Chapter 148: The Midnight Duel
Chapter 148: The Midnight Duel
Solomon pushed off the stone plateau and lunged at Jin. He swung Eden’s Penance in a horizontal arc. Jin deflected the strike with his curved saber. Solomon quickly chained his momentum into a downward chop.
"Your footing is stabilizing," Jin remarked. He sidestepped the blade and aimed a thrust at Solomon’s ribs. "You adapt to feedback during the clash."
Solomon twisted his torso to dodge the saber. He drove his knee toward Jin’s hip. Jin blocked the strike with his free hand and pushed Solomon away.
[LazyCat: they are moving so fast.]
[BloodKnight: Solomon is fixing his transition flaws in real time.]
[Fatal_Beauty: Jin is actually giving him a masterclass right now.]
Solomon tightened his grip on the hilt of his greatsword. He wanted to push Jin further. Focusing his mind, Solomon discarded all distractions and honed in on his basic combat foundations.
He dashed forward and unleashed a flurry of strikes. Each swing carried more precision than the last. Jin raised his saber to block, his boots sliding back an inch across the rock.
"You learn fast," Jin said. He parried a thrust and returned a swift counterattack. "A normal student needs months to correct those specific mistakes."
"I told you I have a good memory," Solomon replied. He deflected Jin’s saber and aimed a sweeping kick.
[James_Hayes: bro is sweating but smiling.]
[Chi_Master: this spar is better than the tournament fights.]
[GoonLord: SHOW HIM WHAT YOU CAN DO!]
The clash escalated. Solomon’s breathing quickened. He relied on the basic forms he learned as a mercenary. He parried, dodged, and attacked in a quick loop.
Jin matched his speed step for step. He spun his saber to deflect a high slash. Solomon used the recoil to spin around and deliver a backhand strike with the flat of his blade.
Jin caught the strike. A metallic ring echoed in the night. Solomon gritted his teeth and pushed harder against the curved blade.
’My basic skills are reaching their limit,’ Solomon thought to himself. ’He predicts every single movement I make.’
Solomon broke the weapon lock and took a quick step back. He lowered his center of gravity. His muscles ached from the prolonged dungeon run earlier in the day, but the adrenaline masked the pain.
Jin stood ready with his saber raised. "Your basic foundation is excellent. It is time to see how you handle a true martial technique."
Jin stepped forward and swung his saber. The weapon blurred into three distinct afterimages. Solomon widened his eyes. He tried to track the real blade among the illusions.
[IceWaterKat: what is that move?!]
[Dark_Skies: Jin is getting serious now.]
[1Fizzy: Solo Man is cornered!]
Solomon acted on instinct. His body reacted before his mind could process a conscious defense. He planted his back foot against the stone and aligned his spine with his wrists.
Relying on deep muscle memory, he executed the first form of the Eden Imperial Sword Arts. He brought Eden’s Penance crashing down in a clean strike.
The greatsword cleaved through the afterimages and struck Jin’s real saber.
A sharp shockwave ripped across the stone plateau. Jin stumbled backward. He widened his eyes as he struggled to maintain his grip on his vibrating weapon.
"What was that technique?" Jin demanded. He looked at his curved saber and then at Solomon. "Your attack spiked out of nowhere."
Solomon froze. He looked down at his hands and the greatsword. He had explicitly promised himself to hide those specific sword arts during this spar.
"That was just a lucky swing," Solomon lied. He offered a quick grin and rested his blade against his collarbone. "I just put my back into it."
[Last_Fables: lucky swing my foot!]
[Gray: bro definitely used a secret move.]
[User12: the gaslighting continues.]
Jin lowered his curved saber and scoffed at the obvious lie. He stepped back and loosened his shoulders. "A lucky swing rarely carries flawless alignment. Regardless of your excuses, I will raise the level of this spar right now. You possess more strength than a veteran, so I will treat you like a proper combatant."
Solomon tightened his grip on the pristine steel hilt. He grinned and pointed the tip of his greatsword at the pavilion leader. "You should drop your handicap and go all out. If you actually want to put a scratch on me tonight, you have to stop holding back."
"I cannot accidentally kill a first-year student during a disciplinary duel." Jin raised his saber again. "My full strength will crush your bones into dust."
"I will make sure you use your full power." Solomon anchored his boots against the smooth stone plateau. "You will not have a choice."
Solomon abandoned his basic mercenary tactics. He shifted his weight to his back foot and brought Eden’s Penance high above his head. Relying on flawless body mechanics and gravity, he executed the first form of the Eden Imperial Sword Arts.
The executioner’s sword crashed downward with crushing force.
Jin brought his saber up horizontally to catch the vertical chop. The collision echoed loudly across the peak. The pavilion leader’s boots skidded backward across the rock. Before Jin could regain his footing, Solomon snapped his hips forward like a loaded spring to transition instantly into the second form.
[1Fizzy: wait, what are these moves?!]
[Fatal_Beauty: he changed his fighting style.]
[James_Hayes: Pavilion leader is getting pushed back right now.]
The horizontal sweep slammed into Jin’s guard. The pavilion leader gritted his teeth and pushed off the ground to evade the follow-up. Solomon gave him zero room to breathe. He transferred his weight smoothly across his core and unleashed a blinding flurry of diagonal slashes.
The third form carved a web of destruction through the moonlight.
Jin frantically parried the incoming strikes. He twisted his wrists and danced backward, struggling to match the explosive velocity of the greatsword. The pristine steel sparked brightly against his curved saber.
Solomon dropped his center of gravity. He compressed his body weight and forward momentum into a single microscopic point at the tip of his blade. He launched himself forward to execute the fourth form. The high-velocity thrust pierced the space between them and aimed directly for Jin’s chest.
[Chi_Master: BRO JUST CUT THE TEACHER’S CLOTHES!]
[Dark_Skies: Solo Man is unleashing combos.]
[Gray: Jin is literally retreating.]
[Last_Fables: he forced the boss to power up.]
[IceWaterKat: the choreography is peak cinema right now.]
Jin recognized the lethal threat of the incoming pierce. He instantly abandoned his restraint. The pavilion leader twisted his torso and barely deflected the thrust. The tip of Eden’s Penance grazed his deep blue robes, slicing a clean line through the fabric.
Jin leaped backward and dragged his saber across the stone. He looked at the torn fabric on his chest and then glared at the silver-haired boy. The instructor tightened his grip on his hilt.
"You are forcing my hand, Solomon. I will no longer treat you as a mere student. This will be last phase of our duel"