LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 144
Papapapaat!
Executing backward evasion, Park Jeong-kwon’s ‘Starlight Swordsmanship’ shot towards Eleonora from a distance. Tatataht! Eleonora quickly moved her feet, slipping her body in between the gaps of the sword aura.
Kang, kang, kang!
Park Jeong-kwon’s hasty counterattack aimed to catch Eleonora from behind, but she did not miss a beat with her sword. As Park Jeong-kwon’s illusion wavered, she unleashed her sword backward without even looking.
Chwaak! Right after she reached behind, it felt like Park Jeong-kwon got slashed. However, it faded again.
“Left counter, then right counter chain.”
I swiftly followed the movements of Park Jeong-kwon’s illusion with my eyes.
The left-right split of the counter that had emerged during the last ‘Normalization’ patch. In truth, using it in succession like that isn’t the best tactic. But if I want to disrupt Eleonora’s keen eyes even a little, I have no choice but to go for a makeshift method like this.
However, Eleonora wasn’t easily disturbed. Though the ‘counter’ has a teleportation judgment, it still involves a clear backward movement. Even if it’s a skill that catches the opponent’s back, to someone who can follow that movement with their eyes, it merely looks like a quick dash.
Tat!
With a light leg movement, Eleonora slashed her sword front and back twice. In that simple trajectory of two slashes, Park Jeong-kwon was caught too easily. As the invincible state of his right counter ended, he had no chance to block the sword aiming at his waist. Gritting his teeth, Park Jeong-kwon used backward evasion.
Tat tat! Squeaaaak!
As the distance opened, Park Jeong-kwon’s sword lunged toward his waist, suddenly accelerating his illusion.
The swordsman’s ‘One Flash.’
A technique that slices through the opponent at the speed of light.
Eleonora’s eyes did not miss that speed. Just fast, a straightforward trajectory of One Flash. Slipping her body to the left, she swung her sword sideways. One Flash is invincible. Park Jeong-kwon’s body did not get slashed. But Eleonora immediately followed as Park Jeong-kwon’s body brushed past her sword.
I was sweating, urging Park Jeong-kwon’s next move.
“After One Flash, there should be a delay; he needs to move quickly.”
There was a momentary stun after using One Flash. Just last time, I got a hole in my chest because of that against the ancient hero. Would Master Eleonora let that stun slip by?
Chak!
“Gah!”
Before I knew it, Eleonora’s sword had approached the back of Park Jeong-kwon, resting against his neck.
“Not bad. Is this the combat style of ‘Adventurers from the Stars’? But it’s lacking. Is there anyone next?”
Oooooh!
A mix of admiration and regret echoed among the users.
“Crazy… She’s incredibly strong, right?”
“Park Jeong-kwon didn’t stand a chance!”
“Shut it, why don’t you try fighting?!”
Park Jeong-kwon shouted at the Skada raid members with a flushed face.
“If it’s a Named level, shouldn’t we all rush in together to strategize?”
“Well, I don’t know. If it’s this kind of event boss, the more people there are, the stronger it’ll become. You’re a master, right? The masters I read about in novels used to unleash terrifying sword lights. That knight over there might rain sword energy everywhere.”
The Skada raid entered a strategy meeting.
Chak!
“Well then, is it our turn now?”
Deathly Death, who was next to me and Chris, stood up. He then climbed onto the training stage.
“Show them the power of the main tank of Hong Baek Guild!”
“I believed in you, senpai!”
Eleonora looked at Deathly Death on the stage.
“This time, a martial artist, huh? Bring your best!”
Chak!
Tat, tat.
Deathly Death raised his gauntlet-armed hands in guard, lightly rolling his feet as he began footwork.
“Clearly, swordsmanship is amazing.”
Then, he grinned through the guard.
“But, Earth Boxing, combined with skills from Astria Online, is no joke.”
Tartarung! Kakakakaang!
Deathly Death fought back better than Park Jeong-kwon, using the fighter’s ‘Counter’ at just the right moment, successfully following up on attacks with the temporary invincibility created by the perfect guard timing.
Papapapat!
With an outstretched arm, the gauntlet rapidly shot toward Eleonora’s facial area. Eleonora lightly twisted her body and swung her sword. Sreuk. As she turned left to catch Deathly Death’s back, she kicked up her leg. It was a kick that caused the status ailment ‘Air’. Thud! It was lightly blocked, but it seemed to succeed in drawing unusual attention in Eleonora’s eyes.
Chris watched Deathly Death proudly.
“Isn’t the fist quick? That’s a jab. It’s also used to disrupt the opponent’s sight.”
“Yeah, that’s how you do it. Truly the number one ranked in the arena.”
I nodded my head.
Deathly Death seemed to formulate his own strategy after watching Park Jeong-kwon and Eleonora’s spar. To face that knight, it shouldn’t be purely PVE. It’s about landing effective hits, not just dealing high damage with skills. It may be a Named battle, but it can also be seen as PVP.
In fact, the method I used to strip the ancient hero’s protective gear was to precisely strike the openings in attacks, using sword movement alone to land hits. The strength of a skill matters less than the skill you possess yourself. In that respect, Deathly Death showed a promising talent to ‘strategize’ against Eleonora.
But could our Hong Baek Guild’s fighter Deathly Death handle Eleonora’s real attacks?
Tu paa pat, kakan!
Amid the chaos, there were exchanges of blows. The rapid slashes and jabs collided fiercely.
Deathly Death’s gaze sharpened. He was thinking of taking a gamble.
Chak.
Deathly Death lowered his stance, deliberately avoiding Eleonora’s thrust with a slack, leftward head tilt. Then he dove towards Eleonora’s waist in that leftward stance. Weaving into a body blow?
Whooooosh!
His right fist swung violently, releasing a fearsome wind sound—not the left fist that had been jabbing all along. However, as expected, the master. Eleonora easily twisted her body to evade. Deathly Death’s posture was now wide open. Large movement, creating a stun. Eleonora swung her sword down toward Deathly Death’s back.
Sreuk. Deathly Death’s illusion faded. Eleonora’s sword sliced through the air.
“Back counter! Or should that be rear technique since it’s a martial artist?”
The swordsman of Skada raid, Park Jeong-kwon, gasped in awe.
When the opponent turns around, just before targeting disappears, using a counter to return to the original position is a technique. It’s something I enjoyed using against the Abyssal Tree’s Level 2 named enemy, Jacam.
Whoaah!
Having successfully caught Eleonora’s back for the first time, Deathly Death firmly rolled his feet. The capture granted a brief staggering effect around his entire 360-degree vicinity. Eleonora’s balance wavered slightly. Then, leveraging the front of his right foot, his heel twisted fiercely. At the same time, his right fist shot in like a bullet.
Straight, Boom Punch.
Whooooosh! Kwaaaang!
The loud explosion sounded, and Eleonora’s illusion was pushed back several steps.
In that split second, Eleonora positioned her sword diagonally to block Deathly Death’s Boom Punch.
With a sharp gaze, Eleonora said to Deathly Death, “Good.”
It almost seemed like she had seized the upper hand.
Though it was against her guard, she successfully pushed back Eleonora’s foot with a strong skill.
But then, Eleonora’s movements changed dramatically.
“D-Damn it!”
Deathly Death got flustered. Unlike before, when he swung his sword towards the counter, it was now much faster. The sword drew a bizarre trajectory as it began to shoot towards Deathly Death from all directions.
Kakakakaang!
Deathly Death hurriedly raised his gauntlet, focusing on defense. The counter can block all attacks within a 180-degree front. But Eleonora’s sword right now?
Squeaaaaak!
Seeing the sword aimed at his left waist, Deathly Death attempted to trigger a ‘Just Guard’ in response. However, the sword moved like a snake, not within the 180-degree front. Slightly, but undeniably, it was clearly behind Deathly Death. Outside of the counter range. Struggling to ditch the counter stance, he raised his gauntlet just in time to barely block the incoming blade.
Kaang!
“Ugh, I’m not a swordsman!”
Deathly Death grumbled.
There are pros and cons to a swordsman’s block and a fighter’s counter. However, Eleonora doesn’t grant him a timing to counter. Deathly Death could only hunker down. By using nothing but the movements of the gauntlet, it felt like he was managing to defend against fists pouring in from all sides.
Eleonora’s sword moved like a snake. It aimed for the left, only to strike to the right. The trajectory kept changing. With the trajectory continuously escaping Deathly Death’s counter range, he couldn’t find an opportunity to attack.
Chris, watching the duel with sharp eyes, remarked, “The attacks have become terrifyingly fast. The sword trajectories are bizarre. Completely snake-like? It’s definitely different from earlier.”
“Let’s say it’s Phase 2.”
I knew what was happening to Eleonora’s body.
She was currently raising her mana.
As a master, Eleonora could naturally enhance her body by drawing up mana. Her attacks became stronger, and her movements faster. From this point on, it was no longer PVP. It was clearly Named level, heavy on the specs.
But I didn’t like that.
Eleonora’s swordsmanship was messy, swirling sights like a mix of real and fake.
I pouted, “That doesn’t look like Melissa’s swordsmanship.”
Even with the title of a master, she still uses something like that?
It seems necessary to steer this in the right direction.