Chapter 146: Resume Training Session (2)

Without another word of warning, Snow exploded forward.

The ground beneath her boots fractured violently, clumps of dirt and grass flying backward as her Level 51 Agility engaged.

She was significantly faster than their last session. Her approach was a seamless, terrifying blur of white hair and silver chains.

She closed the thirty-foot gap in a fraction of a second, bringing her massive buster sword around in a devastating, horizontal sweep.

Leon didn’t step back. He met the attack head-on.

He seamlessly increased his own biological density, grounding his boots into the earth with the weight of a collapsed star.

He brought the flat of his void-steel longsword up, catching the heavy silver blade perfectly in the center.

The collision sounded like a detonating artillery shell, a deafening ring of metal that sent a visible shockwave rippling through the tall grass.

Snow’s eyes widened slightly as her blade connected.

Instead of bouncing off his guard, the immense kinetic force she had generated transferred perfectly into his weapon, causing Leon to slide back a mere half-inch in the dirt.

She didn’t let up. Utilizing the recoil, she violently spun on her heel, pulling the massive sword into a continuous, flowing momentum.

She launched a brutal overhead cleave, aiming to split his guard completely in half.

Leon smoothly rotated his wrist, altering the angle of his longsword to deflect the falling blade rather than absorb it.

He guided the tip of her buster sword to crash harmlessly into the dirt beside his left boot.

The moment her weapon hit the earth, Leon stepped inside her guard.

He snapped a rapid, blindingly fast thrust aimed directly at her exposed right shoulder.

But Snow’s newly elevated reflexes were waiting for it.

She released her right hand from the hilt of her buster sword, letting the weapon remain embedded in the grass.

With her newly freed hand, she instantly materialized her sleek, void-steel parrying dagger.

She brought the short blade up in a flash, catching Leon’s thrust perfectly on the crossguard and violently redirecting his blade upward.

Leon’s eyes flared with genuine approval. Her ambidextrous weapon switching had become entirely seamless.

With Leon’s weapon temporarily deflected, Snow twisted her hips and launched a devastating roundhouse kick aimed squarely at his ribs.

Leon didn’t attempt to block the kick with his arms.

He silently manipulated the spatial coordinates around his own body, folding the fabric of reality just enough to slip backward into the sub-dimension.

He vanished from the physical plane for a fraction of a microsecond.

Snow’s heavy leather boot swept through empty air, entirely missing his midsection.

Leon instantly solidified two paces behind her, bringing the flat of his longsword around for a sweeping strike at her calves.

But Snow didn’t lose her balance from the missed kick.

She used the rotational force of her leg to spin her entire body completely around.

She grabbed the hilt of her embedded buster sword with both hands and violently ripped it out of the earth in a massive, rising uppercut.

The heavy silver blade intercepted Leon’s low sweep, the metals crashing together in a shower of brilliant orange sparks.

The force of the rising strike pushed Leon’s blade high into the air, momentarily leaving his chest exposed.

Snow didn’t hesitate. She abandoned her weapons entirely.

She lunged forward, driving her shoulder forcefully into his sternum, attempting to physically tackle the Steadfast entity to the ground.

It was a bold, completely unpredictable maneuver that relied purely on the raw, unadulterated strength of her new level.

Leon allowed the impact.

He didn’t harden his skin or anchor his weight. He let the kinetic force of her tackle push him backward.

He stumbled two steps, his boots sliding through the damp grass, before he finally arrested his momentum.

He looked down. Snow was pressing her forearm against his chest, panting heavily, her blue eyes wide and burning with exhilarating adrenaline.

She had actually managed to break his posture.

The clearing fell deathly silent, the crashing rhythm of the waterfall rushing back in to fill the void left by their clashing weapons.

Leon slowly lowered his void-steel training sword, the dark metal resting casually against his side.

He didn’t raise his weapon again. He simply looked down at the fierce, beautiful artisan pinning him against the grass.

The cold, mechanical intensity of his dual-colored eyes melted entirely, replaced by a look of profound, absolute pride.

"Dead," Leon whispered softly, conceding the structural victory to her.

Snow froze, her chest heaving as she processed the words.

She looked at her forearm pressed against his chest, realizing she had successfully breached the Vanguard’s guard through sheer, relentless pressure.

She slowly lowered her arm, stepping back a few inches, her breath coming in ragged, excited gasps.

"Your speed is remarkable, Snow," Leon stated, dismissing his longsword to his spatial inventory with a casual flick of his wrist.

"You did not just adapt to the new statistics of the Mid-Adept tier; you completely integrated them into your kinetic chain."

He stepped forward, reaching out to gently brush a stray blade of grass from her shoulder.

"You read my spatial evasion perfectly, and you utilized the momentum of a missed strike to create a fatal opening."

Snow stared up at him, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

Hearing the absolute, genuine praise from a man who had casually executed Level 70 elites was an overwhelming validation.

"You forced me to take two full steps backward," Leon acknowledged, his deep voice thick with genuine admiration.

"Your progress is flawless. You are entirely ready for the Steadfast domains."

Snow’s eyes widened, a furious, deep crimson blush suddenly rushing up her neck and exploding across her cheeks.

The fierce, competitive warrior instantly melted away, leaving only the fiercely devoted, completely overwhelmed wife.

She let out a breathless, joyful laugh that completely shattered the tension in the clearing.

Without a shred of hesitation, Snow threw herself forward.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her flushed face into the crook of his shoulder as she hugged him with all her terrifying, Level 51 strength.

Leon immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her feet slightly off the grass as he held her flush against his chest.

She pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, her own shining with unshed tears of pure, unadulterated happiness.

She leaned in, capturing his lips in a deep, desperate, and incredibly tender kiss.

Leon kissed her back, entirely surrendering to the profound, grounding warmth of the woman holding him.