However, what left Ra's al Ghul speechless was that although Thea was thrown out by him, she possessed flight capabilities even without relying on the Lantern Ring. Thea performed a light three-hundred-sixty-degree spin in mid-air, her longsword slashing diagonally toward his wrist.
Clang. A crisp sound rang out.
Ra's al Ghul blocked this strike with his steel bracer. Simultaneously, the mechanism on the bracer activated; two small prongs bit onto the sword's edge, and his right hand formed a fist to fiercely strike at Thea's face.
Thea suddenly spun again in mid-air, her left foot intercepting his fist. Borrowing the force of this impact, she pulled the longsword out of the mechanism, her body hovering in mid-air.
Ra's al Ghul emitted a sound like a "hmph" from his nose. The opponent executed a bunch of moves that defied the laws of physics, preventing him from using many of his exquisite techniques. Especially since she had flown into the air—how the hell was he supposed to fight this?!
But he had nothing to complain about. Before, he had solemnly vowed to use martial arts to experience magic. Now he had seen the magic, but the process was just a bit frustrating.
Thea hovered in the air for a few seconds, finding that the opponent took no further action. Ra's al Ghul was nearly semi-demonized, but it seemed he couldn't fly. Was he holding back, or did the demon only strengthen his body without giving him a shred of power?
Barring any accidents, it should be the latter. To dare to trade with a demon, one must have the preparedness for the consequences. Thea respected him, but she didn't sympathize with him. In eight hundred years, countless families had been destroyed because of his existence. His soul had more or less been tainted by demonic nature.
Just the right time to use this old man to test my new move. Thea's lips curled into a smile. She raised her hand and cast her most familiar spell—Darkness. A large mass of black fog shrouded a hundred-meter radius.
"Want to sneak attack? I have trained thousands of assassins. Young one, your method is wrong!" Ra's al Ghul wasn't panicked at all. He wasn't boasting; sneak attacks and preventing sneak attacks were two subjects he must have thoroughly mastered.
Thea certainly wouldn't simply think the opponent would be caught off guard. These past few days, she had studied the Enchantress's teleportation and combined it with her own magic theory to redesign this new move.
In this black fog, Thea could teleport herself to any place where her magic power existed at any time. She would teleport using magic, then injure the enemy with martial arts. This was her first attempt to combine martial arts and magic.
The Enchantress herself had no combat experience, merely scratching and clawing. Thea's martial arts level and her eye for finding enemy flaws were much higher than hers. Combining the two, appearing suddenly left and then right, she soon forced the skilled Ra's al Ghul onto the defensive.
"Is this also magic? Remarkable." Ra's al Ghul was initially a bit flustered but quickly calmed down, dealing with Thea's assaults methodically. His reactions were extremely fast. Thea changed positions continuously, alternating feints and real strikes, but caused him no damage.
But Ra's al Ghul's experience was truly incomparably rich. He soon found a way to counter it. This old man's natural intuition was astonishing. Plus, being familiar with the flaws of the moves (since they originated from the League), he guessed and calculated, repeatedly predicting where Thea would appear. Just as Thea teleported, she would meet his longsword. After a few rounds, she could only continue teleporting.
"For a pure warrior to train to this extent... truly formidable." Thea teleported over ten times but still didn't take down Ra's al Ghul. She had to admit her admiration.
"Your martial arts are also not bad, but you practice the League of Assassins' martial arts, right?" Ra's al Ghul just asked casually. He had taught too many disciples. Over eight hundred years, who knew how many there were? So he just mentioned it, not planning to get a formal response.
Thea certainly wouldn't honestly explain the source of her martial arts. Both sides exchanged a few more moves. Thea felt this move needed improvement. Theoretically, there were no big problems, but the practical application still had rough edges. She didn't know if that witch (Enchantress) had thawed out yet; next time, she should check if the Enchantress had any tricks when teleporting.
She withdrew the black fog, and the surroundings were lit by moonlight again. "I want to test my martial arts against yours!" Thea landed on the ground, holding the sword with both hands. Although she felt she definitely had a gap with Ra's al Ghul, she wanted to see how big that gap was.
Ra's al Ghul was a bit surprised. "Giving up your magic to compete in martial arts with me? You have guts. Besides Bruce, you are the most outstanding young person I've seen in a hundred years. I accept your challenge."
The Master switched his sword to his right hand, the tip pointing to the ground, waiting for Thea to make the first move. He was extremely confident in his martial arts. After practicing hard for eight hundred years, he had trained every skill in the world to perfection. As long as mysterious means weren't used, he feared no one. Thea's martial arts were outstanding in the eyes of ordinary people, but to him, they were just "not bad."
Thea suppressed the excitement in her heart. Being able to spar with a martial arts grandmaster was a rare opportunity. She was eager to know what level the martial arts she had practiced for several years had reached.
Winning was never a thought. After all, she had only practiced for a few years. She just wanted to identify her deficiencies.
"You don't mind if I use a bow and arrow?" Thea put away Godslayer. Taking out the artifact longbow felt like an unfair advantage, so she swapped for an ordinary bow and arrow, preparing to open with archery skills.
"You may." Ra's al Ghul didn't see where she took the weapon from, but remained calm. Although he didn't use a bow now, everyone trained by him invariably possessed strong archery skills. It wasn't strange that Thea could shoot; it was too normal.
The Goddess of the Hunt's divine power greatly strengthened her archery. Now, even without the artifact longbow, ordinary arrows could still cause massive damage.
Thwack thwack thwack.
She instantly shot three feathered arrows. The three arrows almost sealed off Ra's al Ghul's every dodging angle. Since the opponent could predict her teleportation locations, Thea naturally could also judge the opponent's most likely dodge directions. Combat wasn't just comparing experience but also brains.
"Good!" Ra's al Ghul only had time to shout "Good" before three sharp arrows reached his face. He was unhurried. His right hand slashed the longsword diagonally to cut one arrow. Simultaneously borrowing the slashing action, he used his bracer to block another. The last arrow was firmly caught by his left hand.
Casually throwing away the arrow, he took two throwing knives from his pouch and threw them out, one fast and one slow.
But Ra's al Ghul made his first mistake since the battle began. He misjudged Thea's agility. Even without using magic, Thea's agility far exceeded the human limit. She reacted fast, her legs pushing off with force, leaping up.
In the intervals between leaping up, reaching the high point, and falling back to the ground, she shot five arrows in one breath. One arrow faster than the last. Ra's al Ghul could only defend desperately, having no time to counterattack anymore.
Thea's offensive didn't stop at all. She sped through the woods, shooting volleys of arrows from high or low gaps between the trees.