The life energy within Matthew's body surged and circulated at an unprecedented speed.
“Buzz—”
The Feathering combat technique, fully unleashed!
His figure drew a faint white trail in the air as his speed surged by another thirty percent.
At the same time, his grip on the sword adjusted slightly, and his surrounding aura and sword stance fused seamlessly into one—the Fused Combat state, activated simultaneously!
Before the sword even moved, his intent had already arrived.
Stefan let out a low growl and struck first!
After consuming the potion, his strength, speed, and reflexes all skyrocketed. The wind howled like thunder as he swung his flail, the counterweight ball turning into a blurry black shadow that smashed toward Matthew with a momentum several times more violent than before.
This strike already carried a hint of realm suppression; an ordinary Silver Rank would be injured upon contact!
Matthew, however, did not retreat.
His feet slid, his figure cutting in close against the howling wind of the flail like a willow catkin in the breeze. He slashed upward diagonally, a white glow condensing three inches from the tip of his longsword, tapping precisely at the junction where the chain met the counterweight ball.
“Clang!”
Sparks exploded!
Stefan only felt the force transmitting from the flail veer off strangely, swinging out to the side against his will. Before he could change his move, Matthew's sword followed up like a shadow, thrusting straight toward his right ribs, which had been left wide open by the swing of the flail.
Fast, precise, and perilous!
Terrified, Stefan retreated violently, sweeping his flail back to defend himself, barely managing to deflect the strike.
However, Matthew's offensive poured in relentlessly like a rising tide.
His figure under the empowerment of Feathering was elusive and unpredictable, and the Fused Combat state allowed him to precisely seize the gaps in Stefan's transitions of power with every sword strike.
The sword light flashed left and right, up and down, sometimes dense like a fine drizzle, sometimes crashing down like sudden thunder.
Even though Stefan possessed greater strength and a more powerful aura, under Matthew's incredibly exquisite swordplay, he was forced to retreat step by step, surprisingly falling into a slight disadvantage!
But Matthew was not optimistic.
For one, the potion's effect was strangely powerful, and he did not know how long it would last. While it would be ideal if the effect wore off over a prolonged fight, any number of variables could arise in the meantime...
Secondly, although this was a villa district where the buildings were far apart, the commotion from their battle was growing louder.
The howling of the sword wind, the crashing of the flail against the floor, and the shattering of furniture echoed through the silent night; it was only a matter of time before someone noticed.
If anyone intervened or if more enemies were alerted, not only would it be difficult to uncover the secrets of the potion, but he might also never find Aidan's whereabouts.
—He had to end this quickly!
At this moment, Stefan's heart was filled with a mixture of shock and rage.
“How is this possible... I am clearly infinitely close to the Gold Rank!”
He recalled what the yellow-haired youth who handed him the potion had coldly told him: “Once consumed, this potion is enough to briefly make you a match for a Grand Knight, what your kingdom commonly refers to as the ‘Gold Rank.’
“Aside from the inability to project your life energy externally, you won't be much different from a true Grand Knight.”
Yet now, he was still being suppressed by this young swordsman!
What made his heart turn even colder was that the duration of this potion... definitely did not exceed ten minutes. And though he had not personally experienced its massive side effects, he could hear a bone-chilling dread from the other party's casual warning.
He had originally thought he could end the battle within five minutes of taking the medicine, but right now, he couldn't even gain the upper hand!
As the minutes and seconds ticked by, Stefan's offensive grew increasingly frantic, and more openings appeared as he swung his flail.
There was also a deeper fear that seeped into his spine like ice water—
The "yellow-haired youth" in the basement.
If this fight dragged on too long and made too much noise, disturbing the person below...
Stefan knew better than anyone that in the eyes of those nobles, he was merely "a slightly more useful tool among slaves."
Moreover, the lord downstairs was an existence that even the nobles did not dare to provoke!
A potion that the other party had casually produced was enough to push him close to the Gold Rank!
How terrifying must his own power be!
Failing the mission was already a grave crime. If he exposed the stronghold and attracted attention on top of that, his fate would likely be far worse than death.
“Roar—!”
Fear bred madness. Stefan's eyes turned bloodshot. No longer aiming for exquisite moves, he relied on his surging strength to unleash his most brutal sweeping strike!
The counterweight ball tore through the air, carrying the violent force of a half-step Gold Rank as it smashed toward Matthew's waist!
This strike was a desperate, life-risking gamble.
A sharp light suddenly condensed in Matthew's eyes.
Now was the time—
Instead of avoiding it, he stepped forward, heading straight into the peak momentum of the flail!
Pushing Feathering to its absolute limit, his figure almost transformed into a stream of flowing light. The instant before the counterweight ball reached him, he suddenly lowered his body flat against the ground, his longsword sweeping upward like a flash of scorching white lightning—
【Melting Slash】!
“Slash!”
The sword tip pierced with absolute precision into the gap under Stefan's armpit, which had been exposed as he swung the flail with all his might. Life energy surged violently through the tip of the sword!
“Argh—!”
Stefan let out a miserable shriek. The flail slipped from his hand as he stumbled backward, his right arm hanging limply while blood sprayed from his armpit.
Matthew, however, did not give him a single moment to catch his breath. His figure pressed close like an inseparable shadow, the sword light cascading like a waterfall straight for Stefan's throat, only to abruptly change direction the instant the blade was about to touch his skin!
With a flick of his wrist, the sword light traced a fierce arc, turning to slash at Stefan's other intact arm—his left.
“Splurt—!”
The sword blade accurately struck Stefan's left shoulder joint. The Silver Rank life energy, combined with the sharpness of the blade, sliced through muscle and bone with almost no resistance.
Stefan's left arm fell to the floor, blood spurting like a geyser.
“Ah—!” Stefan let out a shrill howl of agony. The intense pain and blood loss made his face turn deathly pale in an instant. He stumbled backward and crashed heavily against the wall.
The battle was decided!
I almost killed this insider again... Fortunately, I held back.
At the same time, a strange look flashed in Matthew's eyes.
This Stefan's aura was imposing, but why was he so weak?
Although his aura was terrifying, once they actually fought, he was far from being as formidable as expected.
He was not even... as oppressive as the desperate, final strike Nathan had unleashed before his death.
Thoughts raced through Matthew's mind: it seemed the effect of this potion was not as terrifying as he had initially judged. Or perhaps the potion did not fully align with Stefan's constitution, failing to completely convert its medicinal power into actual combat strength.
Regardless, a potion that could forcibly push someone to the threshold of the Gold Rank was shocking in its own right.
The secrets and value hidden behind it far exceeded the worth of simply killing Stefan.
It was worth keeping him alive for now.
Snapping back to reality, Matthew's eyes narrowed. With a thought, a surge of pure white life energy spread from the blade, precisely covering the wound of Stefan's severed arm.
In an instant, with a soft sizzle, the smell of scorched flesh wafted through the air.
The blood that had been gushing out just a moment ago also coagulated and stopped.
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