The spar between Fu Yuan and Queen Scáthach of the Land of Shadows began.
A gentle breeze drifted over.
The leaves swayed with it.
Fu Yuan and Scáthach faced each other amid the tranquil, comfortable scenery.
If one ignored the ground littered with the shattered bones of Skeleton Soldiers, as well as the Scarlet Spear in Scáthach's hand, outsiders might have mistaken them for lovers gazing affectionately into each other's eyes...
The breeze continued stirring the leaves. It blew a dead leaf from a tree, and the leaf drifted on the wind, "recklessly" floating down between Fu Yuan and Scáthach as they stared at each other.
Crack!
As though it had been struck by something, the dead leaf shattered instantly.
The moment the broken leaf fell to the ground, Fu Yuan, already in his opening stance, and Scáthach, spear in hand, moved at the same time.
There were ten meters between Fu Yuan and Scáthach, yet they crossed those several meters in an instant.
"Ha!"
Scáthach let out a sharp cry. The Scarlet Spear in her delicate hand shot toward Fu Yuan's chest from an exceptionally tricky angle, like a venomous snake waiting to strike.
As the saying went, an inch longer meant an inch stronger. Scáthach wielded a spear, giving her a range advantage against the barehanded Fu Yuan.
The long, straight Scarlet Spear thrust forward, its sharp edge fully exposed.
Wrapped in arcs of lightning, Fu Yuan watched the rapidly approaching Scarlet Spear. Unfazed by the danger, he extended his palm and slapped it directly against the spearhead, with its terrifying spikes.
Scáthach's mass-produced Noble Phantasm spear was called Gáe Bolg. Its spearhead had seven forked points, each of which contained seven split, barbed thorns.
Therefore, the Scarlet Spear Scáthach had thrust at him was absolutely not something whose spearhead could be touched with a bare palm!
Yet Fu Yuan did exactly that, touching the spearhead as it lunged at him like a poisonous serpent.
Barring any surprise, Fu Yuan's palm should have been pierced by the unusual spearhead of Scáthach's weapon, tearing away countless chunks of flesh...
But the unexpected happened!
Fu Yuan's palm struck the Scarlet Spear Scáthach had thrust at him. Not only was his lightning-wreathed hand not pierced, it even knocked her spear thrust aside.
An indescribable force traveled through the Gáe Bolg in Scáthach's hands. This force... was not hard or domineering, but gentle, like flowing water and willow catkins.
Only such gentle force could so easily deflect the weapon Scáthach had thrust at him.
Soft force turned into a fist, strength like a breeze.
Short force burst from the palm, strength like raging thunder.
This was the Inch-Heart Fist Style that Valkyrie: Vermilion Knight had brought to Fu Yuan!
However, Scáthach was no ordinary opponent. Even though Fu Yuan had easily neutralized her first move, she still had more to come!
Scáthach twisted her slender waist and used the momentum to pull back the Scarlet Spear that had been knocked aside. Then, wielding the spear, she unleashed a barrage of thrusts at Fu Yuan like a violent downpour.
Suffocating pressure bore down on him. With a grave expression, Fu Yuan blocked while retreating, widening the distance from Scáthach's steadily pressing spear assault.
Fu Yuan slowly backed away, his palms imitating flowing water and willow catkins as he continuously used soft force to block and dissolve Scáthach's fierce spear techniques.
Even so, the Scarlet Spear kept turning into afterimages that tore through the air under the movements of Scáthach's delicate hands, attacking from treacherous and terrifying angles.
They came without end, like a gale, like towering waves!
I expected this, but this woman's offense is far too sharp.
Fu Yuan thought silently as he continued blocking and neutralizing Scáthach's fierce attacks.
I suspected as much, but this man's defense is far too difficult to break.
Scáthach thought silently as she repeatedly thrust and swept at Fu Yuan, attempting to break through his watertight defense.
The air, reduced to a battlefield, continuously erupted with the sound of the Scarlet Spear ripping through the air and the impacts of palms blocking it.
And Queen Scáthach of the Land of Shadows seemed to have no concept of fatigue at all.
Although every one of Scáthach's fierce, terrifying spear strikes was blocked by Fu Yuan's long, continuous soft force, like willow catkins drifting in the wind, she never paused her relentless assault for even a moment.
Was Fu Yuan being suppressed by Scáthach the entire time?
Was it because Scáthach's weapon was a spear and held the advantage of range that barehanded Fu Yuan could only be forced back by her attacks?
No, no, no. Fu Yuan was not being suppressed by Scáthach. He was merely familiarizing himself with her fighting style. Once he understood how Scáthach fought, he would immediately find a way through the Scarlet Spear and engage her in close combat.
The length of a spear was an advantage.
But once the wielder of that spear was approached at close range, its length ceased to be an advantage and became a disadvantage.
Now, faint heat radiated from Scáthach's delicate body due to the hot blood coursing through her veins, while a bewitching flush appeared on her lovely face from the delight in her heart.
Interesting!
Far too interesting!
Her battle with Fu Yuan was something Scáthach had not encountered in a thousand years!
No one had ever been able to withstand the spear techniques she could use to slay gods!
Human heroes could not!
Proud gods could not!
Powerful Divine Beasts could not!
Her spear techniques, capable of slaying gods, could only... only be endured by the man before her!
The battle between Scáthach and Fu Yuan had already lasted dozens of minutes. Yet whether her attacks surged like raging tides or descended like fierce wind and rain, none could break through Fu Yuan's watertight defense. Every attack was neutralized by his pair of fair, slender hands!
It was precisely because Scáthach could not break through Fu Yuan's defensive perimeter that her blood was boiling so fiercely. She wanted to breach this man's defense, then viciously drive the weapon in her hand into his body and make the scorching blood within him spray out!
If she could truly accomplish that... Scáthach felt that, in that moment, she would be so thrilled and excited that even her fingertips would tremble.
No one had ever brought Scáthach such exhilarating joy, and this man who lived on the surface side of the world was the first.
Scáthach would use her weapon, her attacks, everything she had, to tear apart Fu Yuan's defense!
As Scáthach's emotions surged higher, the piercing attacks unleashed by the weapon clenched in her delicate hand grew increasingly terrifying.
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