Women only affect my ability to spread the fire

The real opponent is always the player himself.

During a game, the person on the other side of the table is not your enemy, nor is he entirely your opponent. On the contrary, he is your partner. He is your opportunity, just as you are his opportunity.

You are simply partners who provide each other with opportunities to excel.

The root of the endless charm of table tennis lies in battling with oneself, battling with one's own limitations, in order to surpass oneself in both imagination and execution.

If you want to make progress, you must constantly defeat the self that is complacent and continue to surpass the self that has reached its limit.

For Russell, this profound truth was like listening to an old monk meditating. He just listened to it and didn't take it to heart at all.

But today, in another world, facing a strangely shaped enemy that he seemed unable to defeat, after swinging his sword in vain again and again, Russell, who was sweating profusely and panting, thought of these words for no reason.

Russell suddenly understood the table tennis coach, whose appearance he could no longer remember, although he still didn't understand why the table tennis coach said this to him, an adult who had no basic skills and was just playing around on a whim.

Maybe the coach thought that only adults could understand such words, so he did not choose to say these words to the children who were working hard, which was the feeling of someone who had almost reached the top of a field.

But Russell, who was in a tough battle, finally understood what the coach said at this moment.

However, there was no ping-pong table in front of him with orange or white balls bouncing melodiously, and the demon centurion in front of him was definitely not a pleasant partner.

Russell understood his coach's words in a more naked and absolute violence of only one person surviving.

For this battle, the limit of what can give life to a person is always within his own body, which must be constantly surpassed, constantly killed, and constantly mourned.

For a moment, Russell entered a state of ecstasy. He suddenly no longer felt tired. He felt that time had slowed down. He felt that he had seen through every move of the Demon Centurion. He jumped gracefully and easily resolved every one of its attacks.

This feeling intoxicated Russell, as if he was the master of the killing at this moment, as if everything was under his control, which made him smile involuntarily.

Russell now had enough strength to escape from the Demon Centurion's attack range, but he retreated instead of advancing. He easily avoided the Demon Centurion's attack, which had become full of loopholes in his eyes. He suddenly leaped forward and stabbed his sword towards the Demon Centurion's heart.

Although Russell gritted his teeth and stabbed forward fiercely, the sword could not penetrate the tough skin of the Demon Centurion.

Russell saw clearly the deformation that occurred after the sword pierced the rough skin of the Demon Centurion. He had a premonition of what was going to happen next, so he let go of his hand without any reluctance, kicked the Demon Centurion in the chest, and retreated.

With a crisp sound, the sword's life came to an end and it broke into two pieces. The flame on the tip of the sword caused some damage to the Demon Centurion, but it was not fatal.

Russell used the force to float back and escaped from the attack range of the Demon Centurion.

At this moment, the feeling of being able to see through everything disappeared, and the river of time seemed to flow slowly for a moment and then began to rush again, which made Russell feel lost.

Then he heard the sound of breaking air and Margaret's scream.

The demon centurion seemed to realize by instinct that this was the best time to kill the enemy in front of him, so he threw one of his two swords without hesitation, and the sword went straight towards Russell.

The sword pierced through the countless fire elemental animals summoned by Margaret during its flight, turning them into sparks all over the sky. Then, it continued to fly towards Russell's heart unwaveringly.

Russell twisted his body in the air with difficulty. He didn't want to know what it felt like to have his heart pierced. He took out the dagger from his waist and slashed at the sword fiercely.

Then, at the critical moment, Russell let the evil sword deviate, and instead of piercing his heart, it grazed his left shoulder, leaving a deep wound.

The sword flew far away and plunged into the sea with a splash.

Russell's shoulder was covered in blood, but he ignored the pain and pulled up Margaret, who was already exhausted. The two of them quickly left the battlefield.

Looking at Margaret, whose face was covered in sweat or tears, Russell endured the severe pain and forced a smile: "Don't worry, I'm sure I can kill it."

"Yes, I know, my lord." Margaret's eyes were red and she nodded continuously.

PS:

I have had enteritis again recently, and I have been vomiting and having diarrhea. I have used up all my saved manuscripts, so there is only one update today. Please forgive me.

The following is py time: Welcome to read another Western fantasy harem on this site, the work "Minotaur Overlord" by Chocolate Meow Meow Island

047 Battle Summary

Russell didn't care too much about the wound. The flames would slowly repair it, much faster than natural healing.

However, seeing Margaret's worried and self-blaming look, Russell agreed to let Margaret clean and bandage his wounds, and the two found a corner away from the battlefield.

Russell sat down and let Margaret treat his wounds while he began to summarize the gains and losses of the previous battle.

The first thing Russell thought of was that he still lacked a weapon that could kill this demon centurion.

Russell was not just comforting Margaret casually. He felt that he had a good chance of winning.

If the weapon was sharp enough, the demon centurion would have been killed by his sword long ago.

Then Russell remembered the sword that the demon centurion who pretended to be the butler had taken out before - the so-called "holy sword".

In any case, the sword can be considered sharp. Although "Butler Roald" tampered with the hilt, after the hilt exploded, the remaining blade can be completely reused.

Russell only knew that the blade had flown into Rosaline's boat, but he couldn't find it, so he put the matter aside for the time being. But now he needed a weapon, so he remembered the flying blade again.

A lot of knowledge related to forging flooded into Russell's mind, which was all obtained from the flame during his previous meditation.

Therefore, Russell believed that as long as he could find the blade, he could forge an extremely sharp sword for himself.

In addition to weapons, Russell then thought about the state he once entered during the battle with the Demon Centurion, a state where time slowed down and he seemed to be able to see through his opponent's every move.

No, it's not just about seeing through the opponent. Russell even feels that he can control the opponent in that state, guide his every move, make the opponent fall into his trap, and force the opponent to be toyed around at his pace.

It would be great if this was a state that could be actively entered during combat, which would bring a huge bonus to the battle.

After much deliberation, Russell decided to discuss it with Margaret. After all, Margaret came from a family of learned men. Her father was a very powerful knight with outstanding attainments in swordsmanship.

Sure enough, just as Russell guessed, Margaret nodded, indicating that she had heard of this state.

"I remember my father said that this is a realm that can only be realized in battle. It requires fighting will and fighting skills to reach a certain level, and the physical condition must also be at its peak." Margaret said.

While Margaret was carefully cleaning Russell's wound, she was also reflecting on herself in her heart.

Margaret felt that the messy animals she transformed with fire were of no use at all except for being lifelike, and could not cause any harm to the demon centurion, which made her start to reflect.

Margaret, this is a battlefield full of dangers where we fight against demons. You can only use fire to transform into such flashy things. Those animals can't cause any effective damage at all, and they can't even play a role in restraining them in the battle!

Margaret, are you enjoying the Lord's favor, receiving the grace bestowed by the Lord and the meditations taught by Rosaline, but can only use them to perform such a young lady's tricks? What's the difference between you and those noble ladies you despise the most?

Margaret, Margaret, you must abandon these flashy tricks and gain a deeper understanding of the essence of power! Not only can you not relieve the Lord's worries, you can't even heal His wounds!

Margaret blamed herself and stared at Russell's wound.

She recalled bandaging a dying deer that had accidentally stepped on a trap, then adopting it and watching it heal.

Suddenly, Margaret stretched out her flaming hand and pressed it on Russell's wound.

Then, under the licking of the flames, Russell's wound, where a piece of flesh had been cut off, healed quickly.

Russell suddenly felt a little sleepy, and then he was surprised to find that his wound no longer hurt. He turned his head and saw Margaret putting her hand on the wound on his left shoulder.

Russell asked curiously, "Margaret, what did you do? Why don't I feel any pain at all?"

Russell's voice awakens the stunned Margaret, who realizes that it was her understanding of healing that healed Russell.

A great sense of devotion and happiness surged in Margaret's heart. She couldn't help but burst into tears. She walked around to Russell's front, solemnly knelt on one knee, and kissed the back of Russell's right hand: "My Lord! Thank you for the grace you have bestowed upon me, and thank you for guiding me when I was lost! Now I am on the right track in mastering divine arts!"

In Margaret's eyes, the miracle that gave her a second life was Russell's gift; the fire that created the miracle was also a grace bestowed by Russell, the god; even Russell's injury this time was to guide her to understand how to use God's grace.

Russell, who had been with Margaret for many days, had begun to slowly catch up with Margaret's train of thought. He understood one thing from Margaret's excitement - it was Margaret who cured his shoulder injury, and Margaret could now use fire to heal him.

Russell gently moved his left shoulder and realized it was back to normal. He then stroked Margaret's soft golden hair with his left hand and praised her, "Well done, Margaret. I'm fully recovered now. Let's go back to the ship. Next, I need a sword. Remember the sword the butler found for me? I want to use that sword to kill the Demon Centurion."

"Yes, my lord." Margaret stood up, calmed herself down, and the two walked towards the boat.

On the way, Russell was still summarizing what he had gained from the battle. In fact, he believed that his biggest gain from the battle was the change in his state of mind.

This was the change that occurred in a one-on-one life-and-death battle, and it was also the first time that Russell felt pure pleasure from fighting. This pleasure made him almost forget everything else and focus entirely on the battle itself.

There is no doubt that this is the growth of what Margaret called the "will to fight."

It was precisely because of the growth of his fighting spirit that Russell entered that wonderful, extremely focused state, as if every move of his opponent was under his control.

Russell even couldn't wait to fight the demon centurion again.

But before that, he needed to forge a weapon of his own, so his steps towards the ship became lighter and lighter.

However, Russell's plan soon fell through.

The three of them searched the boat but were unable to find the blade.

"It's strange, it shouldn't be like this. I clearly remember that after the sword exploded, the broken blade pierced through the dim protective barrier and flew into the ship. How come it's nowhere to be found?" Russell said with a frown.

"Wait a minute, Dad, what did you say? You said the broken blade pierced the magic barrier protecting the Cornflower?" Rosalyn asked.

It was the first time Russell knew that the ship was called the Bluebonnet, but from Rosalyn's reaction, she obviously knew something.

So Russell nodded and said, "Yes, the magic barrier of the Cornflower has never lit up since then. It must have been completely destroyed by the broken blade."

"So the magic barrier was just destroyed?" Rosalyn was stunned, then turned and left, and Russell and Margaret hurriedly followed.

Soon, the three of them arrived at a cabin. This cabin was a little special because there were intricate magic circles painted everywhere, whether on the walls, ceiling or floor.

Some magic circles look dull, but some still shine with a mysterious glow.

In a magic circle on one of the cabins, there was a flickering cold blue light, which was the light emitted by the broken blade.

The broken blade sank deep into the cabin, and judging from the light from the other side of the cabin, the broken blade pierced through that side before piercing this side.

"Great, it turns out it's hidden here." Russell's brows relaxed.

Russell was very satisfied with the sharpness of the broken blade.

PS: I am still not feeling well, so there is only one update today, please forgive me

048 Magic and Divine Grace

Although Russell couldn't wait to forge his own weapon, the magic circles in this magic cabin that were still shining with mysterious light temporarily stopped him from moving forward.

Russell turned to Rosaline, pointed at the bright magic circles, and asked, "How is it? Can I enter this room now? Are those magic circles dangerous?"

In fact, what stopped Russell was not only his reason, but also Rosaline who was holding his sleeve tightly.

Rosalyn nodded eagerly, "Yes! Dad, don't go in, it's dangerous! My uncle designed a very sophisticated set of magic circles. He cleverly balanced the magical energy within these magic circles, so that this set of magic circles can not only provide protection for the Cornflower, but also amplify the magic I release, and even allow the Cornflower to slowly move forward with the power of magic when there is no wind..."

Rosalin talked incessantly about the exquisiteness of the magic circle set up by her uncle. At this moment, she was no longer the confused girl looking for her father, but a real magician.

However, Russell didn't really care about these things. He had more pressing concerns: "Wait a minute, Rosalyn, what I'm more concerned about now is, will this magic cabin explode? Will the magic energy leak? Will we be in danger if we continue to stay on the Bluebonnet?"

"Explosion? No, it won't. The magic circle that binds the magical energy has not been destroyed. Look, that's the Fabian Binding Circle. Together with the Julius Ring, it controls the magical energy of the entire magic cabin..." Rosalyn kept talking, making Russell dizzy.

It can be seen that Rosalyn actually likes to study the magic circle. She enthusiastically introduces the magical uses of every subtle detail in the magic circle.

After a lengthy introduction, Russell finally understood Rosaline's conclusion, which was that as long as they didn't break into the magic cabin, they wouldn't encounter any danger and wouldn't need to worry about it exploding.

Looking at Rosaline's beaming face, Russell felt a little strange.

Rosalin said that she relied on the Eye of Truth to cast spells, relying entirely on intuition; but when it came to the knowledge of these magic circles, she was very knowledgeable and knew the principles behind them very clearly... Isn't there a contradiction?

Rosalyn scratched her long aqua-blue hair embarrassedly and explained for a long time.

These magic circles are more of an auxiliary means. They can only restrain and control magic power and use it more efficiently, but they cannot generate magic power themselves.

To generate magic power, one needs to use the Eye of Truth to glimpse the magic strings between all things in the world. Only by plucking the strings can one truly generate magic through magic power.

For example, a simple fireball spell can be transformed into various types of fireball spells through the blessing of a magic circle, but if there is no energy such as fireball spell input into the magic circle, the magic circle alone cannot create a fireball spell out of thin air.

At this moment, Rosaline fell into distress again: "Oh, it's a pity that I lost the Eye of Truth, otherwise I could try to repair these magic circles..."

Rosalyn looked extremely depressed, her head drooping listlessly.

"Meditate, Rosalyn, meditate!" At this time, Margaret, who had been listening quietly and thoughtfully, suddenly said.

"Meditation?" Rosalyn raised her head in surprise and looked at Margaret.

"Look at it this way. You can think of these magic circles as energy processing circles! You've lost the Eye of Truth, but you've only lost the means to generate magic power. Your understanding of magic circles remains. You can use the grace bestowed by our Lord as a new source of energy! Use this grace to try to power the magic circles!"

As a scholar with well-trained thinking, Margaret keenly grasped the key.

Russell understood Margaret's meaning. To use a less appropriate analogy, magic is like an energy source like gasoline or electricity, and these magic circles are like a magic-powered car. Only when sufficient energy is input can the car move.

"But, but..." Rosalyn was full of doubts. The traditional wizard education she received had never taught her this.

Russell also joined in the persuasion: "Well, first draw a simple, harmless magic circle, then meditate, and infuse the power gained from meditation into the magic circle and see what happens."

After receiving Russell's encouragement, Rosalyn nodded: "Yes! I will try my best, Dad!"

Rosalyn then drew a very simple magic circle and lit the candles for meditation.

When Rosalin opened her eyes again, she placed her hand on the magic circle, and it suddenly lit up, illuminating the dark cabin like daylight.

"It worked! It actually worked!" Rosalyn cheered. "The lighting array actually lit up again! I, I..."

Then Rosalyn threw herself into Russell's arms and began to cry.