Chapter 198: The Heroine's Sword

In the center of the camp, a completely unequal contest was underway.

"Smack!"

The small white-haired girl planted her feet, wielding a long sword as she swung it fiercely.

The girl swung the long greatsword from bottom to top with a sudden burst, using centrifugal force to fling out a crescent of light.

In that moment, her ferocity and explosive power resembled a wolf pouncing on prey, or a sand shark suddenly lunging from the surf.

Her opponent, that middle-aged knight, was also somewhat surprised by the viciousness of her swordsmanship; this was not the swordsmanship a child should possess, but

"Smack!"

he simply turned slightly, using the blade of his dagger to block the sudden surge of her attack.

The force of that counter-block was not great, merely a basic-level parry. And this lack of force to knock the girl's sword away allowed the fight to continue.

"Hah!" After a delicate shout carrying a hint of childishness came another spinning thrust.

Miss Lana surged forward suddenly; this time, her target was the middle-aged knight's neck!

"Smack!"

But her overly straightforward attack was gently pushed back by the opponent's sword hilt.

Yet even at this moment, the girl's sword had not left her hand; if it were Li En, the first strike would already be over.

"Knight Captain Kahn is truly impressive; this technique of generating force is perfect."

The ability to keep holding the sword and fighting on was not due to Miss Lana's skill, but rather the skill of her opponent, Kahn.

In real-sword sparring, merely using the side of the blade or the hilt to parry, while minimizing the recoil of one's own movements, is a technique that suppresses physical force to the absolute minimum; it is far more difficult than wide, sweeping strikes.

It was for this reason that this duel could continue, allowing the little one to grow rapidly through practical combat training.

"This girl is truly remarkable; she is almost like a wild beast. Once she grows a bit older and makes up for her lack of physical strength, who knows? We might all end up losing to her."

"Hehe, my elders are too modest."

Li En, of course, did not take it seriously. The little one was performing excellently, but speaking of her future before she was fully mature was far too early.

This was an open area in the temporary camp; when the knights had free time, they naturally found something to do.

Sparring had already become a daily habit. The little one had gone up to spar, and it was she who had requested it.

The knights held a very good opinion of the little one; for her age, such swordsmanship was quite stunning, except that...

"... Not to say it, but this fighting style really makes one likely to die young."

"Yes, I have repeated this to her many times, but she just won't listen." Li En sighed and shrugged, acting like a helpless parent whose child refuses to learn.

"No, I am talking about you. How have you managed to survive until today?"

The lead knight of the Radiant Guard, "Red-Haired Demon" Claire Floyd, had met Li En once before.

At this moment, she too felt somewhat helpless; today had truly opened her eyes.

She herself was known for her wildness in battle and her disregard for her own life, but after witnessing the swordsmanship styles of the little one and Li En, she felt that when it came to not caring about one's life, she was still inferior.

Generally speaking, a swordsmanship style balances offense and defense. A two-handed sword is considered an offensive weapon; excellent swordsmen devote seventy percent to offense and thirty percent to defense. That little girl is about ninety percent offense and ten percent defense, always fixating on the opponent's vital points. You are even more extreme...

The Great Knight sighed; she truly never expected that with such a fighting style, Li En had managed to survive all this time.

"... You are almost one hundred percent offense and zero percent defense, completely relying on your armor to tank damage, seeing who dies first."

Li En had only sparred with four or five people before he could no longer continue; in an equal real-sword duel, his fighting style was too pure, being entirely battlefield-killing swordsmanship.

"He is becoming more and more like that person." Dai Niya, who was watching from the sidelines, had felt nothing before, but now, seeing Li En's swordsmanship style, he looked increasingly like that heroic soul uncle who wielded a door-sized greatsword and slaughtered indiscriminately.

If I can cut through everything, why should I defend?

If I can trade injuries, and you suffer more from having your armor pierced than I do, why should I defend?

The holy sword that allows no forgiveness or patience is purely a style of head-on collision; the victor naturally survives.

Perhaps I am destined to be covered in scars, but even until the end, my back will remain spotless and unharmed.

"Uh, I am confident in my armor."

Li En patted his black armor and could only smile foolishly.

Dai Niya, standing nearby, strangely turned her attention toward Miss Lana. The little one was working hard; even when facing opponents she could not defeat, her Hukou numbed from the impact, she still gritted her teeth and persisted.

"How strange; why do I always feel like I have seen this swordsmanship before?"

"Uh, the more I look, the more familiar it seems. Who is it? It seems like I saw Sister Laina in these past few years? Uh, that can't be right; I must be overthinking it." Li En did not know that some quite terrifying changes were occurring within Dai Niya.

And the cause of all this was actually his own gift.

【Ring of the Deceiver (Unknown Rank): It is a fragment of some existence, the embodiment of the Deceiver.】

【Privilege of the Deceiver (Unknown Rank): Call upon it; any vow made under its witness shall be merely a lie and a joke. The adjusted oath shall apply only to the ring itself.】

The snake had not lied; this property was real, but as always, he had only told half the truth.

This ring, which tore off a portion of him, naturally possessed effects far beyond just this one.

【Deceiver's Intuition (Unknown Rank): Your words will be more easily believed; you will more easily see through the other's lies and deceptions; you will more easily see the truth beneath lies and illusions.】

There was no specific detailed explanation, which instead proved the ring's terrifying nature; it was a pure "passive rule," and no mana fluctuation or detection spell could perceive it.

Wearing it would make Dai Niya's words more easily accepted by others, with absolutely no trace of influence detectable.

Previously, Li En had been vaguely detected as having a connection to Sul and Lex, also due to the effect of this ring. Now, she had strangely linked Miss Lana with Heroine Laina, also due to the enhanced "Deceiver's Intuition."

This was only the beginning; afterwards, Dai Niya would become increasingly sharp, and no lie or trap could deceive her, while her words and proposals would always be able to move people.

This completely imperceptible "normal effect" made it worthy of being called a divine artifact, and that was not an exaggeration.

In fact, basically only divine artifacts possess such completely unreasonable "self-defined rules."

Shattering the limitations of reality and the material universe, yet appearing as if it were natural, with absolutely no fluctuation of supernatural power.

And this was not the ring's full function.

【Deceiver Does Not Die from a Crash (Unknown Rank): After the holder dies, they will undergo "Snake Molting" and resurrect in a safe area (maximum one charge, recharge time: ten years).】

【Usage Condition: Dragonborn of the Thousand-Faced Dragon (Female only).】

"Ha, had a son? Get lost, men should strive for themselves."

In a sense, the Snake truly favors daughters quite a bit.

This means that even if Dai Niya is truly stabbed, she can return from the Underworld; as long as she does not die twice within ten years, she possesses true immortality.

The three functions of this ring are completely imperceptible in daily life, yet they can be helpful at critical moments.

The Snake's thinking was very straightforward: since tearing off a part of oneself is required to interfere with the Gods, then one might as well do it well to avoid waste.

"This child is quite pitiful, and it is all Li En Sudar's fault!"

The Snake sighed; perhaps he and he were both bastards, but he was quite good to his own kin, and as for that Lex, he would treat it as a slight compensation for another version of himself.

"Ha!"

On the field, the little one was still striving, while Li En had already blended in with the knights; physically, they quickly drew closer to one another.

"Lex? Uh, I know him too. Pity that an evil curse erased his face. How should I put it? The real him differs slightly from the legends, slightly." Knight Captain Kahn's expression, however, seemed to suggest that the scope of this "slightly" was quite outrageous.

Fearful that he differed from the glorious and righteous official records, the real Hero Lex had a gap with the propaganda that was somewhat large.

After finding no information from that year in the library or official reports, Li En naturally turned his gaze toward these veteran knights.

Calculating their ages, they might have experienced that war back then; perhaps they were even the participants.

The one entering the arena now was another Radiant Guard; Knight Captain Kahn wiped sweat while chatting idly with the other knights.

Li En conveniently steered the topic toward Lex.

"Li En, you also use the style of the Hero's Sword; no wonder you are interested in him. Actually, it is not that it cannot be said; his sword is very, very beautiful."

In Knight Captain Kahn's view, for a warrior and a knight, the sword is what cannot be deceived most; the little one with such a sword and Li En are destined to walk an extraordinary path.

He hesitated a bit; he and the other Radiant Guard Knight Captain alike saw the extremity in their swordsmanship.

Extremity is not necessarily bad, but dying young before growing up is not a good thing.

Seeing that Li En was interested in the former Hero, he spoke along with it.

"What I say may overturn your cognition; the Hero's Sword is more crazy and more extreme than yours."

His gaze turned to Li En, feeling even more the similarity between the two in certain aspects.

"He is also all-offense and no-defense, but far more extreme than you; he seems to feel absolutely nothing of life, death, or fear."

(End of Chapter)