A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Is that all, Blakelas?" Whiteface straightened up, his sword, so broken it seemed it would shatter at any moment, yet it held a arrogance higher than any divine weapon in the world.

"You're so arrogant after just a hundred reincarnations?" Bray stood among the rubble and uttered these words.

Several slashes were visible on the white-faced man's armor, but Bray was covered in blood.

Bray's wound was horrifyingly deep.

Hakumen is not some brute force or conceptually superior being; rather, it is an existence that transcends all norms in every sense.

Hakumen is a swordsman, a swordsman who is a demigod.

Even other silver-level beings should address him as "god" rather than "demigod".

Trying to alleviate the damage from Hakumian in any way is wishful thinking. What allows Bray to continue standing is only half of the physical strength he has taken from Hakumian.

Without this, Bray would have been wiped out from this world forever during the ninth sword exchange.

However, Bray was not at an absolute disadvantage; the move that Bray made just now was not done by Whiteface.

Being knocked away was intentional on Bray's part; otherwise, Whiteface could have completely controlled the enemy's retreat distance and then launched the next attack.

If he gets caught, an entire school of sword techniques will be unleashed on Bray.

"Having never experienced reincarnation, was I really so ignorant and arrogant?" Whiteface's words also reached Bray's ears from under his helmet.

“Yes.” But Bray wasn’t annoyed; instead, he responded quietly.

That's right, Bray was completely ignorant of his own limitations.

He witnessed the end of other timelines, but unless he experienced it firsthand, it wasn't worth him uttering the word "despair."

Perhaps he hasn't experienced enough.

But at least Bray doesn't believe the world is finished right now.

“Then…” Bai Mian leaned forward slightly.

In this battle, Bai Mian has absolutely no intention of being waterproof.

The last thing he did in his life was to liberate the last Bray.

"Struggle hard and let me see just how far you can go." As soon as the words were spoken, time seemed to freeze, and Bray's movements were frozen in place like a paused film.

"See how you defeat yourself when you become a monster." Time and space are frozen, and the only one who can move is White Face.

But this freeze only lasted for a moment, a truly instantaneous moment.

Under the suppression of the "Final Echo," the surrounding spacetime resumed its normal flow.

But even so, it was too late. Whiteface had already used the brief time stop to get to Bray.

The concept of white powder was not just about stopping time; it's just that white powder wasted too much power on reversing time.

However, even with this flawed ability, it remains a terrifying weapon in the hands of Hakumian.

"Tell me, where exactly is your 10% chance of winning?" The white-faced man's tone was not arrogant at all; on the contrary, it was full of calm.

It was as if he was simply asking a question.

"On my sword." The jet-black broadsword blocked the sword that was aimed at his blind spot at the last second.

The two are equal in speed and strength.

The only thing that's not on par is swordsmanship.

"Clang!" The black sword shattered into countless fragments, which flew through the air.

In the rain curtain formed by the dark fragments, the hilt of the longsword slammed heavily onto the white-faced man's helmet.

Despite the disparity in skill, Bray's swordsmanship was not far behind Hakumian's.

Because the swordsmanship used by Bray was not only learned in his own timeline, but also mixed with a large number of swordsmanship techniques learned in other timelines.

"Ancient Sword Sect" and "Kaitian"

With the point where the sword hilt landed as the center, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the white-faced helmet.

Bray will use every method at his disposal to defeat Whiteface, even if it means using swordsmanship skills that are not his own, or relying on the superiority of his weapon; he will win.

Just as white powder uses concepts, he will also use everything he has at his disposal.

This is a battle between two people going all out; it's not child's play or a stage play.

The surrounding scenery resembled a circular arena, enveloping the two of them.

Standing in the center of the arena, Bray was unusually calm.

He stared at the cracks in the sealed helmet and instinctively gripped his sword tighter.

Why did he climb mountains and wade through rivers to come here and fight against Bai Mian?

Is it for survival? If so, it would be easier to hide.

Was it to kill Hakumian? No, that doesn't make sense either.

Unlike Whiteface's undisguised killing intent, Bray showed no killing intent whatsoever, remaining as calm as if he were taking a stroll in the street.

If being excessively calm during battle is a characteristic of Bray, then what's with the murderous aura emanating from Whiteface?

Seeking a fair and square duel... I, whose blood runs cold, have no desire for such things.

He just said that Hakumen wanted to fight him, so he came here to fight him.

This is indeed very strange; I can't figure out the reason behind it.

But as the white helmet cracked little by little, and fragments of armor flew everywhere, Bray's mind gradually became clear.

Through the gap in the helmet, Bray saw a face that looked exactly like his own.

The white face looks much older than I do.

The left eye, visible through the gap in the helmet, was closed, just like Bray's.

Perhaps, the white-faced man's right eye was also tightly closed.

“White face… no, Blakelas,” Blake said.

Even though neither side used their abilities, everything around them seemed to freeze.

“I, who am still human, can defeat you, who have become a monster,” Bray said with utmost seriousness, his tone as if he were making a vow.

That's right, that's the only reason Bray would fight Whiteface.

He wanted to tell Bai Mian, to tell the self that had given up on being human, that humans could defeat monsters.

It is something to be proud of to be a person.

"Hmph..." Bai Mian seemed to want to laugh, but only let out a hum.

Ultimately, you know yourself best. Even if you are on a different timeline, you can still know the other person's intentions to some extent.

“I’ve given you the chance, so prove it to me.” White Face gripped his sword tightly as well, speaking in a calm voice.

Everyone knows that if Bray were to fight Whiteface in his original state, he would have no chance of winning.

Therefore, Hakumen used the "Battle of Life and Death" just to erase the difference in attributes.

Attributes can be increased, spells can be stacked, and items can be stacked.

The difference between humans and gods has never been about attributes.

He wasn't trying to prove to Bray that someone who had only lived for thirty years could surpass him, a monster who had gone through more than a hundred reincarnations.

On the surface, he simply wanted to know whether, given a powerful opportunity, Bray could prove that his belief that "people are worthy of pride" was correct.

Will Bray ultimately be able to maintain his pride in being human, given this stark disparity in status?

He simply wanted to know whether it was necessary to give up one's identity as a human being in order to obtain a concept.

If becoming a monster isn't the only option, what other possibilities are there?

On the one hand, he hoped that Bray would not continue down this inevitably cruel path.

As for how cruel it was—Bray himself has probably already come to understand.

On the other hand, Bai Mian also hoped that Bray could deny himself.

Even though he was exhausted, and even though he believed that the world's fate could not be changed, he still reversed time one last time.

If there was truly no hope left, he clearly wouldn't have reversed this final attempt.

But he did it anyway, proving that deep down, he still hoped for change.

The scattered fragments were pieced together to form a sword.

Whiteface has his own sword, and so does Bray.

Their life trajectories are different, so their final outcomes may not be the same.

In his current state, Whiteface can assert that he cannot defeat the gods.

But—he was expecting something.

"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!" A white line sliced ​​through the entire ruins.

Looking down from the distant sky, one can see a slash powerful enough to traverse this wilderness, cleaving the enormous "Prophet's Tomb" in two.

The ancient architectural complex, which took countless hours to build, was torn to shreds like paper.

That was a line.

The two swordsmen's strikes came from completely different directions, then overlapped, unleashing an unstoppable burst of terrifying power.

Time then stopped once again.

Then, amidst the countless massive building blocks that were thrown up, Bai Mian leaped over the obstacles and slashed at Lei with his sword.

Time to restore.

Blood splattered out, forming a perfect arc.

A huge wound split from Bray's abdomen all the way down to his chest.

This sword strike should have been enough to send Bray flying, but Bray managed to maintain his balance.

The jet-black sword rose heavily from below.

"Clang!!!!!" A powerful sword clashed with the white-faced man's blade.

The black sword shattered once again, but almost the next second, it returned to normal.

Bray, who had been leaning down, looked up and met the white-faced "eyes" in the eye.

The two remained silent.

This was a battle where the fates of two men, neither particularly passionate nor hot-blooded, were decided. Sword strikes echoed across the land, turning magnificent buildings into ruins.

The bricks and stones have been divided into countless blocks, and the walls that once depicted pictures have collapsed.

Another place in the world where we can trace our history has been lost.

The sword's cry shook the heavens and shattered the sky.

Bray and Whiteface had no intention of causing any horrific destruction; rather, they were trying to minimize the power of each of their sword strikes.

However, due to the collision between the two, the power still overflowed uncontrollably.

Because neither Bray nor Whiteface are weak enough to have their damage perfectly negated.

Every strike will completely reflect the damage onto the enemy.

"Clang!" The swords bounced off each other.

"Clang!" The swords bounced off each other once again.

This scene repeats itself endlessly, in different ways.

"Crash!" The ceiling above, which was only partially damaged, was still shaking off dust.

Bray's body was covered in deep wounds, so deep that the bone was visible.

Only minor scratches remained on the white armor.

It's immediately clear who is stronger and who is weaker between the two.

Nevertheless, the duel between swords continued.

The two men knew nothing about swordsmanship, yet the swords in their hands could exhibit the characteristics of other weapons.