Clearly, the coolest, flashiest, most handsome, and most explosive special effects just happened to have a chance to be explained.
The Blue Ghost and Red Ghost’s crimson Battle Aura was one of the most mature applications of “Qi” seen so far.
The essence of Battle Aura is to enhance offensive attributes. A mage’s Magic Shield enhances defensive attributes, while a martial artist’s Battle Aura grants, to a certain extent, the ability to counter mages.
It might seem like martial artists don’t have much of a chance, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite.
An ordinary mage facing a Battle Aura martial artist is actually more likely to fall into a disadvantage. After all, once Battle Aura can break through a shield, the mage reverts to being a fragile backline target, completely at the mercy of others.
Add to that heroes with their slick footwork and maxed-out evasion—can those clunky spells from mages even hit them?
Conversely, in duels between martial artists, even if one comprehends Battle Aura, there’s no absolute advantage. For example, Serina and Niubao were able to exchange blows with The Hero of the Gale earlier, even managing to knock her down.
Therefore, “Qi” is essentially an ability designed to counter mages. It doesn’t have the obvious level suppression found in the mage system. In mage circles, an old mage usually crushes a novice mage.
Unless you get a weirdo like Samimi. Even she couldn’t defeat a Holy Words Holy Maiden of a higher rank than herself.
Add water when there’s not enough water, add flour when there’s not enough flour—is this the World Will’s balancing design? It’s really “balanced enough.”
Of course, when it comes to internal conflict, there’s no absolute crushing, but there is still an absolute advantage. Otherwise, The Hero of the Gale wouldn’t be called a “cheater” in the PK Arena, especially since she’s so young yet already proficient in using sword Qi.
So, Niubao was in danger this time.
The advantage of multiple Amplifications was almost gone. The upcoming fight was extremely perilous. That so-called “Double Open-Door Turtle Sword Style” probably wouldn’t be effective much longer either, after all, she didn’t have a real tech buckler.
The Blue Ghost sneered. At the same moment, the Red Ghost on the side attacked with her blade. The crimson great tachi swept horizontally, incredibly fast, yet the move was exceptionally straightforward, easily predictable at a glance.
Thud!
Niubao didn’t dodge or evade. She turned, crossing her two swords to block. The impact sent her stumbling back a step.
But that one step showed her defense was no longer as efficient as before. She could no longer perform a perfect force-dispersing block against the Red Ghost. She was no longer in control.
The next moment, the Blue Ghost also attacked from Niubao’s blind spot, crouching low for a horizontal slash aimed at the ankles—utterly treacherous.
It was as if Niubao had eyes on her back. Her small foot leaped, dodging this vicious low sweep.
But the Red Ghost seized the chance to press the attack. Their tactic had succeeded—they wanted to force Niubao to jump. Once in the air, unless she grew wings, she couldn’t move flexibly.
The great tachi swept horizontally again, striking from another direction with the back of the blade. Simultaneously, the blade completed a full three-hundred-sixty-degree spin, its power unimaginable.
Just as Niubao leaped into the air, the spinning slash was already upon her. She deliberately kept her jump low, wanting to land quickly, but she was still a beat too slow.
Thump!
Niubao could only perform a desperate vertical block with her swords mid-air.
The crimson great tachi slammed heavily onto the Golden Sword, instantly knocking the airborne Niubao, whose feet hadn’t touched the ground, off balance. She was sent flying back three meters. Even after landing, she couldn’t steady herself, staggering back several steps and kicking up a cloud of dust.
However, right at her landing point as she retreated, the Blue Ghost was already waiting in position. She sheathed her blade, crouching slightly to gather power.
The stance was too classic, obvious at a glance—the Tachi Swordsman’s signature move, the Quick-draw Strike!
Niubao’s body simply couldn’t react in time. Her back was wide open, completely undefendable. Even if she saw through the opponent’s intent, she was powerless.
This was the coordination of the Twin Heroes. Just a few strikes were enough to completely crush Niubao. Even without using the crimson Battle Aura, this level was enough to push her to her absolute limit.
Truly worthy of being the number one-ranked Team in the Adventurers’ Guild. Their reputation was well-deserved.
But at that very instant, a bright shield of light suddenly flashed around Niubao’s body.
That lightning-fast, nearly invisible Quick-draw Strike landed on the shield, its damage completely absorbed. A single instance of physical damage was directly nullified. The super finisher Quick-draw Strike had no effect on Niubao whatsoever.
“You’re asking for death,” the Blue Ghost was utterly enraged.
This was a desecration of her Quick-draw Strike! An insult to the soul of her tachi!
She whipped her head around, looking toward the far end of the dueling arena. There, the blonde Pastoralist was leisurely sipping tea while waving her Runic Staff, flickering green healing lights dancing around her.
This despicable Light Shield was undoubtedly her doing!
“Do you even understand what Martial Virtue is? We were having a good fight, and you put up a shield from the back? Isn’t that disgusting!” the Blue Ghost cursed furiously.
Samimi, in the distance, spread her hands innocently, even throwing in a cute pose for good measure.
But this was the Divine Official’s duty. If she wasn’t shielding her teammates from the back, what else was she supposed to do?
Although having your ultimate blocked by a shield was indeed infuriating.
But—if it disgusts you, it makes me happy. Otherwise, why would I come to the PK Arena? Just to disgust the opponents. The more disgusting, the happier!
If the Light Shield Technique could counter a backstabbing-flow Hero of the Storm, naturally it could counter your Quick-draw-flow Twin Heroes too. All physical attacks that didn’t possess multi-hit or sustained damage would be countered by it.
This mechanic was actually very subtle and had significant limitations.
For example—the drug-addled weirdo Nameless Archbishop’s “Lightning Pierce,” a single-instance high burst attack, would be blocked by the Light Shield.
But his “Heavy Cannon Straight Punch,” a sustained output attack, wouldn’t be blocked and could punch right through.
So, the Light Shield’s true effect was to grant immunity to a single instance of physical damage for a short duration.
What did this mean? The faster the enemy’s attack speed, the more attacks would actually be blocked.
If the attack rhythm was slow enough and the duration long enough, you could wait for the Light Shield effect to end, then mercilessly take down the target.
Of course, the Divine Officials of this world didn’t have Samimi’s level of understanding. Only she, well-versed in video game mechanics, could fully grasp the core logic of the Light Shield Technique.
Additionally, the Light Shield Technique was different from a casually cast Magic Shield; it had a skill cooldown (CD). After use, you had to wait several minutes before you could cast it again.
So, after all that explanation, a single Light Shield wasn’t enough to reverse the entire battle situation.
Clang!
Niubao seized the opportunity, turning and slashing out with both swords, clashing head-on with the Blue Ghost’s red blade. She poured all her strength into trying to force her back.
Even the honest Cow understood that being surrounded and killed by the Twin Heroes left her with almost no chance of winning, so she chose to break out.
“Trying to run?” The Blue Ghost saw through her intention instantly, sticking to her closely, engaging in close-quarters combat, giving her no space to escape.
The next instant, the Oni Race sisters repeated their tactic. This time, it was the Red Ghost’s turn to strike from the visual blind spot.
Even though Niubao seemed to have eyes on her back, the Blue Ghost’s blade techniques firmly pinned her down, preventing her from making effective dodges or defensive counters.
However…
A circle of thorns and water, a Thorn Water Crown, quietly materialized.