Chapter 205 (1/2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The wind was howling and the shield was as big as a mountain.
The middle-aged man with graying hair moved with clear precision. With years of intensive training and trials, his every skill and every move were so refined and accurate that they could be deemed textbook perfection. He could have been a role model for younger adventurers.
He was like an ancient dragon. Despite his age, had not grown weaker. The years of experience had made him wiser and stronger.
He was not moving fast, but every step he took was steady and solid, like a giant tree rooted deeply in the ground. He would not be swayed by strong winds or heavy rain. Anyone who was at the bottom of the tree would only see the giant tree trunk that soared up into the sky. When they looked above, they would see its crown of jade green leaves, shaped like a cloud that could support the weight of the sky.
“Nicholas’s martial arts skills can be described in one word: steady!” Leon praised profusely. “He is definitely a senior expert that deserves the title of “the Reliable Nicholas.” I heard that he has been an adventurer for over twenty years. Even though he has been through lots of failure and setbacks, his adventure team has never lost any member during battle. Whenever a member passed away, it was due to some other reason.”
Sui Xiong was surprised. He looked at the middle-aged man carefully and saw that he was full of spirit and energy. It was like his vigor was constrained with a giant lock, and there was no leakage at all, even when he was engaged in fierce battle. With such a battle bearing, he could keep fighting for an entire day and night without feeling tired.
“He must be good in endurance battles,” he could not help but say.
“Yes. It is said that the longest battle Nicholas ever fought lasted for a week, with only minimal rest time,” Leon said. “That happened when the Kingdom of Thousands of Springs was resisting the intrusion from Kingdom of the Blue Moon. He joined the side of Kingdom of Thousands of Springs and helped them defend a small city. He was able to withhold attacks from the Kingdom of Blue Moon for almost three months. Especially during the final battles, the Kingdom of Blue Moon grew stronger and attacked more fiercely. The Kingdom almost completely depended on Nicholas to run around the city walls, support the battles, and to boost the royal army. It held out against the attack.”
“Wow! That must have been really great!” Sui Xiong marveled. He asked again, “So, did he get any rewards for what he did?”
“After the war, the Earl of that land summoned him and asked if he was interested in becoming one of his underlings. The Earl expressed that he would grant him the Baron title straightaway, skipping the two titles of ‘Quasi-knight’ and ‘Knight.’ He would even grant him a parcel of land.”
“… Any adventurers who chose to serve a lord would need to start from the “Quasi-knight” or “Knight” titles, right?”
Leon shook his head. “Only famous adventurers can get this type of treatment. Common adventurers would never get this. A “Quasi-knight” is still a noble ranking after all!”
Sui Xiong nodded faintly. He was looking forward to hearing more about Nicholas’ ability.
In comparison to Nicholas, his opponent was a little pitiful. He was a mage who was good at defense and control. He continuously cast different spells to strengthen himself and weaken his enemies. He also turned the entire battlefield into a huge trap. Under such circumstances, even a giant dragon would have difficulty moving forward if it had not dismissed the spells. And yet, Nicholas was slowly inching towards the mage in a very calm manner.
The renowned adventure leader was not immune to magical spells, but he was always quick to break free from disadvantaged situations. He was like a slow but tough behemoth. No spell could really tie him down.
On the other side of the battle ring, the situation was the complete opposite.
Both of the contestants moved with great speed, like two clouds of a whirlwind that tangled together. Audiences who were slightly weaker could not even see all their movements clearly. They had to rely on the lines that the commentator, which was Sui Xiong’s clone, said. Then they could understand slightly better how great these two contestants were.
“Oh God! Contestant Night Rain just continuously stabbed six times in a beat! Anyone who can continuously stab twice in a beat is good, and those who can do thrice are experts; he did six continuous stabs! This is a sword skill with Godly speed! If his opponent in front of him were to be weaker or have slower reflexes, they would have suffered from multiple wounds and been carried off the ring for resuscitation!
“Contestant Blake has not even drawn his blade! This is unimaginable! How can he not draw his blade when he is facing a top-notch assassin such as Contestant Night Rain? He has only been dodging to defend… Oh, God! He dodged another one! That strike by Contestant Night Rain did not have any warning, and that angle was the trickiest, yet he still dodged it!
“Everybody, look! Contestant Night Rain has actually attacked his opponent while facing away from him! He stretched his body and stabbed him from there – it was impossible for Contestant Blake to see that sword coming for him because his body blocked it! Can he dodge this time? Can he? I cannot believe my own eyes: he really can dodge such a sneak attack!
“There is a saying amongst the fighting experts that goes like this: ‘Pure defense will never last long. Attacking your opponents is the best way of defense.’ Yet today, Contestant Blake is clearly challenging this saying! It has been over ten minutes! He has completely dodged all the attacks for over ten minutes! His right hand is still holding firmly onto the handle on his sheathed long blade! We can only imagine what will happen when he finally decides to pull his blade out. His powers will be sure to shock us all!
“Contestant Night Rain has started to attack fiercely again. His sword was really too fast! His footsteps are even faster than his sword! If they were to fight against him, most people’s swords might not even be as fast as his feet!
“This time, can Contestant Blake still dodge his attacks? Can he?
“Oh God! Contestant Blake is unsheathing his blade! He has unsheathed his blade!”
Just as the commentator was roaring with a strained voice, a blinding ray from a blade shined through the battle ring. It was as if lightning had cut through the empty sky.