Hearing this, Eris quickly turned her attention to the center of the field.
Ghislaine's steps were silent as she took a single stride.
"A logical step."
Her sword was still, her wrist like iron.
"A logical stance."
Her eyes were like blades, her gaze like lightning.
"A logical…"
She looked at Alan, who stood more than five meters in front of her.
"…desire."
Her voice was calm, like the hardened black rock on a bed of lava.
She was stating a fact.
"Using the foundation of the Sword God Style accumulated over years as the cornerstone of 'logic,' building upon it with the postures and footwork practiced day and night, and finally driving it with 'desire,' to unleash the most suitable strike for oneself from the most suitable position and in the most suitable posture."
"That is…"
"The Sword of Light."
It was as if she were teaching Eris.
And also as if she were teaching Alan.
"The moment you master the Sword of Light…"
"is the day you are named a Sword Saint!"
With that, in the next instant, the blade vanished.
And what vanished with the blade…
was Ghislaine's entire figure!
In that instant! To Rudeus's senses—the caress of the wind, the rustling of the leaves above, the water droplets from the splashed Waterball slowly dripping from the leaves…
All of it lost its 'meaning.'
Because!
Something was violently asserting its presence! Like a blazing sun melting away all superfluous sensory information!
All that remained was the tremor of the air.
Overpowering all other noise!!
VMMMMMMMM!!!!
It exploded in his ears!!
Rudeus immediately covered his ears. He felt a continuous, high-pitched ringing, and at the same time, he thought he heard Eris shouting beside him.
It was a cheer! It was excitement!
It was so close! So loud it made his head hurt.
Yet it was also so distant, as ethereal as if it were on the other side of the sky.
Rudeus gritted his teeth and forced himself to lower his hands, looking up at the center of the field!
A-…
!?
What met his eyes was Ghislaine, standing in front of Alan.
Her blood-colored blade was already resting on Alan's neck.
How could this be? Alan…
Rudeus's eyes widened. In the next instant, his thoughts stopped.
He blinked and let out a long breath of relief.
His vision cleared.
Beside Alan's neck, a brilliant stream of light extended from the hand holding his sword.
A grin spread across Rudeus's lips. He tilted his head.
He changed the angle of his view.
And so, the 'light' was no longer dazzling.
No, it wasn't light at all.
It was the tip of a sword!
Placed 'just right' in front of Ghislaine's blood-red blade!
Alan's smiling face was still accompanied by the 'light.'
Just like in countless spars over the past two years!
The ringing in his ears subsided, and his senses returned to his body.
Not far away, Ghislaine calmly sheathed her sword. Her lips moved, as if she had said something.
There was no sound.
But Rudeus could still tell what she was saying.
Two words.
It was a title.
And it was also the name of the ultimate technique Alan had just used!
Immovable!
Heimun hovered fifteen centimeters from the right side of Alan's neck, an extremely safe distance for a Sword King.
After silently mouthing Alan's title, she took a step back.
Alan smiled and spoke.
"Water God Style—Flow Perception technique. Perceive the sharpness of the sword, the shriek of the air being cut, the flow of gas, the burst of killing intent."
"Predict the point of impact in advance, and defend with the Flow technique."
"Then, counterattack."
Of course, he wasn't talking to Ghislaine, but teaching Eris, who was watching with burning eyes.
"For you, Eris, what you need to master is the part that aligns with your teaching plan, which is…"
He flicked the scabbard of his sword with his finger.
He then crouched down, shifting his center of gravity to the left, as if to dodge a blade coming from the right, and also as if to give himself enough space to strike. He held the sword with both hands, wrapping it around his own neck in a posture that looked like he was about to unleash a full-power diagonal slash.
The blade traveled from his left shoulder, around the back of his neck, and extended towards the right side of his body.
It 'just happened' to block Ghislaine's blade.
It was as if, in the process of trying to cut Ghislaine, he had accidentally blocked her blade.
The posture was awkward.
It was 'coincidence.'
And also 'inevitability.'
In Alan's 'sword on back' posture, this was the fastest trajectory to intercept Ghislaine's blade.
As for how to counterattack, the posture itself provided the answer.
While using the Flow technique to deflect the opponent's blade, the charged-up diagonal slash could be unleashed instantly.
Defense, counterattack.
This.
Was the Water God Style.
"Before you master the Silent Sword and the Sword of Light, this kind of adaptable, non-standard striking method is more suitable for complex combat situations. Moreover, the follow-up moves after a defensive stance can also be applied to the North God Style."
"Awesome!"
Eris wasn't answering, but cheering. Although she was only an elementary-rank swordsman, her excellent intuition for swordsmanship allowed her to see how brilliant the offense and defense in that simple exchange were.
"When are you going to teach me the North God Style!!"
Her next sentence was already pushing her luck.
Ghislaine's proficiency in the North God Style was mostly limited to the Four-Legged Form, which was more suited to the natural talents of the Beast Race. She was somewhat weaker when it came to preparing follow-up counterattacks and had only taught Eris some basic feint recognition.
Follow-up moves?
That sounds amazing!
Then you should teach me!
Alan smiled.
"But I'm only your Water God Style teacher."
Eris froze for a moment, then heard the teasing second half of Alan's sentence.
"But I can teach you. However, you'll need to solidify your basics first. Don't bite off more than you can chew, understand?"
"I understand!" Eris replied with great enthusiasm, then hesitated for a moment and glanced at Rudeus beside her.
She asked, "What does 'bite off more than you can chew' mean!?"
Rudeus bared his teeth in a pained grin.
Of course, the phrase wasn't in Chinese or Japanese, but a Human-tongue proverb with the same meaning.
But given Eris's abysmal cultural knowledge, Rudeus wasn't surprised at all that she didn't know it.
"It means you want to learn a lot of things at the same time, but because you have limited energy, you end up wanting to learn everything, but not learning anything well~"
Eris blinked, processed it for a moment, then crossed her arms and lifted her chin proudly.
"That won't happen to me! There's still plenty of time! I can learn slowly!"
Rudeus glanced at Eris's lower body.
Her right foot was propped on its heel, the sole of her shoe repeatedly 'tapping' the turf.
The frequency was very fast.
Tap tap tap tap tap!
Rudeus's mouth twitched.
You don't look like you're in any mood to wait!
On the field, Ghislaine withdrew her gaze from Eris and looked at Alan.
"As I thought, a Sword Saint-level Sword of Light is useless against you. If it were truly a Saint-rank swordsman swinging at you, the match would be over by now."
Alan sheathed his sword and rolled his shoulders, stretching his joints.
"Although I'd like to be humble and say it was all just 'coincidence,' but…"
"Humility is a posture for placating the weak."
"Standing before me now is the one and only 'King' of the Sword God Style, so…"
He looked at Ghislaine, who had already stepped back to her original position while he was talking.
"I won't question your judgment, because…"
"I am, in fact, stronger than a Sword Saint."
Ghislaine tilted her head slightly.
"You are more suited to the Sword God Style than I thought. Also…"
"You said… Sword Saint?"
Alan squinted and smiled at Ghislaine.
"…My apologies, a slip of the tongue. It should be…"
His words were different from his smile.
As sharp as a blade.
Stating a fact.
"Among the Saint-ranks, and below the King-rank."
"I am the strongest."
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