Chapter 6: All-Out Effort

"Can't I get out of the circle? That is to say, as long as I keep my distance, the opponent can't attack me, then I can go all-out on offense without worrying about defense."

William thought this in his mind, took a deep breath, then charged straight at Geilan to attack.

Xierna, who was watching from the side, said: "Not bad, your speed is definitely fast for a child your age."

Seeing William charge at him, Geilan felt satisfied with William's speed in his mind and said to William: "A head-on attack? Then I don't need to block with my wooden sword."

William leapt into the air, gripping the wooden sword with both hands and raising it above his head, then using the momentum of his descent to strike down swiftly.

Geilan confidently raised his arm to block in front of him; on one hand he wanted to personally feel William's strength, on the other hand he wanted to give William a wake-up call so William would clearly recognize the gap between them.

Just as the wooden sword was about to strike Geilan's arm, William forcefully twisted his body in midair, and the wooden sword swung quickly along with the twist.

"Pa, pa, pa."

Three rapid striking sounds rang out in succession, the wooden sword successively hitting Geilan's front forearm, rear forearm, and the side of his chest ribs where he was careless.

Although this three-hit combo is a basic combat technique practiced by most adventurers, it also requires extensive training to execute as smoothly and skillfully as William did.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, Xierna and the others would absolutely not believe William could achieve this level.

Of course, as the victim, Geilan felt it even more intensely from personal experience.

Geilan tried to keep a smile on his face so Xierna and the others wouldn't see he was in pain, raised his wooden sword and said to William: "Not bad, looks like I underestimated you; from now on I'll get serious."

Xierna, who was watching, revealed a mischievous smile and said: "Geilan, didn't you say you wouldn't use a wooden sword?"

"Cut the chatter, do you know how strong he is? Getting hit really hurts!" Geilan replied irritably, then looked at William and said: "But don't worry, I won't use martial arts against a child."

Seeing Geilan pick up the wooden sword, William's expression became even more excited; having such a strong opponent as a sparring partner, he, reborn, could finally let loose and have a good fight.

"Your expression is not bad!" Geilan laughed and said; he had thought William would be timid facing him, but didn't expect William's performance in every aspect to already exceed his expectations.

Geilan was very pleased with William in his mind; even if William today couldn't force him to step out of the drawn circle, he had already made up his mind to take William as his disciple.

William charged forward again, only this time he held the wooden sword with both hands at his waist, then he exerted force with his legs, his waist driving the upper body to turn sharply, and he swung the wooden sword horizontally at Geilan.

Geilan blocked quickly with one hand holding the sword; William then swung his sword in the opposite direction, knocking away Geilan's wooden sword that was in front of him, and taking advantage of the opening, he kicked swiftly at Geilan's chin.

Geilan's other hand quickly flattened against his chest; facing the absolute difference in strength, Geilan easily blocked William's kick with one hand.

William wasn't discouraged either; he swiftly moved around Geilan, repeatedly using the various sword techniques and martial arts skills he had learned in his previous life.

At first William's body was still somewhat unaccustomed to the battle memories and experience from his previous life, his movements were a little rusty, but as the fight continued, William felt his control over his body becoming increasingly perfect.

His body moved like a swimming dragon, executing a series of moves smoothly and continuously; the intensity of his attacks was already enough to leave Geilan, who wielded his sword with one hand, overwhelmed.

Xierna and the others watching from the side were already stunned, and David was also shocked by his son's displayed strength; however, he differed from Xierna and the others in that David knew his son still had a bigger trump card he hadn't used.

Xierna asked David: "David, are these all things you taught William? How long did it take him to learn to this level?"

David shook his head, his tone serious: "No, I only taught him the most basic fundamentals; those combat techniques are all things he learned himself, and as for where or from whom he learned them, I don't know either."

Upon hearing this, Xierna and the three others were somewhat surprised: "There's actually something like this..."

If one were to say that initially Geilan merely had some interest in William, later becoming quite satisfied, then at this moment William has already become a precious gem in Geilan's heart.

In Geilan's eyes, William was like a beautiful jade waiting to be carved, alluring.

"No way, even if David doesn't agree today, even if I have to kneel and beg him, I will definitely take William as my disciple; he hasn't awakened magic yet but already possesses such combat ability, and once I train and polish him and he awakens magic, he will surely become a powerhouse!"

Geilan, while blocking William's series of rapid attacks with one hand holding his sword, thought to himself:

He himself is a battle maniac; if it weren't for his limited potential due to his aptitude, he would certainly not have given up on seeing the world in a big city and adventuring everywhere, instead choosing to stay in this remote little place, Mobius Town.

And now, the person who can make up for Geilan's lost dream has appeared before him; how could he not be excited and stirred?

As long as he can train William, William will surely be able to take his place and reach the achievements and heights he himself has never attained.

"William will definitely become a gold-ranked or even platinum-ranked adventurer; no, he might even become a hero-ranked adventurer!"

The two of them, one going all-out on offense and the other seriously defending, despite the huge gap in strength, were both having a blast.

If Geilan hadn't been using some techniques to deflect William's attack power while defending, the wooden swords in both of their hands would probably have been broken by now.

William's breath now was ragged and heavy, his clothes completely soaked with sweat; the continuous high-intensity attacks had almost completely drained the stamina of his small frame.

Although he greatly enjoyed the feeling of being able to go all-out without any reservations, he knew that if he couldn't force Geilan out of the circle before his stamina ran out, then he might never get another chance like this fight.

William looked toward his father, his eyes filled with a question.

David understood what his son William wanted to say, so he nodded and said: "Sure, go ahead and use it if you want."

Upon hearing this, Xierna and the others were somewhat curious; in their view William had already used every combat technique a ten-year-old child could possibly employ, and even things a ten-year-old couldn't do, William had done them too—could there be an even more powerful method he hadn't used yet?

That seems unlikely, doesn't it?

Geilan saw William stop his offensive and look toward David, thinking he was about to give up; but for a kid under ten, William had already done quite well, so he laughed and said: "How about it, is your stamina already at its limit? If you admit defeat, there's nothing shameful about that......"

But his words were cut off mid-sentence, because Geilan saw William raise his sword and look at him again.

That was the kind of fearless gaze, filled with conviction of victory, that only someone like that could have—exactly the same as the gaze of those geniuses who had defeated him back at the magic academy!

So, even though Geilan knew William was just a child under ten, he, who had been defending with one hand holding his sword all along, now gripped the wooden sword with both hands held in front of him and said seriously:

"Although I don't know what tricks you little brat are up to, I'm also getting serious now!"

William's mouth curled up, revealing a hard-to-hide smile; that smile wasn't contempt for the enemy or mockery, but rather the joy of enjoying battle and being of one mind with his opponent.

William pulled his right leg back into a straight stance, stepped his left leg forward into a ninety-degree bow stance, held the sword with both hands level at his right hip, and lowered his body almost to the ground.

"Could it be that? No way, William couldn't possibly pull that off without any magic..."

Upon seeing William's stance, Xierna and the others guessed what technique he was about to use, but each of them doubted that William, who hadn't awakened magic, could actually pull it off smoothly.

David, on the other hand, had already seen his son use martial arts before, so he wasn't surprised like Xierna and the others about whether William could pull off martial arts; still, his gaze was firmly fixed on William, carefully observing and sensing any tiny changes in his son's body.

In an instant, William shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, thrusting his sword with both hands toward Geilan.

William's speed was so fast that even Geilan, who had overestimated William three times in a row, felt excited again, and Geilan laughed loudly:

"Not bad! But if you think this alone will force me out of the circle, you're underestimating me a bit—let you see the difference between me, who's trained my body for thirty years, and you, this little brat!"

Geilan was so happy he forgot himself; this time he was truly serious.

At the very moment William lunged to Geilan's front, he completely vanished from Geilan's and the onlookers' sight.

The next instant, William appeared behind Geilan, gripping the wooden sword with both hands and thrusting with all his might at Geilan's back.

「【Two-Stage Thrust】！」

Geilan, because he hadn't expected William could use a martial skill, and his brief shock wasted a moment, Geilan, who originally could have blocked William's strike, now didn't have time to turn and defend, so his internal magic power operated.

「Martial Skill【Iron Block】。」

「Crack！」

The wooden sword, bearing William's full strength, stabbed into Geilan's back, as if piercing a hard, thick iron plate, and it snapped apart inch by inch.

At this moment, everyone present stopped breathing.

Geilan and Xierna were shocked because they saw William, who hadn't even awakened his magic, use a martial skill.

William, meanwhile, was speechless because Geilan's bodily hardness had shattered the wooden sword his father had personally made for him.

After a long while, Xierna finally broke the silence, saying, 'Are you kidding? Is this still that William?'

Ou Li looked at David, gave a thumbs up, and said, 'David, you've fathered a son who might even surpass your father in excellence.'

Geilan looked at William with shining eyes and said, 'Kid, not bad, you almost pushed me out of the circle; you can brag to your friends about this.'

William felt dejected, and his tone flatly replied, 'Oh...'

Geilan said, 'Kid, do you have any complaints? Let me tell you, your Uncle Geilan is quite formidable; don't look down on silver-rank adventurers!'

William replied coldly, 'I haven't looked down on them.'

Geilan complained, 'Then why aren't you happy?'

"Because if I lose, you won't teach me to train..."

Geilan and the others all froze upon hearing this, realizing William was worried they wouldn't teach him training.

Xierna immediately laughed and said, 'Hahaha, you don't need to worry about this; if Geilan doesn't use his martial skill at the end, taking your sword he probably won't be able to get out of bed for two or three days! So, the moment he uses his martial skill, you've already won.'

William, hearing this, was somewhat startled, 'Huh? Uncle Geilan, did you just use a martial skill?'

Geilan replied unhappily, 'Ah, but that's only because I didn't expect you, this little brat, to actually succeed in using a martial skill; I zoned out for a moment and used it, not that I couldn't defend against you!'

Ou Li advised, 'All right, Geilan, losing is losing; as an adult, deceiving a child will make people look down on you.'

William happily jumped up and cheered.

At noon, Geilan and his three companions also didn't plan to leave; they all stayed at David's house to eat together.

Because Geilan and his three would later sponsor William, David's House, which had been struggling financially, instantly had a much more comfortable budget, and Helena also prepared a lavish feast for their arrival.

After finishing lunch, William helped wash the dishes and then returned to the bedroom to rest briefly, while Geilan and his three companions stayed with David in the living room.

Ou Li solemnly asked, 'David, where exactly did William learn those combat techniques? And how could he use a martial skill without awakening his magic?'