Arguing with the Valencians was foolishness. They had proven time and time again that they simply didn't want his offered peace. They were fools through and through. All they were doing was hanging themselves. Had they surrendered, then they would have at least got the chance to live.
The Pirate King felt a grin tug at the corners of his lips as he casually strolled towards Silas. He would enjoy this. In fact, he preferred that they didn't surrender. It meant that he actually could have a fun time.
Reaching Silas, he casually swung out with his blade. The man moved as if in slow motion to his senses. His spear came up to block the strike. Teleporting his blade to the other side of the weapon, The Pirate King continued his downward arc towards Silas's chest.
Silas leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the strike that would have ripped his chest apart. The two circled each other for a moment. He knew that ending it quickly would be the preferable thing to do, but what was the point? It wasn't like he had a deadline. He could drag this out as much as he wanted.
Whatever the soldiers' plan was here, it wouldn't work. Not when he had his entire heart of mist within him. They clashed again. This time Silas was able to guess where the teleporting strike would come from and managed to block it as well.
The Pirate King was impressed as he struck out again. In Avelon, there were very few who could truly compete with his skill. However, most of them were never around, and he never really got the chance to fight someone powerful.
The Valencians, though? Silas didn't need to be as strong as him to be a good combatant. It wasn't his fault he hadn't overcome more of the sea challenges. But the man was smart. Even if he hadn't been able to keep up originally, he was now reaching the point of guessing the next attack. That was something only a truly skilled combatant could accomplish.
Their clash continued, and there was still no sign of any reinforcements. The Pirate King retreated a pace, allowing his opponent to catch his breath. He was going to savor this fight. After the previous humiliation, he was going to make the man regret ever being born.
"Honestly, Silas, what in the world do you think you'll accomplish here?"
He grunted with dry amusement, "Making sure you die, here and now?"
The Pirate King raised an eyebrow. "And you think that you alone stand a chance. You think that you alone even pose a threat to me? You could already be dead, but I'm waiting for your allies so there is a true challenge."
Silas raised his spear. "We've been prepared for your arrival, pirate king. Now fight me, bastard!"
The Pirate King obliged. He had had enough fighting at the soldier's speed and strength. It was time to kick it up a notch.
His blows began to rain faster, and his powers activated sooner. His strikes landed harder and harder against Silas's spear. It wasn't the true strength of his power level, but an in-between. He didn't want to totally obliterate the soldier. That could be done later after he'd had his fun cracking the man like a nut.
A slash landed down Silas's forearm, and another took him across the back of his thigh. Inch by inch, the Pirate King would flatten the confident attitude until there was nothing left. Then when the man begged to be killed…he'd have his fun with it. Breaking opponents was always the best part of the fight.
Silas retreated a dozen feet, and he allowed the soldier to go. He was panting from the effort, and there was now blood dripping onto the stony ground. Despite all of this, he still stood tall in the face of certain death. For his part, the Pirate King was growing bored.
His last fight had involved two and then eventually three opponents. Even that hadn't been enough to seriously challenge him. Fighting just one man, and a man weaker than him. It wasn't growing boring.
"Where is that swordmaster of yours hiding? This fight is growing stale. Why don't you throw him into the mix as well? I'm certain you'll have a chance then," he mocked.
Silas only sighed, "If you insist, then we must oblige."
Footsteps echoed into the chamber as a group of soldiers suddenly appeared in the doorway. To his surprise, they also appeared behind him. Three on each side, all holding shockblasters trained on him.
"You really think you can kill me with…"
Before he could even finish the thought, guns blazed. The Pirate King was forced to teleport and avoid the shots, which careened harmlessly off him. Silas leaped forward to pin him down. That wasn't going to happen.
The Pirate King ducked the strike and drove his knee into the man's chest. He groaned as it felt like his knee hit stone. It didn't matter, though, because Silas still felt the full force of the attack. The soldier staggered backward. He could have ended the fight there by driving his blade into Silas's neck. But no… he wanted to savor that man's death.
Instead, he leaped past the fallen soldier, directly at the new arrivals. Their guns blazed and fired again. All the while he avoided the shots. He arrived in their midst just as one manifested a blade. The Pirate King brought it down and teleported past the man's block. His blade gutted the soldier, who collapsed, gurgling to the floor.
The others yelled and had their own blades out a moment later. A moment too late. In one strike, he beheaded the second soldier. The other raised his sword, and the Pirate King brought his own blade down with enough force to shatter the man's weapon. Before he even had time to register the attack, the Pirate King drove his fist into the man's neck.
There was a crack, and that soldier died as well.
Shots rang out all around him, but he teleported through the stream. Silas was back on his feet again, spear ready. There was a darkness on his face that wasn't there even as he was losing. The Pirate King raised an eyebrow. He really hadn't expected to lose men today? Was he a fool?
"I think it's time that you drop the rest of your plan, my friend. This clearly isn't working out for you, and half of your men are already dead. So what next? Will the Montrelan show up? Or that kid with the strange device? Do any of you think that will be enough to stop me?"
All the soldiers remained tense, but they waited for Silas to speak. Eventually, he smiled, and a massive stone golem rose from the earth beside him. Silas momentarily glanced back at his soldiers before finally speaking.
"You know, Pirate King, it was foolish for you to come here thinking you could beat us. You should have just sent your army and let them die for you. Now you're going to be the one to die."
He scoffed, "Have you all gone mad? Or are you all just a bunch of fools? This isn't even a challenge. This can not be all that you planned for."
"Oh, you have no idea."
His eyes narrowed as the sound of grinding metal began to echo through the cavern.