BOOOM—!!
Cling, Clang—!!
BOOOM—!!
Two swordsmen clashed fiercely against each other, their weapons colliding with destructive force.
One of them brandished a bastard sword while the other wielded a colossal hunk of iron that could hardly be called a sword.
Nero's sword shimmered with an ethereal glow, emanating from the semi-solid mana enveloping his blade—the manifestation of his true Sword Qi.
In response, a foreboding darkness swirled around Kai's greatsword, creating a vortex of darkness with his blade at its epicenter.
It looked as if it was a battle between the brilliance of a sunlit day and the shadowy depths of a moonless night.
Each time they exchanged blows and each time their blades collided, tremendous shockwaves erupted, causing the concrete ground beneath their feets to shatter and large craters to form.
"Sh-Should we go in and try to help Nero out?" Elijah, who was standing back with the rest of the group, hesitantly uttered.
The main characters didn't know what to say.
They had been observing Nero and Kai's battle from the beginning, but when both swordsmen began to unleash their full power at each other, they didn't know what to do.
Should they intervene and help Nero?
But would they really be of any help? Or would they only be in Nero's way?
They couldn't simply stand idly by, could they? They had to take action.
"Not yet," Amelia replied, shaking her head as she keenly observed the ongoing battle in front of her. "Now is not the right moment."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Aster interjected. "Are you suggesting we leave Nero to fight alone?"
"No," Amelia refuted. "I mean, this isn't our chance to jump in."
"She's right," Anastasia chimed in. "Look at Kai. Since the beginning of the battle, his eyes have been fixedly observing our every move. Even now when he's going toe-to-toe against Nero, he has time to keep his eye on us."
"Exactly," Amelia concurred. "If we were to intervene now, it wouldn't catch him off guard because he's prepared for it."
"So, what should we do?" Elijah inquired.
"We wait for an opening," Amelia replied.
"Do you have a plan?" Elijah asked, noticing the confidence in Amelia's voice.
After a brief pause, Amelia nodded. "Of course, I have a plan."
"What is it?" Anastasia questioned.
"We'll use misdirection to deliver a final blow," Amelia replied. "With Chase out of the game for good, it's only the five of us. I'll provide cover with my arrows whenever an opportunity arises to support Nero. Anastasia, find a vantage point and maintain a high ground. Elijah, join Nero in close combat and help him out. And when I give the signal, Aster, you will encase Kai in a barrier spell to buy us some time."
"Wait, you want me to trap him inside a barrier spell?" Aster questioned.
"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I know that barriers are weak from the inside, so I need you to reverse the spell and create a prison—a prison spell. It will be tough. Can you do it?"
Aster clenched her small fists, raising her hand slightly. Taking a deep breath filled with determination, she replied, "Okay!"
"Excellent," Amelia shifted her focus to Anastasia. "While Aster keeps Kai trapped in her prison spell, you'll use your best weapon art to snipe him. If it takes him out, then good. Or else, Nero will do the rest."
"I see," Anastasia touched her chin as she calculated the chances of success for this plan.
"Oh, and take this," Amelia said, taking out a glowing white arrow from her dimensional storage.
"Hmm? What's this?" Anastasia raised an eyebrow.
"Lucas gave it to me before we parted ways. He said it would prove useful. It's an arrow imbued with the light attribute," Amelia explained. "Since Kai has an affinity for darkness, this will sting like hell."
"Wait, don't tell me Lucas anticipated this as well?" Anastasia raised her brows in surprise, and so did everyone else.
"Perhaps," Amelia shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea myself."
"Goodness. Remind me never to get on his bad side, yeah?" Anastasia heaved a deep breath, taking the arrow from Amelia.
She turned around and swiftly climbed one of the tall light poles standing at the side of the street.
While all that was happening, Kai and Nero remained locked in their fierce exchange of blows.
Kai's eyes flickered upon noticing the main characters springing into action.
"Eyes on me!" Nero roared when he saw Kai looking elsewhere, capitalizing on the opportunity by stepping in and unleashing another powerful horizontal slash.
Kai swiftly evaded Nero's blade, stepping back while raising his own sword high above his head.
With a forceful motion, he brought that giant hunk of iron down on Nero.
Cling—!
But Nero deftly adjusted his wrists, causing his sword to make an arc in the air as he successfully deflected Kai's attack.
At first glance, it might seem that Kai and Nero were evenly matched, but that was hardly the case.
Nero was a little stronger than Kai, and his technique was far superior than that of the Wiseman's.
So yeah, there was a notable gap in between their battle prowess.
But then why was Nero unable to bring the battle to an end? Well, that was because of Kai's oversized sword.
No matter what angle Nero would try to attack from, Kai skillfully used the flat side of his colossal sword as a makeshift shield to effectively block Nero's strikes before launching his own counterattack.
Moreover, no matter how much strength Nero may put into his blows, he could not even make a dent in Kai's colossal black sword.
By now, it was very clear to Nero that the sword was a relic. Kai was using it as both– an impenetrable shield and a massive, razor-sharp blade.
But now that his teammates were on the move, Nero knew that he had to create an opening.
So that's what he did. Nero stepped in and feinted an overhead strike. Kai responded by raising the flat side of his blade to block the attack.
A glimmer sparked within Nero's eyes as his feint attack worked. He instantly dropped to his knees and used his hand to break his fall.
In perfect synchrony, Nero executed a spinning motion, pivoting on his left foot while extending his right leg outward— performing a perfect leg sweep.
Unbeknownst to him, Kai had already anticipated this move. With cat-like reflexes, he leaped into the air and evaded Nero's sweep.
But unfortunately for Kai, Amelia, positioned farther behind, was waiting for this very moment.
Now that Kai was in mid-air, he had nowhere to go and dodge her arrow.
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