Chapter 1317: Chapter 1064: Sword Techniques
Truth be told, such a head-hugging, crouching defense posture really wasn’t suited for this rough and tough man. But if he could accept being called "Little Ai," what was a mere defensive crouch in the face of death?
The moment Little Ai crouched down, flashes of a blade swept past overhead—it was an attack from an Exoskeleton Clan swordsman! These swordsmen were experts at finding opportune moments, and this time he used Little Ai as cover, approaching Elsa from her blind spot in hopes of a one-strike kill! However, with a clang, a Light Wing had already blocked the blade’s path! This all happened right above Little Ai’s head, who was so scared he nearly wet himself, feeling the impact of the Light Wing colliding with the blade’s light on his scalp!
After the failed strike, the Exoskeleton Clan swordsman didn’t hesitate to turn and move out of the range of the Light Wing’s attack. But he had already created an opportunity for his comrades. More of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen began to attack in waves, their movements coordinated as though one person was directing their limbs, attacking only at the angles Elsa found hardest to defend. And once an attack failed, they would immediately retreat, never giving Elsa any chance to counterattack. There were a total of fifteen Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen around her. Their assault was like a storm that dumbfounded the other warriors, who knew of the swordsmen’s strength but had never witnessed such overpowering force.
In fact, on this eternal battlefield, combat was usually dominated by large troop formations, and the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen were already formidable on their own, seldom getting the chance to deploy this encirclement tactic. Once executed, it was a fight to the death!
However, people gradually realized another fact—this little Princess of the Celestial Clan was truly strong!
Even though she was only on the defensive, her Light Wing defense was practically impenetrable! Fifteen Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen attacked in succession, yet not a single one could land a hit!
But the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen knew that both sides were merely probing each other. Whether it was himself or Elsa, both were doing so. Even Elsa seemed somewhat nonchalant!
Suddenly, the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen let out a bellow, "Battle Formation Completion! Demon-slaying Extermination!"
Instantly, the fighting auras of all the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen erupted and began to resonate with one another. Amidst this resonance, the blades in the hands of each swordsman vibrated intensely, with bright light flickering on their edges!
"Hmm?" Elsa uttered in confusion, sensing the pressure from her opponents.
"Princess Elsa, if you don’t put forth your full effort in the upcoming battle, I’m afraid today will be the day you fall here!" shouted the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen.
These words reflected the immense confidence of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen.
Elsa nodded, raised her hand, and grabbed her Light Wing, snapping off a piece with a crisp crack. That piece of Light Wing shone even brighter than the blades in the hands of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen!
"Since you have deployed your proudest martial skill, it would be utterly impolite of me to continue fighting you with this attitude. So, I’ve decided to allow you a death filled with honor."
With that, Elsa grasped the end of the Light Wing, which transformed into a light blade in her hands, and she assumed an unusual starting stance.
Seeing this stance, the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen suddenly realized that this little Princess named Elsa was no ordinary warrior—she knew the art of the blade!
Indeed, it was not a surprise that Elsa’s blade technique mentor was none other than Long Yi. As a martial arts master, Long Yi held an interest in various combat skills, excelling in both unarmed and armed fighting. He managed to integrate the strengths of both Eastern and Western swordsmanship, creating a set of combat techniques uniquely his own.
Truthfully, even Long Yi himself admitted that the blade technique he invented was somewhat too idealistic, requiring the practitioner to possess great reflexes and control. His fighting style was either using fists or missiles and cannons, so Long Yi had no idea how effective these combat skills would be in practice. Initially, he taught Elsa these techniques out of boredom, and now she had decided to execute them.
"Advance!"
At the leader’s command, three swordsmen rushed out simultaneously from three different directions. As they charged, resonating fighting auras swiftly converged around them, forming a strong aura barrier.
"Die!" yelled the swordsman charging at Elsa, his blade swiftly slicing towards her neck. Elsa shuffled her feet slightly and with an upward flick of her light blade, the fearsome slash was deflected with a clang! The swordsman’s guard was now wide open! Knowing the great danger of this vulnerability, he hastily tried to retreat and recover. But in the next moment, Elsa continued the momentum of the deflected blade and swept her light blade across the swordsman’s abdomen.
Realizing the dire situation, he abandoned his sword and retreated with all his might, yet still a huge gash was opened across his abdomen by the light blade!
And if he had been a fraction slower, he would have certainly been cleaved in two by Elsa!
But it wasn’t over yet! The initial attack of the first swordsman was meant to distract Elsa, and as she slashed at the first swordsman, the second and third swordsmen also rushed in from behind!
Elsa faced them in the next moment.
Clang!
Clang!
With two sounds, the long blades that were being hacked from different directions were both simultaneously deflected by the Light Blade in Elsa’s hands! And in the blink of an eye, the next moment, her Light Blade had cut both men in two!
Three blades fell to the ground. The first swordsmen, who had his abdomen sliced open, had already retreated. Blood was continuously seeping from his wound, showing no sign of healing. The other two swordsmen had their bodies directly chopped in half. Normally, such injuries wouldn’t be a big deal, but this time, they found that they could not reconstitute their bodies at all!
"Little Ai, go collect those long swords," Elsa instructed.
Little Ai, who was at a loss, dumbly ran over and brought back the three long swords of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen to Elsa. Elsa placed the swords one by one in front of her. Then she gestured to the distant swordsmen with a crooked finger, "Come on, continue."
This was the sword technique invented by Long Yi.
Western medieval swordsmanship fundamentally revolved around blocking and countering, a product of the era’s emphasis on heavy weapons and armor. Using heavy weapons to block and then counterattack constituted the essentials of most medieval swordsmanship. Eastern swordsmanship was different; their blades were sharp but light and thin, not meant for blocking, and even cutting a few men on the battlefield would damage them. Hence, the essence of Eastern swordsmanship was to kill the enemy swiftly, aiming for vital points for a fatal strike.
And Long Yi’s technique was called the "bounce and counter" technique.
It entailed using a block to create a large opening for the opponent, and then swiftly striking a fatal blow during that opening. In the past world, such techniques could only exist within video games. But in this world, particularly for Elsa, it felt incredibly natural to use.
The Light Blade was pure energy with extremely low mass. Upon contacting the enemy’s weapon, the Light Blade would burst with energy, creating an opening, and then leveraging the swing’s inertia to determine how the next strike would be delivered. With the sharpness of the Light Blade, unless there was special protection, being cut in two was almost certain.
By now, the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen had recognized Elsa’s technique. It actually wasn’t complex—the only requirement was precision! Judging the opponent’s attacking intention in the blink of an eye, choosing the most appropriate angle and force for the reception, while also preparing for the counterattack!
It was the perfect defensive countering technique!
"All of you, stand down!" commanded the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen. "Allow me to experience her swordsmanship myself!"
"Leader!" The surrounding swordsmen immediately became anxious. Elsa’s demonstrated strength had instilled a sense of fear in these proud swordsmen.
"Silence! Do not disturb my battle!" the Exoskeleton Clan swordsman leader roared, and all the swordsmen around him immediately fell silent.
Only then did the leader slowly draw his own long sword.
Unlike ordinary swordsmen, his long sword was dark red.
"My battle blade, named Blood Slash, has followed me for over fifty years, slain countless enemies—today let me and Blood Slash measure your power!" the leader said sternly to Elsa.
Elsa glanced at the Light Wing in her hand, then spoke, "This is my Light Wing. If I were to count, it hasn’t been with me for even a year. That was its first time severing an enemy, and it seems they haven’t died yet, so there’s no record worth boasting about."
Elsa’s words were somewhat of a mood damper, yet they were true.
The leader of the Exoskeleton Clan swordsmen, wielding his sword in both hands and his Fighting Aura surging, stood different from the others. His Fighting Aura was entirely blood-red and carried a foul stench of blood. With Fighting Aura infusing the blade, ghostly wails and howls emanated from it. Those of weaker minds would surely be distracted by these sounds, and any slight distraction in such high-caliber combat could lead to disaster.
Elsa could clearly sense the opponent’s formidable momentum—he must be a Master. To overcome him in swordsmanship, Elsa would have to give it her all.
Without delay, Elsa gathered all her focus, slightly lowered her stance, and prepared for everything.
Suddenly, both of them moved at the same time.
A red glint of light collided instantly with a white one, and then Elsa appeared where the leader of the Exoskeleton Clan was, and he appeared where Elsa had just been.
They had clashed with a single strike!
But they were evenly matched!
However, Little Ai was dumbfounded: You charged out, leaving me here? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)
