Chapter 405: Noah vs Grandmaster [2] Kipp’s mouth hung open in disbelief. "Master Noah is fighting that monster evenly? But it’s grandmaster rank! This thing is almost as strong as the king! The strongest man in Esta!" The Manticore lunged again, its tiger head snapping forward with jaws that could crush stone. Noah rolled beneath the bite, his enhanced agility making the movement fluid and graceful, then launched himself upward with wind-assisted momentum. WHOOSH! He soared above the creature’s back, his sword descending in a powerful overhead strike aimed at the vulnerable spine. But the Manticore twisted impossibly fast, using its lion body’s flexibility to present its armoured shoulder instead of its back. SLASH! The sword bit deeper this time—Noah had channelled more strength and proper technique into the strike—opening a wound that actually bled significantly. The Manticore’s blood was darker than normal, almost black, speaking to the concentrated power flowing through its grandmaster-enhanced physiology. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶 ROAR! The beast’s fury intensified. It began moving faster, its attacks becoming a relentless storm of claws, teeth, and venomous tail strikes that forced Noah into pure defensive mode. He wove between attacks with wind-enhanced footwork, his sword deflecting strikes that came too fast to dodge, his fire manipulation creating brief explosive barriers that bought him precious fractions of seconds. "He’s being pushed back!" Alissa gasped, her hand instinctively moving to her sword hilt despite knowing she couldn’t possibly help at this level of combat. "No," Valeria corrected, her experienced eye recognising something the younger fighters missed. "He’s slowly adapting to the rhythm of its attacks. This is...incredible." Indeed, after absorbing the Manticore’s aggressive assault for several exchanges, Noah began predicting patterns. His photographic memory allowed him to process combat data in real-time, identifying tells in the creature’s body language that telegraphed its next move. SLASH! Noah’s counter-strike caught the Manticore’s front leg mid-swipe, his blade finding the joint where armour was thinnest. Blood sprayed as tendons were partially severed, causing the creature to stumble slightly. The Manticore’s intelligence recognised the danger immediately. It began varying its attack patterns, deliberately randomising strikes to prevent prediction, using its superior experience as a grandmaster combatant to counter Noah’s approach. WHOOSH! Its tail came from an unexpected angle—not the straight thrust Noah had been defending against, but a sweeping horizontal slash that caught him across the ribs. His defensive aura absorbed most of the impact, but the sheer kinetic force sent him tumbling across the clearing. GROAN! Noah felt his ribs almost crack from the impact despite his massive vitality attribute. Pain lanced through his torso as he forced himself back to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Noah!" Elara cried out in alarm, seeing him actually injured for the first time. "He’s fine," Lola said with absolute confidence, her eyes tracking every movement. "That level of injury is nothing to someone with his vitality. Watch, he’s about to change tactics." Noah spat blood and grinned, his expression showing genuine enjoyment despite the pain. This was the first real challenge he’d faced since reaching master rank, the first opponent that forced him to use everything he had. He began channelling both his elemental manipulations simultaneously—something that required incredible concentration and mana control. Fire gathered around his left hand while wind swirled around his right, the two elements creating a visible maelstrom of power. WHOOSH! Noah launched himself forward with wind-boosted speed, closing the distance faster than the Manticore expected. His sword, now wreathed in flames through his fire manipulation, struck with combined physical and magical force. SLASH! The superheated blade carved through the grandmaster’s tough hide like butter, opening a deep wound across its chest that cauterised instantly from the extreme heat. The Manticore’s fur ignited where fire touched, spreading rapidly across its mane. ROAR! The creature thrashed wildly, trying to extinguish the flames while simultaneously defending against Noah’s continued assault. It was clearly in pain now, genuine injury accumulating despite its superior rank. "That’s the versatility advantage!" Lola called out excitedly. "The Manticore is pure physical combatant—devastating in its speciality but limited. Noah has swordsmanship, fire manipulation, wind manipulation, and intelligence all working together. He can attack from angles it can’t properly defend!" Noah pressed his advantage ruthlessly. He used wind manipulation to create zones of compressed air that restricted the Manticore’s movement, forcing it into predictable paths. His fire manipulation kept portions of its hide burning, causing constant pain that disrupted concentration. And his master-level swordsmanship exploited every opening created by his magical pressure. SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! Three rapid strikes in succession—each blade strike enhanced with elemental power, each one finding vulnerable points that accumulated damage faster than the grandmaster’s regeneration could compensate. The Manticore was bleeding from a dozen wounds now, its movements becoming sluggish as blood loss and accumulated trauma took their toll. But it wasn’t defeated yet. ROAR! With desperate fury, the creature abandoned all defence and committed to a final berserker assault. It charged directly into Noah’s sword strikes, accepting mortal wounds in exchange for the opportunity to close the distance and bring its overwhelming physical power to bear. Its massive paw caught Noah across the chest with bone-shattering force. GROAN! Noah felt his ribs completely break this time; his enhanced vitality was the only thing preventing his chest cavity from being crushed entirely. He was lifted off his feet and sent flying backwards, crashing through a tree trunk before slamming into the ground twenty meters away. "NOAH!" all three of his companions screamed simultaneously. Lola tensed, ready to intervene if he didn’t get up immediately. But Noah forced himself to his feet again, blood pouring from his mouth and nose, his breathing ragged and painful. His eyes were still clear, though, still focused, still calculating. The Manticore limped toward him, also critically wounded. Both combatants were operating on willpower more than physical capability at this point. "They’re both nearly finished," Valeria whispered in awe. "A master-rank practitioner has fought a grandmaster to mutual exhaustion. That should be impossible. Although I’m at master rank, I don’t believe I could have lasted against two of its attacks. Yet, Noah is able to match it entirely, and even outperform it slightly."