There was something Cass wanted to apologize to Siloque about. He hadn’t finished reading the materials sent last night. To be precise, it was about the techniques Ti Er Xiu used. Except for knowing how to deal with Ti Er Xiu’s “phase transition” at certain moments, Cass didn’t understand much else about Ti Er Xiu.
In other words, at least before Ti Er Xiu “phase transitioned,” both sides had equal information. Neither knew how many aces the other held. Cass wanted to try gaining experience, to rely less on Siloque in some areas, and test his own skill and growth.
However, Cass knew deep down that these were just surface excuses. It was simply his body craving a battle where he could go all out, craving the addictive pleasure of knocking down a powerful enemy.
The countdown kept decreasing. Not only were the Fox People starting to quiet down, but Cass felt the sounds around him almost disappear, leaving only his opponent in his field of vision—a sign of his intense focus.
One hundred twenty seconds left to ninety. When Cass had dueled Cliff before, he only thought about how to make Shilo Slash faster and stronger. Now Cass realized that Waermor had lengthened the time to allow you to observe your opponent and determine your tactics.
Cass’s gaze swept over Ti Er Xiu. The Azure Fox-headed Ti Er Xiu had pulled his Chain Hood low. The larger the coverage area on his head, the higher the defense, but it also obstructed vision and hearing more severely. From the twitching of Ti Er Xiu’s animal ears, Cass could at most confirm that his field of view wasn’t very good.
Unlike fighting monsters driven by survival instincts, this opponent was also observing him. Cass kept his eyes fixed on Ti Er Xiu, but couldn’t glean any information from his relaxed, swaying stance. Just as Siloque’s data had said—he had plenty of PvP experience. Facing Ti Er Xiu’s nonchalance, Cass didn’t show any sign of wavering. He calmly turned his sword tip horizontal, tilted his body slightly, and strengthened his footing. The sandy ground felt slippery.
‘What can Ti Er Xiu see from this posture? How will he interpret my first move, and how will he act? Of course, I can change my stance, but would that give him new information?’
Twenty seconds left. Fortunately, Cass was only using a Middle Stance with his sword. He didn’t think Ti Er Xiu would realize he could use Sonic Slash, which required an Upper Stance.
The distance between them was only ten meters, and the scene had become extremely quiet. The spectators were even more nervous than the fighters. Bried’s hand rested on the Rapier at her waist; Kersey gripped her Staff, the oppressive atmosphere slowing her breathing; Wa Luolan’s animal ears stood straight up, but her expression was calm.
Ten seconds left. The magic number thoughtfully added a curious sound effect: Boom—Boom—.
Five seconds. At this point, Ti Er Xiu finally drew the Double-Bladed Axe hanging behind him. Besides the two blades, there was a sharp spike at the top center. The entire blade reflected light as if wet, showing it was very well-maintained.
Four seconds. After drawing the axe, Ti Er Xiu swung his right hand and assumed an Upper Stance with a seemingly casual motion. Dark green magical light began to wrap around the axe blade.
‘This stance, the way the magic envelops it… sure enough, he can also use “Skills.”‘
But according to the Dungeon People, they called it “Magic,” and they could also obtain Drop Skills from monsters. And Ti Er Xiu probably knew more than just this one. If Cass wasn’t mistaken, it was the same Sonic Slash as his own.
Two seconds. If he wanted to dodge, he had to jump left immediately, or it would be too late.
‘Choosing the same tactic as me?’
One second. But—Ti Er Xiu leaped without hesitation the moment the countdown reached “1.” A green trail streaked across the air, and a high-speed slash howled sharply toward Cass.
In that instant, Cass learned something. This wasn’t a fifty-meter hurdles race; there was no penalty for a false start. The rules here weren’t that strict.
Zero seconds. The magic letters “FIGHT!!” flashed in the center of the arena, but by then Cass couldn’t see that message anymore. Ti Er Xiu’s body, leaping like a Shadow Vulture and closing in, almost completely blocked Cass’s vision. Cass had planned to activate his skill right after the fight started, but now he was a beat slower than his opponent.
He brought the Wraithblade—which was still in an Upper Stance and hadn’t yet entered the skill’s preparatory motion—horizontal, finally managing to block Ti Er Xiu’s slash. Suddenly, he thought it might have been better to let that first blow hit the top of his head. By using his Talent [Friction] , the opponent’s blade would have slid off before touching his hair, and he could have taken the chance to land a cut on Ti Er Xiu.
The sword, which Cass held by the hilt with his left hand supporting the side of the blade, received a powerful impact.
‘Ugh…’ It was so heavy that Cass felt if he let go, the axe blade would chop off his head.
[Friction] activated.
“Whoa?” Ti Er Xiu’s voice carried surprise as the Double-Bladed Axe slid off. With Ti Er Xiu wide open, Cass naturally swung his blade from lower left to upper right. Ti Er Xiu barely dodged it, then leaped back to create distance.
Cass quickly leaped forward, taking the offensive this time. Ti Er Xiu grinned widely as if amused.
“Ha!”
“Roar!”
“Your sword shouldn’t have oil on it.”
Ti Er Xiu wiped off his smile and quickly swung his Double-Bladed Axe. After two angry shouts, a metallic clang rang out. The loud clash of the two weapons striking each other echoed many times over the sandy ground under the daylight.
‘So that’s it. No wonder Siloque told me to be careful.’
Even in pure swordsmanship without skills, Ti Er Xiu’s level was not low. The Double-Bladed Axe in his hand moved as flexibly as an extension of his limbs, swinging with minimal motion, traveling the shortest distance to strike at Cass’s weak points.
What was truly terrifying was that Cass’s Talent [Friction] could only prevent him from getting injured. Whenever the applied [Friction] on the Wraithblade caused Ti Er Xiu’s Double-Bladed Axe to slide off, Ti Er Xiu would immediately swing his next attack at maximum speed, even using the sliding trajectory to launch a stronger strike. His reflexes were far beyond normal!
The axe blade grazed Cass’s eyes, heart, neck, and other vital points several times, but each time Cass neutralized it with [Friction] , causing no damage. Cass parried with all his might, barely dodging that unique attack that was somewhere between a slashing technique and a thrusting technique.
Under the opponent’s storm-like assault, Cass gradually, little by little… was adapting.
“Hiyah!” As if frustrated by his failed consecutive attacks, Ti Er Xiu let out a sharp roar and used the central spike of his Double-Bladed Axe to execute a rather forced thrust aimed at Cass’s heart.
Cass didn’t use [Friction] to cancel it. Instead, he opened his body and stepped forward to the right, dodging the enemy’s spike while delivering a horizontal slash from left to right. The sharp edge of the Wraithblade cut through the dark brown leather shoulder bag, carving the first blood on Ti Er Xiu’s body.
However, Cass didn’t look happy. Because he knew that Ti Er Xiu definitely wouldn’t feel the pain, whether physically or mentally.