The cut still bore irregular burrs. Rather than becoming smooth, the edges had grown even more ragged from the excessive force.
"How could this be!?"
He muttered hoarsely, his face full of disbelief, as though what he held was no longer that peerless treasure capable of slicing through iron like mud, but an ordinary bronze saber.
Seeing this, Hulü spoke again at just the right moment, his tone carrying a hint of probing. "Your Highness, perhaps the angle of the chop was wrong?"
Modun froze, then nodded deeply in agreement and slapped the table. "That must be it! Set it up properly, properly! I'll try again from another angle!"
By now, the curved-saber fragment had been chopped into an extremely small piece, yet it remained the sole obsession through which he could prove the worth of his treasured blade.
He adjusted his stance, changed the angle, and slashed down again—
[Writing this, I hope readers will remember our domain name. Taiwan Novels is super convenient—t̆̈̆̈w̆̈̆̈k̆̈̆̈̆̈ă̈̆̈n̆̈̆̈.c̆̈̆̈ŏ̈̆̈m̆̈̆̈—for easy reading.]
"Clang!"
The cut still had burrs.
"Perhaps the tabletop is too soft, affecting the transmission of force?" Hulü suggested again.
"That must be it!"
Gritting his teeth, Modun had the table moved away, placed the fragment on the hard bluestone ground, and swung his saber once more...
After an unknown length of time, Modun stood panting, leaning on his black-iron treasured saber. He stared at the several fragments on the ground, each no bigger than a fingernail and each bearing irregular burrs. His eyes brimmed with despair and unwillingness.
"The weapon in that enemy leader's hand is actually better than mine! Let me catch him, and I'll grind his bones to ash!"
But Hulü's brows were tightly furrowed. In a grave tone, he poured cold water over him. "Your Highness, this was not