With the emerald rider closing in on him, the warrior pulled back his heavy blade even more, showing the flat behind his right shoulder to the direction Mikhail's lance was about to strike. He tilted his body even further to his left and kept his eyes on the encroaching foe until the very last moment.

With the clang of steel ringing through the battlefield, the tip of Mikhail's lance impacted and slid along the back of the warrior's right pauldron, sliding off at an angle as Rollo galloped behind the axe wielder. Instead of swinging his blade to the right and striking Mikhail from behind, he completed his turn and shoved the weapon forward, such that his enemy would charge straight into the wide flat of the axe's head. Assuming that somehow disrupted their movement, he would try to again attack the horse.