Chapter 388 An Ih (1/2)

Although the Knight's attack ca than a flicker in her eyes, that fraction of an instant was enough for Arran He had already been wary of the woman's intentions, and now, his response was i to parry the Knight's sudden attack with every shred of strength his body contained He did not dare underesti as he suspected her to be, he was in ht's as he parried her attack, the violent impact he expected did not come Instead, when their swords clashed, he barely felt any resistance at all It was as if his sword had struck a twig of

At that h he felt no resistance, his sword suddenly moved backward, pushed aside as if some irresistible force controlled it And as Arran's defense failed instantly, the Knight's strike ca at his neck

He ju the cut that would've sliced his throat if he'd moved an instant later And even so, his opponent's blade left a shalloound on his neck

There was no tiht cale unhurried step And the moment she reached him, she calmly thrust her sword forward

The attack was alhably slow, but as Arran moved to defend, he found that his own movements were even slower The thrust was one he should have deflected with ease, but instead, there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as the Knight's sword pierced his shoulder

It was like being stuck in a dream, where the normal laws of the world had ceased to function Yet the pain from his wounds told Arran that this battle was all too real

And so far, he was losing miserably

Once more he retreated, eyes fixed on his opponent as he took several steps backith his sword raised before hiht's strength were long gone Two brief exchanges had been enough for Arran to understand that her insights were far beyond what he had iined

He still remembered the battle between Lord Rannoc and Lord Kadun, and he was all but certain that this supposed Knight' power rivaled theirs With Arran not even able to ainst this monstrous opponent were all but non-existent

Yet he had no choice but to fight He knew he could not outrun the woman, and she had not even asked for his surrender

He still had a single advantage, however — she did not yet know all his secrets And as sht, even a sliver of hope was better than the certainty of death

No ain Though Arran had retreated several dozen paces, she crossed the distance in an instant, her sword flashi+ng out in a strike that shi+ain, Arran parried with all hishis blade to block his opponent's weapon as it cath wasn't the only thing he relied on Instead, as the teapons clashed, he iht into binding

The effect exceeded his expectations The moment the two blades connected, it was as if they were suddenly frozen in space and locked together, bringing the Knight's attack to a sudden and complete halt

Surprise flashed across the woman's face, and in her brief moment of confusion, Arran did not hesitate to seize the advantage In a single movement, he withdrew his weapon and struck with all the power his body couldto obliterate his opponent in a single strike

It was an attack that could not be blocked With Arran's full strength and his insight into severing behind the blow, the Living Shadoord cleaved doith such power that nothing could stand in its way Even if the Knight tried to parry the strike, her weapon would be torn asunder as easily as her body

Yet Arran's bladeas the attack was, it was no use His target had vanished into thin air before he could hit her And as the overwhelround ahead, a voice sounded behind hi”

As the word sounded, a chill went down Arran's spine when he felt the cold steel of the Knight's sword against his neck He did not knoas possible, but somehow, she'd vanished and appeared at his back

He'd been defeated

But the death blow he expected did not coainst his neck disappeared an instant later, and the Knight said, ”Sheathe your sword I've seen enough”

Arran did as she said While he had intended to use his ood And it seeht did not want him dead

When he turned around and faced her, he found her looking at him with a cal that appeared to be approval

But although the Knight was calm, the same could not be said for Arran His blood was still heated froht never intended to kill hier

”You were testing me”