35 Trading blows

Boom

The ground beneath them sank as a crater was formed. The shockwave was so strong, that it sent Laura flying.

Thankfully, the teen from earlier had taken advantage of the situation to lead the old man and his daughter away, else they get caught in the aftermath.

Those watching quickly moved back as they realized that the exchange between these two brothers was not simple at all.

Meanwhile, Cedric was shocked.

Max managed to block his attack the first time but he chose not to believe that a cripple was capable of performing such a miracle, thus he also attributed it to something that Laura did.

But now, Max had done so once again.

In fact, he dared to trade blows with him and what was the result?

Cedric took a step back as his right hand trembled whilst Max stood strong with no visible changes.

"…How… How is it possible?" Cedric muttered in confusion.

Max did not have the heart to taunt him, thus he spoke frankly. "All those years I've been gone Cedric, I wasn't just wallowing away in self-pity."

"But that doesn't change the fact that you have no magic!" Cedric shot back.

"My ability has nothing to do with magic," Max said.

Cedric stared at him for a few moments before he blurted out. "Sage…"

Max nodded. "Mn. I'm a Sage now."

"I see… It would seem I underestimated you. For you to be a Sage capable of exchanging blows with me, you haven't slacked off. This is good actually."

"How?"

"That means the fight between us wouldn't be a case of me bullying you."

With that said, Cedric prepared to have another go. Apart from his killing intent, his fighting spirit also grew, almost as though he had something to prove by defeating Max.

Max got into a fighting stance as he took a deep breath.

Both men dashed forward simultaneously, closing the distance between them in a single step.

Within a few seconds, both men traded several blows, each one trying to get the better of the other but for now, they were evenly matched as their attacks only made to cancel each other out.

Shockwaves occurred due to their collision, further damaging the ground.

With the last blow traded, they both took a step back for a breather, at least that was what it looked like before Cedric began to weave hand signs.

Max stayed his hands and was about to say something when a booming voice was heard, beating him to whatever was to be said.

"Enough!"

Cedric felt a restraining force slam into him at that moment, effectively rendering him immobile, and causing his technique to be canceled halfway through.

"Who is it?" He asked in annoyance.

"I was willing to watch you two brothers settle your grievances with your fists but even daring to try and summon?... Are the laws of Tudor County to be taken lightly now?"

Cedric remained mute as he realized his mistake. Looking at Max, it was clear that he was not being suppressed. With a sigh, he muttered. "I have made a blunder."

Zion Empire was one filled with magicians, more than half being Summoners. With how destructive fights can be between such people, some rules were put into place to reduce the collateral damage.

One of them included that no Summoner was allowed to summon his contracted summon in populated areas which included Cities, villages, and even parades.

As long as it was a case of settling personal grudges, then personal combat was better suited as a summon would surely cause collateral damage, as well as put people's lives at risk.

This was why the city guards had not shown up till now.

It wasn't like they did not know what was happening but that they needed a good enough reason to sanction the noble kids without getting into trouble with the nobility.

Max was made aware of this rule due to Laura's tour which was why he had not attempted to summon, though he felt like there was no need to do so.

Unfortunately, he was unable to stop Cedric on time and now the city guards had found a reason to suppress them.

Just then, a portion of the crowd opened up as a middle-aged man wearing armor walked in with ten armored soldiers behind him.

Their appearance caused the noble girl and her two blond companions to immediately retreat to the side of their guards, worried that they could be taken away.

The middle-aged man saw this and snickered. "You nobles only dare to act when facing those weaker than you. I would love to see you throw your weight around now."

The head of guards for the noble teens spoke up. "We do apologize for any inconveniences we may have caused. I hope you can be lenient to let us off with a warning."

The middle-aged man snorted. "Fine then, I am a benevolent person after all, but this should better not happen again, else you lot will be ejected from this city, take heed."

"Thank you." The leading guard remarked before directing their group to quickly leave.

Cedric, albeit unwilling, rose to his feet after the middle-aged man had released his suppression and turned to follow them. After a few steps, he stopped in his tracks and turned to Max.

"Are you taking part in the magic tournament?"

Max shook his head. "There's no reason for me to take part."

Cedric remained silent before nodding his head. As he turned to leave, he spoke up. "I guess I'll just have to find a reason for you to participate."

Max did not respond, merely allowing the words to linger in the air as he watched Cedric's retreating figure.

After they left, the middle-aged man merely glanced at Laura, nodding in her direction before taking his leave.

With that, the crowd broke up as well. The show for today had come to an abrupt end.

Max walked over to help Laura to her feet with the latter dusting herself. "That was intense."

Max sighed as he looked in a certain direction. "Sorry for getting you involved. It's good that he was here to help take the old man and his daughter away else they might have died from the fight."

Laura turned with him and found the teenage boy that slid to her feet earlier tending to the old man and his daughter.

She asked. "Are you still unwilling to help out?"

Max chuckled. "I never said I was unwilling. Naturally, since I have gotten involved, it would be wrong for me to leave them halfway through, especially with such terrifying wounds."

Laura glanced at him, the complicated expression on his face all too visible to ignore. "Are you alright?... You just had a big fight with your younger brother, you know."

Max turned solemn. "…I did him wrong, he has every right to be angry with me. Don't worry, I'll be fine."