It was only when I stood inside the arena that I realized that… I actually wasn’t sure if I could beat Breeze and Rain! The Agility Warrior was a monster who could beat Candlelight Shadow himself, so there was no way he would go down easily! Also, this first match was super critical to our advancement! If I lost this, Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls’ journey in the WEL could end right here and now!

Swhoosh!

Sunshine shone between the tree leaves atop a smiling Breeze and Rain. The Agility Warrior was only 20 yards away from me when he said, "I heard that you are the strongest duelist in the three main cities of the Center, and that you’ve taken out Candlelight Shadow the Martial God before. Is it true?"

I smiled back. "Nah, they’re just rumors. I’m not saying there isn’t some truth behind it, but they’re about as solid as the clouds above our heads…"

Breeze and Rain continued, "I’ve watched all the battle footage of War of Dawn City including yours. I doubt that there are many people in the world who could’ve done what you did; holding back an entire army all by yourself. Do know, you will always have my respect. However, it is also a fact that we walk different paths, and it is only a matter of time before Cyan Earth City and Elephant City go to war against the China server. We haven’t, and will never forget the humiliation of losing our main city to you in Eternal Moon and Spirit of Grief. May Heavenblessed be the end of this feud end once and for all!"

Chiang!

I unsheathed the Purple Ying Sword before asking, "How are you so sure you’ll be able to claim vengeance?"

Breeze and Rain smiled confidently as he replied, "That’s simple. It’s because our players have never been stronger than they are now. There is nothing we cannot beat!"

I stabbed my sword against the ground before replying calmly, "I can say the same thing right back at you. If you doubt our strength to protect our honor and our homeland, then feel free to attack any time you wish. Sky City sees no reason to turn away the wolves who’ll nourish our soil!"

"Hmph! A boastful claim!" Breeze and Rain watched me seriously. "But it won’t matter unless you defeat me first!"

"We’ll see about that!"

The brief conversation was enough to make the air smell like gunpowder. The China server and India servers had always been neighbors, and the conflict between us had never ceased. It was the same in this generation of Eternal Moon games. Cyan Earth City and Elephant City currently stood like steel fortresses to the east of Sky City, and worse, they were joined in the hips with Japan’s Purple Grape City. They were without a doubt the greatest threat to our server right now.

……

The countdown began, winding up our hearts like a clock with every declaration—

3!

2!

1!

Fight!

Breeze and Rain immediately activated Great Earth Transformation and buffed himself with Blazing Wind Art, drastically boosting his movement and attack speed!

"Here I come!"

He let out a battle cry and ran straight toward me, sword swinging downward in a straight arc!

I activated Great Earth Transformation myself and thrust the Purple Ying Sword at him. He changed the angle of his attack midway in hopes of catching me off-guard, but I predicted it and adjusted my parry accordingly. I knew a straightforward attack wouldn’t suit an expert like him!

Chiang!

Our bodies vibrated visibly as our weapons clashed. Both of us possessed a lot of Strength, it seemed.

Zzzt zzzt zzzt...

Sparks flew off the blade of the Purple Ying Sword as Breeze and Rain abruptly withdrew his weapon. He threw a left punch at me, forcing me to bend my body and knock it aside with the Dragon God Shield. Then, I raised my knee in an attempt to kick him in the waist.

However, Breeze and Rain’s reaction speed was insane. He moved away almost immediately after my knee touched his skin, meaning that I wasn’t able to land a solid hit. Right after that, he swung his sword at me again and used Blazing Slash!

I watched the three flaming sword auras falling down on me closely and turned my wrist, parrying two hits in rapid succession. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to determine the angle or the force behind the final strike in time, so I backed off and raised the Dragon God Shield in front of me!

Boom!

God damn, the resulting explosion almost engulfed my entire person!

39292!

Even with a shield and Guard, I still lost almost 40k HP. His Attack must be ridiculously high.

Swhoosh!

A speed-boosted Breeze and Rain was like a goddamn ghost. I barely saw him appearing in front of me and pressing his hand against my chest armor. He was obviously going to use his CC skill, Soul Refining Cage. If it hit, he would be free to attack me with impunity for 7 seconds straight. I would be dead long before the skill came to an end!

I immediately rotated my body and knocked his palm aside with my arm, forcing a MISS. Then, I slammed the Dragon God Shield into his back for a whopping 30910 damage!

"Dammit!"

Breeze and Rain looked angry at his failure to land his CC skill. He thrust his sword toward my chest and landed the Moon Breaking Slash, the skill that ignored 70% Defense!

I felt a tearing pain at the same time I lost 80k+ HP. It was a most deadly skill alright!

I wasn’t the type of person to allow a free hit, so I lifted my Divine Martial War Boots and kicked him in the arm. He wanted to force a MISS, but my Strength was far higher than he imagined and gave him no opportunity to pull off some tai chi nonsense. He staggered backward and lost his balance for around half a second.

Buzz!

The Purple Ying Sword sang, and I unleashed Burning Blade Slash and Ancient Seal all in 0.5 seconds. Breeze and Rain couldn’t dodge this, so he had no choice but to Guard and hope for the best.

Bang bang bang bang!

MISS!

42291!

58828!

71626!

One combo was all it took to delete three-fourths of his HP.

I watched Breeze and Rain closely before tossing the Purple Ying Sword at him. The Archean-grade weapon flew toward him like a hurricane and threatened to end his life once and for all!

"Are you stupid?!"

However, Breeze and Rain was the Agility Warrior. He easily dodged out of the way before Coiling Dragon Revolution could hit him. He laughed loudly as ran toward me, stabbed me in the arm and said, "Is this all you’ve got? If it is, then you can die now!"

Soul Capture!

The Divine General Skill landed and reduced all my stats by 70%!

Breeze and Rain grinned from ear to ear. The triumph behind it was as obvious as the sun because he thought he had overcome a great opponent who possessed the power to kill him.

I grinned right back and said, "You’re the one who’s dead, idiot!"

"What?!"

Right after Breeze and Rain cried out in surprise, I kicked him in the stomach and separated him from me. A look of realization flashed across his features, but it was too late. He looked back just in time to see a hurricane of a sword piercing his body!

Splash!

110929!

Breeze and Rain dropped to his knees. He had done well to manage me so far, but his last and biggest mistake was one that cost him. I knew that Coiling Dragon Revolution would fly back to me, and I knew that it would be enough to kill Breeze and Rain. That was why I allowed him to get close to me and land his Divine General Skill. It was the only way to guarantee a hit considering how skilled and intelligent he was.

Breeze and Rain glared at me with resistance and anger, but there was no changing the fact that he lost. He scattered into white light and flew away from the arena.

It was 1:0. As difficult as the round was, it was a win nonetheless. A chorus of applause and cheers rocked the roof of the stadium, and I could even hear Li Chengfeng shouting, "Fuck yeah, that was beautiful, Lu Chen!"

……

I recalled everything that had happened throughout the battle with a mind as calm as a lake. Both Breeze and Rain’s movement speed and attack speed were higher than mine. I would definitely lose if I tried to match him in the speed department. Moreover, he dished out at least 50% more attacks than me, and it took a ridiculous amount of effort to parry all his basic attacks. I couldn’t not parry them either because his Attack was quite high. His sword had to be Immortal-grade at the very least.

So, how should I deal with an Agility-based warrior whose tactics and skills were almost at the pinnacle?

An idea flashed across my mind, and the corner of my lips turned up unconsciously. Yes, it’s worth a try. Let’s see if I can literally beat his speed with absolute strength!

Outside the arena, Beiming Xue cried, "Keep it up and take one more from Breeze and Rain, big bro! We’re going to become the world champion!"

I smiled. Yes, it’s my dream to become the champion of the WEL internationals as well!

……

Swhoosh!

When Breeze and Rain teleported back into the arena, he looked less relaxed than he was before. He said, "Coiling Dragon Revolution, huh? I understand the true power of this skill now. Don’t think you can catch me twice with the same skill, Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand!"

I smiled. "Sure. I’m hardly a one-trick pony, and even if I was, I would never expect it to work twice against an opponent like you!"

Breeze and Rain grinned. "Is that so? How are you going to beat me then?"

"You’ll see it right before it kills you!"

"Hmph, boastful bastard!"

The hostility in Breeze and Rain’s eyes was steadily growing, but there was no helping it. At the top, players either admired or hated each other's guts. Breeze and Rain and I couldn’t become friends, so we could only become sworn rivals. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing though. After all, nemeses often produced the best Nation Wars!

The countdown began once more, and both Breeze and Rain immediately entered fighting condition. The second round was an important round for both of us.

3!

2!

1!

The countdown hit zero, and this time Breeze and Rain activated both Blazing Wind Art and War God Rampage at once. The fucker thinks he can cut me down in 12 seconds? The arrogance!

Pa pa...

Breeze and Rain moved so fast that he was almost a blur in my vision. His sword came down on me like the wind, giving me almost no time to evade. I had no choice but to backpedal and parry the attack at the same time!

Chiang!

My arm turned numb from the contact. It was never a good thing to be forced on the defensive. I stomped the ground and used War Crush, but the Agility Warrior smelled the danger in time and evaded the shockwave perfectly. Then, he rushed in again and slashed me across the arm.

At this point, I was completely outsped by him!

I gritted my teeth and decided to put my earlier idea to action. It’s now or never!

I stopped trying to parry Breeze and Rain’s attack and let his Moon Breaking Slash slash into my Heaven-burning Armor. Tearing pain erupted as I took 90012 damage. This fucker’s just too powerful!

Pa!

During this time, I grabbed the blade of his sword, let out a battle cry and pulled him away from whatever direction he was trying to go. Then, I tossed him to the distance as hard as I could!

A rock flattened beneath my boots as I raced toward his airborne figure. Then, I opened up with Universe Break!

Breeze and Rain saw it coming. Eyes burning with fighting spirit, he thrust his sword upward in an attempt to parry the skill!

I grabbed my sword with both hands so that I could swing it faster and with all my strength. Activating Dark Pupils and aiming at the weakest point of his parry, I shouted, "Taste the power of a 5-Strength warrior, Breeze and Rain!"

Chiang!

Amazingly, my flaming sword shattered his parry and cut right into his body. I could even see the blooming shock in his eyes when it happened!