Hearing Asolun's self-congratulatory tone, Matthews said irritably, "Not bad. You didn't even have to fight that kind of magical beast."
"Boss, how about this? From now on, leave all the magical beasts to me!"
Hearing Asolun's smug tone, Matthews laughed and agreed.
Matthews butchered the Great Strength Bull Demon by a small river, then continued deeper into the Magic Beast Mountain Range! As he walked, he practiced his swordsmanship, lightning-attribute Battle Qi coiling around Cold Light Ghost Shadow. It greatly enhanced his attack power, and along the way, Matthews easily killed a Seventh-Level Magical Beast.
Many inexperienced adventurers gathered in the outskirts and the first half of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, so he sometimes ran into other people. But at the depth Matthews had reached, most of the people around were powerful experts.
That day, Matthews and Asolun were walking through the mountains as usual when he soon spotted an Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff hunting a Seventh-Level Iron-Armored Dragon. Though the Iron-Armored Dragon was a herbivore, it had thick armor.
The Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff had the upper hand, but it still had to watch out for the long horn on the Iron-Armored Dragon's head. Getting stabbed by that horn could put its life in danger!
"Here's your chance!"
Hearing Matthews say that, Asolun—who had killed many Sixth-Level Magical Beasts along the way—still knew his own limits. He thought his boss was asking him to challenge the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff.
"Boss, that's an Eighth-Level Magical Beast!"
"I know. You take the Iron-Armored Dragon. I'll use this chance to test how well my recent training has gone!"
Only then did Asolun realize that Matthews intended to challenge the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff. Asolun had plenty of faith in his boss's abilities, but magical beasts were generally stronger than humans at the same level. And now his boss planned to challenge an Eighth-Level Magical Beast as a Seventh-Level warrior!
"Boss, can you handle it?"
"Of course. If I can't win, I can always run."
Matthews didn't recklessly charge into the battle. Instead, he launched a magic attack from a distance.
"Whoosh—"
An Electromagnetic Cannon shot straight into the battlefield between the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff and the Seventh-Level Iron-Armored Dragon. The Eighth-Level Blood Mastiff was the first to react. It dodged Matthews's sudden attack with a quick sidestep!
It immediately let out an irritated roar toward the direction the attack had come from. Seeing this, the Iron-Armored Dragon tried to make a run for it. Asolun took off directly from Matthews and chased after it, while Matthews walked toward the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff, Cold Light Ghost Shadow in hand.
When the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff saw that the one who had interrupted its hunt was a human warrior, its fur—which had bristled in alarm—settled back down. But it wasn't in the habit of wasting time with human chatter before a fight. After sensing the warrior's approximate strength, it sprang at Matthews!
Matthews assumed a defensive stance. The electrified blade of Cold Light slashed at the Blood Mastiff's right claw as it swung toward him, while Youying swept backhanded toward its open jaws.
The Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff's iron claw met Cold Light Blade without suffering any damage, producing only the clang of metal striking metal. But Youying, in Matthews's left hand, sliced the lip of the Blood Mastiff's jaws as it snapped at him.
"What strength!"
Matthews couldn't help marveling at the natural advantages of magical beasts. In that single exchange, he had avoided injury and successfully blocked its attack, but the Eighth-Level Blood Mastiff had still struck him hard enough to send him skidding two meters backward.
Matthews didn't let the blow discourage him. Instead, he excitedly swung his blade and met the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff's next attack.
"Clang—clang—"
The clash of blade against the magical beast's iron claws rang out without end. Matthews brought out every move he had practiced, using them in this life-and-death struggle.
"Bam—"
Matthews's swordsmanship was already well-honed, but he was still only a Seventh-Level warrior. His physical strength was far inferior to that of an Eighth-Level Magical Beast, and a single lapse in his guard was enough for it to send him flying with a swipe of its claw.
"Hahaha! Again!"
The fight had just proved to Matthews that his current swordsmanship wasn't enough to defeat an Eighth-Level Magical Beast through strength alone. The one advantage humans had over magical beasts was their ability to master technique.
Matthews had already touched the threshold of the third realm of swordsmanship. Now, with the speed boost from the electromagnetic devices on his legs, the pressure of fighting an Eighth-Level Magical Beast was perfect for helping him comprehend swordsmanship!
With a blade in each hand, they moved like extensions of his arms. Every slash, horizontal or vertical, seemed as effortless and graceful as an antelope hanging its horns on a branch!
"Bam—"
Another blow sent Matthews flying five meters backward.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! I've got it!"
Just then, his swordsmanship had fully entered the third realm. Cold Light seemed to cut through the air, slashing into the Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff at blinding speed.
Matthews's blade had carved a wound more than twenty centimeters wide across the Blood Mastiff's head. He had also been injured because he hadn't managed to block in time with Youying.
Matthews was absolutely certain that he had just grasped the threshold of Light as Heavy. The Blood Mastiff's upper jaw, nearly cracked by the blow, was proof!
"Hahaha! Come on! My next strike will definitely kill you!"
By now, the Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff was already considering retreat. The human before it might be a Seventh-Level warrior, but the strange lightning coiled around his legs gave him incredible speed. That last attack had also stirred an instinctive sense of danger in it. The Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff stared at Matthews as it slowly backed away.
There was no way Matthews would let it escape. He fired an Electromagnetic Cannon, but the Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff dodged it with a quick sidestep. When it saw that Matthews wasn't going to let it go—
"Roar—"
It let out a furious roar and charged at Matthews. Matthews regulated his breathing, deepening each inhale and exhale. His legs bent slowly, left foot forward and right foot back, as he lowered his center of gravity.
He held Youying horizontally in front of him with his left hand, while Cold Light rested behind him in his right. As the Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff leaped at him, Matthews swept Youying upward in a backhand strike, blocking its outstretched claws.
Then he thrust Cold Light forward. The electrified blade sliced a bloody gash across the Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff's belly!
Immediately after the strike, Matthews spun around. The Eighth-Level Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff had hit the ground, its intestines spilling from the wound in its belly.
Matthews charged after it. Cold Light, imbued with the sword intent he had just comprehended, severed the Green-Eyed Blood Mastiff's head!
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