Chapter 60: Linda Vs The Undead Great Swordsman III

The Yeti advanced again, but this time, Linda didn’t allow it to chase the Great Swordsman across the ice.

"Keep it close." She instructed, following up with a few more instructions.

The Yeti brought its right foot down heavily, slamming the ground, as frost spread from where it stepped and smoothed over the broken pieces of ice the Great Swordsman had been using to keep its footing.

The Swordsman moved sideways, but another sheet of ice formed ahead of it while the Yeti reached towards it and swung one arm around.

The sword met the frozen forearm with a sharp scrape. Instead of continuing the attack, the Yeti opened its hand and closed its fingers around the blade.

’Now.’ Linda thought.

Ice thickened around the Yeti’s hand and trapped the sword between its fingers. Its other fist came towards the Great Swordsman’s shoulder, forcing it to step closer and allow the attack to pass behind it.

That placed it within reach of the Yeti’s knee.

The strike caught the Swordsman’s thigh, causing its leg to bend outward. Before it could move away, frost climbed over the boot still touching the floor and fixed it to the ice.

"Woah-ho-hooo..." Dustin let out as he leaned forward in his seat after having relaxed for a moment.

The Great Swordsman tried to pull its blade free, but the Yeti held on with its fingers protected beneath the thick frozen shell. It raised its other arm again.

"Don’t give it space." Linda said.

The fist came down.

With its sword trapped and one foot frozen to the floor, the Great Swordsman turned its shoulder into the attack. The impact rang through its armour and bent part of the shoulder plate inwards, then it caught the Yeti’s wrist with its free hand, though it couldn’t stop the arm through strength. The Yeti continued pushing and forced it lower.

Linda saw the Great Swordsman turn with the pressure before pulling its trapped sword towards the side of the Yeti’s grip. The blade scraped between two of its fingers and opened a crack through the ice.

Before the Yeti could tighten its hold, the Great Swordsman twisted the sword and tore it free. White fragments scattered over both summons, and the undead immediately brought the blade down beside its own ankle, shattering ice around its foot and freeing itself.

It sidestepped out of the way just before the Yeti’s fist struck the floor and sent a heavy crack through the frozen ground.

At first it looked like the Swordsman was distabilized, but then a heavy boot landed on the Yeti’s shoulder, pushing it down on its side.

Quickly, the Yeti straightened and followed, creating several short spikes of ice that shot after the Swordsman.

The Swordsman cut through the first two, while the third struck the side of its leg armour and broke there, forcing it to shorten its next step.

"That’s a proper fight." Dustin said quietly.

Leon didn’t answer him. He was watching the damaged shoulder of the Swordsman.

Linda was watching it as well.

The undead could still move the arm, but the damage had changed the movement slightly. It no longer raised the elbow as far as before, and it kept the sword closer to its body.

Linda already knew her Yeti was strong enough to damage it, but seeing the proof made her lean forward slightly.

’Again. Don’t let it settle.’

The Yeti pushed off the floor and sent a wave of ice ahead of its feet.

The Great Swordsman turned away from the centre of the attack, and Linda directed the Yeti towards the side it chose.

It was the right decision until the undead stopped retreating.

The Yeti had already begun its next swing, bringing one arm across at shoulder height with enough force to send the Great Swordsman flying again.

Rather than move away, the undead stepped towards the attack.

Its sword slid along the underside of the frozen arm and peeled away the ice protecting it. The Yeti pulled back before the edge reached its fur, but the Swordsman followed the movement and kept the beast between itself and the ice rising behind them.

"Turn." Linda ordered with a frown.

The Yeti tried to pivot, but one of the ridges it created during the previous exchange stood behind its heel. It had to step around the ice, slowing the movement enough for the Great Swordsman to strike its wrist.

The Yeti pulled the hand back and brought its other arm down, forcing the umSwprdsman to move past the descending fist and cut towards the outside of its knee.

Fresh ice formed over the leg almost in an instant, just before the blade reached it.

The sword broke through part of the protection, but the Yeti kicked out and forced the Great Swordsman to retreat.

Linda released the breath she had been holding, seeing that there had been no injury sustained.

’It keeps getting inside.’

The Yeti could cover the floor with ice, it could restrict the Great Swordsman’s movement, force it to block and even trap it when it had nowhere comfortable to stand...

The problem came whenever Linda tried to follow that advantage with an attack meant to end the exchange. Somehow, the Great Swordsman always found a way to move closer.

"Push it back first." Linda instructed.

The Yeti swept both arms outwards, raising a wide arc of ice between them. The Great Swordsman stepped beyond the growing edge and waited on the other side with its sword pointed towards the only gap.

Linda hesitated as she considered what to do next.

The Yeti stood behind the barrier, ready to attack. It could send ice through the opening or make more rise beneath the undead’s feet. If the Great Swordsman moved left, she could close that path as well.

Linda began giving the instruction, and the Great Swordsman moved right.

Her Yeti turned after it and raised one hand, but the Sowrdsman immediately changed direction.

’Wait.’

The ice had already started forming. It rose where the Great Swordsman would have been if it continued moving, while the Swordsman crossed back towards the gap and struck the thinner part of the barrier, seeing its sword break through.

The Yeti brought its fist down towards the opening, but the Great Swordsman didn’t enter. It stopped outside the gap, causing the frozen knuckles to strike the floor instead.

The Yeti’s arm filled the opening, and just then, the Great Swordsman stepped onto it.

One boot landed against the thick ice covering the forearm, and the undead allowed the Yeti’s rising arm to carry it over the broken barrier. Its sword cut across the beast’s other wrist and knocked the hand away before it could grab hold.

"Move back." Linda ordered as she took a step forward.

The Yeti tried, but its heel struck another ridge it had created earlier.

The beast could break through the ice easily, but it still needed a moment to shift its weight and force its foot backwards, by then, the Great Swordsman was already beside it.

The base of its sword struck the back of the Yeti’s knee, causing the leg to fold, while most of the beast’s weight remained on its other foot, causing it to drop onto one knee with a heavy impact.

The Yeti tried to bring its arm between them as a fresh layer of ice covered the forearm, but the Great Swordsman’s blade was already there.