Chapter 201: Who Can Last Longer?

Chapter 201: Who Can Last Longer?



As the man approached under the streetlight, a middle-aged man of imposing stature, clad in advanced knight plate armor, came into view.

Beside him stood a slightly shorter, burly man, holding a kite-shaped shield in one hand and wielding a single-bladed battle axe about a meter long in the other.

Judging by the matching paint on the shield, axe handle, and the armor of the burly man, it seemed that the axe and shield belonged to the middle-aged man, who shared the same color scheme as his plate armor.

"It's a shame I missed an interesting fight," the burly man said with a mischievous expression.

"So, did my little experiment surprise you at all?"

Commander Parix carefully examined Ren's bright silver Water Film Steel armor, noticing several faint claw marks that had been recently added. He shook his head in disappointment and said, "It seems your strength isn't as formidable as the rumors suggest. As always, the Empire's nobles love to flatter each other."

"Who are you?" Ren asked calmly.

A white glow condensed on Commander Parix's single-bladed battle axe, and a tangible beam of white light slashed down towards Ren!

Commander Parix's face turned fierce as he faced Ren's downward slash with his greatsword, blocking it with his left forearm guard, which was covered in primal force defense.

Could this person be not only a rare talent in hammer techniques but also a Strength Talent? That's too many talents for one person! In contrast, Ren's movements began to slow down slightly. This subtle change might not be noticeable to others or seem significant, but for Ren, who was currently engaged in combat, it was like a glaring beacon, drawing his attention.

The clanging of hammer and shield intensified!

Commander Parix's expression turned as if he had seen a ghost!

Ren, with his dark vision, could see the fine sweat on the man's forehead and the noticeable rise and fall of his chest.

This evolutionary process was continuous, akin to the growth and development of a teenager.

The young man, Ren, seemed to possess something extraordinary! Moreover, during the man's previous hammer strike, Ren could vaguely sense a power that seemed to penetrate his armor and primal force defense.

Such power!

Additionally, Commander Parix had yet to unleash his near-ultimate technique, and he still had a chance to win!

By not using his secret technique, he avoided wasting a significant amount of strength and potentially being easily evaded by his opponent due to their slightly faster speed. This would also reveal his secret technique prematurely.

Soon, he would be able to defeat his opponent.

Commander Parix's face lit up with joy as he finally managed to take hold of Ren's hammer.

Commander Parix seemed to be attempting to provoke and influence Ren through his words, hoping to create an opening or hesitation in Ren's actions.

The faintly glowing plate gauntlet of Commander Parix grabbed Ren's hammer, and his eyebrows twitched with delight. Just as he was about to use both hands to wrench the hammer from Ren, Commander Parix's expression changed drastically! At that moment, he faced Ren, whose muscles seemed to expand like a balloon, growing two whole sizes larger. If not for the high-quality knight plate armor he wore, it might have shattered the knight chestplate entirely!

However, at this moment, Ren's expression turned solemn, as he had always remembered a certain technique.

The two figures moved swiftly in front of the mansion's courtyard, only becoming visible to onlookers when they passed under the streetlights, fleeting shadows in the night.

Damn, that hurt! Is this power... "You've mastered the hammer techniques of a master!" Commander Parix's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Ren.

"A talented young man, but unfortunately, the game is over."

This time, when Ren's hammer struck the man's shield, which was also made of a special mineral, a sinking force was felt.

With the support of the master-level sword technique's additional effects, 'Steel-Cutting' and 'Steel-Breaking', Ren's sword nearly sliced through a third of the man's shield, stopping only when it reached the radius bone.

Commander Parix had thought that this unfamiliar great knight could withstand three rounds of attribute points, so he had prepared for a long battle. However, he was surprised that after adding just one round of attribute points, the man seemed to be struggling to hold on.

What surprised him even more was that each strike of Ren's hammer remained as steady as ever. How could this be possible? His own strength was greatly depleted, and his pace had slowed down, yet Ren, a peak knight, was able to last longer than him?

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Could a newly promoted knight and a knight with over five years of experience be on the same level?

"Bang!!"

After all, for someone of Ren's age to be a master of both hammer and sword techniques was simply too far-fetched! Even the most imaginative bard couldn't concoct such a tale to spread around.

Parix exerted all his strength, but to his dismay, he felt the battle hammer slowly slip from his grasp!

Damn it!

All he could see were two blurry mists moving rapidly, constantly clashing with each other.

"Swish!"

However, Parix's combat experience was extensive. He swiftly pulled and released the hammer handle, instantly raising it and swinging it towards Rein's chest.

"Swish!"

A residual image remained where he had been, but his opponent had already reached Rein's front.

Even the Goddess's bastard child would probably be no match for this!

"Clang!!!"

Parix's agitation was evident.

In contrast, Parix glanced at Rein and also noticed his immense physical exhaustion, his face lighting up in delight.

Rein waved his hand and said, "You all return to your posts. I'll handle this."

Facing Rein's extremely swift and powerful heavy hammer strike, Parix's heart pounded with foreboding. He immediately changed his hand motion from an attack to a block, using his Mana-infused arm blade to firmly parry the blow.

After enduring for a few more seconds, Parix was at his wit's end.

"What the hell is going on?"

The burly middle-aged man raised his eyebrows, impressed, and glanced at Rein with appreciation.

"By the way, someone has been wanting me to take care of you. Actually, we weren't supposed to meet this early. My original plan was to wait until you took up your post in Fishing Harbor Town and then send you on your way."

As his remaining attributes decreased from 5 to 4, and his agility increased from 21 to 22, Parix had already escaped Rein's heavy hammer attack range and no longer needed to worry about blocking his strikes. However, at this moment, he crossed his arms behind his back, trembling slightly!

At this point in the fight, Parix had little desire to continue.

Even with his Great Knight's physical prowess and fighting at full strength, he couldn't maintain this for long.

The thrill of crushing a genius like this was something he hadn't experienced in a long time! "Bang! Clang! Clang!"

Judging by their injuries, Rein clearly had the advantage. Although he had taken a heavy blow to his abdomen, he had the cushioning of his retreat and the protection of his armor, plus the defense of his Level 3 Beyond Normal trait 'Iron Skin'.

A rare hammer technique prodigy from the Dragon Empire was about to die at his own hands.

"Rein, is it?"

Unlike Norman, who had just entered the Great Knight rank, Rein had realized that his hammer technique was too powerful, surpassing the boundaries of mastery!

Although he noticed the greatsword on Rein's back, he would never believe that Rein's swordsmanship was also at the master level.

The two figures moved at incredible speed. Even with the street lamps and the oil lamps in the garden of the manor, the dim environment made it almost impossible for the onlookers to clearly see their figures.

"By the way, this little experimental body will be useful to me. I need to retrieve it."

At this moment, his Level 3 'Danger Sense' was giving him a strong warning, and the intensity of this warning was even greater than that of the near-sea sea snakes, bearded dragons, and even the advanced Great Knight Norman.

"Bang!"

However, what puzzled Parix was how this young Rein had managed to master the hammer technique to the master level. But soon, before Rein could answer, Parix calmed his heart, quickly retreated, and joined the burly man beside him, picking up the sturdy metal kite shield and the battle axe.

This reassured Rein.

Facing Rein's relentless counterattacks, which seemed like a continuous combo, Parix spun and continued to raise his arm blade to block.

Rein didn't choose to fully activate 'Strength Burst', but instead activated it to about 30% of its power, using it to almost match his strength with Parix.

It seemed that after the Nightmare Dragonman, he could once again fight with all his strength!

".

"You wouldn't think that what you just saw was my full strength, would you? Now, I'm getting serious!"

But before the onlookers could see clearly, the two figures disappeared into the darkness again.

Moreover, the difference between a Great Knight and a Great Knight was immense.

"You're pretty fast! You've already activated 'Break Limit' and your Beyond Normal trait."

Obviously, although his physical exhaustion was immense, the opponent's consumption was not much lighter than his, affected by the Wizard Spell 'High Temperature Field' and his own full display of Thunderclap Hammer Technique.

"Huh?"

Although this method of victory had a bit of an unsportsmanlike taste, it didn't matter anymore. Crushing a genius... But soon, Parix felt something was amiss.

After saying this, Parix tapped his toes, and the hard flagstones under his feet suddenly exploded, sending shards of rock flying. His entire figure had already become like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, shooting forward.

One reason Parix chose to act tonight was because of Magis.

So, at this moment, Rein's heart wasn't filled with fear, but instead, he felt a surge of eagerness to test his strength.

Only a few seconds had passed!

When Parix had retreated, Rein didn't pursue but instead began chanting a spell. And as Parix turned to retrieve his axe and shield, an invisible wave rippled around Rein, and the air seemed to have something different about it.

It should be known that at the Great Knight level, weapon mastery was usually only at the master level, or a half-step master level.

The opponent's speed was a notch faster than his, which put him at a disadvantage.

Ren's speed of action was even faster than what everyone had estimated, and he was about to strike first!

In an instant, both men charged towards each other almost in sync!

Without hesitation, Ren executed a roll and reached for the pig-head hammer that had fallen to the side.

'Let's see who can endure longer!'

Even beasts knew how to fight to the death, let alone a Great Knight! So, the closer they were to victory, the more cautious they had to be!

"Pfft!"

"Alright, considering you're still quite likable, I'll let you leave without pain later."

After devising his strategy, Parix regained his confident demeanor.

Upon hearing this, the manor's guards and the night watchmen who had just arrived from the county city tensed up. Each of them nocked an arrow, aiming at the middle-aged man in front of them, who was wearing knight armor and had a robust build.

He felt like his body was getting hotter and hotter! Especially the use of Mana for defense was extremely exhausting, far beyond the usual!

This made him swing the pitch-black double-handed hammer in his hands with even more steadiness.

"A smart move, but how long can you maintain this state?"

"That's enough talk. Otherwise, more people will notice us here."

"But there's a slight change in the situation, so I'm afraid you might have to leave earlier than expected."

Therefore, Ren knew it was time for the decisive blow when he saw Parix endure his strike and reach for the battle axe.

After some thought, Ren silently added a point to his agility attribute.

Ren's ability to withstand or keep up with Parix's offensive rhythm was due to his all-out burst and the combined effect of being a master in both hammer techniques and hammer mastery.

Ren needed to grow up!

Although Ren was doing his best to tighten his stomach and use the pendulum retreat step from Kadar Martial Art, due to his lower level in this martial art, he was still punched by Parix, sending him flying seven or eight meters away. The dim light giant sword also slipped from his hand! Parix threw the greatsword that was stuck in his arm guard, and the whole person rushed towards the single-bladed battle axe stuck in the ground beside him.

Another head-on collision! This time, Parix, who had been standing his ground, suddenly borrowed force and quickly retreated more than ten steps.

This forced Ren to let go of the hammer handle! The whole person took a step back.

Ren, holding the pitch-black pig-head hammer, swiftly swung the hammer from right to left again! "Heavy Hammer Sweep!"

They clashed for another ten seconds.

Almost simultaneously, both of them gripped their most proficient weapons.

Paryx's eyes widened, gritting his teeth against the pain, and his right hand threw a heavy punch towards Ren's abdomen.

He predicted that in less than a minute, Ren's stamina would be exhausted, and his speed would slow down. Then, the pace of the battle would be too fast for him to keep up.

He had been waiting for Ren to show fatigue or an opening. With his rich combat experience, he could still turn the tide in this passive situation.

In an instant, Ren's whole body was filled with a tingling and weary sensation, but he shook it off.

In simple terms, the decisive moment had not yet arrived!

This fucking guy was also a master in swordplay!

And for someone like Ren, who had reached the pinnacle of hammer control, he was undoubtedly among the top Great Knights.

Therefore, Parix's attitude towards Ren and the battle was more like a playful one.

If he were to be stabbed, it might truly be as he had just said, sending Ren away without pain. Parix was fully focused on the unfamiliar Great Knight in front of him.

"I don't need an introduction! Otherwise, with so many people around, I'd have to kill them all to keep it a secret."

But the problem was, his words had no effect on Ren. Ren's pitch-black heavy hammer was as steady and powerful as ever.

It was as if Usain Bolt had joined a 1500-meter race and ran the entire distance at a 100-meter sprint pace.

Damn! What kind of monster had he encountered!

The unfamiliar Great Knight in front of him, on the other hand, was clearly increasing the frequency of blocking with his shield.

But how long could a peak Knight maintain this all-out burst?

Simultaneously, both of them gathered their strength.

Paryx channeled his Mana, emitting a faint glow from his body, and rushed towards Ren once again!

This time, he no longer had the playful and teasing mindset from the beginning. Instead, his heart revealed a subtle sense of seriousness, excitement, and agitation.

Paryx now faced two choices. One was to go all out and use a quasi-obligatory technique, but it required a short period of charging up, and given the opponent's current stamina, there was a good chance they could dodge it.

How uncanny! "Bang!!" The hammer and shield clashed, and both of them retreated several steps!

Ren swung the double-handed greatsword in his hands towards Paryx, who was now unarmed.

The second choice was to find a way to disarm the opponent's double-handed hammer. Given that the opponent had reached the level of mastery in hammer techniques, they must have consumed most of their energy.

At this moment, the heavy weapon effect 'Lift Like Feather' played an extremely important role! In the eyes of the onlookers, Ren didn't even have time to block this strike, let alone counter with the heavy double-handed hammer.

Suddenly, a warm energy surged from his heart and quickly spread throughout his body.

Parix's eyes flashed with surprise. Holding a two-handed heavy hammer, the opponent's attack speed was astonishingly fast!

With this mindset, he didn't even bother with the axe and shield on the ground. As he ran, he swung his arm, and the blade on his forearm extended like Wolverine's claws, emitting a chilling light.

Thirty seconds? Forty seconds? Or even longer?

However, a cold light swiftly slashed towards his head, and Parix, feeling the alarm bells ringing in his mind, immediately abandoned his offense and sidestepped to avoid the attack.

At that moment, he realized it was the two-handed greatsword behind Ren! There was no time to lose!

Facing Ren's master-level swordsmanship, even with his mana defense and advanced knight plate armor, Parix knew he couldn't withstand Ren's attacks.

It was like asking a well-trained 100-meter sprinter to run 200 meters; their speed and form might hold up, but extending the distance to 400 meters would significantly reduce their speed.

'I'll have to endure it!'

Another reason for Parix's surprise was seeing the claw marks on Ren's water membrane steel armor. He thought Ren's strength was exaggerated, like defeating the newly promoted Grand Knight Baron Norman in a bloody duel.

At this moment, with so many people watching him at a disadvantage, if the Zalar Resistance Army wanted to make a move in Master County, retreating in such a defeated state would be disastrous.

Or perhaps, was this some kind of secret technique?

Magis had greeted him several times, and considering he might need Magis' help in the future, Parix decided to end this matter. He would retrieve the bodies and take care of Ren while he was at it.

This left Parix feeling helpless.

Although Parix wasn't in a dominant position, he wasn't worried. His foundation was solid; he was a Grand Knight, while Ren was only a Knight, and Parix's physical qualities were superior.

With these two advantages, a Grand Knight facing a Knight, even a peak Knight, would result in a crushing victory.

Clearly, this situation couldn't continue.

The most crucial factor was mana. After becoming a Grand Knight, his mana greatly increased, allowing him to enhance his defense and combat abilities comprehensively.

Clang! Sparks flew as Ren unleashed over ten consecutive hammer strikes, each one powerful and carrying multiple shockwaves. Eventually, Parix had to consume a significant amount of mana to withstand the continuous shockwave damage.

This was the difference in quality between Parix and Baron Norman, who had just become a Grand Knight.

At this point, even Parix, who wasn't the sharpest, realized that Ren was a bit unusual.

But it wasn't to the extent of being completely unstoppable.

However, after several minutes, the opponent was still going all out, continuously chaining hammer techniques!

In that moment of distraction, several deep scratches appeared on Parix's advanced knight plate armor.

This was evident from the world records: the 400-meter record was 43.03 seconds, while the 100-meter record was 9.58 seconds. The 400-meter record was significantly slower than 9.58 seconds multiplied by 4.

The distance between the two had also increased from the initial 2-3 meters to over 10 meters.

"A smart move, this way my boots won't get dirty. You know, after killing so many people, it's easy to accidentally dirty your boots."

In Parix's eyes, Ren was merely a 'genius' from Master County with some talent for knighthood.

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Soon, the entire front yard was in disarray, with beautiful flowers and neatly trimmed greenery trampled.

Not only would strength, agility, and physique improve over time, but super-normal traits would also be further enhanced and engraved into the bloodline as innate talents. Moreover, it would influence and enhance the knightly talents of future offspring to a certain extent.

As a Grand Knight with years of experience, Parix's physical evolution was reaching a deeper level.

Even the onlookers could see that their 'Baron Hammer' was gaining the upper hand, swinging his hammer more frequently than before.

Parix wielded his forearm blade, enhanced with mana, and aimed it at Ren's forehead, stabbing fiercely.

The onlookers were surprised to see the bulky figure in knight armor move so swiftly.

Therefore, when facing the opponent's high-speed attack, Parix showed no fear. He quickly reached behind him, grabbed the black war hammer, and instead of blocking, he swung it towards the opponent with a heavy hammer strike!

Parix immediately charged at Ren again.

Parix partially retracted his shield to reduce the impact, then suddenly released the battle axe in his other hand and grabbed the handle of Ren's war hammer!

"Quasi-Obligatory - 'Flash Slash!'"

Ren activated 'Three-Fold State' and slammed his war hammer down on Parix from above.

"Secret Technique - 'Earth-Cracking Hammer!'"

In an instant, the axe and hammer clashed violently in mid-air!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end