The battle between Xia Nan and Ingram, after he threw the Fire Oil Bomb at the swarm, had completely entered a white-hot stage.
The fire spread rapidly through the forest, his heart pounded violently, and even his short, urgent breaths seemed to set his will alight. As they continued to clash and gradually worked out the depths of each other's strength, both men had long since lost their initial caution and wariness.
Now that the fight had developed to this point, facing such a powerful enemy, pursuing "no damage" was no longer realistic. He had to go all out, use every means available, and even at the cost of serious injury, put the other party to death.
The line between life and death was only a hair's breadth away.
Hot Scorching Wind swept across his cheeks, and the crimson scenery wreathed in flames rushed backward on both sides of him.
Golden Holy Light was reflected in his black eyes. Xia Nan gripped the sword hilt with both hands, the bloodstained iron-gray blade flashing with a sharp, cold gleam under the firelight.
"L."
Taking advantage of the Beheading Longsword's superior reach, the sword tip was the first to pierce the gap between the Sheriff's breastplate and neck, a space that offered no defense at all against a sharp blade.
The fairly thick fabric was instantly pierced, followed by skin, muscle, and cartilage—
At the same time, as the distance between the two men closed and their positions overlapped at an angle, Xia Nan himself also entered Ingram's attack range.
The one-handed Prism Hammer, flickering with dazzling golden light and storing the scorching power of Holy Light, came slanting upward from the side, aimed at Xia Nan's utterly undefended abdomen as he put force into his attack.
Ingram's blood-engorged, bulging arm muscles