Chapter 74

The thirst for blood of the short blades finally revived Geiger's gradually waning confidence.

His opponent's defense seemed to crumble under his relentless and frenzied attacks, and the constant exposure of vulnerabilities gave Geiger every opportunity.

His breath was running out.

This was the first problem Geiger considered, as it was the only explanation for why his opponent's resistance was weakening.

Qi is the foundation of a warrior's strength. To perform actions that surpass the physical limits, one must combine and resonate with qi to achieve the desired effect. As the internal qi gradually depletes, the body's movements slow down until they become powerless.

From the beginning of the chase to the moment his opponent was injured, the amount of qi that sustained him was now obvious. Thinking of this, Geiger's attacks became even more ferocious, as if the dawn of victory was breaking through the darkness.

The short blades cut through the robes, and the cold edges sliced the skin.

The once unyielding scene of resistance was torn apart, and the stimulation of blood made Geiger unable to control himself. He did not want to fail, nor did he want to return in disgrace to endure ridicule.

He had to kill him, he had to kill him.

Geiger's murderous intent overwhelmed his reason, and he even ignored the fact that his internal qi was rapidly depleting.

Because he believed that he would kill his opponent before his qi ran out.

Shalan felt Geiger's increasingly fierce dual-blade attacks and a cold smile crossed his mind. He had fallen for it.

Disappointment, hope, despair.

This was Shalan's risky exploitation of human nature, as people are always unwilling to accept failure. When given a glimmer of hope in their moments of disappointment, the negative emotions that had sunk to the bottom would rebound, generating new vigor.

Greed is a fundamental sin of humanity. When one cannot perceive the trap of hope and becomes completely immersed in it, despair quietly arrives.

The dance of the Death God's blade is dangerous, but the rewards are also considerable.

Shalan did not know when Geiger's internal qi would be exhausted, but he could tell from the speed of his attacks. The counterattack he needed to launch would be at the moment his speed slowed and paused!

The inability to inflict fatal damage over a prolonged period made Geiger's attacks increasingly impatient. The fruit within reach seemed like a mirage, and every time he reached out, he found nothing.

The more impatient he became, the more disorganized his attacks. If Geiger's speed had not remained dominant, Shalan would have launched a counterattack without hesitation.

In his eyes, his opponent's vulnerabilities were like delicious morsels that tempted him to act.

"Clang—"

A sharp sound of a break, Shalan's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.

His sword broke.

His sword, a high-quality one from the academy, was so good that he had not discarded it. However, the continuous intense blade clashes had irreversibly damaged the long sword.

The moment the sword broke, Geiger clearly sensed the enormous opportunity brought by the shift in fate. The smile on his face became more cruel and deep, and the dual blades in his hands aimed for Shalan's heart and neck.

Was he going to die?

Shalan's mind, briefly in chaos, regained its calm. He saw the attack trajectories of the two short blades.

He could block one short blade but could not prevent the other from delivering a fatal blow. In the moment of confusion after his sword broke, Geiger seized the key to victory.

His heart raced, his eyelids trembled, and a chill spread throughout his body, numbing his nerves. This was the harbinger of death.

Suddenly, the dual blades in Geiger's hands paused.

His qi was exhausted!

At that moment, a glint of determination appeared in Shalan's eyes, which were filled with despair. The qi in his body rapidly burst forth with the last of its strength. He stepped out with one foot, and the immense force made his body spin. The direction of his spinning and falling was directly behind Geiger!

The broken sword in his hands shone with a perfect arc, and in an instant, it flashed downward!

Geiger's face still bore the smile of about to kill his opponent, and his body still maintained the position of delivering the final blow, but his short blades could not advance any further.

He could not kill him.

Because he was dead.

It is said that if a sword is fast enough, it can sever the opponent's head without them even noticing. When the opponent moves, it is not their body but their soul.

Shalan could not see Geiger's soul, but he saw his head slowly fall from his neck.

As he turned and landed, his broken sword cut down from the back of Geiger's neck. The force of his body's spin and the burst of strength from his hands made the blade cut like a hot knife through butter, clean and precise.

He had fulfilled his promise, and he had given him a quick death!

Geiger's body fell, and blood slowly seeped from the neat cut on his neck, staining the green grass red. Shalan's body relaxed, and he knelt on the ground, looking up at the purple moon that had quietly emerged from the clouds.

His hands, weak and open, rested on the grass, and the broken sword, having completed its duty, lay alone nearby. His heavy breathing gradually slowed, and a series of system messages echoed in his mind.

System: New task completed.

System: Host's profession level increased to 31.

System: Health restored, "Swordsmanship Mastery" deactivated.

System: Skill tree activated.

...

At the moment the system indicated a level-up, a mysterious force surged through his body, repairing his injuries. Visible wounds slowly healed, and his depleted internal qi refilled like a sea pouring in, but the corrosion within his body remained.

It seems I cannot expect too much from the system.

Shalan, with his restored strength, stood up. Each level-up, though it completely restored his physical condition like a game, could not eliminate mental fatigue. This time, he realized that even residual negative effects on his body could not be healed.

Reality, illusion.

The mysteries of this world would one day be revealed in his hands.

Looking at the headless corpse beside him, Shalan shook his head. The scales of fate ultimately tipped in my favor, not because of your strength, but because of your luck.

He opened his virtual ring and took out spare clothes and a long sword. His clothes were already too damaged to wear, and his long sword was broken and unusable.

After changing into fresh clothes and hanging the long sword at his waist, Shalan was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.

Geiger had been able to catch up to him when he used "Swift Movement" because of a scroll spell.

But why did he have a scroll spell on him at all times? Thinking about this, Shalan returned to Geiger's headless corpse and, with both hands, tore open the large black robe.

His fingers did not have a virtual ring, so any remaining items could only be hidden in the black robe.

Under the moonlight, as he continuously searched, a smile involuntarily formed on Shalan's lips. Sometimes, unexpected gains describe his current situation.

System: Discovered "Struggle Swamp" scroll.

System: Discovered "Entangling Vines" scroll.

System: Discovered "Invisibility Potion" x3.

...

"I didn't expect that a simple 'thank you' would not only save your life—" Shalan muttered, his gaze turning to the pale head.

He picked up an unremarkable black plaque, about the size of two fingers, and felt its smoothness. The sudden sensation of raised and lowered areas under his fingers led him to the source.

Out of curiosity, he gently raised the plaque to expose it to the moonlight.

"Jsneroy"

The emblem of the Overturned Fangs appeared before his eyes.

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