I Admit, You're Stronger Now!

"Hoo—!!"

The moment Fang Zheng swung his sword, the air pressure around him seemed to surge, his Skycleaver Sword flashing past as a golden light flickered on the blade, then condensed into a golden sword edge shooting straight toward Stone.

"Oh?"

Seeing this strike, Stone's previously carefree demeanor immediately sobered. He raised an eyebrow, then gripped his two-handed sword with both hands, lifted it abruptly, and slashed down hard. That unremarkable two-handed sword met the incoming sword edge squarely. Then, Stone's body shuddered violently.

"Boom!!"

The holy-light-condensed sword edge shattered instantly, and the resulting explosion shook the ground around them.

Damn, what a monster!

Watching Stone block his attack with a single sword stroke, Fang Zheng cursed inwardly. What he had just used was the Royal Cross Swordsmanship, evolved from Crusader Strike after Frostmourne boosted it by two proficiency levels. His opening move had actually been Judgment, the Retribution Paladin's most common skill, but under the enhancement of the "Royal Limited Collector's Edition," its power and form had changed. Even so, Fang Zheng hadn't expected his opponent to react so quickly to this surprise attack and block it.

But Fang Zheng had no time to marvel at this world's martial prowess. His body moved on instinct from his combat experience. The moment Stone blocked Judgment, Fang Zheng stepped forward again, pointing his longsword at Stone from a distance.

Sword of Justice!

"Boom!!"

A massive crimson greatsword, blazing with holy radiance, burst from the ground, stabbing straight upward at Stone. This strike caught Stone off guard, but the Grand Knight was clearly battle-hardened. He instantly withdrew his two-handed sword, slanting it before him to clash with the erupting giant blade, barely managing to block this nearly unavoidable attack.

At the same time, Fang Zheng had successfully closed the distance. Stone was now within his attack range!

Fang Zheng raised his longsword high and slashed down at Stone with all his might. The Skycleaver Sword howled through the air, splitting the dust and smoke before it like a thunderbolt crashing toward Stone.

"Not bad!"

A grin spread across Stone's face. Watching Fang Zheng's powerful strike, he even had the leisure to whistle.

"Come on! Show me what you've got!"

Before the words faded, Stone gripped his two-handed sword again and flicked it upward.

In that instant, Fang Zheng thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He had clearly seen the two-handed sword held horizontally before Stone, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed to teleport, suddenly appearing right in front of him, stabbing straight at his chest.

Where did that come from!?

Fang Zheng was startled, but his battles in the Dark World hadn't been for nothing. Without a second thought, he altered his sword's trajectory, abandoning his attack on Stone to meet the suddenly appearing two-handed sword.

"Clang!!"

The swords clashed. The massive recoil sent Fang Zheng flying backward. He rolled and landed on the ground, feeling his right hand go numb from the violent impact. But Fang Zheng didn't panic. Crusader Strike was just a basic attack skill for building energy. In fact, he could already feel the holy power surging and boiling within him.

Ready to burst forth.

"Whoosh—!!"

The two-handed sword appeared before Fang Zheng again, moving so fast it was nearly invisible. Behind it loomed Stone's massive frame, a smug smirk curling at the corner of his mouth as he looked down at Fang Zheng. But the next moment, Stone's expression shifted abruptly.

Because he saw the young man, half-crouched on the ground, grip his longsword and swing it forward.

Just a light swing.

As the Skycleaver swept out, the sword light transformed into a surging tidal wave of radiance, crashing toward Stone with overwhelming force.

"Oh?"

Seeing the wave of light bearing down on him, Stone's expression changed again. He halted abruptly, his greatsword lifting upward, and a storm of invisible wind erupted wildly, colliding heavily with the wave of light.

"Stormwind Sword!!"

Watching this, the old man at the door turned pale. He knew well that this Grand Knight was one of the top experts in the region, his Storm Swordsmanship unmatched. Wind represented freedom and spontaneity, fearlessness and wildness. And now, his opponent had actually unleashed one of the Storm Swordsmanship's strongest techniques—was that young man really putting that much pressure on him?

"Bang!!!"

The wind and the raging wave slammed into each other. This time, both sides staggered. Fang Zheng stepped back three paces, while Stone retreated one. As a battle-hardened Grand Knight, he seized the fleeting opportunity. Before Fang Zheng could recover from the impact's daze, he saw the greatsword howling toward his neck.

Feeling the icy sword aura, Fang Zheng's body trembled. He immediately gripped his sword with both hands, assuming a blocking stance, trying to deflect the blow from the side. But to his surprise, the moment the swords clashed, he realized the force from the greatsword wasn't as strong as he had expected. Instead, the power flickered and vanished on the blade, as if he had put all his strength into splitting a willow twig.

Not good!!

A thought flashed through Fang Zheng's mind. He didn't know why it was bad, but he knew something was wrong. But by now, all his strength was committed to countering the attack he had anticipated, and he couldn't pull back in time. At that moment, Fang Zheng saw a flash of silver light on his left. The massive greatsword silently thrust toward his body again.

Can't dodge this time!!

Staring at the blade aimed at him, Fang Zheng gritted his teeth. His first instinct was to use a Paladin's Blessing to enter an invincible state. But after a split second, he abandoned the idea. This strike might pierce his body, but it wouldn't deal fatal damage. There was no need to reveal his trump card. The ten-second invincible Hearthstone recall was a Paladin's ultimate technique, not a cheat to abuse in a spar.

But just then, an unexpected turn of events occurred, surprising both Fang Zheng and Stone.

A sword blazing with light suddenly appeared before the greatsword, narrowly intercepting the strike. At the same time, both of them heard the Old Bishop's terrified shout.

"By the Goddess!"

"What?"

Stone turned in surprise, looking for whoever had dared to interfere with this interesting trial. But to his astonishment, he found the culprit—and it wasn't human.

An angel had appeared behind Fang Zheng. She had a beautiful, sacred face, her wings of light spreading wide, their radiance reflecting off her pure white armor, making her seem bathed in holy light. She raised her head, staring coldly at Stone, the lightsaber in her hand glowing with dazzling, pure brilliance.

[Skycleaver (One-handed Sword): Holy damage +100%, Holy skill damage +15%, chance to summon an angel to fight for you in battle (The Angel Legion sweeps through, demons fall, bloodying the eternal war's battlefield)]

At that moment, the Skycleaver in Fang Zheng's hand also blazed with brilliant light. Earlier, Fang Zheng hadn't activated its true power, so to the Old Bishop and Stone, this young noble's sword had seemed like a strangely shaped, ornate hollow longsword.

But as it turned out, special effects were often the best way to upgrade one's appearance.

Bright, dazzling light emerged from the hollow grooves in the Skycleaver's hilt. Fang Zheng raised his sword without hesitation. Holy power coalesced around him, forming several massive cross-shaped greatswords that spun and hurtled toward the Grand Knight before him.

Holy Storm!

"BOOM—!!"

This strike was so earth-shattering that even the Holy Temple Warriors standing guard outside turned their heads in shock toward the hall. If they hadn't known that Great Knight Stone was inside, they might have thought Cultists were attacking the temple!

Well... if taken literally, that wasn't entirely wrong?

Stone leaped backward in a single bound, the Two-handed Sword in his hands completely shattered, broken into several pieces. At the same time, Stone raised his hand and shouted loudly.

"Stop, that's enough! I admit it—right now, you're the stronger one!"

"..."

Hearing Stone's words, Fang Zheng couldn't help but twitch the corner of his eye, but he still lowered his weapon.

Couldn't you, Great Knight, have picked a line that wasn't such a death flag?