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Arakeya reached behind his back and pulled out a massive green spoon. Then, with a powerful leap, he instantly closed the distance between himself and Karen and brought the spoon down toward Karen's head.
At the same time, Karen clearly saw the attack coming. He quickly gripped the metal staff with both hands and raised it overhead like a weightlifter, blocking Arakeya's strike.
The sheer weight behind Arakeya's blow sent rings of sand exploding outward, and the ground beneath Karen's feet sank in a one-meter radius.
Arakeya looked surprised that Karen had blocked the attack. In truth, he had only intended to scare him. He had planned to stop the spoon a few centimeters from Karen's face, not actually smash his head in.
But Arakeya hadn't expected Karen to react in time—much less stop the spoon from even getting close. So he pushed harder.
Karen's arms, however, didn't budge in the slightest. He maintained the same weightlifting stance without wavering.
Once the sandstorm settled, Arakeya spoke in surprise.
"I didn't expect you to block my attack."
Karen stared at the spoon in Arakeya's hands with equal disbelief.
"I didn't expect you to be such a glutton that even your weapon is a spoon."
"This is called the Qilin Grave Spoon."
The moment Arakeya finished speaking, he swung the spoon toward his left—Karen's right arm.
Arakaya knew Karen was right-handed. His right arm was stronger than his left. If he disabled that arm first, he could suppress Karen more easily and make his counterattacks clumsy.
Karen immediately realized Arakeya's intention. He released the staff with his right hand, letting it drop, then instantly grabbed the middle of it with his palm facing upward. Spinning the staff in a circle on his right side, he slammed it toward Arakeya.
Arakeya swiftly pulled the Qilin Grave Spoon back and blocked the strike, the relaxed expression finally disappearing from his face.
Karen's blow was just as heavy. Another ring of sand burst outward, and the ground beneath Arakeya sank in a five-meter radius.
Karen looked surprised as well. While pushing down with force, he asked with genuine interest,
"You actually didn't break. What kind of material is that spoon made of?"
Because Karen's strike had come too quickly, Arakeya hadn't managed to brace properly. Unable to exert full strength, he was gradually forced downward until the metal staff was only centimeters from his head.
Still, Karen's question gave him enough time to adjust into a stronger stance, though he still couldn't push the staff back.
Arakeya was beginning to realize he had underestimated Karen.
"...Then what's with your staff? It can actually withstand my attacks."
He refused to answer Karen's question. The foundation of battle was knowing your enemy while hiding your own information.
Karen understood that principle just as well, so he refused to answer too.
Man and dragon locked eyes, neither willing to reveal anything.
Three seconds later, Arakeya broke the stalemate first. He shoved the staff away with force and leaped backward, escaping its range.
Then he gripped the handle of the Qilin Grave Spoon tightly and took a stance like an amateur holding a sword.
"If you want answers, defeat me first."
Karen tightened his grip on the metal staff and readied himself as well.
"Gladly."
The moment he finished speaking, man and dragon charged at each other.
Karen had the advantage in reach. He struck first, raising the metal staff and bringing it down toward Arakeya's head.
Arakaya blocked the attack.
But Karen didn't stop there. He already knew the first strike would be blocked. He instantly pulled the staff back and began attacking from both sides in rapid succession.
Every strike was blocked just as quickly by Arakeya.
Then Arakeya began closing the distance step by step, entering the range of the Qilin Grave Spoon. The moment Karen swung the staff toward his left side, Arakeya seized the opening and thrust the spoon toward Karen's body.
Karen saw the thrust coming. He stepped backward to buy himself a fraction more time before impact, then yanked the staff back with his left hand gripping the end, blocking the thrust.
The situation was too sudden. Karen hadn't properly braced himself, and Arakeya's strength sent him flying backward with his body bent.
As his shoes scraped against the ground and finally stopped him, Karen felt himself about to fall over. He immediately thrust the metal staff behind him to brace against the ground, preventing himself from collapsing backward. Then he stepped back with his left foot and regained his balance without relying on the staff.
But Arakeya didn't waste the opportunity.
He had chased after Karen the entire time he was being pushed back. The instant Karen stabilized himself, Arakeya was already right in front of him.
Raising the Qilin Grave Spoon overhead, Arakeya swung down toward Karen's right shoulder.
Karen had been watching his movements the entire time.
He kicked off the ground with his right foot and spun rapidly to the right around his left foot, narrowly avoiding the strike. At the same time, he swung the metal staff toward Arakeya's right abdomen.
"Urgh...!"
Arakeya couldn't react in time due to the momentum of his downward swing. The metal staff slammed directly into him, sending him flying defenselessly through the air.
Karen paused for only a second before chasing after the tumbling Arakeya.
He had no intention of wasting such a perfect chance to finish the fight.
In an instant, Karen overtook Arakeya and stopped directly in front of him, raising the metal staff for a downward strike.
The moment Arakeya entered his range, Karen swung down with full force.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion echoed across the wasteland. An even larger storm of sand erupted outward, and the ground cracked apart.
When the dust finally cleared, Karen curled his lips into an amused smile.
Arakeya had blocked the strike with the Qilin Grave Spoon.
"As expected of a general. I thought you were just a figurehead."
But Arakeya had only barely managed to defend himself. His posture made it difficult to exert strength, and his body trembled as he resisted Karen's power.
He wanted to respond to Karen's taunt, but the blow to his right abdomen made even speaking painful. His expression looked miserable and strained.
Once again, man and dragon locked into a silent deadlock.
This time, Karen broke it first.
He raised the metal staff and swung toward Arakeya's thigh.
Karen intended to break Arakeya's legs first. Once he couldn't move, he'd be helpless.
But Arakeya noticed Karen's gaze shift toward his thigh. He spread his legs apart and easily dodged the attack.
The staff smashed into the ground beneath Arakeya's crotch, sending jagged cracks racing across the earth.
But Arakeya's countermeasure came with serious risk.
If Karen simply swept sideways, he could instantly strike the most vulnerable spot and win on the spot.
But with Karen's current strength, attacking was easy while holding back was difficult. If he actually hit that spot, it wouldn't be the kind of pain someone could just grit their teeth and endure. It might even traumatize him for life.
Still, against Karen, this had been the right decision.
As a fellow man, Karen would never stoop to something as underhanded as targeting a man's most vulnerable spot.
So Karen raised the staff again and continued attacking Arakeya's thighs several more times, but every strike was avoided.
In reality, Arakeya was enduring pain every time he dodged. The movements pulled at the injury in his abdomen.
Still, he didn't waste Karen's focus on his legs.
The instant his upper body regained enough strength, Arakeya swept the Qilin Grave Spoon horizontally toward Karen's calves.
Karen had been watching carefully the whole time.
He instantly jumped straight upward, avoiding the attack. While airborne, he adjusted his grip on the staff, and the moment his feet touched the ground again, he drove one end of the metal staff downward like a spear toward Arakeya's abdomen.
"Guh...! Blegh...!"
Arakeya cried out in agony before vomiting a fountain of bright red blood.
This strike hurt far more than the earlier blow to his side.
It went deeper too.
If Arakeya hadn't possessed the body of a dragon, the attack would have pierced straight through him. Even so, he could barely withstand the blunt thrust that felt only one step away from having a spearhead attached.
The pain was unbearable.
Though the staff hadn't pierced his skin, the crushing force had ruptured organs inside his body.
Still, the strike wasn't enough to knock Arakeya unconscious.
Wearing a twisted, savage expression, he glared at Karen while clutching the metal staff, trying to push it away.
But Karen's goal wasn't to kill him.
He pulled the staff back and stepped away, giving Arakeya time to recover. Otherwise, conversation would become impossible.
After keeping a hand over his injured abdomen for a while, the pain gradually subsided enough for Arakeya to speak again.
And the first thing he said was...