Nolz

Before Lia could speak again, Galan stepped forward, standing in front of her with his Alchemy Longsword held horizontally behind her, his meaning clear.

"Humans are truly incomprehensible, beyond the understanding of Demons... Leave her here, and I'll spare your life, how about it? You're an excellent warrior, you should know very well that you have no chance against me. After several battles, I'm also a bit tired and don't want to expend any more energy."

Nolz slammed his greatsword into the ground in front of him, kicking up a cloud of dust, and shouted at Galan.

"Let me go? Would the Demons be so kind?"

I have no reason to lie to you.

He raised his chin dismissively. "My name is Nolz, and I'm a subordinate of [Bloodstained War God] Rivale. In your human classification of Demons, I'm considered a [General], so you have absolutely no chance against me. If you want to live, you'd better leave now."

Nolz spoke calmly, and seemingly to convince Galan of his words, he even stepped aside to make way for him.

These Demons... are actually quite nice...

And was he even one of Rivale's subordinates?

"Releasing one is the same as releasing the other, so why not release both of us? You don't want to fight, and neither do I."

Galan appeared to be testing the waters with a smile, but his feet were already working hard, ready to strike at any moment.

The opponent is clearly a formidable foe, and we cannot afford to be complacent at this moment.

"Don't be petty with me. The Demon King himself gave the order to kill all the Elves, so letting her go is impossible. She must die today."

"Really? What a coincidence! I'm determined to keep her alive today."

"I see."

The negotiations broke down, and almost instantly, as Nolz pulled the greatsword from the ground, the aura emanating from him changed completely.

If Galan previously felt he could rival him due to his imposing aura, he was now completely overwhelmed.

No wonder this guy was rated as a [General] level Demons...

Galan was just about to adjust his breathing to prepare for the attack when, in the blink of an eye, Nolz's greatsword was already in front of him.

The shadow cast by that enormous body almost pressed him down, creating a rather oppressive feeling.

How is that possible?

That's fast!

I didn't even see what he was doing!

Although the opponent's speed was somewhat beyond his expectations, Galan did not panic. In situations like this, it is even more important to remain calm.

Only by maintaining a clear mind can one survive in a precarious situation.

He immediately regained his composure, moved his left leg back, and raised his knife to parry.

Under the destructive force of the greatsword, the Alchemy Longsword let out a mournful cry after only one round.

Galan could vaguely sense a tiny crack appearing on the longsword.

This guy is terrifying! We can't tough it out any longer!

He twisted his body to deflect the remaining force using Tai Chi techniques, which also deflected Nolz's body, knocking him back several steps.

If he had taken that blow completely, the longsword would probably have been destroyed on the spot.

"Go! Run back the way I came!"

Galan gently pushed Lia, shoving her into the woods as she stood there, stunned.

Lancelot, seeing that he had suddenly run towards him, might chase after him.

As long as Lia goes into the region of [Äußerst] with the caravan, the Demons won't be able to do anything to her.

... and you?"

"It's alright, I'll catch up soon. Just keep walking that way, and when I see a caravan, I'll follow them."

Before he could finish speaking, the sword was already at his chest, aimed directly at Galan's heart.

He quickly fell to the ground, slid through Nolz's legs, rolled over, and got up before Nords could turn around, slashing him across the back with a backhand.

Fortunately, he was tall enough to allow him to pass through so easily.

At this moment, he also discovered that Nolz had several unhealed scars on his back.

"So you haven't recovered from the previous battle yet. No wonder you said you'd let me go."

He stood up and went behind Nolz, while Lia took advantage of the moment when Norz was stunned by the attack and disappeared into the woods.

Seeing his prey slip away, Nolz calmly turned around, his cold gaze sweeping over her from top to bottom.

It's like a sculpture.

"So what? I was originally planning to let you go, but now it seems that keeping you around is really troublesome."

Without another word, he stomped his foot, kicking up dust, and sped toward Galan.

Undeterred, Galan pushed off with his back foot and charged forward.

Faced with the enemy's charge, no matter how you try to dodge, you will immediately fall into a disadvantageous position.

Especially when facing an opponent like Nolz who is stronger than oneself, one must never allow him to push one into a disadvantageous position, otherwise it will be difficult to fight back.

The two figures flashed across the open space like ghosts. In that instant of passing by, Galan suddenly turned around and slashed at Nolz with a powerful blow.

The powerful Blade Aura cleaved a trench in the ground, flying towards him like a dragon. He was now quite proficient in using this move, and the process from condensing the Blade Intent to releasing it was as easy as drinking water.

The flying pebbles from the ravines were shredded into powder by Nolz's greatsword, having no effect on him whatsoever.

Although Galan's fighting spirit was at its peak and the light of his Alchemy Longsword struck like thunder, the greatsword in Nolz's hands was like a windmill, creating a black forbidden zone and easily blocking all of Galan's attacks.

He spun the sword and swept it across with an extremely domineering motion.

The surging sword force completely crushed the longsword's attack, and the aftershocks from the collision carved radial cracks into the ground.

Galan seized the opportunity, shattering the ground beneath his feet with a single step. With a loud shout, he unleashed a slash of his blade, which was imbued with sword energy, tearing the air apart with a piercing shriek.

He unleashed that sword aura once again in the snow-capped mountains, and this time, its power was even greater than before.

Faced with this profound truth that Galan had comprehended, Nolz showed a slight surprise, clearly not expecting that this seemingly young human could grasp the Essence of Martial Arts.

But he didn't back down; instead, he revealed an expression of utter satisfaction.

Nolz regained his composure, briefly held his greatsword in front of him, then ignored Galan's attack and unleashed a powerful, sweeping swing.

In that instant, Galan felt everything go dark, and he knew something was wrong.

Is this guy crazy? He's not defending himself at all, he's just focused on attacking me!

In a moment of desperation, he held his longsword in front of him, slightly arching his body to meet the black sword energy released by his opponent.