Side Story: A Fierce Battle

Amidst the shrill whistling sound of swords tearing through the air, Clinton's figure flickered like a ghost amidst the Copy's onslaught.

Every time the sword was about to pierce his neck, he was able to dodge it perfectly.

Clinton's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.

After several close runs, he once again widened the distance between himself and his opponent.

The two maintained a relatively safe distance, staring at each other. The swords moved so fast that a moment's inattention could result in a fatal blow. He circled his opponent for a long time, unable to find an opening for an effective attack.

On the contrary, Pass, who was assisting him from the side, was able to seize a few openings and swing his axe at his opponent under his control, although his attacks were also blocked by his opponent.

"Captain, my attacks are having no effect on him."

Seeing that the openings Clinton created for him failed to inflict any damage on his opponent, Pass was frustrated but powerless to do anything about it.

The opponent is not on the same level as me in terms of reaction speed and physical fitness. If I want to hurt him, I would have to be prepared to lose an arm or a leg.

"If all else fails... then I'll take over and hold him off, Captain. I think you should be the one to make the move. Although I'm a bit slower than Clinton, I'm still very confident that I can hold him off for a short while."

"No!"

But Clinton rejected his suggestion without hesitation, interrupting him sharply.

Pass didn't know the true strength of his opponent, which is why he had such blind confidence, but he was very clear about the situation.

Once the two switched tasks, Pass couldn't even last three rounds against his opponent, let alone hold them back.

Therefore, he alone can bear this heavy burden.

Although he didn't actually manage to inflict any effective harm on the other party, just his mere presence was enough to make the other party wary of him.

Although he hadn't been able to defeat his opponent before, over time he had figured out a lot of his opponent's fighting style, which was why they had been able to stay at odds until now.

In addition, his speed was no slower than his opponent's, which gave him the ability to keep his opponent firmly in place.

"Only I can restrain him. Try again. As long as you can inflict effective damage on him and distract him, our opportunity will come."

As Clinton said this, he quickly adjusted his state and charged forward once again.

The Copy was extremely cautious in the face of the two attacking it, just like the original. If the original were present, it would never allow itself to be caught in a pincer movement.

But now, under Clinton's fierce offensive, it has no choice but to focus more of its attention on the person in front of it.

Clinton swung his longsword upwards with a whooshing sound, aiming for the Copy's vitals. This was the first time he had launched an attack on its own. Before this, he had mostly used his weapon to defend against attacks. But now he knew that if he continued to back down, Pass would have no chance to injure it, let alone defeat it.

His honed swordsmanship, honed to perfection, was unleashed without reservation. How could a man once hailed as a "genius swordsman" give up his fighting spirit after a few defeats?

The violent blades rained down on the Copy like a storm, but the clone was no pushover either. It swung its replica greatsword like a windmill, blocking every attack Clinton made.

I really don't know where this guy gets such strength. You know, every sword strike Clinton makes is coordinated with his footwork and movement, making the most of his strength. The power of his swordsmanship is enough to kill a bull, but the other party seems to be playing house as easily as a child, blocking all my attacks. He is simply an incomprehensible monster!

However, he didn't have time to think about such details right now. In their past encounters, his own techniques hadn't been able to gain any advantage over his opponent, so he wouldn't have any illogical expectations of facing his Copy Clinton.

As long as we can keep him under control even a little bit!

Even just a fleeting moment is enough!

His eyes narrowed, and he sprang into action once more, this time increasing his speed to the limit he could currently achieve.

The almost distorted phantoms formed a circle, surrounding the Copy and forcing it to remain in place on guard, afraid to make any unnecessary movements.

At such a high speed, Pass, who was standing on the outside, could no longer keep up with him and could only be a spectator in this battle.

To be honest, he had never seen Clinton reach such an astonishing speed before.

It turns out the other person had already gone so far without me even realizing it...

Clinton's longsword was poised to strike. After noticing that the Copy's gaze was fixed on one of his phantom images, he launched an attack without hesitation. Opportunity knocks but once; only by acting decisively could he seize that slim chance of victory.

He knew that Galan had given the Copy to them so that the two of them could work together to deal with it. That way, even if they couldn't defeat the other side, they could at least stall until he was free to help them.

But deep down, Clinton still hoped to defeat this "Dream Demon" himself.

The repeated defeats had already planted the inevitable thought in his mind that "he couldn't win."

This is why, at the beginning of the battle, despite having several opportunities to counterattack, he only chose to defend.

It wasn't to stall for time, but because he wasn't mentally prepared.

In fact, he had already given up the challenge after losing to his opponent last time.

After all, with repeated and pointless defeats like this, even one's opponents lose interest in using their true abilities against them. For a warrior, that is undoubtedly a disgrace. However, under the current circumstances, that spirit of not giving up surged into his heart once again.

He wanted to resolve this inner conflict himself and hoped to take himself to the next level through this battle.

From Galan, he saw that the gap between himself and Garan in terms of strength was still very large. If he wanted to make progress, he had to deal with this Copy himself.