Chapter 012: One-on-One Fight

“Basha, stop talking nonsense. We Dwarves fight when we fight, kill when we kill. There’s a reason we’ve come after you today!” Tata Tie said loudly.
“What’s your reason? You’re chasing me so openly—aren’t you afraid of my father’s wrath?” Basha demanded loudly.
Basha’s father—the king of the Dwarves! A god-like warrior! He held the highest status among the Dwarves. If these people dared to chase after Basha, it meant they were prepared to defy the Dwarf King. By asking this, Basha was actually trying to uncover the backing behind them.
Basha believed that the Tata tribe would never dare defy the Dwarf King. Just bringing in the entire Black Panther Knight Corps would be enough to destroy the entire Tata tribe!
“Basha, stop using your father to scare people. If it weren’t for your father, what would you be among the Dwarves? Look at you—still being chased, not even knowing who wants to kill you. With such a weak mind, and yet you became the lord of Glass. How tragic!” Tata Jin said leisurely.
“Tata Jin, then who’s the mastermind behind attacking me?” Basha asked.
“Heh, what a joke. Our tiny Tata tribe would never dare touch the son of the respected Dwarf King. The reason we dare chase after you now is because we have someone behind us who can rival your father,” Tata Jin said.
“Who is that person?” Basha asked loudly.
“I can’t tell you yet,” Tata Jin replied after thinking for a moment.
“When can you tell me?” Basha asked.
“When we’re about to kill you, or when you’re about to kill us,” Tata Jin said after a pause.
There was a sense of an unbreakable feud in Tata Jin’s words.
After hearing this, Basha also fell silent for a while.
Tata Jin saying such things clearly meant that they and he were now locked in a deadly conflict.
“That Tata Jin or Silver… Do you think you still have a chance of winning?” Du Fan said with a smirk.
“I am Tata Jin!” Tata Jin retorted angrily upon hearing Du Fan deliberately mispronounce his name.

“Gold and silver aren’t that different, are they?” Du Fan continued smiling. “Let me ask you—why are you brothers named Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron in that order?”
“Hmph, do you really need to worry about that?” Tata Copper, who had remained silent until then, snorted coldly.
To be honest, the four brothers of the Tata family weren’t very satisfied with their names either. Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron—arranged in that order—it gave them a strange feeling. Naturally, their names were given by their parents. The father of the Tata Metal Brothers was a very famous blacksmith, whose weapons and armor were well-known among the dwarves. This blacksmith had an indescribable affection for metals, just like many dwarves, but his love for metals was even stronger.
So, he named his four sons after things he liked—those metals, of course.
Tata Gold, Tata Silver, Tata Copper, and Tata Iron—these were the names their father gave them.
Generally, coming up with such names is quite difficult, but one day, their mother gave birth to all four of them at once. The blacksmith, who loved metals so much, happily decided on their names right away.
The Tata Metal Brothers also had a habit of disliking it when others mentioned their series of metal names. This habit had formed since they were young.
When they were little, whenever people saw them, they would joke, “Ah, Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron have arrived!” Although those people didn’t mean any harm, to the four brothers, it sounded completely different.
It’s like a person with a slight flaw—something that seems insignificant to others, but when pointed out, makes that person feel differently.
It’s as if the person pointing out the flaw is deliberately trying to bother them, to humiliate them.
When Du Fan emphasized Tata Gold, Tata Silver, etc., it sounded extremely unpleasant to the brothers.
“Are you the human boy, Du Fan?” Tata Iron asked.
Among the Tata Metal Brothers, Tata Iron was the youngest, but he had the worst temper. Usually, in a family, the youngest is the most pampered, and thus has the worst temper.

“Not bad, I am Du Fan. You all know me?” Du Fan said with a smile.
“Hmph, of course we do. You human boy Du Fan, do you dare challenge me to a one-on-one fight?” Tata Tie was extremely annoyed upon hearing Du Fan mention their four brothers, and he couldn’t help but want to fight him.
Tata Tie completely forgot that it had been Du Fan’s move that had taken the life of the Mountain Giant.
“Since you want a one-on-one fight, I’ll grant your wish,” Du Fan laughed heartily. He flipped his wrist, put away the Holy Radiance Staff, and took out Frostfall Snow.
Seeing Du Fan pull out Frostfall Snow, Tata Tie was stunned for a moment.
From the start in Glass City, Du Fan had always shown himself as a wind mage, never revealing that he was also a warrior.
Tata Tie had thought, “You’re just a mage, right? Our dwarves have natural magical defense. As long as I get close to you, you’re dead!”
Suddenly seeing Du Fan pull out a long sword, he was shocked.
Could a mage fight with a sword? Or was this person deliberately making his staff look like a sword?
But Du Fan’s next move dispelled Tata Tie’s doubts.
Carrying the long sword, Du Fan actually walked straight toward him!
When had mages ever carried a long sword to engage in close combat with warriors?
It was only when Frostfall Snow glowed brightly under the light of his combat aura that Tata Tie realized Du Fan was also a warrior!
Du Fan raised his sword and thrust it at Tata Tie. A bright flash appeared in the night sky, like a dazzling ray of sunlight.
That ray of sunlight shot swiftly toward Tata Tie!
That sword strike made Tata Tie break into a cold sweat. He had been wondering why Du Fan, a mage, would carry a sword to fight him in close quarters. The moment he figured it out, Du Fan’s sword was already aimed at him.
And its speed was incredibly fast!
Faced with the sudden attack, Tata Tie shamelessly fell backward and rolled on the ground to barely avoid the strike.
He picked up Frostfall Snow, gave it a light blow, and stood aside, waiting for Tata Tie to get up.
“I say, Tata Tie, is this really your best skill? Still wanting to fight me?” Du Fan said with a smirk, glancing at him.
“You!” Tata Tie was so furious he couldn’t speak.

What can I say? It’s a fact that I was indeed stabbed by Du Fan’s sword and rolled on the ground. Could I possibly say that I was rolling on the ground because I was wondering why a magician like you would carry a long sword and come fight me?
He never said I was a magician.
Tata Tie couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. With a shout, he raised his axe and swung at Du Fan.
Du Fan quickly blocked with his sword. As soon as he blocked, the axe struck hard, and then it quickly changed direction and swung at Du Fan again!
Tata Tie’s axe swings grew faster and faster. After more than a dozen swings, Du Fan felt he couldn’t keep up! The speed of these continuous attacks was simply too fast!
Du Fan quickly activated True Sight. With its help, Tata Tie’s attack speed seemed much slower, and Du Fan could also see the path of the axe swings. With True Sight’s assistance, Du Fan managed to withstand Tata Tie’s barrage of axe strikes!
Tata Tie’s seemingly relentless attacks lasted fifteen seconds—during which time he swung his axe 360 times!
That meant Tata Tie swung his axe 24 times per second on average!
Such a speed was astonishing! If someone could swing an axe once in a few hundredths of a second, it wouldn’t be too strange. But to maintain such a speed for fifteen seconds straight was extremely difficult! It was a matter of endurance. While explosive power could help achieve such speed once, sustaining it continuously required an extremely strong physique!
Another crucial point was that after swinging the axe in a continuous attack, it had to be pulled back before the next swing could be made! From this perspective, even a Saint-level warrior would find it hard to swing 360 times at such high speed in fifteen seconds.
“Is that it?” Du Fan said with a smile.
While pretending to be very relaxed, Du Fan placed his hands behind his back. This posture appeared even more carefree in Tata Tie’s eyes.
Du Fan transferred Frost Snow from his right hand to his left hand behind his back, then twisted his already numb right wrist several times. Although Du Fan had blocked Tata Tie’s fierce attacks, his right hand had gone numb from the violent strikes!

“Why not continue?” Du Fan took advantage of Tata Tie not having answered yet and quickly asked again.
As Du Fan launched another wave of fierce attacks, Tata Tie’s expression showed signs of strain. After all, Tata Tie’s previous fierce attacks weren’t random; they were one of the Tata family’s ultimate techniques, called the Axe of Madness.
It is said that this technique was created by a highly talented martial artist from the Tata family!
That ancestor also had a great interest in blacksmithing. After studying various methods of hammering metal, he developed a technique that could increase the speed of hammering to an extremely terrifying level.
Later, he applied this hammering technique to axes, creating the ultimate move known as the Axe of Madness!
To Du Fan, it seemed like a wild flurry of blows, but in reality, it was Tata Tie’s most powerful secret technique: the Axe of Madness!