Chapter 305: Act 72 – The King of the Underworld (23)
From a purely power perspective, Brendel believed that the strongest opponent among them was Bud, followed by Test, with Aibodun and his grandfather coming in last. However, if ranked by swordsmanship, his grandfather and Bud could be placed at the top, with Aibodun following closely behind and Test at the bottom.
He had sparred with Test once and knew that the latter’s sword style emphasized speed, but speed required physical attributes to support it. In the Nightmare Arena, the rules posed the greatest limitation on Test.
Brendel glanced around at his four opponents and decided to target the weakest link among them, yet even so, the situation remained grim.
However, once a challenge is initiated in the Destiny Arena, there is no way to back out midway. Brendel understood that he could only give it his all.
The coliseum was silent, and the ‘audience’ outside realized that Brendel was in a dire predicament, facing four opponents, all of whom were formidable—so strong that even a fool could see the danger.
Kuran, who had been attacking the air wall, paused for a moment, imagining himself in Brendel’s position and could not help but think that he too would fare poorly in such a situation.
That old coot Tobs could easily knock him down ten times over.
All he could do was hope that the old man would show mercy for his grandson’s sake. But then again, he knew that it was merely a projection of this bizarre place.
“Watch out—!” suddenly shouted one of the youths.
Everyone saw Test, the Viscount, make the first move behind Brendel. His speed was not particularly fast, but the route he chose was very cunning, exactly in a place where Brendel could not see him.
Fortunately, the warning from outside came just in time.
The corner of Brendel’s eye twitched slightly; he angled his sword back and managed to deflect Test’s thrust with a ‘ding’ as it slid off his sword spine. The initial contact made Brendel feel that the threat from his opponent was lower than he had imagined; without the usual pressure of strength, this Viscount’s swordsmanship seemed to be nothing remarkable.
It was probably comparable to that of a level thirty-four player in the early game.
Test slid forward with his sword, but Brendel adjusted his sword grip and pushed the Viscount’s hand aside. Then he leaned back and struck Test’s underarm with his palm, sending him flying.
Brendel turned to pursue but was blocked by Aibodun, whose eyes burned with blue phosphor. At the same time, Bud arrived behind him.
“Damn it,” Brendel cursed inwardly; he dared not engage both of them at once—it would be like seeking death. Instead, he made a sudden stop to dodge Aibodun’s vertical slash and rolled aside to create distance between the two.
The White Knight clearly showed no gratitude; this undead knight swung his sword horizontally then vertically, pushing forward with a cross-shaped sword wind sweeping toward Brendel.
The cross slash in the Madara undead combat swordsmanship pursued both power and speed, being one of the rare long-range attacks often used for pursuit. Brendel knew this well; as he rolled backward, he pressed down on the ground to pivot himself in a 270-degree rotation, narrowly avoiding what would be a fatal blow for many.
The sword wind generated by the cross slash struck the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. But Brendel had no time to consider the power behind Aibodun’s strike, for that damned undead knight was already on his tail.
Fed up, the young man crouched down and raised his longsword, blocking Aibodun’s incoming strike with a ‘clang’, attempting to counterattack using the reactive force from the ground. Unfortunately, before his pent-up killing intent could explode, a heavy greatsword slashed from the side, turning his intention into vapor—
That was Bud’s sword.
At that moment, Brendel acutely felt the helplessness of facing multiple opponents; he found himself in a situation where he could advance or retreat. He had to parry against Aibodun’s attack while at the same time, he couldn’t dodge this slash from the side.
At that moment, the peril of the situation made many spectators by the coliseum cover their mouths in silent gasps. To most, the young man appeared to have no choice but to drop his sword and retreat.
But what then after dropping his sword? Surrounded by four, would he even be able to retrieve it? That remained a significant issue.
However, Brendel’s counterattack surprised everyone.
He didn’t drop his sword and retreat—he hadn’t forgotten that he had three swords hanging on his waist. Brendel raised his right hand high, pulled out one sword with his left, and with a split-second timing, he clashed the sword with Bud’s and blocked it with a clang.
However, the strength from his left hand was nothing compared to his right, so while Bud’s greatsword was deflected, it still brushed past the young man’s cheek, and Brendel instantly felt a chill and a stinging pain on one side of his face.
“Damn, they shouldn’t hit the face—” he cursed inwardly.
Cursing aside, his movements did not slow. Just moments after Bud’s sword passed, Brendel pushed forward using the reactive force—combining an offensive breakthrough with an explosive force, he unleashed a terrifying power to pierce through Aibodun’s defenses, sending both him and his sword flying away.
Unfortunately, charging forward didn’t imply swordsmanship; otherwise, Brendel understood that this would have been the perfect opportunity to pursue—though it seemed that it might still exist—because Aibodun was tumbling into the sandy ground while Bud had not yet retrieved his stance.
Ordinary people might choose that path, but Brendel wasn’t ordinary. A guiding principle of Madara’s military swordsmanship was to exchange injuries, and the undead fought recklessly, as they truly had nothing to lose.
Indeed, the moment Brendel showed an advancing stance, Aibodun, hitting the ground, immediately abandoned defense and swung back his sword towards Brendel—slicing through the air with a sound, but the young man had long since anticipated this. His advance was merely a ruse; as soon as the undead knight moved his hand, Brendel quickly recoiled, narrowly avoiding the blow.
However, not just Aibodun was deceived; Bud was as well. As Brendel advanced, Aibodun was exposed under the threat of his sword—Bud was shocked by the aggressiveness of his opponent but dared not hesitate. He placed both hands on his sword, using the strength from his abdomen and the centrifugal force to redirect the blade he was thrusting forward, swinging it back in a reverse strike.
His target was Brendel’s back.
“What a cyclone slash,” Brendel thought, feeling excitement rather than fear. This was the very attack he had been waiting for. In Bud’s sword style, only this strike could swiftly turn to attack him; knowing his opponent’s offensive patterns well, Brendel had initially calculated Aibodun but had truly laid a trap for this bulky opponent.
He leaped high into the air.
Bud looked up in shock; he was no novice and understood that this young man’s scheme was targeted at him. However, at this moment, having continuously changed directions, his center of gravity had long fallen into a delicate balance point. A slight shift could lead him to fall—
In other words, he was completely powerless against Brendel’s impending attack. Not far from him, Aibodun lay on the ground while Test was just beginning to prepare to rise.
The situation was irretrievable.
Brendel arced gracefully through the air, at that moment soaring over Bud’s head, forming an inverted pair with Bud. The young man’s hand was on the sword hilt as he hung upside down mid-air, striking a pose as if preparing to draw his sword and inflict injury—
Time froze in that instant.
Everyone instinctively held their breath; the previous battle felt different, not as heart-pounding as fighting a Wind Dragon or an IV-type Cavalry Slayer, but equally captivating. The dazzling swordsmanship clash occurred in an incredibly short moment, almost in close quarters, back and forth so quickly that it was hard to see. Yet when they finally caught a glimpse of the situation:
Brendel had already reversed the previously unfavorable circumstances and was preparing to deliver a fatal strike to his opponent.
Especially for those youths who had little understanding of the situation, this was even more legendary than the thrilling tales spun by bards in taverns, filled with a sense of intense counterattack.
But the plot doesn’t always unfold as people imagine.
Just when Brendel himself believed victory was assured, a terrifying explosion suddenly echoed from behind him—that was the sound of a sword blade being wielded like a whip, slicing through the air at high speed.
Brendel’s scalp tingled; he clearly knew who that was.
He could continue his attack, almost certain that his sword would pierce Bud’s throat. Yet, he was equally certain that his grandfather would slice him in half with one blow.
This was clearly not a financially viable transaction, and Brendel had no choice but to pull back mid-air.
He spun around, once again backing his sword with his right hand. The indestructible quality provided by the spatial essence of the longsword saved his life; when his grandfather’s sword whip struck his sword, it produced an ear-piercing clash, the immense force transferred through the sword made Brendel feel as if his hand were about to break—
But at least he wasn’t split in two; instead, he was sent flying far away. Brendel rolled several times in mid-air before landing, and upon raising his head, he saw Bud losing his balance and collapsing after performing a cyclone slash, while a towering figure like a mountain stood silently in front of him.
“Oh—” the youths let out a disappointed sigh.
“It’s odd; Bud seems weaker than the rumors suggested.” While Juliette noticed something amiss, Xi was focused solely on Brendel and did not catch this comment. Meanwhile, the old swordsman on the other side of the coliseum shared the same sentiment.
“Why does Tobs seem less formidable?” The old man frowned.
But their confusion was easily explained; at this moment, Brendel himself had come to a realization. It was because these people existed as impressions in his mind. Excluding Aibodun, he had not engaged in life-and-death battles with any of the other three. Without such experiences, he naturally wouldn’t see their strongest swordsmanship.
Even so, the current situation also left Brendel with a headache. He had to realize with disappointment that his previous attacks had ultimately had no effect.
Instead, they had drained his stamina.
…
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