Becoming a Swordmaster by Reading

Chapter 110. Espionage (7)

Roden once again checked the object Latif was holding in his hand.

A blue crystal orb.

What Latif had just used was undoubtedly an artifact.

The fact that mana was emanating from it, and that Latif's wound was being healed by mana, both pointed to this.

The blue crystal orb was clearly an artifact enchanted with healing magic.

‘And its level is quite high, at least 7th Circle. Otherwise, the wound on his abdomen wouldn't have healed in such a short time.’

It was while Roden was surprised.

Latif let out a cackle, keukeukeuk.

“You seem quite surprised. It's only natural. I also went through quite a bit of trouble to get this item.”

“Did you make a deal with the Mage Tower? Where and how?”

“I've been dealing with them for a while. It's just that good items haven't been released much.”

“Weren't you knights who shunned mages?”

“You stiff-necked Easterners might be like that. But not the Empire. It's changing. By the way, you did well to hide the fact that you're a 6-star knight. But it won't be easy a second time. Now that I've seen your abilities.”

Latif finished speaking and threw the crystal orb, which had by now lost all its color and turned gray, to the ground.

Then he rushed at Roden.

This time too, Latif's sword felt as imperceptible as a shadow.

In fact, it seemed that its level had risen even higher than before.

It meant that Latif, unlike before, was concentrating on this battle.

Moreover, he didn't just use one secret technique like before.

Pop.

The fact that a sword suddenly popped out from behind Roden's back was proof of that.

“Hap!”

Roden jumped off his horse and rolled on the ground to avoid the sword being swung from behind.

Neigh!

Because of that, the horse Roden had been riding for a long time was injured and collapsed to the ground.

But there was no time to feel sorry for that.

Another sword had popped out from behind Roden's back.

And so, after rolling on the ground several times, Roden was finally able to figure out the identity of this secret technique.

The sword behind his back.

It was being generated from Roden's shadow.

Surprisingly, Latif not only swung his sword like a shadow but also knew how to use real shadows.

‘This is tricky.’

If Latif's attacks continued to come from behind, there would be no way to deal with them.

It was only natural, as he couldn't tell how the sword was being swung or where it was coming from.

For that reason, it was impossible for Roden to choose the option of slightly moving to dodge the sword or blocking the sword with his sword.

The only way to block the variables was to roll.

‘At this rate, I'll get tired quickly. And my movements are too big.’

Latif also seemed to be thinking similarly.

The fact that he charged on horseback when Roden had rolled on the ground about five times was proof of that.

Clang!

Roden barely managed to get up and succeeded in striking Latif's sword.

But the impact was not insignificant.

Latif also seemed to have a secret technique that added power to his sword, like the Heavy Sword.

‘In fact, the concept of adding weight to increase power is not that difficult to come up with.’

And it wasn't just the Heavy Sword.

In his next attack, Latif even used a secret technique similar to the Phantom Sword.

If he hadn't deployed his aura barrier properly, his shoulder would have been cut.

And so, Roden, while on the defensive, experienced the various secret techniques that Latif knew how to use.

It was a given that the sword would suddenly become longer and wider.

Suddenly, dozens of needles containing 1st-star level aura would fly towards Roden, and he would also block Roden's desperate, all-out attack with some kind of black shield.

He realized anew what a gap the solid support of a family made in reaching the rank of 6-star.

‘As expected, a 6-star knight is no pushover.’

Roden thought and rolled on the ground once more.

He had already rolled on the ground over ten times, but this time was different.

Roden decided to counterattack.

It was only natural, as at this rate, his stamina would be depleted and he would face death.

‘A simple attack like before won't work.’

After Latif had healed his body with the artifact.

Roden, who had been on the defensive the whole time, had attempted an attack only once.

He had taken out the dagger that had now become an essential item and used the Throwing Sword secret technique to throw it at Latif.

But Latif, as if he had already anticipated this attack, had easily deflected it with a black shield that seemed to be made of shadow.

It was at this moment that Roden had realized the existence of the black shield.

‘He's already thinking about it. What kind of secret techniques I can use as a fellow 6-star knight.’

There were certainly many similar secret techniques.

This could be seen just by looking at the overlap between the Phantom Sword and the Heavy Sword.

So, to inflict damage on Latif, a more creative use of secret techniques was needed.

And Roden was now planning to use that method.

At the same time as he rolled on the ground,

Piiing.

Roden's use of the Cittadini Swordsmanship's Flash Sword was the beginning.

As a strong light suddenly burst out, Latif had no choice but to momentarily close his eyes and attempt a relatively clumsy attack.

On the other hand, Roden, who was prepared for this situation, was able to accurately swing his sword towards Latif even with his eyes closed.

And Roden's sword touched Latif's sword.

Roden had deliberately made it touch.

Zzzzt!

At the same time as the swords clashed, it was to use the Electric Shock, a secret technique of the Lagdar Swordsmanship.

“Ugh!”

At the unexpected shock, the strength in Latif's hand, which was holding the sword, loosened.

Roden did not miss this opportunity and used the Swift Sword and the Sharp Sword to launch his next attack.

By this time, Latif had also recovered his sight and opened his eyes, but it was useless.

This was because he had used the Swift Sword, so the attack came in half a beat faster, and its power was also increased.

In addition, the effect of the Sharp Sword, which increased the power of a thrusting attack, was not to be underestimated.

At this rate, it was a situation where some part of his body would be pierced once again.

“Haap!”

But in the moment of crisis, Latif also jumped off his horse and rolled on the ground.

Neigh!

And the horse, surprised by this situation, ran wild and left the battlefield.

In the end, Roden, who had stabbed into empty air and retreated, smacked his lips in disappointment.

He had used the Flash Sword, Electric Shock, Swift Sword, and Sharp Sword, but all he had achieved was chasing away the horse.

“That was a pretty good counterattack. But what can you do? It seems I've seen almost all of your tricks.”

Latif got up from the ground, brushed the dirt off his armor, and spoke.

Roden certainly had only a few secret techniques left.

Only the Drawing Sword and the Armor Break, but both had to be considered not very useful in the current situation.

He had already drawn his sword and was holding it, and it would take a long time to deal damage to a sword or shield with the Armor Break.

Moreover, Roden was rolling on the ground every time he blocked Latif's sword with his sword.

This was because the attack pattern Latif had consistently shown so far was to swing the sword from behind through the shadow and then launch another direct attack from the front.

For that reason, Roden would get tired first, long before the sword could even bend, let alone break.

‘There was a chance when he looked down on me, but not anymore. He's fighting a battle where he can't lose, as if he won't allow a single variable.’

So, in effect, the possibility of Roden winning against Latif in a knight-versus-knight duel had disappeared.

Latif was also not unaware of this fact, so he couldn't help but be pleased.

“Good. Then shall we keep pushing?”

As soon as Latif finished speaking, a sword was swung from Roden's shadow once again.

And so, Latif slowly tightened the noose around Roden's neck.

***

The paths in the Lewich Gorge were truly complex.

The fact that he had already encountered the fifth fork in the road while looking for Roden was proof of that.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Michael quickly took the left path and thought.

‘I might not be able to find him.’

In fact, it was right to assume that he wouldn't be able to meet him.

Even if he encountered a two-way fork five times, the probability of going the right way was less than 5%.

And since some of the forks were not even two-way, the probability of Michael meeting Roden was very slim.

It certainly was.

But what kind of coincidence was this?

As Michael was riding his horse quickly, the sound of swords clashing in battle reached his ears.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Michael instinctively knew that this was the sound of Roden and Latif fighting.

Sure enough.

A moment later, he saw the figure of Roden, rolling on the ground and blocking Latif's attacks.

Roden showed clear signs of exhaustion.

He looked so tired that he seemed about to collapse at any moment.

On the other hand, Latif seemed relatively energetic.

The fact that he had the leisure to turn his head and check Michael's figure proved this.

Latif looked at Michael, who was approaching on horseback, and spoke.

“It's time to end this fight.”

Although he couldn't accurately gauge Michael's level, Latif's life was in danger at this rate.

After all, Latif had also used a considerable amount of strength to secure a victory against Roden.

For that reason, Latif put all his strength into his final attack on Roden.

He used all the secret techniques that could add power to his aura.

And Latif was confident that Roden would never be able to block this attack.

The aura barrier, the best defensive technique a 6-star knight could use.

This was because the solidity of this aura barrier had been gradually decreasing, and when he had used it just before, it had been completely broken.

“The completion of revenge.”

For that reason, a confident voice flowed out of Latif's mouth at the same time as he swung his attack.

But,

Kaaang!

Latif's attack was blocked by an unidentified transparent barrier.

It wasn't an aura barrier.

This was because no aura was felt from this transparent barrier.

‘A secret technique? No way…….’

Latif's thoughts did not continue to the end.

Fwoosh!

This was because flames suddenly shot up from under Latif's feet.

And even,

Flash! Kaaaang!

At the same time as the flames shot up, lightning struck down on Latif's head.

It was an unexpected power, and because of this, Latif had no choice but to die on the spot.

“!”

Watching the scene from up close, Michael's eyes went wide.