Chapter 311
Just like the pose that Redhead guy is in now, Saber wouldn't dare to attack easily.
It looks comical, as if it's in a defensive posture, but with the knife pointed straight at it, it seems to be on the offensive as well.
Let's test the waters first!
This stalemate couldn't go on, so Saber took the initiative to test the Redhead. He charged forward with his sword pointed straight at him, closing Redhead distance in just a few steps, the tip of his sword like a Redhead.
But at that moment, the Redhead suddenly raised his long sword upwards.
With a clang, the sword was deflected as it thrust straight at the Saber. The blade blocked the Saber's sword but did not raise it further. The Miao Dao then slid forward with the left foot into a bow stance and swung down at the Saber.
Oh no! Realizing his attack was in trouble, he quickly abandoned his longsword and jumped back to barely dodge the Redhead's attack.
"Not bad!" Saber stood up and said, "Now I believe that you are truly capable of fighting Yae Sakura to a draw."
This is real skill. The Saber could clearly see that although the Redhead had completed a round of attacks, his sword was not pointing directly at the ground again, but at a very low angle. He had already completed the next round of charging up.
If the Redhead guy had chosen to pursue, I definitely wouldn't be in such an easy situation now.
"Even though you were once the strongest Valkyrie," the Redhead said confidently and frankly, "I don't want to be looked down upon."
"Hmm." Saber picked up his knight's sword again and said, "I'm sorry, I was indeed a bit arrogant just now."
However, from the recent exchange, Saber had already discerned the characteristics of the Miao Dao and its techniques. The Miao Dao is characterized by its single-edged blade, allowing for parrying without damaging the blade. Its hilt is longer than that of a traditional samurai sword, enabling a two-handed grip. This significantly longer hilt, in particular, allows the Miao Dao to generate greater power during swings. Furthermore, observing Redhead's current grip, one hand is supporting the tsuba (handguard), while the other hand grasps the end of the hilt.
It seems that a large swing can be easily made without much movement.
In addition to the direction the sword tip points and its overall length, this thing also seems to have the characteristics of a spear.
Prick.
'Indeed a formidable opponent,' the ahoge thought to himself. 'The knight's sword is a bit short; I reckon Yae Sakura will suffer for it most of the time.'
The length of Yae Sakura's Cherry Blossom Blizzard is definitely shorter than that of the Redhead man's Miao Dao, and in this round of combat, Saber could clearly feel the advantage in length. If the Miao Dao weren't long enough, the Redhead wouldn't have dared to get so close before counterattacking.
"An inch longer, an inch stronger." This was the saying that came to mind for the Saber.
Indeed, the longer the head-on battle, the better; otherwise, why would it be so good? The spears in the sword saint's hands were all getting longer and longer.
This Miao Dao is not only long but also agile, and judging from the second round of attacks, it is a well-rounded type that excels in both offense and defense. The transition between defense and offense is almost perfect, leaving the opponent no opening whatsoever.
He really is a tough opponent.
'We must close the distance.' Saber glanced at the knight's sword in his hand.
Since length is a disadvantage, one must find other ways to compensate for it. That's when the Valkyrie's strengths come into play; let's see if this Redhead can hold out.
Saber rushed forward, but this time she did not choose to finish the battle quickly as before.
Instead, they chose to prolong the conflict!
Just like some people complain, the weapons in kung fu movies are never for cutting people down, but rather for weapon-to-weapon combat.
It was a clash of swords! Not a pure exchange of blows, but a confrontation where each strike aimed to deliver a fatal blow, forcing the Redhead into a constant defensive posture. Although the Miao Dao did indeed hold an advantage in length and swordsmanship.
But Redhead's disadvantage is too obvious; he is still a human.
Unlike Saber has already undergone a Herrscherization, although he did not show any special talents, his endurance, speed, and other aspects are clearly unmatched by the Redhead.
They quickly fell into a disadvantageous position, and their defense became increasingly difficult.
After several rounds, his hands began to tremble; Redhead knew he was on the verge of defeat. On the brink of collapse, Saber circled around him, attacking relentlessly. She never attacked head-on.
If the opponent is an ordinary person, I can easily defend by using the distance difference between the large and small circles, but the opponent is Valkyrie!
Once the strongest Valkyrie, her speed far surpassed that of ordinary people, as did her stamina. Every full-force attack was difficult for her to defend against, and she was even nearly knocked away from her weapon two or three times.
The next round... perhaps it won't be long before I'm defeated in the next round.
That...
"I concede!" Redhead declared without hesitation, raising his Miao Dao high. "You win!"
Admitting defeat may be shameful, but at least it's useful. Besides, being hacked to the ground is less dignified than admitting defeat.
"Oh?"
Redhead's surrender was truly unexpected for Saber. She thought Redhead would insist on some kind of fighting spirit and would never admit defeat. She never expected him to surrender so decisively.
"It's a draw..." Saber looked at the Redhead- haired guy with his hands raised and said, "Is this how it will end too?"
"Ah~ That's true both theoretically and practically." Seeing that the Saber had stopped fighting Redhead quickly put away his Miao Dao and said, "I'm a very self-aware person. If I fight you guys, I'll definitely lose in the end, right?"
They're not even in the same league. Even without using more powerful forces, they could easily suppress me.
"Not necessarily." Saber decided not to continue fighting and said, "Your skills and reflexes are quite good. I estimate that even some A-rank Valkyrie might not be able to beat you."
It seems I can raise my rating for this Redhead, judging from the skills and reaction speed he's displayed. If Mei were to fight him one-on-one right now, Mei's chances of winning aren't actually that high.
"Hahaha~" Redhead said, proudly but still modestly, "You're joking."
"I'm not joking," Saber said, sheathing his sword. "At least in that respect, you are indeed very suitable for that position."
"What?" Redhead asked, seemingly not understanding.
"No, it's nothing." Saber shook his head and said, "I just underestimated you. You know my first impression of you wasn't that good. At first, I thought you were at least an ignorant fool. The military only sent you here because they didn't want to waste your talent."
Then again, it seems too early to call someone a captain. That's not something she can decide.
The power to decide who the captain was in Otto's hands, and in terms of relationships, he was not recruited by Otto but dispatched by the Celestial Empire, and his theoretical position was 'liaison officer'.
It might not be entirely accurate, but it's close enough, so the captain and such are still pending.
But the probability should be quite high.
"On another note," Saber suddenly said, "Have you ever obtained Divine Key?"
"What?" Redhead seemed completely confused.
"Well..." Just as she was about to explain, Saber stopped herself. Come to think of it, if she remembered correctly, the Hyperion in the game seemed to have these things called Divine Key. But she didn't seem to have seen any Divine Key since boarding the ship.
'Could it be that there is no such thing Divine Key in this world?' Saber pondered, stroking his chin.
Not necessarily, they just haven't found it yet.
In the established lore, Otto should possess Divine Key, and both Cecilia's and Theresa's weapons are Divine Key, so it's impossible for this world to be without Divine Key. As for why we didn't see one on the ship...
That probably means it hasn't been excavated yet.
On the other hand, it seems this captain has a magical ability to use Divine Key without paying any price. Perhaps we could find him Divine Key and give it a try?
"The Xuanyuan Sword," said the Saber. "Do you know this sword?"
"Of course I know." Redhead didn't understand why Saber asked this, but the Xuanyuan Sword was indeed a household name.
"Do you want to find the Xuanyuan Sword?" the Saber tempted. "The legendary divine weapon, the Xuanyuan Sword."
"Ah~" Redhead scratched his head and said, "That thing isn't a myth..."
"The Excalibur was once a myth," said Saber. "And I was once one of the mythical figures who were thought to not exist."
"People don't just make up stories," the Saber said enticingly. "Simply put, people's imagination has its limits. They usually don't just make up something that has never existed and turn it into a story."
"So the story actually has a real-world background; the Xuanyuan Sword you think exists only in mythology~"
"Maybe it really does exist in reality!"
"Looking for it?"
Chapter 345 The Xuanyuan Sword
Xuanyuan Sword.
This is something almost a household name in China, and not just because of a certain game whose name contains the words "Xuanyuan Sword." Although that game did play a role in promoting public awareness and understanding of Xuanyuan Sword.
But more importantly, the Xuanyuan Sword is a divine sword that, according to mythology, was held by the Yellow Emperor and later passed down to Yu the Great.
The former holder of this treasure, the Yellow Emperor, is a universally acknowledged ancestor of the Celestial Empire.
"Does this thing really exist?" The Redhead boy was wide awake at this question. The fantasy of wielding a peerless weapon is a dream every boy has had. So, upon hearing the Saber say that this thing might actually exist...
He was really excited!
If it exists, does that mean I can have some bold ideas?
"It does exist," said Saber, "But obtaining it is a bit difficult..."
"Difficult?" What makes it difficult? Redhead thought about it carefully. The Xuanyuan Sword was the Yellow Emperor's sword. If it really existed, wouldn't it be in the tomb of Yu the Great? So, the so-called difficulty means that to get it, one would have to rob a tomb?
"Sorry, goodbye." Redhead immediately lost interest and said, "I can't do this grave-digging thing."
"Tch~" said the Saber, "Who told you to dig up graves? What are you thinking?"
"No..." Redhead said with some disbelief, "If the Xuanyuan Sword really exists, according to history it was passed down to Yu the Great. After that, no one has ever been heard of possessing this sword. So either it was lost in Yu the Great's possession or it was buried with him."
"The possibility of it being lost is extremely small."
The legendary divine sword was surely well-preserved by Yu the Great; how could it possibly have been lost? Therefore, it is highly likely that it was buried with him.
"Do you remember how I found my sword?" Saber asked.
"The secret realm." Redhead had followed Saber to find the Holy Sword, so he naturally remembered the scene.
"Right~" Saber clapped his hands and said, "The Xuanyuan Sword wasn't used as a burial item, so there's no question of us digging up someone's grave. The Xuanyuan Sword is currently in a secret realm. The real difficulty we face is that secret realm and the enemy within it that we haven't yet identified."
If Saber remembers correctly, you should encounter Black Xuanyuan in the secret realm.
That guy is definitely not someone to be trifled with.
"Speaking of which, that guy seems to have a herd of horses." The Saber suddenly remembered this. "Artoria Pendragon is the King of Knights, what's her riding rating here? A? B? Or EX? It seems in the original work that Saber said she could ride a plane by putting reins on it. So if I go to that secret realm, could I try to steal Black Xuanyuan's horses?"
The more Saber thought about it, the more he felt that this might be feasible. He himself had been tormented to the point of near death by that horse back then.
Now that it's become my own mount, it feels pretty cool.
That Pipi Ma is not weak at all.
"Well~" Redhead seemed quite interested as well. The Xuanyuan Sword! He really wanted that legendary weapon.
"Do you know where the Xuanyuan Sword is?" Redhead asked curiously.
"I don't know." Saber shook his head and said, "I only know that it should be in some secret realm or some seal, but I don't know exactly where it is."
"Oh..." Redhead immediately lost interest.
If you don't even know where you are, then what are you talking about?
"I don't know, but someone does," Saber added. "And I believe that guy will definitely know where the entrance to this secret realm or seal is."
"Who?" Redhead's interest was piqued again.
"Su," said the cowlick.
"Su?" Redhead had never heard of this name before and was immediately confused. It sounded like just a surname or given name; how did this person know all this?
"Su is no ordinary person, kid." Seeing the Redhead's puzzled look, Saber said, "He is someone who can be compared to Mei and Kevin. They are all human survivors from the last era."
"The previous era?" Redhead still couldn't understand the connection.
"You've lived this long?" But he could still understand it in the previous era.
"That's not what you're concerned about," Saber said again. "However, he has a more famous name in this era, and that name is also related to me. I mean, Artoria Pendragon, that is, King Arthur."
"Who?" Redhead, who had heard the story of King Arthur before, said, "Merlin?"
"No, no, no~" Saber shook his finger and said, "Merlin should be Kevin, not Su. Su is the Lady of the Lake. She's the Lady of the Lake who later gave King Arthur the Sword of Kings of Kings."
"Huh?" Redhead was hearing these secrets for the first time. He asked curiously, "Su is a girl?"
"No." Saber shook his head and said, "Gender is not the issue. The issue is that I think he should know how to reach the secret realm of the sealer, Xuanyuan Sword."
"That's unlikely, isn't it?" Redhead seemed a little skeptical of Saber's words.
"Why is it impossible?" Saber retorted.
"Because this is the Celestial Empire." Redhead shook his head and said, "What does a mere English witch like her know about the affairs of the Celestial Empire?"
"No, no, no~" the Saber said, shaking his finger. "First of all, he is not a witch. Secondly, he is not an Englishman, nor is he Irish or Scottish. He just happens to live in that land."
"Secondly, he himself may not know the myths and legends here, nor may he know the things in these myths and legends."
"But there's one thing he can know," said Saber. "The Second Divine Key, the Thousand Worlds Cauldron. You can think of this as... like Baidu (the Chinese search engine). He may not know the specifics, or he may know nothing at all. But if he wants to know, he can just search it on Baidu, and then he'll basically know everything."
"Oh~" Redhead finally understood and said, "I get it. You mean we should go find that Lady of the Lake named Su, have her look up the exact location on Baidu, and then we can go get it?"