Chapter 1113: Chapter 272: Duel (2)
De Jia’er put down his sword, signaling Brand to take the initiative. As a Master, although he appeared here under an alias at this moment, his demeanor had not relaxed. The opponent was just a rookie, and if he were to attack first, this famed Eagle Knight felt it beneath him. However, Brand had no such concerns, adopting an aggressive stance with the mindset that if there was an advantage to be taken, he would not miss it.
"Military swordsmanship." De Jia’er scoffed lightly in his heart.
Brand’s sword tip aimed straight at De Jia’er’s heart as he attacked. His improved military swordsmanship was full of lethal intent, with every strike aimed to kill. De Jia’er blocked with his slender longsword, and with a ’clang’, the two swords locked in mid-air. Brand gripped the sword hilt with both hands, slicing diagonally along De Jia’er’s sword edge.
The Eagle Knight immediately sensed something was off; such a dangerous attack was not part of military swordsmanship. However, his decades of swordsmanship experience were not for naught. He spun a sword flower, disengaging his sword from Brand’s offensive. He took a step back, frowning slightly, realizing that after a single exchange, he was on the defensive. Brand’s military swordsmanship seemed bizarre to him.
Before he could figure out the next move, suddenly his heart tightened. Battle experience turned into a sense of crisis, alerting him as he saw Brand crash toward him after being deflected, directly into his chest. Chilled, the Eagle Knight instinctively drew a short sword with his left hand, blocking his throat. Brand closed in, and with a metallic ’clang’, De Jia’er’s left hand trembled slightly, a shallow bloodline appeared on both the short sword and his neck.
Cold sweat broke out on De Jia’er’s forehead — this guy was crazy, opting for a life-for-life fighting style. Luckily, his reactions were quick. In all his years of dueling, he’d never encountered such a battle. As an Eagle Knight, he was not a soldier, and hadn’t fought in wartime, naturally unable to understand the difference between life and death on the battlefield and in a duel — among swordsmen, death was glory, while a soldier’s life was merely expendable.
Brand’s swordsmanship was extremely decisive, as if he had transformed wholly into a sharp sword, emitting a chilling aura. Not only De Jia’er felt this, but even Marquis You Xi and Magdal nearby changed their expressions, sensing not a duel but a battlefield where soldiers fought to the death.
"Such strong murderous energy in this swordsmanship," Marquis You Xi couldn’t help but touch his neck.
De Jia’er was thoroughly startled by Brand, like a beast driven to desperation. As a Sword Master, he never imagined he’d be pushed to this point. He felt helpless, his previous sword skills seemed useless in this battle, as if relying solely on instinct was necessary for victory. Sweat slicked his palms — an unprecedented experience.
Even in desperate combat, a Sword Master’s reactions were quicker than ordinary soldiers. His Eagle Swordsmanship was originally long and short swordsmanship, and he swiped a short sword downward with his left hand, forcing Brand away, then struck out desperately with his longsword. Brand had to retreat, allowing De Jia’er a sigh of relief; once Brand retreated, De Jia’er immediately pursued with another sword.
Yet in the next instant, the Eagle Knight couldn’t stop sweating. He saw Brand deflect his sword with his left hand, exposing a deep wound down to the bone on the left hand’s back. But Brand stepped forward, swinging a sword directly at his ribs. De Jia’er could fully judge that if this sword landed, the blade would pass between his seventh and eighth ribs, causing serious damage to his lungs. De Jia’er was finally overwhelmed, and a silver light mirror suddenly appeared in the path of Brand’s long sword, with a ’clang’ and sparks flying, as Brand’s sword struck the silver mirror heavily.
The mirror surface rippled, like mercury, but after the wave-like texture, not even a shallow mark was left.
Next, a series of flashes formed a spherical pattern around De Jia’er, revealing a detailed view of numerous silver convex mirrors. These mirrors appeared and vanished rapidly, constructing a hemispherical defense around the Eagle Knight.
Passive Element.
Brand had already known De Jia’er’s element was the Silver Wall, an elemental ability similar to the Fire Shield, automatically protecting its possessor from physical attacks from outside. However, this was not an absolute defense. If the attacker’s strength exceeded the element possessor’s strength limit, they could easily break through this defense.
Such passive elements provided a considerable advantage in battles of the same rank and were nearly invincible in high-level suppression over lower levels. De Jia’er finally utilized this elemental power, indicating he had already lost in swordsmanship to Brand. If this were purely a swordsmanship contest, De Jia’er would have been defeated. Unfortunately, this was a duel.
De Jia’er now had a moment to wipe his brow, realizing his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He looked up at Brand, incredulous that this youth’s swordsmanship far surpassed his, knowing that it was indeed military swordsmanship but simultaneously not; in his youth he had been instructed by Sword Saint Darius, having witnessed the legendary Sword Saint’s improved military swordsmanship. Yet this young man’s military swordsmanship took it further, as if brandishing a sword transported one directly to a battlefield, a torrent of fierce energy exuding forth.
Enter the realm through the sword. This was already the domain of the Sword Saint.
De Jia’er stared at Brand, unable to resist asking, "Who are you?"
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(First update, welcome to join the All Things Return to Mothers Association) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
