People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

But if asked whether there are more strong individuals wielding one weapon or two, Ernst could only answer: strong individuals wielding two weapons are as rare as phoenix feathers, while strong individuals wielding one weapon are as numerous as the sands of the Yellow River.

The reason is simple: the limitations of the human body and the limits of attention dictate that when dual-wielding weapons, it is impossible for each hand to be the primary attacker; one hand must inevitably become a support.

This is not much different in the context of Terra.

Even powerful Terrans like Theresis wield a single-handed longsword.

But Jian broke this limitation. It wasn't simply about being able to switch main attackers at will; many people could do that with some coordination training. Jian's true strength lay in the fact that every hand she used could be a main attacker.

Marna was defeated by the mace, a completely counterintuitive attack, in his very first move.

The right hand sweeps horizontally, the left hand strikes down; both hands are the main attack. If you focus on the left, you will lose the right, and vice versa. If you are greedy and try to focus on both, you will end up being unable to focus on either end.

Based on his observation, Marna determined that the right hand of the mace was powerful and aimed at the vulnerable waist in combat. He raised his sword to defend, but he did not expect the left hand to strike in quick succession. If he had not reacted in time and immediately adjusted his body posture to block with his ears and shoulders, that mountain-splitting blow would probably have landed on his head!

Marna wasn't wearing any protective gear to begin with. Even if he were fully armed and at the level of a Blood Knight, he might not be able to withstand that blow.

The mace is a weapon that inherently has armor-piercing properties; it can crush a person to death even through armor.

That means the outcome is already decided.

But... is that really the case?

"It's raining."

Marna raised his sword and uttered these indifferent words, which made Jian feel a strange tension.

The last time she felt this way was when Sherag faced Manfred directly.

Although in the end she seemed to have won, Jian felt that the fight wasn't actually very satisfying.

She couldn't derive any pleasure from defeating a puppet that wouldn't fight back and had no will to fight. Duels should bring smiles, and this kind of battle was unpleasant (⊙︿⊙).

If she could, she would like Manfred to go all out and fight her with all his might. But Manfred didn't belong to Sherag at all; burdened with his mission, he quickly disappeared from Jian's sight. Jian was also too embarrassed to go directly to Ernst and ask him to handle the matter.

Firstly, Ernst was very busy at the time, with the World's Fair in full swing, and going to him for such a ridiculous little thing would be a waste of time. Secondly, it would make her seem too warlike.

In addition, during that period, due to the World's Fair, Kjerag experienced fewer avalanches, so the mace was really thirsty and needed to be released!

This is why she agreed to participate in the World Games with Ensiodis—it wasn't just out of obedience; she genuinely wanted to fight.

Fighting is so satisfying! (p≧w≦q)

Now, feeling a similar sense of urgency from Marner, which he hadn't felt in a long time, Jian felt his heart beat faster.

"Hush-huh-"

She took a deep breath, adjusting her state to perfection. Her immense strength almost made her fingers embed themselves into the mace hilt. These two weapons in her hands had long since reached the same level as the greatsword.

Without any hesitation, the moment Marna spoke, Jian's figure disappeared from the arena again, leaving only a black shadow that rushed towards the man who had raised his sword at a speed that caught the surrounding cameras off guard.

Their attack was as fierce as wolves and tigers!

Marna's expression finally changed slightly.

It wasn't panic, nor was it cowardice; he simply closed his eyes, as if he had given up resisting.

But beneath his feet, specks of silver light flew out like raindrops, swirling around him. Incredibly, the raindrops rose from the bottom up, ascending against the current, as if retracing something or rebelling against something.

It's raining.

This is not just a simple announcement, but a true reflection of the Originium Arts of Marna.

His friend... a former friend, had marveled more than once at the magnificence and contradiction of the Originium Arts being unleashed—

Silver light rose like raindrops, forming a barrier of light around Marner that resembled a rain curtain. If Fremont were here at this moment, he would surely have noticed that beyond the visible rain of silver light, there were countless invisible rays of light, just like daytime rain, that had spread to every corner of the arena.

Human eyes can only see the torrential rain in front of them, but everyone knows that the rain will not only fall in front of you, because the sky is so vast that if it rains in one place, then it must be pouring rain everywhere!

But what good is speed if a person is incredibly fast?

Even when walking along a river, one's shoes are bound to get wet eventually; how much more so when caught in a downpour?

Marna didn't need to open his eyes; every movement of his mace was already traced by the flickering, obscured light of Originium Arts, like raindrops being blocked. All he needed to do was draw his sword with enough speed and slash in that direction!

Draw your sword and cut off the water!

At that time, the rain will all converge into a blade of light under the guidance of his sword, with unparalleled power!

At this moment, the competition is no longer about whose attack is stronger, but about whose speed is faster.

Is it that the mace can reach him at a speed that Marna would have difficulty reacting to even if he noticed it, or is it that Marna can be the first to follow the trajectory indicated by the Originium Arts and strike that sword?

Victory or defeat can be decided in an instant!

"Soon-"

The sound of wind breaking rang in her ears, and the next second, the eyes of the sword, which seemed to be flashing red in the reflection of the rain, appeared behind Marna.

The two maces are raised high and then fall together, their power surely capable of uprooting mountains and overwhelming the world.

Almost simultaneously, Marna's magic had also detected the mace's location, and his turn was even faster than the magic's response!

The mace fell, and the sword followed suit!

After the unspoken anger subsided, everything finally returned to calm.

The two passed each other, a scene straight out of a movie, unfolding in real life without any special effects or editing. But this time, the tranquil Jiang knelt on one knee, his teeth clenched, unable to rise for a long time. Behind him, Marna calmly sheathed his sword.

"Prediction?"

With one hand supporting his weapon and the other covering the wound that stretched from his abdomen to his chest, his voice trembled slightly.

Marna nodded slightly.

"How did you do it?"

"experience."

Marner replied, unusually speaking more, and his eyes showed more patience and appreciation as he looked at Shangjian.

"Your experience is in the arena, while my experience is on the battlefield."

"In the arena, attacks always come from the front; surprise attacks from behind are not popular with the audience. On the battlefield, however, deadly arrows often come from behind."

As she spoke, a self-deprecating smile appeared on Marner's face.

"Moreover, the more people who have been betrayed, the more wary they become of those behind them."

How many times have you been betrayed and disgusted by the Control Council and the Business Federation to develop this ability to see in the back of your head?

The Black Knight shook his head with a wry smile.

She knew very well that Marna's words were mostly just stubbornness.

After all, according to the information Enciodis had obtained from Ernst before the match, it was mentioned in the match's intelligence.

Are you sure it's not because someone's been watching us the whole time?

Marna stiffened, her expression turning strange. But when she saw the Black Knight raise his blood-stained hand and wave at Maria in the audience, Marna finally couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.

He quickly stepped in front of the mace, blocking the black knight's view with his body, his lips twitching slightly, and asked in a low voice:

"Who told you that?"

Jian suppressed a laugh that might aggravate his wounds, and shamelessly betrayed a snow leopard who was also in the audience:

"Ernst".

"That guy!" Marna clicked his tongue, muttering several curses, which was unusual for him, before he could barely ease the embarrassment of having his face exposed.

He took a deep breath and extended his hand to the Black Knight:

"It wasn't an ugly loss."

The Black Knight curled his lip, chuckled softly, and gripped Marna's hand in return.

"Not a bad win."

Chapter 401 Marna: Bringing the Family to a Prosperous Life!

Casimir, afternoon, 10 Oak Avenue, McCaswell Cafe.

This was the location of Ernst and Marner's first meeting, or more precisely, their indirect meeting.

It was the same familiar small round table by the window, and the same three familiar people. But this time, Ernst stepped out from behind the scenes in the earpiece and appeared in front of Marner for the first time.

Upon seeing this young man who had already been featured countless times on television, in newspapers, and on various social media platforms, Marna was still amazed by his youth. Terra shouldn't have such a young politician. How could the older generation holding power allow a reformist youth to take away everything they take for granted and kick them off their pedestal?

Doesn't Sherag have any conservatives?

News media have mentioned little about Sherag’s past. All Marna knows is that it is known as the place where the Terra faith is purest, a name shared by the holy city of Lateran.

It had never made a sound on the land of Terra before, so it must have been a peaceful place. Marna didn't rudely inquire about Ernst's past; the process of seizing power was inevitably bloody, which didn't fit the theme of their gathering today.

"The weather is nice today."

Marner took a sip of coffee and began the conversation with the simplest and most classic opening line.

Before Ernst could speak, a dark shadow suddenly fell from the rooftop across the street from the café, making a dull thud that evoked many thoughts.

Immediately afterwards, a commotion broke out inside the café, as many Kazimierz people who had come to watch the commotion gathered at the door, muttering to themselves as they looked down the street:

"How many is this today?"

"The eighth one, I guess? The eighth one I've seen. Tsk, it's been like it's been raining these past few days."

"Isn't it raining? The Blood Knight did it once, the Black Knight did it once, and when Marna said it was raining, half of Kazimierz became like it was raining."

"You're really funny. I hope the man I like is as funny as you."

"Hey, does this mean you...you like...?"

"hehe."

The woman who spoke let out a meaningful chuckle, turned around, and left the street.

They probably didn't pay for the coffee.

Ernst and Marner silently turned their heads away, not looking at the man being dragged around by the bad woman, looking disheveled and alone in the wind.

Marner clearly realized that saying "the weather is nice" now was somewhat of a ridiculous joke.

He even pulled the brim of his rarely worn baseball cap down lower, so that people here wouldn't recognize him. He also wisely changed the subject:

"At the very least, you might like the local customs and culture of Kazimierz."

Ernst was about to answer when a commotion erupted from the street outside the window. Police officers maintaining order sped past, followed by ambulances with flashing emergency lights. Doctors in white coats poured out, verifying the identity and loan details of the "accidentally fallen" person while contacting the insurance company. Once everything was confirmed, they quickly began emergency treatment.

If you have insurance and a loan, you can claim compensation if you accidentally fall from a building, which can even be profitable. But if you have neither insurance nor a loan, then it's suicide.

Judging from their busy figures, at least this "no longer quite human" man used to take good care of himself, and his insurance coverage was not low.

Marna's voice froze. He felt he shouldn't have spoken; it was as if the entire Kazimierz was against him.

Ernst's lips twitched. He'd tried to speak twice, only to be interrupted twice. This time, after a slight pause to make sure there were no other unexpected events, he sighed with a wry smile:

“The weather and customs of Kazimierz are truly impressive.”

"I personally believe that Kavaleriaki is far from representative of Kazimir."

Marner made a slightly defiant remark. But as soon as he finished speaking, he sighed weakly.

"It's all their own fault."

Those who run casinos should die a horrible death, and so should gambling addicts; only then can the system be considered healthy.

Ernst nodded; he agreed with that statement.

Since Marner's words sounded like a curse, Ernst simply took the initiative to start a conversation:

“We’re old acquaintances in some ways, so why be so polite, Mr. Marner?”

"To be honest, I was quite surprised when I heard from Russell that you wanted to see me. You don't mind that I borrowed a bit of your 'reputation' last time, do you?"

Seeing this, Hinterlea also lowered her head slightly. After all, Ernst's involvement with Marner in the first place was undoubtedly for her sake.

To some extent, it was indeed a small scheme. Although it did not cause any loss to either party, some people might still care about it.

In Sherag, Hinterlea often witnessed disputes over ownership of camels that had mated with her neighbors' animals, resulting in offspring and escalating to the point of escalating to the point of taking place right in front of the government building. She was practically an expert at handling these kinds of situations.

But Marner was clearly not that kind of person; he shook his head and answered quite frankly:

"Reputation is the most useless consumable to me. If I can exchange it for something else, I will not hesitate to do so."

"Since Ernst believes that I did you and Miss Hintlaya a small favor when we met last time, then I'll get straight to the point."