Chapter 301: Let’s Have a Go (2)
Chapter 301: Let’s Have a Go (2)
The Sword Saint pressed a hand to his forehead as if a headache were coming on.
“Shall we postpone the duel for a bit?”
“No, it’s fine. We can start now. Just a second.”
Patrick stood up straight and began to circulate his internal energy. He roused the energy throughout his body, flushing the alcohol toxins from his Eight Extraordinary Meridians and smaller vessels. And then…
“Phew.”
As he let out a long breath thick with the scent of alcohol, Patrick’s complexion returned to its usual state.
“Whew. As I thought, Energy Circulation is the best cure for a hangover.”
Watching this, the Sword Saint spoke with a hint of admiration.
“You have a strange talent.”
“Heh. It was a necessity.”
“A necessity?”
“Yes, exactly.”
In his past life, nine times out of ten, when he asked his wife for a hangover cure, she’d give him poison instead. He’d had to develop his own energy cultivation method specifically to purge alcohol from his system.
Patrick drew both his swords and twisted his waist from side to side to loosen up.
“How’s your condition?”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to ask… but it is peak.”
“That’s a relief.”
Patrick glanced at the mages who were recording and broadcasting the duel through image spheres.
“I’ll confirm one more time. If I win this bet, the Imperial Army withdraws and must accept the armistice agreement. Understood?”
“I am aware. And if I win, you will stay out of this war.”
“Of course. I give you my word.”
“……”
The Sword Saint let out a sigh. No matter how he looked at it, the stakes of the negotiation were heavily skewed to one side. But what could he do? The die was cast.
He cleared his mind of all distractions and drew his sword.
Screeeech.
“Oho? That’s a famed sword.”
Patrick’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the Sword Saint’s blade.
“It is a national treasure of the Empire.”
The sword, forged from a single piece of pure Mithril, was named Venator. It bore the surname of the Imperial family and was traditionally bestowed by the Emperor upon his most favored knight. Naturally, its current master was the Sword Saint.
“Your swords… are rather ordinary.”
“I bought them at a blacksmith in front of the Academy for 70 silver each. I even haggled for a one-plus-one deal.”
“……”
“The cost-effectiveness is insane, right?”
The Sword Saint felt a bit embarrassed for him.
Tsk. What could he do? Whether in his past life or this one, Patrick simply had no luck with famed swords.
“I trust you won’t blame the outcome on the difference in equipment.”
“Of course not.”
“Good. Then…”
The Sword Saint held his sword upright before his chest.
“I am Duke Carlos Dante Reinardo of the Benator Empire.”
Patrick likewise held his twin swords up.
“I am Patrick Schneider of the Schneider Duchy.”
“Then…”
“Yes. Let’s… begin.”
The moment the word ‘begin’ left his lips, Patrick vanished.
First strike wins. It was Patrick’s favorite approach. However…
BOOM!
It seemed the Sword Saint felt the same way.
Patrick and the Sword Saint. Their weapons collided at the exact midpoint between them. Their attacks had crossed as they both lunged for the initiative.
Fragments of Aura Blades shattered in every direction, accompanied by a terrifying roar. The impact was so intense that even the 7-Star knights watching nearby flinched. But…
Clang! Crash! Boom!
The two were already exchanging blows, heedless of the shockwaves. The Sword Saint’s blade and Patrick’s twin swords clashed in a dizzying blur.
Having failed to seize the initiative with the opening strike, both were now attempting to pressure the other into a retreat with a barrage of consecutive attacks. And when it came to consecutive attacks, Patrick, with his twin swords, held an overwhelming advantage.
After all, wasn’t twin swordsmanship a style that pursued continuity and unpredictability at the cost of raw power and stability?
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Fourth Form
Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance
Patrick’s twin swords unleashed countless slashes at a speed invisible to the naked eye. At this, the Sword Saint’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.
Reinardo Style
Sword Area
In that instant, the Sword Saint’s blade formed a dense, multi-layered barrier around him. This defensive shroud blocked every single one of Patrick’s frantic strikes.
A Sword Curtain? Patrick thought as he watched the Sword Saint’s response.
Right. Considering this old man’s level, it wasn’t surprising that he could manifest a Sword Curtain. Though, it was a bit more impressive considering he’d likely figured it out on his own without being taught.
The Sword Saint’s Sword Curtain was incredibly tight. There wasn’t a single gap for Patrick’s Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance to penetrate. However…
If there’s no gap, I’ll break through.
Fighting spirit surged into Patrick’s blades. And then…
Twin Dragons’ Chaotic Dance: Adaptive Form
Falling Raindrops
A single raindrop is insignificant. But when they gather at the edge of a gutter and fall as one, the falling water can shatter stone.
Patrick’s slashes, which had been dancing across a wide area, converged into one. The number of strikes didn’t decrease at all, but the range narrowed drastically. Finally, when it became a single point…
Screeeeeeeeeech!
“Mmm…”
The Sword Saint groaned. Patrick’s attack felt less like a strike and more like it was grinding him down.
Despite it being a defensive technique he’d never seen before, this ‘Double Dragon’ had immediately presented the perfect counter-attack. It was as if he already knew. However…
It doesn’t matter.
The Sword Saint retracted his Sword Curtain.
As the barrier vanished, Patrick’s swords lunged like venomous snakes, aiming for his throat and heart. And the Sword Saint…
“Haaap!”
He didn’t dodge. Instead, he stepped forward and thrust his sword.
Even though Patrick’s attack was clearly faster.
The moment Patrick’s blades were about to pierce the Sword Saint’s throat and heart…
Clang!
With a sharp metallic screech, Patrick’s swords were repelled. And the Sword Saint’s blade…
Slash!
It cleanly severed Patrick’s neck.
“Gasp!”
“He did it!”
The Imperial knights cried out in shock and triumph. It had been a brief but fierce exchange, but in the end, the Sword Saint’s blade had taken the Double Dragon’s head. However…
“This is the second time, but…”
The Sword Saint didn’t lower his sword from his follow-through as he continued speaking.
“That really is a fascinating technique.”
Then, a voice drifted down from the air.
“Thanks for the compliment!”
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Second Style
Great Dragon Cross Sword
A massive cruciform slash fell toward the earth. Watching the attack, which possessed a terrifying power reminiscent of divine judgment, the Sword Saint did not dodge. He simply raised his sword upward with a leisurely motion. And then…
CRASH!
Patrick’s attack left a gargantuan cross-shaped scar on the ground. Yet, at the very intersection of that cross, not a single scratch was made. The Sword Saint stood there tall, his sword still raised in its defensive posture.
“Tsk.”
Patrick clicked his tongue and widened the distance.
He had used the Afterimage Step to deceive him and then unleashed the Great Dragon Cross Sword from the air. He had planned to catch the Sword Saint in a blind spot and follow up with a Flash Dragon Strike if he dodged, but the Sword Saint had simply stood his ground and taken it head-on. It was as if he had read Patrick’s intentions perfectly.
In the end, Patrick had to back off and reset his stance.
From the initial clash until this moment, less than ten seconds had passed. But in that brief window, hundreds of slashes had been exchanged, along with a high-level psychological battle that ordinary swordsmen couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
“……”
“……”
Clatter.
In the silence where not even the sound of swallowing could be heard, the sound of a dazed soldier dropping his spear echoed.
“Gasp?!”
The soldier was terrified. It was a mistake that could make his military life a living hell if a superior noticed. However…
“……”
“……”
At this moment, no one was paying attention to that soldier. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on only two men. Patrick and the Sword Saint’s exchange had been that breathtakingly incredible.
How… how can a human do that…
He’s strong. No, I already knew the Sword Saint was strong, but…
So that’s the Double Dragon.
This is insane. How can he…
In any field, you only see as much as you know. The knights were more shocked than the soldiers, and even more shocked than the ordinary knights were the 7-Star knights who had pioneered the Supreme Realm.
Did I… did I really call that man a brat?
This is crazy… Haa… it’s driving me mad.
He’s on a different level.
Many of the 7-Star knights present had been displeased with this duel. Consider the conditions. If Patrick won, the war was over, but if the Sword Saint won, Patrick simply wouldn't participate. It was an unfair deal by any standard.
Shouts of “This makes no sense!” had been rising to their throats, but they had only kept their mouths shut because they couldn't commit such a rudeness in front of the Sword Saint. But now they realized.
The Sword Saint’s judgment was correct.
If we had met that man as an enemy on the battlefield…
So that’s why he did it.
There was a necessity for the Sword Saint to personally accept such unfavorable terms. Patrick Schneider’s strength was on a level that made even the Empire’s strongest knights think this way.
* * *
Though the Sword Saint and Patrick had just performed an exchange that left everyone in awe and terror…
“Hmm… so that’s how it is.”
From the perspective of the participants, they were still in the probing stage. While the Sword Saint had at least seen Patrick fight in Arcana, Patrick knew nothing about the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship. They had briefly crossed blades in Arcana, but that had been far too short.
So he had tested the waters, and the result was…
He uses a sword, but his style is closer to Shaolin.
That was it. To Patrick’s eyes, the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship shared a common thread with Shaolin.
Immovable Giant Rock.
The essence of Shaolin martial arts could be felt in the Sword Saint’s blade. Especially…
“What was that just now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, why play dumb between experts?”
When Patrick spoke with a sly, knowing grin, the Sword Saint let out a sigh.
“You’re trying to strip away all my secrets.”
The Sword Saint slowly raised his sword and took a stance as he continued.
“Regrettably, I have no intention of telling you. If you’re curious, why don’t you find out for yourself?”
“Well, I have a hunch. I’ve dealt with something similar before.”
“……”
The Sword Saint’s eyebrow twitched. Patrick was claiming to understand the ultimate secret he had spent his entire life achieving. No, he even said…
He’s dealt with it before?
That was impossible. The Sword Saint frowned.
“You bluster more than I expected.”
“Ah, you don’t believe me. You just don’t believe me.”
Patrick shook his head.
“Why don’t people believe what I say? Why? I just don’t get it.”
“Usually in such cases, it is normal to assume the people around you are sane and you are the one who is wrong.”
“Me? Wrong?”
Patrick placed a hand on his chest, thought for a moment, and said, “Nah, no way.”
This kid was hopeless.
“Well, anyway, it’s nice to see it again after so long.”
Patrick smirked as he thought. The Sword Saint’s technique had repelled his attack, even though it was coated in an Aura Blade, with his bare body. He had only experienced this once in the Jianghu.
Indestructible Diamond Body.
It was a technique he had faced while dueling one of the Shaolin elders. The man had turned his very body into a diamond-hard vessel and charged recklessly; it had been quite a headache. Since his body wouldn't take a scratch even if stabbed with a sword, he ignored defense and lunged like a madman, every strike equivalent to a move of Mutual Destruction.
And what the Sword Saint had just shown was similar. However…
I can’t quite figure out the principle.
“Shall we give it a test?”
The moment he muttered those words…
Zip!
Patrick’s body vanished. The Sword Saint quickly swung his sword toward his rear.
BOOM!
The Sword Saint’s Aura Blade collided with Patrick’s. But in that instant, Patrick utilized the unique advantage of twin swords, pressing down the Sword Saint’s blade with one hand while thrusting the sword in his other hand toward the Sword Saint’s head.
To this, the Sword Saint…
“It’s useless!”
He simply thrust his head forward.
Clang!
Patrick’s Aura-coated blade collided with the Sword Saint’s head, and a metallic ring echoed. Then, the Sword Saint…
“Hrrngh!”
He forcefully swung upward the sword that Patrick had been pressing down. Patrick tried to hold his ground, but…
Tsk.
It was difficult to pin down a single-handed upward slash from the Sword Saint, delivered with the full power of both his arms, using only one hand. The moment he felt he couldn't suppress it, Patrick instead smoothly yielded to the force.
BOOM!
Aura erupted upward like a volcano. And at the peak of that surging Aura, Patrick’s body floated like a leaf blown by the wind.
Having intentionally let himself be launched without resisting, Patrick righted his posture in mid-air using his core strength and looked down. Since he was already up here, he planned to use the height advantage to deliver a strike. But…
“Where are you looking?”
Patrick’s expression hardened for the first time. The owner of the voice was, of course, the Sword Saint. And the location of that voice was even higher than Patrick.
While Patrick had been launched upward by the erupting Aura, the Sword Saint had jumped even higher in that interval, hiding his movement within the momentum of the exploding energy.
“Got you.”
“Tsk!”
Boom! Crash! Bang!
In mid-air, the Sword Saint and Patrick’s blades clashed furiously. Both were in an unstable position without their feet on the ground. In other words, dodging was impossible. They had to block everything.
And as for who had the advantage here…
“Euaaaaaah!”
It was undeniably the Sword Saint. While Patrick’s sword speed was faster, the Sword Saint’s raw power was superior. Furthermore, the advantage of the height difference and the advantage gained by taking the rear in the first move all worked in the Sword Saint’s favor.
Clang! Crash!
If anything, the Sword Saint was more surprised that Patrick was still holding his own in this situation. He had thought this was a moment that could decide the match, but Patrick was sharply twisting his body at an angle to deflect the Sword Saint’s attacks. It was a defense made possible only by an incredible sense of balance and lightning-fast sword speed. However…
You are already in checkmate.