Sword Heart

Their gazes met.

Roa stepped forward with his right foot and took a deep breath. The muscles in his right arm bulged, and in an instant, both figures vanished.

Ten meters was still too close for the two of them. With Roa and Paul's physical abilities, they could close the distance in the blink of an eye.

The wooden sword and wooden blade clashed. Roa and Paul's first exchange ended in a draw.

But Roa's expression was serious. Paul might have seemed carefree most of the time, but his fighting style was actually quite dirty. Several times before, Paul had silently switched to Water God Style techniques, making Roa suffer for it.

Paul's Water God Style was exceptionally formidable. If he managed to block an attack, Roa would then face a deadly counter.

Paul increased his strength, and Roa felt an indescribable force spread through his sword.

In the end, Roa's physical abilities couldn't compare to Paul's. Without the enhancement of mana, he could only be suppressed.

Roa knew he couldn't keep grappling with his opponent. Competing with Paul in strength would be suicide.

He stepped back and swept his wooden sword through a half-circle, deftly redirecting Paul's force with minimal effort. A cold glint flashed in Paul's eyes as he suddenly reached out with an open hand.

As for why someone could reach out with a hand during a sword fight, according to Paul's shameless explanation, it was a Water God Style technique.

Roa quickly retreated, drawing his wooden sword back with his right hand. Paul's hand closed on empty air, but a smile still curled at the corner of his mouth as he quickly pressed forward.

Swordsmanship relied greatly on momentum. Roa had suffered a small loss in that exchange, and facing Paul would become even more difficult.

Paul flipped his wooden sword, sending it toward Roa with a whoosh.

Roa retreated again, his figure withdrawing farther and farther.

A glint flashed in Paul's eyes, and his speed surged once more.

Roa had been on guard against Paul, and sure enough, the crafty man had been holding something back.

Roa had been at a great disadvantage in this match from the very beginning. After Roa had overwhelmed Paul in every way with his mana a year ago, Paul had added a new rule: no using mana to enhance oneself.

That meant Roa would have to completely outmatch Paul in skill to win.

The wooden sword swept through the air at an unbelievable speed. In Roa's eyes, it grew larger and larger.

If that blow hit him, Roa would be laid up for a while, at the very least.

Roa suddenly swung his wooden sword with his right hand, intending to meet the blow head-on.

The moment their weapons collided, the tremendous force traveled through the blade and into Roa.

Roa felt the web of his hand split open, and he nearly lost his grip on the wooden sword.

Paul grew more astonished with every exchange. He hadn't expected his son to have become so physically strong.

Nearby, Rudeus watched the two figures flickering about. The explosive cracks that rang through the air from time to time made it clear that neither of them was holding back.

Roa grimaced in pain and kicked at Paul. Paul reacted quickly and dodged to the side, giving Roa an opening to retreat several steps.

He changed his grip on the wooden sword, shifting it from his right hand to his left.

After exhaling once more, Roa's presence changed dramatically.

He pressed his left hand against the wooden sword at his waist, readying the Sword God Style's Sword Draw Style.

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his center of gravity, gathering his entire presence together. With a serious expression, Roa said, "Father, here I come."

Vast momentum gathered, and his left arm trembled faintly under the immense force.

Suddenly, he stepped forward with his right foot, and his figure vanished from where he stood.

Paul wore a strange smile. He raised the wooden sword in his hands and unleashed Water God Style, intending to end the match with this move.

Roa didn't attack Paul directly. Instead, he raced around him, searching for an opening.

The more Roa moved like that, the wider Paul's smile grew.

Paul's experience from countless battles was far beyond Roa's. He adjusted his position and crouched in a defensive stance, his eyes fixed on the places Roa passed.

"Front left?" Paul's hearing was exceptionally sharp, and his instincts for danger in combat were first-rate. He quickly adjusted his position, never turning his back to Roa.

Roa felt his heart pounding inside him, his blood and mana unusually active, his thoughts unusually clear. Hearing the wind whistle past, he suddenly struck.

He wasn't actually searching for an opening in Paul's defense. Building momentum for Sword God Style couldn't be done in a short time. By moving like this, he hoped to bring his sword's momentum to its peak. With every step forward, his momentum grew more solid.

When his momentum reached its peak, Roa suddenly charged at Paul.

Every step left a deep footprint in the ground. The wooden sword in his left hand flipped around, and he struck. The air cracked with a loud bang. Paul could clearly feel the fierce momentum of the sword in the boy's hand. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the wooden sword draw closer and closer.

Paul struck at once. The wooden blade and wooden sword clashed again, and the soil beneath Paul's feet was instantly crushed. His body began to slide backward.

Feeling the force behind this terrifying slash, even Paul had to admit that the boy was strong.

But this was as far as he would get.

Once Paul had absorbed all of Roa's force, Roa would lose.

The counterattack of Water God Style was terrifying.

Even Roa couldn't be sure he could withstand his opponent's counterattack.

But who said he had to take the attack head-on?

The moment Roa's momentum began to fade, Paul struck with lightning speed.

His sword flashed as fast as thunder. It was incredibly quick. Paul thought that if this was all Roa could do, he still wouldn't be able to block the strike.

But then Roa did something that made Paul stare as if he'd seen a ghost. He shifted a small step to the right, and that tiny movement was just enough to evade Paul's slash. The wooden sword brushed past Roa's clothes.

[Sword Heart (Level 1): Passive Skill]

[Trait: All sword attacks gain a 10% bonus; swordsmanship insight increases slightly; there is a chance to trigger Insight during a duel]

[Insight: See through the opponent's next attack]

This was a skill that had suddenly appeared when Roa had reached a sudden realization while practicing swordsmanship half a year ago.

The skill description said that Insight had a chance to trigger, but it wasn't entirely a matter of luck or relying on that small probability.

The closer or weaker the enemy's strength was compared to his own, or the more intense the battle became, the easier it was for Insight to activate.

There was no doubt that Paul's counterattack was fast.

He believed no one could react in time. Even if someone could, Roa certainly couldn't—not at his current level.

The instant Paul struck, Roa's wooden sword smashed into Paul's back.

Then Roa was hit squarely in return. He toppled face-first onto the ground, stiff as a board.