Chapter 1293 - 554: Battle for the Crown (Part 2)

Chapter 1293: Chapter 554: Battle for the Crown (Part 2)

PS: This pays back the Chapter owed from before, above.

Mathew Bade’s power is quite peculiar, his swordsmanship is extremely ancient, yet with incredibly swift agility and sharp attack angles, he continuously assaults Laine’s most vulnerable spots. The Viper Sword transforms into one layer after another of light and shadow, making it exceedingly difficult to discern the location of the blade.

The Viper Sword is both slender and long, coated with a dark green venom. When the Goddess of Revenge clashes with the Viper Sword, Laine can smell the stench of poison.

The Goddess of Revenge cleaves through the air, kicking up countless dust. Where the sword edge points, space tears apart. At this moment, the power Laine possesses has changed tremendously; with Landuin’s complete inheritance, he obtained not only weapons but also complete battle memories.

"Ding!" Mathew Bade does not underestimate Laine’s power; he knows he must defeat Laine at this moment, precisely blocking the top of his head with the Viper Sword.

"Clang!" The Goddess of Revenge in Laine’s hand is directly deflected, his expression unchanged, as he strikes again. The Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy, after merging Landuin’s battle memories, sees his swordsmanship transformed. Compared to his previous combination of hardness and softness focused on rhythm, Laine’s offensive is now smoother and flowing like clouds and water, with no superfluous moves in any of his actions. The blade originally deflected arcs smoothly through the air, slicing down again.

The sudden left-right continuous strikes exhaust Mathew Bade’s responses, while Laine’s steps are light, delivering six consecutive attacks in midair, each sword faster than the last. Laine’s wrist power begins to increase continuously, with his surroundings filled with silver flames and swirling currents, accompanied by thunder flickering on his blade.

Yet Mathew Bade remains calm in response. The Viper of Musillon is not panicked by such fierce offensive, rather he easily blocks and dodges Laine’s attacks, with his swordsmanship exquisitely advanced, initiating with ancient and extraordinarily splendid movements. He accurately foresees Laine’s offense among the layers of illusion and neutralizes them.

The combat experience and battle techniques of thirteen Black Chalice Knights merge into Mathew Bade’s every parry and counterattack. After six consecutive blocks, Laine realizes he cannot defeat Mathew Bade this way, he retreats with his sword, the gusts around him gathering into wind upon his sword-wielding right hand.

"Moonlight!"

In an aggressive thrust, the Goddess of Revenge in Laine’s hand slashes from the lower right to diagonally upward, a pure arc like the radiance of a lake, and Mathew Bade, unresponsive at the moment, forcibly blocks the move. Musillon’s Viper retreats with a muffled groan.

The second strike follows, the sword edge chopping downward from the center. Laine shouts in anger: "Ha!"

Mathew Bade shows no sign of panic, his figure dodging sideways like a specter, almost perfectly avoiding Laine’s second strike. He sneers, thrusting the Viper Sword towards Laine’s throat, the sword tip slicing through the air, ready to drink Laine’s blood.

Laine is forced to retract his sword immediately, his left hand releasing the hilt, grabbing Mathew Bade’s shoulder, pushing forcefully downwards with the sound of bones cracking accompanying.

"Crack!" The blade of the Viper Sword shifts position under the instability of its center of gravity, the offensive discerned, the loss of balance bringing pain to the Black Knight. He swings a fist, smashing heavily into Laine’s chest.

Laine’s ribs break as well.

"Ugh!" Both simultaneously emit a muffled groan, Laine strides back, adjusting his breathing gently, staring intently at Mathew Bade’s face, raising the Goddess of Revenge in his hand, signaling the duel to continue.

"Musillon’s, Viper, right?" The Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy senses the pain in his chest, realizing Mathew Bade’s strength; this championship duel will not be easy.

"It’s not over yet." Mathew Bade’s expression is far from pleasant, but the Viper of Musillon barely seems to feel the strain compared to Laine. He raises his sword, chuckling lightly: "I imagined your strength, but didn’t expect you to be so strong. But it’s fine, I will still defeat you and then kill you. I heard Surya already has your child? Unfortunately, he will soon have no father!"

"I also think it’s unfortunate." Laine smiles: "The Witch Demon King Akhan invested so much effort cultivating you, but he will soon lose this adopted son. Truly a failed investment!"

"Very well! Then let’s see who is the failed investment!"

The battle continues, the championship duel with Laine and Mathew Bade is utterly life and death, each unleashing their most powerful strength. It appears Laine relentlessly attacks, while Mathew Bade barely evades. When unable to dodge, he uses exceedingly elegant footwork to avoid Laine’s attack, then immediately counterattacks using the Viper Sword targeting Laine’s armor, wrist, armpit, or throat.

In this manner, they fight to a deadlock.

Laine observes Mathew Bade’s footwork, knowing Mathew Bade must have inherited the true teachings of Witch Demon King Akhan in swordsmanship and footwork, since Brittania’s archives recount some things and events about the Nikohara Desert.

Even as opponents, Laine can feel there’s a reason Akhan accepted Mathew Bade as his adopted son. Whether in talent or physique, Mathew Bade can be called the exemplar of this era.