly once he would have to drop back down to the ground.

[Cao Cao]

Zhi had a feeling Cheng would do that. Good, make him think that Zhi isn't that good of a warrior. Zhi did a push with his legs backwords to make some distance between them. Zhi, as soon as he landed on his feet, ran towards Cheng once again and swung his sword at Cheng. He was wasting time trying to think of what he could do. Also Zhi was looking at how Cheng reacted and how he attacked, in hopes to find a pattern that Zhi could exploit.

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Dropping lightly on his already prepared left foot and quickly following with his right, Cheng Pu regained his balance as well as twirling his spear into a ready, assuming Zhi Fang dared to attack again; at least it was better than crouching and waiting for Demou to make a move. Another slash, Demou used the advantage of his longer shaft to clash with the sword in midair. This time, Demou pushed closer to Fang with all his might, leaning on the deadlock until, with a snap, his own weapon split in halves, one consisting only with part of the shaft and the other with the rest of the shaft and of course the lethal end.

Just as he had expected. Long polearms were a disadvantage when moving too close, and Demou wanted to try something new while eliminating that disadvantage at the same time. More maneuverability and twice the chance to strike, not a bad attempt. Sticking up close to Fang, right foot moving around swiftly to intercept his opponent lest he try to retreat back again; but even if Fang didn't retreat a step, Demou still pulled his foot toward him, and what was in its way other than Fang's left leg.

Meanwhile, the weapons. Leaving the broken shaft end in his left hand, Demou pushed the sword away while the shaft followed to keep it to the side. In his right hand gripping the blade end of the polearm, the same-sided elbow bashing down upon Fang's left arm to suppress any attempts to grab Demou while the blade in his right hand swung ferociously downward, aiming to thrash Zhi's face, but if he decided to lean back, the downward stroke would still follow the face until it hit its target.

[Cao Cao]

Zhi was trapped, he couldn't use his sword to block the attack. Also he couldn't use his other hand to try and catch the spear. What could he do? A thought came to him and he reacted quickly. Zhi let go of the sword and he used his freeded hand to try and catch the spear coming downwards at his face. He then tried to push it at Cheng's other arms so he could get his left arm free. If he got his arm free he would quickly get his sword. Though if he failed, Zhi would be in trouble.

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Cheng Pu's left hand instinctively caught the falling opponent's sword without even thinking about it, while his right hand found that Zhi had caught the spear, not by the tip, but by the end of the shaft. Impressive, he hadn't underestimated the spear simply because the tip wasn't really lethal to his hand. But Zhi had made a mistake, and Demou would point that out before he reacted to anything.

"Well now, a pretty awkward stance for you, isn't it? One thing though; if this were a real battle, I would have easily kneed your balls right off of your body. You have to keep every part of you guarded, or at least under some way of protection. I'll spare the next generation of the Zhi family this time."

Seeing that Zhi was trying to push the spear toward his own arm, and that both of Zhi's hands were either full or unable to move, Demou quickly swung Zhi's sword in his left hand at Zhi's vulnerable right leg and side, two consecutive swipes. Zhi wouldn't be able to save both parts of himself; it was either grabbing the spear and getting hit in the side, a fatal blow in combat, or grabbing the sword and being downed in the face with the spear. Either way, well...

[Cao Cao]

"Well, I thank you for that but I am going to try something to see if it would work in a real battle."He waited until he saw Cheng Pu swing the sword at Zhi. Without hesitation, he quickly pushed the spear up with all his might and he quickly let go, lowered his head and leaped trying to headbutt Cheng Pu. If it didn't work he wouldn't be surprised, Cheng was a really great warrior.

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"Good job at avoiding the spear, but remember that I still have the sword to your side," Cheng Pu said as his spear was pushed aside by the young man's push. Demou knew that although he was only 30, he would soon be outpowered in a match of brute strength against the younger man. Zhi Fang was born nearly a decade after him, he had more experience but Fang was certainly the one with fresher muscle and bone. So shoving at each would most likely result in Demou drawing back forcibly.

But as Zhi Fang leapt into the air in an attempt to headbutt him, Demou knew that Fang had made the mistake. The young general was known for his intimidating yet raw appearance, chest bared and most importantly, head unprotected. On the other hand, Demou was full-clad in what plate armor he found necessary, as well as his sturdy helmet. It would hurt for the younger man, but it would teach him a lesson. It was the thought Demou bore in mind as he pushed forward himself.

The heads collided. The result? Demou left it to Zhi Fang to decide.

And at the same time his wooden sword struck the lower part of Fang's right leg. The young man hadn't made a move to avoid the weapon. In battle it wouldn't kill him, but it would surely delay his movements by a slight bit, especially with the officer's cloth pants. Man, he needed a new wardrobe or something.

[Cao Cao]

"Please forgive me, I am but a hot headed rookie who hasn't learned the real reality to battle yet. Give me some time to get good at this. Damn, that was stupid of me!"Said Zhi as he rubbed his head. Shaking it of, Zhi got up from the ground, went back a few steps and he set up his defense. He would have to be careful since he had no weapon."I shall let you come to me this time my friend."

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"Here, seeing as you need to learn a bit, take your sword. Meanwhile I'll abandon my spear and go to something that's not too acquainted with me. It might give you a better advantage this time."

Tossing the sword in his left hand at Zhi Fang, Cheng Pu assumed the man caught it and turned around to face the storage container. Hurling the two broken segments of the wooden spear into the nearby bushes, Demou rummaged through the storage for a bit before pulling out what appeared to be a pair of two swords. However, it wasn't exactly used for dual-wielding, not at all times at least. Putting the two hilts together, Demou smiled at the sound of the faint click as the two weapons combined.

Blade on each side, Cheng Pu gripped the midsection of the long hilt as he steadied his stance. Honestly, he wasn't well-acquainted with the weapon at all, but he would resolve to use it nevertheless. It wouldn't be too difficult to get used to a new item, and maybe if he liked it he might change his combat styles a bit to adapt to various items.

"I'll give you another chance at it. Make your move first, General Zhi."

[Cao Cao]

Zhi caugth the sword and begin to spin it around a couple of times. Zhi saw that Cheng was using two swords that connected together. Interesting choice. Remembering what happened last time Zhi decided to start off defensive. Zhi put the sword in his left(to clear up, he is a lefty) and raised it towards Cheng Pu. Ready to face him, Zhi said, "I shall let you attack first. I don't want to mess things up a second time."

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"Staying on the offensive is often the better way. On defense you might prevent yourself from getting hurt, but on the other hand it won't slow your enemy down at all. But if you insist on doing so..."

Lunging forward, Cheng Pu quickly dropped into a smooth shoulder roll, keeping his long weapon away from him in order to keep him from harming himself. In an instant he was before Zhi, close quarters once again. He thumbed the button on the long hilt. The two halves split, as one of the swords flew toward his left hand. Armed with two swords, Demou rose from his position, left foot pulling on Zhi's right ankle to prevent the latter from jumping back.

He would use the advantage of holding two blades. Let's see what Zhi can do now. The blade in his left hand plunged forward in an impaling attack toward Zhi's abdomen while the blade in his right swung toward the latter's side. Both were fatal attacks, and once more Zhi would have to choose between three choices: the side, the abdomen, or making a move smarter than last time. Anything was possible.