Maximilian saw the fatal flaw in the masked man's stance; there... at the left rib cage, an opening revealed itself.
It wasn't a baited opening. This one, Maximilian had earned.
He had noticed that area was the masked man's strongest point of defense, which was precisely why he focused on breaking his posture first, to force this vulnerability to appear.
All for this one opening!
Slash!
A swift, diagonal slash struck toward the rib. The masked man seemed to notice—but it was too late.
Slash! Clank!
The blade cut into muscle and bone, but the clanking sound at the end made Maximilian frown.
The cut hadn't gone deep enough to be fatal.
He watched the masked man retreat, clutching the wound on his left side. Blood seeped between his fingers.
Though it wasn't a killing blow, the injury was enough to hamper the masked man's overall combat performance.
