...
Looking at the silhouette walking towards him, Diablo couldn't help but become more and more surprised. "Such well-trained steps of a martial artist, yet also carry the essence of silence from assassination. It also has a hint of a disciplined footwork of a swordsman."
He had already seen quite a lot of talented individuals and monstrous prodigies during his time in the Pandemonium Troupe. Alongside the vast knowledge that he gained from watching the recorded battle clips and informative videos from his father's collections, it was very rare for Diablo to be surprised.
But among all of the monsters that he had met so far, this was the first time he saw someone carrying the essences of three different disciplines.
But after looking deeply into it, Diablo thought that achieving such a feat was not impossible. "There are a lot of ways how to use a sword, though it was mostly known as a tool for killing. Even if swordsmanship is the method of using the sword, it was also a method of killing someone."
"In a sense, Swordsmanship and Assassination are the same. And those two disciplines were also just a form of Martial Arts."
It might be hard to achieve to combine their essence but it was not an impossible feat. Diablo even saw a few people who succeed at achieving an even crazier thing.
Though, Shin was only able to achieve it because of his understanding of the Yin-Yang Arts that Professor Plum had created.
Regardless, Diablo somewhat admired this mysterious person who was walking towards him. At the same time, he was also somewhat excited about fighting such an expert and testing his skills against them.
But he couldn't help but exclaim when got a clear look at that person. "What? That guy is-…!"
...
Shin, who was walking towards Diablo, took his time and waited for the latter to clear the battlefield, looting up all of the dropped equipment.
He only quickened his steps slightly when he saw that the latter was fully focused on him. And when he walked out of the curtain of snow, just like Diablo, he also had a clear view of the other.
Based on Diablo's appearance, Shin guessed that this expert was slightly older than him but younger than David and Shiella.
A few moments later, he felt the sudden change of aura from Diablo. And that aura quickly manifested behind him, turning into a huge panther with a pair of crimson eyes and a body releasing a shadowy aura.
"Releasing his Aura Manifestation from the get-go?" Shin was slightly taken aback at Diablo's straightforwardness and wear a helpless smile.
He also wanted to test the strength of the latter but he was not planning to fight Diablo straight away. He intended to talk first, trying to see if this person was targeting them and would put them at risk.
Based on what he heard from Zero, this guy was here to sabotage the plan of the Pandemonium Descendants as he was treating them as his worst enemy.
The strength of this person was definitely not a joke given that he had the guts to face such a large organization alone. And based on the pressure that he was emitting, Shin could tell that he was at least as strong as the top Godlike Players of the game such as Arthur, Leonard, and Zero.
If Diablo was planning to launch an ambush on them at the most critical moment of their quest, then they would definitely suffer great losses. With such strength, it was not impossible for him to penetrate their backline defense and take down their priests.
'If he is really planning to get in our way, then it can only mean that our quest somehow coincides with the operation that the Pandemonium Descendants were doing.'
'After all, there is no reason for him to provoke our group that has multiple players who possess similar strength to his own,' thought Shin before raising both of his hands in the air, showing that he was not here to fight.
"I am no intention of fighting you, at least for the time being. After all, there is no grudge between us," said Shin with a calm tone but not daring to let his guard down.
He didn't know if this guy was willing to talk. He might as well get attacked by Diablo if he lowered his guard even for a little.
But Shin couldn't help but wear a helpless smile when he saw that Diablo was not willing to retrieve his Aura Manifestation.
"But I am down for a little sparring match," he added in a helpless tone.
In the meantime, Diablo was wearing a cautious look while starting at Shin. He didn't know why this guy approach him but he could at least tell that the latter only wanted to talk.
But since the situation was already like this, it would not hurt to test Shin's strength for himself. He was planning to cooperate with these guys anyway, so it would be better to do it now to see if this rising star was truly worthy of his current Title.
He didn't attack Shin straight away as he wanted the latter to be fully ready when they fought.
Understanding Diablo's intention, Shin could only shake his head and smile helplessly. Then he sent an invitation for a duel to Diablo, clearly showing his intention.
It was already been a while since he last dueled since he was killing his enemies most of the time. Moreover, they could also avoid killing each other accidentally when dealing with a fatal strike.
While waiting for Diablo to accept the invitation to duel, Shin suddenly thought of something and released a bunch of spying stones in every direction.
Diablo obviously saw that but he didn't mind. He knew about the fan page that the Empyrean Talons had, so he was aware that he needed to regularly post certain content from time to time.
He actually admired their page as it was very detailed and easy to understand. Well, it was to be expected since the manager of that fan page was the famous Miss Bunny. He had to admit that the quality of their battle clips and other types of videos was very high.
He accepted the request for a duel and prepared for the battle.
Duels within the game would always have a five-second preparation time right after it started, ensuring that both sides were fully ready.
In the meantime, Shin also released his Aura Manifestation as he unsheathed the [Dusk Blade] and [Dawn Blade] hanging on each side of his waist.
He also used his 'Eclipse Wielding' straight away, making the sabers on his hands to be enfolded with their signature energies.
After experiencing the 'Reality Manifestation' and familiarizing himself with the mental fatigue that it was causing him, Shin could use this particular Epic Combat Technique without exhausting himself.
The moment when he activated it, the Aura Manifestation behind him was split into two types of beings, representing each of the energies covering his sabers and the styles of his swordsmanship.
But unlike before, the beast forms of his auras were a little different. One of them was a white tiger with a ferocious yet majestic atmosphere around it while the other was a black dragon carrying the air of a vicious ruler and a monarch of darkness.
This was the clear representation of the Yin-Yang Arts and Swordsmanship that Shin had mastered after the accumulated experiences that he gained earlier.
The white tiger and black dragon sizes were a little smaller compared to the black panther standing behind Diablo, but their combined auras were as strong as it.
This also signified how strong Diablo was despite Shin achieving his current state after mastering the styles of Yin-Yang Arts.
The two of them stood across each other, waiting for the countdown of the duel to reach zero. And when the final tick of the clock fell, both of them quickly made their respective moves.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Their figures suddenly disappeared from their respective positions and reappeared after meeting at the center.
Bang!
The collision of their weapons instantly created an explosion that sent a shockwave in every direction.
Neither of them was forced to step back, signifying that their respective strength was to the same degree.
Shin knitted his brow as he found it surprising. He had a swordsman-related class, so he should have a slight edge when it came to strength.
Seeing that his opponent didn't even move and had a steady posture, Shin could instantly tell that their STR Stats were pretty much on the same level.
But unknown to him, Diablo was also having a similar thought in his mind. He was supposed to have an advantage in terms of speed since his class focused more on agility whereas swordsmen needed to distribute their stats in multiple categories.
Based on the distance that they covered, it was clear that their speed was on par with each other.
With this single exchange alone, Shin and Diablo knew that this battle would be more exciting than they expected.
Moreover, they were also expecting that this duel would help them improve and further advance on the respective path that they were taking.
...…
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