A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

Nalan's image was reflected in Bray's right eye, but Nalan did not see Bray's image in his eyes.

But the whereabouts of that ring are still unknown.

---

纳兰

Humanity

Inherent ability: "Ancestral Intuition"

掌握能力：「基础刀法lv210」「一念流lv132」「阴流lv190」「阳流lv217」「十三仪刀法lv112」「直心影lv188」...

quality:

"Speed" This time, let me be a little more serious. He's faster than you.

Regardless of the aspect of "strength," the opponent is indeed superior in terms of fundamentals.

While my skill is not as good as yours, to be honest, it has reached a level that has surprised me.

The other person isn't as fragile as you are.

The twisted will of this "heart," this black iron seed, is unexpectedly terrifying.

Others seem to know a lot about "techniques," but probably don't know how to use them.

Overall: You use high skill to cover up your other weaknesses. I never expected there to be a similar Black Iron type. I feel weird even through the screen. What is this? Is it imitating you?

---

"Word Spirit Star Themifik," surprisingly, was being explained earnestly.

Perhaps it was because the person Bray was examining this time did indeed seem a little strange to Him.

At first glance, there is no resemblance, but upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the other party has practically "imitated" Bray.

"Phew." After seeing the results of the test, Bray immediately ripped off his blindfold.

Can a person really become that strong all at once without any cost? Bray had doubts from the very beginning.

There was no exit from the glittering golden arena.

In other words, Bray had no choice but to fight Nalan.

Of course, Bray had no intention of running away.

From the moment Marek projected the image, he had already cut off his own escape route.

"Master," the girl called out.

"Are you ready?" Bray muttered to himself, his grip on his sword tightening unconsciously.

"Of course, I've been prepared for a long time, and so has that brat." The girl smiled gently.

There's no need to hesitate or waver. Now that you understand what the other party wants to do, and now that you know what you want to do, all you need to do is draw your sword.

The jet-black blade slowly rose from below.

The sword, with cracks running from the hilt to the tip, points directly at Nalan.

"Wait for dawn, the unyielding fortress."

The surrounding scenery was shattered and buried by quicksand.

Desert vegetation, which shouldn't be here, is scattered sparsely around the area.

The magnificent arena was covered up, its dazzling light gone, everything buried in the sandstorm.

The gold color clashed with the current scenery, so it was simply erased.

The only thing that still stands is the fortress at the feet of Nalan and Bray.

The mental world unfolds completely at the very first moment of the battle.

Just fight with all your might from the start, there's nothing else to think about.

With a powerful slash, the fortress in the desert trembled.

"Boom!!!" After catching the sword with his blade, Nalan moved backward on the ground.

"Is the mind like the world?" Nalan murmured.

Marek had told him about this ability.

It's not something you can possess simply by wanting to have a mental world; it has nothing to do with a person's strength or weakness.

Whether it's fate or whether you have a matching mindset, the world of your mind is only related to these things.

“How enviable,” Nalan said, then suddenly widened his eyes, raised his straight sword by an inch, and then abruptly lowered it.

Then an impact no weaker than Bray's sword swept towards Bray.

Bray swung his sword to deflect the impact, and then Nalan's next strike came right in front of him.

A faint black mist continuously emanated from the blade and Nalan's body.

This wasn't due to any special ability of Nalan; it was simply the dissipation of the negative influences that had previously been attached to him.

However, after the negative state was dispelled, Nalan seemed to be freed from shackles, and his speed of movement increased dramatically.

One cut after another, from one cut per second to a thousand cuts per second.

The blade seemed to transform into a ribbon, its white light filling the field of vision for mine laying.

“I too will find my own world of imagination,” Nalan said solemnly.

"..." In response to Nalan's words, which were filled with jealousy, Bray remained silent.

"Thump—" The straight blade's attack suddenly stopped, and Bray blocked the final blow with his reverse-grip longsword.

The sound was like the tolling of a bell, echoing in their ears.

"Why do you possess such great power? Do you have the same level of awareness as me?"

"I am ready to bear everything."

“But I see no spark in your eyes, even though you are also a person who observes the precepts,” Nalan said in a deep voice.

From beginning to end, Nalan did not roar, like a volcano that had been suppressed.

Although it didn't erupt outwardly, you could still directly sense the other person's emotions.

The emotion was intense, striking straight to the heart; it revealed what the other person longed for, desperately longed for.

"But why are you a Ring-Bearer!" Nalan kicked Bray's twin swords, and the magic power that erupted from the kick sent Bray flying a distance.

However, in the instant Bray was knocked away, the longsword pierced through the burst of magic.

The invisible magic, like paper, was pierced by the tip of a sword.

"Clang!" Nalan pulled back his foot, his knife blocking Bray's sword from a tricky angle.

After their first exchange, the two seemed to freeze in time, stopping their movements simultaneously.

The pause lasted only one second.

In a second, the two figures disappeared from their original spot.

The dragon pattern shimmered, giving Bray a brief burst of power.

Of course, this comes at the cost of burning out the magic power in the left eye to gain explosive power.

After gaining this explosive power, Bray and Nalan engaged in a battle that disregarded space.

The trajectory of the swords rose continuously from the ground, slicing through the sky.

Occasionally, a simple circular array will appear in the void.

The circular array will shatter the moment it appears.

A figure will leap upwards from where the circular formation appears, rising to a higher position.

"Clang! Clang!!! Clang!!!!" The sound of metal colliding was incessant.

It wasn't coming from one place, but rather the sound was everywhere.

It was as if the battle was not between a knife and two swords, but between countless weapons clashing at the same moment.

At high speeds, visibility becomes very blurry, and everything around you appears to stretch out infinitely.

So Bray simply closed his right eye—

Then the world becomes simple.

"Sizzle—" A different sound finally came from mid-air.

The interwoven web of cold light vanished abruptly.

Bray fell from the sky and rolled several times on the ground in a sorry state.

However, he began to adjust his posture during the roll.

The twin swords traced perfect circles on the ground, and Bray stood up again, letting out a heavy breath.

A trail of blood ran from Bray's forehead, past his left eye, down to his side of his chest.

"Drip." Blood slowly trickled down.

Bray, however, still gripped his twin swords tightly in both hands, refusing to wipe away the unstoppable blood.

"Cough cough..." Nalan landed with Bray at some point.

After landing, Nalan used his knife to support himself so that he wouldn't fall.

His abdomen was pierced by a sword, leaving a deep wound.

“You keep talking about resolve…” Bray began, raising the sword that had been dragging on the ground once more.

"What exactly is this enlightenment you're talking about?" Bray demanded.

“What kind of enlightenment? Of course, it’s the enlightenment to save the world!” Nalan swallowed the blood that welled up in his throat and replied.

"Clang!!!!!" The swords clashed once again in the exchange of words.

Sparks struck Bray's wound, stinging his nerves.

But his expression didn't change at all; it remained calm, as if the battle wasn't a matter of life and death.

"Besides this awareness, what other awareness could I ask you?" The dormant volcano finally erupted, and Nalan asked Bree in a deep voice.

"Is that so?" Bray was like a stagnant pool to the ferocious volcano.

Deep black and silver-white slashes came from different directions toward Nalan, slashing toward this uncontrollable volcano.

"Well done!!!" Nalan rose up again, his blade slicing through the hard ground with a piercing sound, then rising like a dragon.

The sound of "clang" rang out and lingered for a long time.

“In all these years, I’ve only been asked once whether I’m aware of my situation,” Bray said quietly.

"What I was asked was whether I was prepared to die." Bray's voice was calm, as if he were telling an ordinary story, except that he did not give the ending to the story.

Does it exist? Or does it still have that awareness?

“And that kind of…savior mentality you’re talking about, I don’t have.” But Bray answered the other person’s question.

The answer is "no".

"Clang!!!!!" With that, the two struck at each other's biggest weakness.

With a loud clang, the black broadsword fell to the ground, the desert vanished, and the fortress collapsed.

Bray's right wrist was cut by the knife, and he no longer had the strength to hold the sword.

Now, he can only hold a sword with his left hand.

Nalan, on the other hand, lost an arm.

Nalan showed no sign of pain, holding the knife in his remaining right hand, his stance unchanged.

"..." Bray didn't speak, but silently raised his sword.

“Of the two rings, only one needs to be kept.” Nalan also gripped his knife tightly.

"..." Bray remained silent.

He never belittles or denies others.