Chapter 2114: Winning Without a Move

Xia Duo certainly did not cheat; although this was an avatar, if his true body were here, he would only do better. However, since Beinuo said he cheated, he could just as well let the other party see what real cheating was like.

Thinking this, Xia Duo cast a spell again to send the sword Beinuo had dropped to the ground back in front of him, while provocatively adding:

"Again?"

"Again!"

Having realized he had spoken wrongly, Beinuo certainly did not want to let such an opportunity slip by and immediately agreed. He admitted that he had been a bit careless just now, but next, he would definitely make this damned human pay the price for his arrogance!

Having calmed down, Beinuo gradually slowed his breathing, and his gaze became incomparably sharp. However, he did not rush to attack, but instead stared unblinkingly at every move Xia Duo made.

Under such high concentration, Beinuo could even see the tangible wind within the Golden Autumn Courtyard, and even the intangible elements and the trajectories of the Magic Net Strings clearly. Only then did he notice that his opponent was completely devoid of a combat state.

Was this because his strength was so great that he no longer needed any external environmental advantages, or was the other party truly cheating with Magic?

For a moment, pressure surged in Beinuo's heart. His uncle had not raised any objections to the result of the first duel, which meant it was highly probable the other party was not cheating with Magic, so it must be that his strength was great.

But what kind of strength could ignore all external environmental advantages? Even a Sword Singer Master could not do this, especially when his own Sword Art was not inferior to a Master's!

……

Just like that, time ticked away second by second. Xia Duo watched as the expression of Beinuo, three steps in front of him, became increasingly grave, yet he made not a single move with his hands.

Could it be that he could already win without fighting just by his aura?

Clearly, the little Elf before him would not let him pass easily. Just as Xia Duo was wondering how long the other party would wait, a light suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It was a Spell!

But it was not a Spell cast by a Mage in the usual sense, but a Spell triggered by Sword Art!

Generally speaking, pure Sword Art, no matter how brilliant, could not trigger a Spell, but an Elf Sword Singer's training sword was a specialized Magic sword that could be used as a Spellcasting Medium to cast Spells.

However, there was a reason why Sword Singers were not considered true Mages in Elf society; their mastery of Spells was very low, and they could only cast them with the help of specific Sword Arts.

It was similar to a normal Mage's incantations and equipment-assisted Spellcasting, only their auxiliary Spellcasting measures were more rigid. Only a Sword Singer Master could truly integrate Spells into Sword Art and adapt to changing circumstances.

This required a sufficient understanding of Spells. By this stage, there was not much difference between a Sword Singer Master and an ordinary Mage.

But even so, in front of a Mage skilled in Spell Duels, that bit of late-stage remedial Spell understanding was no better than showing off one's skills before an expert.

Therefore, in the Elf World, a Sword Singer Master might earn the respect, or even awe, of Mages, but the top-tier power of the Elves would never be them.

……

The moment Xia Duo saw the light, he immediately grasped the other party's intention: it was nothing more than to make him unable to attend to both ends at once—if he opened his eyes, he would be interfered with while Spellcasting, and if he closed them, he would be unable to deal with the constantly advancing Magic sword.

Do not be fooled by it being just a training sword; it was just as lethal if it poked someone.

This method was very effective against ordinary Mages, and when combined with a Magic sword with Spell Breaking effects like the Blade of Veto, calling it a finishing move was no exaggeration.

Normally, a Mage who did not understand melee combat could already consider running away or lying flat at this point.

But Xia Duo was not an ordinary Mage, nor was he someone who did not understand melee combat.

After discerning the other party's intention, he decided to teach him a lesson, whether in terms of Magic or Sword Art.

So he closed his eyes. Although doing so was somewhat redundant for an avatar, wasn't this what the other party wanted to see?

Sure enough, the next moment, he heard the sound of a blade piercing the air, and it was a multiple, chaotic sound, attacking him from all directions.

This was also a Spell effect.

However, Xia Duo did not make any counter-measures; instead, he let Beinuo perform. He merely raised his hand and swung his sword. The trajectory of the blade cutting through the void penetrated a patch of Magic Net Strings. Although he did not deliberately cast a spell, the Magic sword itself was enough to stir up feedback from the Magic Net.

He did not use a Sword Singer's Spellcasting Sword Art, so the blade's sweep only brought out a bit of Element Turbulence, looking just like a special effect of the sword body itself.

Because he was the defender, and in a situation where he did not have an absolute advantage in strength, Xia Duo was still able to strike later but arrive first, just like the first time, accurately hitting the balance point of the other party's sword body.

But this time, the prepared Beinuo changed his move the instant the two swords clashed. At the same time, he also realized that his opponent had extraordinary combat intuition; even with his vision and hearing interfered with, he could still fight normally without being affected.

While this made Beinuo feel envious, it also brought him greater pressure. Afterward, he attacked continuously, but every time he was neutralized by Xia Duo. Moreover, the timing of the other party's every sword strike was chosen so well, and the angle was so exquisite, that he had to admit that if they swapped positions, he probably could not produce such a brilliant response.

"Damn it! Didn't Uncle say this human only narrowly defeated Master Furuisi? How can he be so difficult to deal with!"

At this moment, Beinuo's heart was already filled with gloom. He was still attacking mechanically, and his offensive was still fierce. Perhaps to outsiders, he was approaching the upper hand, but only he, who was in the midst of the battle, knew that he might never be able to break through the other party's defense.

Clearly, both sides were using the training swords provided by the Golden Autumn Courtyard for guests to play with, yet in that human's hand, it was like an ancient divine sword possessing perfect combat elements.

How could one defeat such an opponent!

However, what Beinuo did not know was that Xia Duo was actually not having an easy time either. The fact that he was able to defeat Furuisi in Evereska previously had some water in it.

First of all, he had gone with his true body at that time, and his physical fitness in all aspects was stronger than Furuisi's. In a pure Sword Art duel, he could always use speed to beat slowness and solidity to strike emptiness; Furuisi was no match for him.

But this did not mean Furuisi's Sword Art was poor.

The other party was able to win the title of "Sword Singer Master" within Yierlan, so naturally, he possessed extremely brilliant Sword Art. It was just that Furuisi was not born a Sword Singer, but a true Mage, and a senior Mage at that.

An existence second only to High Mages in the Elf World.

Thinking about it, that "Sword Singer Master" title likely had some water in it as well.

Therefore, although Xia Duo considered himself to have grasped the true meaning of Sword Art, in actual combat, if he did not use Magic or his true body, he dared not guarantee he could definitely defeat a Sword Singer Master.

As for the present, Beinuo's Sword Art could indeed be called brilliant, and since Xia Duo was neither his true body nor prepared to use Magic for Suppression, it was naturally impossible to be too relaxed.