My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 117 - 98: A Life-Saving Divine Skill?

Time trickled by, second by second.

It was obvious that the psychological pressure on Nick was mounting. He grew agitated, and sweat beaded on his face.

But Nick couldn't find any opening to attack.

It wasn't just him. Mark, and even Lotte and Emily, who knew nothing of combat, could tell.

Fang Zhen remained as still as a mountain, while Nick grew increasingly flustered.

Finally, unable to bear the pressure, Nick let out a great roar. Gripping his sword with both hands, he swung at the tip of the spear.

Fang Zhen calmly angled his spear tip aside and parried the Longsword.

He hadn't solidified any other spear skills, but he had found plenty of basic spear technique tutorials online.

Master one technique, and you can understand a hundred. Since he could execute a perfect basic thrust, his other spear skills, while not yet solidified, were far superior to an average person's.

The spear knocked the iron sword aside; the two weapons were of different weights.

The impact sent a jolt through Nick's sword hand, making it go numb, and he stumbled back a step.

Fang Zhen whipped his spear in a horizontal sweep, aiming for Nick's head.

Startled, Nick sidestepped to evade the centerline attack and simultaneously raised his sword to block.

CLANG!

The force of the blow made Nick stagger.

At this moment, Fang Zhen's sweep had been blocked. The spear seemed to pause for a moment, apparently leaving his centerline exposed—an opening.

'An opening!'

Nick roared, pointing the tip of his Longsword at Fang Zhen, ready to exploit the opening and close in on his centerline.

A smile touched the corners of Fang Zhen's mouth.

'He took the bait.'

Nick had fallen into his trap.

Fang Zhen's sweep had been deliberate.

The Basic Sweep was another one of his solidified skills, one he could control with extreme precision.

Its force, angle, and distance were all completely under his command.

The opening after the sweep merely looked like an opening; in reality, it was a trap.

Gripping the spear with both hands, Fang Zhen pulled it back slightly before thrusting it forward with ferocious speed, like a striking dragon.

The long recovery after the sweep was just an illusion, designed to make Nick misjudge. The real killing blow was the thrust that followed.

Two basic skills, combined, formed a single, lethal attack.

Any move that seems flashy or overly ornate, if it's actually effective, is invariably built from a combination of rock-solid fundamentals.

Fang Zhen's spear shot out, aimed straight at Nick's face.

The color drained from Nick's face in an instant.

Nick realized it too—he had fallen into a trap.

But he was already in motion and couldn't change his trajectory. It was as if he were deliberately charging onto the spear.

If this were a true life-or-death battle, Nick would already be dead.

Fang Zhen was confident in his control.

He had no intention of killing Nick.

'If I kill a member of the Whig Society, how are we supposed to cooperate later?'

He had absolute control over his spear. The true target wasn't Nick's face, but a spot beside his head.

Fang Zhen planned to thrust to that point, then follow with a sweep to knock Nick to the ground and end it.

That wasn't how it looked from Nick's perspective, however.

Nick genuinely felt the threat of death.

At that critical moment, Nick suddenly dropped his iron sword. With his left hand, he made a fist with the thumb pointing up and slammed it against his chest.

"Ganzan!"

An invisible force field erupted into existence.

Fang Zhen felt his spear strike an invisible barrier, stopping it cold more than twenty centimeters from Nick.

The invisible shield blocked the spear, deflecting its tip.

'A curse seal?!'

Fang Zhen instantly realized what it was.

Nick had blocked the thrust with some unknown technique.

But the effort had taken its toll on Nick.

His body shuddered as if drained of all strength. His posture collapsed, and his limbs went limp.

The iron sword he had dropped clattered to the ground.

Nick staggered back two steps, then stumbled and fell. He sat on the ground, face ashen, propping himself up with his hands as he stared at Fang Zhen in terror.

Emily and Lotte let out a collective gasp.

"So strong!"

Mark's gaze on Fang Zhen was now filled with even greater respect.

Fang Zhen didn't press his advantage.

He kept the tip of his spear leveled at Nick, wary of another attack.

"That's enough."

A resonant voice called out from behind Fang Zhen. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Fang Zhen turned slightly and saw that Gwendolyn had come out of the room at some point.

Gwendolyn looked at Nick, who was still on the ground. "You and this Ranger are not on the same level," she said. "You could fight a hundred times and you would still lose."

"This Ranger has been forged in blood and fire. His will to fight, his combat mindset—those aren't things you can hone on a training ground."

"He wasn't trying to kill you, Nick. Otherwise, you'd be a corpse right now."

At first, Nick looked indignant.

But after hearing Gwendolyn's words, he lowered his head.

After a moment, Nick got to his feet and gave Fang Zhen a slight nod.

"I lost. I'm no match for you. I admit you're more than capable of killing two Alien Ghosts," Nick said.

Fang Zhen was a little surprised.

He'd expected Nick to be stubborn and refuse to admit defeat.

He hadn't expected Nick to concede so readily, even offering what amounted to an apology.

This improved Fang Zhen's opinion of Nick ever so slightly.

Fang Zhen gave a slight nod.

He relaxed his combat stance, rested his spear at his side, and turned back to Gwendolyn.

"Lotte, you were here to deliver wheat. Did you have to leave it on the road?" Gwendolyn asked, turning to Lotte.

"Yes, Master."

"Your uncle is out of danger now, but he'll need to rest for a while. Let him stay here with me for a few days. Also, that wheat is your family's livelihood; it would be a great loss to abandon it. Nick, take Lotte and Emily to find an acquaintance in town and borrow a horse. Emily, you can wait at the wheat merchant's for a bit. Lotte, you and Nick can then bring the wheat back to Ellick Town," Gwendolyn said.