Amber Sword-Chapter 777 - 123: Two Against One (Second Update)
"Attack from the left front—" Otarais’s voice was cool and calm as she fought alongside him.
"Seize the knight’s attack gap!"
"Don’t miss this retreat."
"Pursue!"
"Blocking this sword first has the best effect."
"Huh, little guy, how did you do that?" Otarais was suddenly taken aback; she noticed that sometimes Brand seemed to understand the enemy’s intentions even better than she could. She relied on centuries of experience, yet the events occurring with Brand seemed too astonishing to be explained away as mere talent.
Even Otarais was surprised by someone’s innate skill in swordsmanship.
Ghert, even Ghert didn’t have such good talent, right?
She thought.
But in this moment of battle, the scene displayed in Brand’s eyes was a different picture altogether. He saw golden lines appearing, sketching a complex image:
Whether attacking, defending, or encircling, the intentions of the knights were fully exposed within these lines. As soon as they lowered their bodies, a golden line would extend from his prepared offensive route, straight to Brand’s chest.
This was the result of in-depth analysis.
It might not be perfect, but Brand found this skill surprisingly well-suited for him. Especially when combined with his swordsmanship experience from hundreds of years of gaming, and Otarais’s guidance, it felt like adding wings to a tiger.
The Forbidden Army knights of Cruz often found themselves countered before they could even strike, beaten at the preparatory stage by a single sword from Brand.
The knights were immensely frustrated; upon engaging with this young man, they realized something was off, as though he knew exactly what they intended to do. Sometimes, even before they consciously decided on a strategy, he had already dismantled all possible offensive routes with one sword strike.
It felt like they wanted to drop their swords and flee immediately, like rats toyed with by a cat.
Yet, Brand would always pull back at the last moment, much to the surprise of the knights. They knew if he wanted to, he could have easily routed them by now.
But he didn’t.
Could it be mercy?
But it didn’t seem like that either.
The knights didn’t understand why, but Veronica, who had drawn her sword, knew. Brand had long ago focused his attention on her; from the start, he knew she was about to make her move.
But how did he know?
"She’s about to strike." Otarais reminded.
"I’m curious," Brand asked, while fending off the knights’ attacks and keeping an eye on Veronica, "Lord Otarais, in your prime, who was stronger, you or this lady?"
"Just a young girl," Otarais snorted confidently, "I wouldn’t even need to draw my sword against her; she’s not even as strong as your grandfather."
"What?" Brand was shocked.
"Watch out, she’s coming."
The young lord looked up and, sure enough, saw Veronica right in front of him in what seemed like an instant. Startled, he rolled away, dodging her sword edge.
Veronica was slightly taken aback, thinking this guy dodged pretty fast, almost as if he knew how she would attack before she even appeared.
While the Legion Commander was full of surprise, Brand was getting an earful.
"Why are you dodging?" Otarais was a bit displeased, "Face her head-on."
"Lord Otarais, I’m not afraid of her in terms of swordsmanship, but in terms of strength, I am worlds apart from this woman!" Brand explained while dodging.
"Fool, she cannot possibly unleash her full strength here," Otarais scolded in his mind, "Unless she wishes to demolish this marketplace with one strike."
Brand was startled, realizing suddenly, of course, this was the Druid’s aerial marketplace. Though protected by a boundary, it could at most support a duel between two Gold Level fighters; any higher power would overwhelm the protective boundary.
His momentary distraction almost cost him a strike, but at the last second, the young man turned his head, narrowly avoiding Veronica’s sword, which grazed past his cheek.
The Sword Qi left a cut on his face.
Brand felt a chilly sensation on his face, while Veronica found the scene both infuriating and amusing. This kid dared to daydream in a duel with her; not even the famed Sword Saints of Kruz would be this bold—and to her surprise, he even dodged!
"This brat..." Veronica couldn’t help but think, "If only he were a Cruz, I would definitely make him my apprentice to carry on my legacy."
But Brand, of course, didn’t know what the Female Legion Commander was thinking. Bolstered by Otarais’s reminder, he resolved to shift from defense to offense.
He stopped, then raised Between Earth to parry the Sword Blade of Sky Blue, green and grey lights intertwined—Sky Blue was a wind element Fantasy Level weapon, equal in level to the Earth Sword Halangea, yet the earth was inherently more stable, naturally countering the changeable wind element.
Thus, Sky Blue’s whirlwind effect was nearly entirely suppressed.
Upon the sword exchange, Brand felt only numbness in his arm.
"This woman has quite the strength," he thought. However, this time he did not retreat, instead drawing back the sword and thrusting it forward once more at his opponent.
Counterattack.
Everyone was shocked; the Imperial Knights on the sidelines could hardly believe their eyes as the young man actually launched a counterattack.
"What audacity!" Veronica was also furious; this kid not only was unafraid of her, but dared to try and suppress her head-on; this was sheer fantasy.
...
(PS: It seems there’s a restless feeling brewing in the air; what could it be? I don’t know, but...where’s the monthly ticket? (Dragged away... (To be continued, to know what happens next, please log on to www.qidian.com, more Chapters are available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
