The wind brushed past, swirling a few fallen leaves across the stone-tiled ground.
The surrounding saint knights stopped their training in unison and gathered around. Their curious gazes were all focused on the two figures facing off in the center of the field.
Ray took a deep breath and slowly raised his longsword to his chest.
In his brown eyes, the initial relaxation and testing had long since vanished. In its place was a solemnity as if he were facing a formidable foe.
“Forgive me.”
He spoke in a low voice. This time, there was no longer any hint of dismissal in the young man’s tone.
The moment he finished speaking, Ray’s feet suddenly exerted force, and his entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
The longsword in his hand was no longer a simple slash. Dense electric arcs suddenly coiled around the blade, making a faint sizzling sound. A light smell of ozone and burning filled the air.
“Thunderous Slash!”
Accompanied by a low shout, the edge of the blade sliced through the air with a piercing screech, thrusting straight toward Gavi’s face.
The speed was so fast that only a silver afterimage could be seen. Wrapped in the power of lightning, it seemed as if it would tear through everything in its path.
Helos’s heart instantly leaped into her throat. She subconsciously clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.
“Watch out!”
She couldn’t help but cry out, but the moment the sound left her mouth, Gavi had already moved.
Facing this thunderous strike, Gavi did not retreat, nor did she dodge.
She simply stood there quietly, her half-painted face looking exceptionally calm under the sunlight.
Just as the tip of the sword was about to touch her mask, Gavi’s right hand suddenly reached out.
Her movement carried no hint of aggression. There were no flashy techniques, nor any fluctuations of mana, yet it was as precise as if it had been calculated.
Her five fingers pressed together, and her palm turned into an afterimage, striking the side of Ray’s sword blade with unerring accuracy.
“Clang — !”
The crisp sound of metal clashing exploded across the training ground.
Ray felt a massive force travel through the blade, shaking his hand until it went numb and his arm felt weak.
That power wasn’t brute strength, but an extremely clever deflection technique. It was as if she had calculated the angle and force of his strike perfectly, neutralizing his strongest offensive at the minimum cost.
He stumbled back two steps, his eyes filled with disbelief.
‘How is this possible?’
‘She doesn’t even have a weapon. How could she catch a slash infused with lightning magic with her bare hands?’
‘This girl…’
Ray grit his teeth, his shock beyond measure.
He steadied his stance without the slightest hesitation. With a turn of his blade, he launched another attack.
This time, his sword strikes became swifter and more cunning.
Sword light fell like rain as electric arcs flickered, enveloping Gavi from all directions.
However, Gavi’s response remained composed.
Her movements had no wasted effort. Every sidestep and every retreat seemed to have undergone the most precise calculations, always avoiding the lethal edges by the smallest margins.
Her pace seemed slow, yet she always appeared in the safest position at the most critical moments.
Sometimes she raised a hand to parry, and sometimes she leaned aside to dodge; every one of her defenses appeared effortless.
The more violent Ray’s attacks became, the steadier her response was, like an invisible net neutralizing every offensive into nothingness.
The atmosphere on the training ground became increasingly tense.
The spectating saint knights had long since held their breath. Their eyes tightly followed the two figures in the field, fearing they would miss a single detail.
“That maid… where on earth did she come from?”
“Such incredible reaction speed. Her movements almost don’t seem like something a normal person could do.”
“It looks like Ray is being suppressed?”
Whispers rose among the crowd. Everyone was stunned by the strength Gavi displayed.
Standing at the edge of the field, Helos’s original nervousness had long been replaced by immense shock.
Her mouth hung open, and her pale purple eyes were wide and round. Her mind was a complete blank.
‘Holy… what?!’
‘What is going on?’
‘When did Gavi learn these things?’
Watching Gavi’s fluid, flowing movements, she felt as if her understanding of the world had suffered an unprecedented impact.
She had originally thought that Gavi could, at most, rely on her sturdy golem body to endure a few hits.
She never imagined that she could actually go back and forth with a formal saint knight, even faintly holding the upper hand.
Julius stood beside her, his face equally dazed.
The sword in his hand had lowered at some point, and his Black Eyes were filled with the incredible.
“Has she… has she really never received any training?” he murmured to himself, his voice carrying a hint of a tremble.
On the field, Ray’s breathing had become somewhat ragged.
His continuous, fierce attacks had not only failed to take down Gavi but had instead consumed a large amount of his physical strength and mana.
Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his sword-arm began to feel sore and swollen.
“Damn it!”
He let out a low growl, his gaze becoming sharper. He knew that if this continued, he would eventually lose due to exhaustion.
He had to end this quickly!
Ray suddenly took a step back, opening the distance between him and Gavi.
He held his longsword vertically before his chest. The electric arcs on the blade suddenly surged, letting out a sharp crackling sound.
“Lightning Flash Strike!”
He poured all the mana in his body into the blade. His entire being turned into a blinding flash of electricity, instantly vanishing from his spot.
In the next moment, several sword lights lit up around Gavi simultaneously. Each one carried the momentum to tear through the air, moving so fast it was dazzling.
This was the ultimate technique Ray had spent years practicing. By striking several times in an instant with extreme speed, an ordinary opponent simply couldn’t track its trajectory.
Just as everyone thought Gavi was about to be severely wounded, she made an unexpected move.
She didn’t try to parry those seemingly lethal sword lights. Instead, she closed her eyes.
Her half-painted face looked exceptionally serene under the flickering lightning. However, the ruby necklace around her neck suddenly lit up with an eerie red glow.
“Hum — “
An invisible ripple spread out with her as the center.
Everyone present, including Cedric, felt as though their perception had been stripped away for a moment. The scene before them became blurred and distorted.
Ray’s movements suddenly halted.
He could feel his sword striking something, yet it felt as if he were hitting empty air. That sensation of nothingness made his heart tighten.
‘Now!’
Gavi suddenly snapped her eyes open. In those hollow sockets, the points of light shone with incredible brightness.
She didn’t retreat but instead pressed forward. Facing that sky full of sword light, her figure flickered like a ghost as she wove through it.
Her left hand suddenly shot out, her five fingers pressed together like a blade. She didn’t try to grab the sword’s edge; instead, she precisely struck Ray’s sword-wielding wrist.
*Snap!*
With a light sound, Ray felt his wrist go numb as a piercing pain shot through him.
The force wasn’t massive, but it struck his joint at the exact moment he was exerting power.
The force traveling from his wrist caused Ray to involuntarily loosen his grip.
Gavi’s movements were as smooth as flowing water. Her right hand followed the momentum to catch the longsword as it flew from his grasp.
Before Ray could make any reaction, the cold blade had already silently pressed against his neck.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The training ground fell into a dead silence where even a needle hitting the ground could be heard.
Everyone watched the incredible scene in the center of the field, dumbstruck.
Ray froze in place, cold sweat dripping down his cheek from his forehead.
He could clearly feel the cold sensation at his neck, along with the lightning power that had not yet fully dissipated from his own sword.
He had lost.
He had lost so cleanly and decisively that it left him somewhat caught off guard.
Gavi stood quietly before him, holding his sword.
Her half-doll face showed no expression, and the points of light in her eyes had returned to a calm state. It was as if the earth-shattering scene from a moment ago had nothing to do with her.
“I… I lost.”
After a long while, Ray finally squeezed out those few words. His voice carried a hint of bitterness and unwilling resignation.
Cedric stood at the edge of the field, the expression on his face complex to the extreme.
He looked at the silent golem, his eyes flashing with shock, confusion, and a hint of undisguised admiration.
As for Helos, she was completely stunned where she stood.
Her mouth was open, and she couldn’t close it for a long time. Only one thought echoed frantically in her mind.
‘Is this my golem?!’
‘This—this is way too cool!’
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I wonder if that golem was made for battle.