The situation was sliding toward the brink of chaos. Tonight, Lania was the purest warrior, abandoning all distractions and the pain in her body, focusing solely on how to defeat this foul-mouthed bastard before her.
The Teacher is the best teacher in the world!
No matter who you are, you can insult me, but you absolutely cannot disrespect the Teacher!
Her whole body was taut like a drawn bow. Lania hadn’t been this furious or focused in battle for a long time. The Violet Surge in her hand seemed like an extension of her body, bearing the Manifestation of Authority as she launched her attack with unwavering determination.
This time!
Lania would completely abandon defense, cast aside concerns about her injuries, and push her body beyond its limits, striving to maximize her offensive power! This was an all-out assault—wounding the enemy heavily while suffering even greater damage herself!
The determination in her purple eyes even startled the Arbitration Knights, who had been fighting on the front lines for years, battling humans and Demons day in and day out.
The Arbitration Knights were not fools. They could see that the Purple Brave was at a disadvantage against this mysterious girl. Almost all of her attacks were being blocked or nullified, yet her opponent strolled leisurely with a relaxed expression.
Such a situation only occurred when there was a vast disparity in strength between the two.
But as for the opponent…
“…Only Level 66,” Vyea said, still relaxed in posture. A faint sweat appeared on Lania’s forehead, but her assault showed no signs of faltering.
Hua Shiyu and the Judge exchanged glances. They couldn’t stop this fight; they could only wait for one side to be defeated or rendered incapable of continuing.
Lania swung Violet Surge faster and faster!
If one strike per second wasn’t enough, then a hundred strikes per second! A thousand strikes! Ten thousand strikes! As long as it was fast! Faster! Even faster!
A faint purple aura radiated from her body, illuminating her movements like a purple meteor storm.
It was hard to imagine that the once pristine hands that only touched paper and pen could now wield the ferocious great scythe that had slain thousands of Demons with such furious, reckless anger!
“Foolish.”
At the center of the storm, Vyea suddenly spat out the word, her emerald eyes flickering with a hint of mockery. No one present understood how such a rude insult could come from the lips of this powerful, mysterious girl.
“Remember the first time I saw you? Heh, I really wanted to laugh. A mere Demon from the outskirts of the Monster Forest can wound a Brave so badly that they return injured. Braveries nowadays are pathetic. Or maybe you only climbed the Brave ranks by basking in the fading glow of that First Brave who died without even a trace left behind?”
Cursing herself, Vyea was not weak at all.
If you’ve chosen the Hero’s Path, be prepared!
Vyea would rather crush Lania’s spirit tonight, forcing her to retreat defeated to the Capital, than wait to find her pale bones in some Demon King’s lair later.
The clash of blades and scythes echoed through the mountain peaks.
Breathe! Swing!
Lania and Vyea passed each other; Violet Surge tilted backward, lowering its angle as Lania maintained her diving attack posture. Of everyone present, only Vyea clearly saw this strike.
Lania unleashed a blow beyond her own limits!
Compressing an ocean of assaults into a single point!
The ultimate single-target attack!
The Arbitration Knights retreated, covering their ringing ears. The iron-hard white stone tiles beneath them were shredded by the fierce winds, as countless layers of the Power of Rending suddenly exploded!
Vyea didn’t dodge. She swung her Knight’s Sword in the same manner, her momentum even fiercer, as if she still held back some strength.
A terrifying current of air burst from the collision point. Hua Shiyu, hiding behind the crowd, hurriedly held down her skirt, her youthful face full of helpless frustration. “Has the situation here been reported? Don’t tell me the message transmission was interrupted again!”
“It really was,” the Judge replied, holding onto her hat that nearly blew away. “They came prepared—first infiltrating the Arbitration Office with the Brave lady’s help, then hypnotizing you to open the All-Seeing Eye’s dungeon storeroom, and finally using the All-Seeing Eye to interfere with our communications…”
“Is that all the resolve you have?!” Vyea’s tone was as cold as a fish in a supermarket after ten years. Honestly, she was surprised at how well she could teach and mock others:
“Is that all the resolve you have!!”
How humiliating…
Lania gritted her teeth; her red lips turned pale as her trembling hands gripped Violet Surge.
She had given it her all, yet she still couldn’t even wound her opponent?
Every cell in her body protested from overexertion. Pain surged from every corner, weighing her down heavily.
But she forced herself to endure… Now not only her body, but even her nerves felt like they were burning… This was the second time she regretted not working harder back then, why she had slacked off!
The first regret was on that afternoon three years ago.
Lania always resisted recalling that day—helplessness and struggle just the same.
When she learned that the Brave Squad sent to subjugate the Demon King had suffered a crushing defeat, their captain and vice-captain missing, and the other five members wounded and pale.
The entire Human Alliance’s morale plummeted, and they suffered setback after setback on the front line against the Demons…
She was afraid and evasive. She didn’t even dare seek out the Grandmaster in the palace because she knew that besides the Teacher, almost no one else could see her.
Especially since she came from the Northern Ice Lump, a remnant of the family that worshiped the “Demon King of Ice and Fire.”
Even though the Teacher saved her from a starving life as a street orphan and vowed to teach her swordsmanship… she always missed the chance, kept avoiding it, kept regretting.
Over and over again.
After every bout of pain, time and fleeting peace would numb her senses, tempting her to slow down, to rest, to forget the pain…
“Sigh, if you’re really not interested, then don’t practice. Go do what you enjoy. Everyone walks their own path—it’s just a shame to waste the swordsmanship I worked so hard to learn…”
“Hehe, Teacher is the best!” The memories always held such conversations.
Heartbreaking. Over and over, these years, Lania was burned by her own memories until she trembled all over.
People often say time heals all wounds, but the truth is…
Time itself is the wound.
“I don’t despise the weak; I despise the useless! Especially those useless ones who’ve been Blessed,” Vyea sneered coldly in front of Lania.
“Want to get stronger? Then stand up! I’m right in front of you, come on, defeat me!”
In a daze, the hooded girl before Lania seemed to overlap with the shadow of the Teacher from her memories. Though separated by time, they spoke the same words:
“Want to get stronger? Then stand up! I’m right in front of you, come on, defeat me!”
Really? Stand up… and then get stronger? Teacher, if I had worked harder and been stronger back then… could I have helped you just a little? It hurts… it really hurts. If I don’t stand up, I have no chance, so… if I stand up, will I really get stronger?
Manifestation of Authority!
—Stage Six: Damage!!
—Stage Seven: Destruction!!!
Lania’s waning aura suddenly surged upward. The Hero’s Mark on the back of her hand burned like an unquenchable flame, awakening the raging tiger within! In an instant, her aura shot from Stage Five through Stage Six, reaching Stage Seven!
Level: 700!
And still climbing!!
The heavy great scythe rose like a dragon ascending to the sky once more. Lania held Violet Surge with both hands, painting a magnificent purple arc across the night sky!
So dazzling it seemed to split the night in two, this power could cross the river of time, pouring down from the heavens!
Slash!
At this moment, Lania unleashed a strike approaching Stage Nine!
The purple arc cutting through the sky was so stunning that Fengxiang Town, hundreds of miles away, could see it.
A flicker of a satisfied smile passed through Vyea’s eyes, then vanished in an instant… She stepped forward swiftly, elbowing Lania’s chest with the wooden hilt of her Knight’s Sword, which was on the verge of shattering.
Lania was struck, dizzy, and collapsed to the ground.
“Idiot,” Vyea said coldly.