Chapter 1534 - 1531: Truly Impenetrable Defense!

The two of them only focused on each other, ignoring the countdown numbers beside them. When the numbers counted down to 0, they simultaneously rushed out.

Ye Qiu lowered his body and charged forward in one breath, almost sliding close to the ground.

As he approached Long Yijian, he turned his body and swung his sword in his right hand to the lower left. The Cross Shield met Ye Qiu's attack, sparking fiercely. But Ye Qiu employed a two-phase attack, with frost appearing where the sword had cut, launching another attack.

The strike from the left side was blocked by a longsword just before it reached the enemy's side abdomen, with only a useless circular light effect tracing around. Though a pity, it was merely a greeting for the start of the battle. Ye Qiu quickly adjusted his position and movements using the momentum from his initial charge.

This time, in return, Long Yijian counterattacked with his shield. His right arm was hidden in the shadow of the massive Cross Shield, making it completely invisible.

"Tsk!"

Ye Qiu clicked his tongue and dashed to the right, attempting to evade the attack. Ye Qiu thought that by circling around the direction of the shield, he could have more time to react to the attack, even if he couldn't see the initial trajectory.

However, Long Yijian raised the entire shield horizontally.

"Clang!"

With a heavy shout, the tip of the shield thrust towards me. The huge Cross Shield approached, dragging a white light effect.

"Whoa!"

Ye Qiu quickly raised his sword at a 45-degree angle to block the attack. A strong impact reverberated throughout Ye Qiu's body, sending him flying several meters away. He quickly stabbed his right-hand sword into the ground to stop himself from falling, then spun in the air before landing.

Unexpectedly, the shield seemed to automatically recognize Ye Qiu's attack as if it had its own consciousness. Ye Qiu thought he could gain an advantage with his fast attack speed, seizing the upper hand in a single decisive move, but the situation caught Ye Qiu completely off guard.

Long Yijian didn't give Ye Qiu any time to breathe, offering no time to regroup, and Ye Qiu sprinted again to close the distance between them. The longsword with a cross-shaped hilt in his right hand struck with possibly even more speed than the Swordswoman Fang Wushang.

Long Yijian continuously launched attacks, and Ye Qiu could only fully defend using the swords in both hands. Fang Wushang had already explained Long Yijian's moves to Ye Qiu in advance, but last-minute knowledge was unreliable. Ye Qiu could only rely on his instantaneous reactions to fend off the attacks coming from above and below.

After deflecting the final upper cut of the eight consecutive strikes with his sword, his right hand immediately executed the single heavy attack "Cold Sword Invasion."

"Uh...yaaah!"

The thrust emitted a red glow and soared with a jet engine-like metallic sound, stabbing the center of the Cross Shield. Ye Qiu ignored the heavy sensation as if hitting a rock wall, forcing the move through.

"Kaboom!" The explosion resounded, and this time Long Yijian was knocked back. Though unable to penetrate the shield, Ye Qiu felt a slight sense of "Piercing Damage." Long Yijian suffered some minor damage. However, this damage wasn't enough to decide the outcome.

Long Yijian landed lightly before pulling away to create distance between the two. Seeing Long Yijian still so at ease left Ye Qiu uneasy.

"Ye Qiu, your reaction speed is truly remarkable..."

"Your defense is truly impenetrable!"

As Ye Qiu said this, he charged out again. Long Yijian also poised himself again and approached.

Then a display of ultra-fast rapid combos ensued. Ye Qiu's moves were blocked by Long Yijian's shield, while Long Yijian's sword was deflected by Ye Qiu's sword.

Sparks of all kinds continually scattered around the two, and the sound of impacts reverberated across the arena's stone floor. Occasionally, small attacks would hit each other, and the bodies of both slowly began to show scars. Even without directly hitting with a powerful move, gradually wearing down the opponent might still achieve victory!

But at this moment, Ye Qiu didn't even consider winning in such a manner. Since knowing that the world was on the brink of destruction, he had never encountered an opponent that could be called a strong enemy, bringing Ye Qiu an unprecedented sense of acceleration. Whenever he felt his senses elevating to a higher level, his attack speed would also quicken.

He hadn't reached his limit yet. He could be even faster. Catch up, Hizkia Cliff!

At this moment, the joy of unleashing all his power to wield a sword enveloped my entire body. I think I must have a smile on my face. As the struggle of Sword Shadows escalated, both sides' HP bars continuously dropped, finally reaching about fifty percent.

In the next instant, Long Yijian, who had always shown no expression, suddenly flashed a hint of emotion on his face. What happened to him? Has he started to get anxious? Ye Qiu could feel the opponent's attack rhythm gradually starting to slow down.

"Waaaaaah!"

In a split second, Ye Qiu abandoned all defense and directly attacked with the Profound Celestial Ice Sword. "Starburst Ice Slash." The sword struck Long Yijian like a glacier torrent ejected by a star.

"Woooah...!"

Hizkia Cliff raised his Cross Shield to block the attack. Completely disregarding his defense, I continued to cut at him from all directions. The opponent's reactions became slower and slower.

He couldn't block anymore!

Ye Qiu confirmed that the final strike had breached his defense. Seizing the moment when the Cross Shield swung too far to the right, Ye Qiu switched his sword to his left hand, and the left-hand attack dragged a trail of light, slashing directly at Long Yijian. If this attack succeeded, he would surely suffer significant damage, and the duel would come to an end.

But at this moment, Ye Qiu's world suddenly began to distort.

"...!"

Ye Qiu didn't know how to describe it. Or rather, it felt like time had been stolen away.

Everything seemed to pause for a fraction of a second, except for Long Yijian, including his own body. The shield, which originally should have been on the right, in an instant, like a fast-forward recording, shifted to the left, deflecting his critical strike.

"What?"

With his ultimate move blocked, Ye Qiu was trapped in a fatal frozen moment. Of course, Long Yijian wouldn't miss this opportunity.

The single thrust from his right hand delivered enough hate-inducing precision and just the right amount of power to end the battle, and Ye Qiu fell to the ground in disgrace.

The duel was over, and the wave of cheers that swept through the arena began to reach his ears, but Ye Qiu still couldn't come to his senses.

"Kirito!"

Fang Wushang ran over to help Ye Qiu up.