Peerless Sword
Lin Yan said this as if she had effortlessly blocked Mihawk's attack.
He has great talent.
But that's far from enough!
Although Shanks is the Emperor of the Sea, he is not the most outstanding martial arts expert. That's why he lost his composure when he saw Mihawk's actions were exactly the same as Lin Yan's three days ago.
They assumed Mihawk had mastered that monstrous swordsmanship.
But in Lin Yan's eyes, that was far from the truth.
It must be said that Mihawk's swordsmanship talent is extremely strong.
In just three days, he actually changed many of his habits that he had maintained for many years. If he continues to practice like this, he might actually succeed one day.
But now...
"At most 50%, and it's very deliberate; that's your weakness right now."
Lin Yan chuckled as she spoke to Mihawk.
On the surface, Mihawk seems to have mastered this way of exerting force, but in Lin Yan's eyes, Mihawk can only control about 50% of his muscles at most in an instant.
Moreover, because of my lack of skill, I have to be very deliberate in order to perform each movement well.
So, in reality, it's still far from the truth.
"Barely enough."
Mihawk didn't refute this, after all, what Lin Yan said was true.
Even so, he has taken another step closer than before!
Upon confirming this, Mihawk- like eyes gleamed with fierce fighting spirit.
"Is it barely enough...?"
However, Lin Yan remained somewhat noncommittal about this.
"Aren't you underestimating me?"
The young man uttered those words softly, and then in the next second, the path of his sword changed instantly, sweeping powerfully towards Mihawk.
The reason I specifically gave Mihawk some pointers three days ago is...
The reason is actually quite simple.
Because the man in front of me... isn't strong enough!
Lin Yan, who possesses the ability of Infinite Martial Arts, can be said to have reached Divine Realm that is beyond the comprehension of humans in a literal sense.
That unconventional way of exerting force was just one of them.
Three days ago, Mihawk's performance wasn't good enough to satisfy Lin Yan.
It's still barely enough now.
That's about enough!
Lin Yan finally let loose completely!
As Mihawk's expression suddenly changed, Lin Yan's Holy Sword pierced through like a streak of light, and even with Mihawk's abilities, he could only barely dodge it.
Then the next attack followed immediately!
Open and aboveboard, powerful and imposing!
Just like the owner of the Holy Sword in his hand, the one known as the Knight King, Lin Yan's swordplay was bold, unrestrained, and full of righteous energy.
The swordplay was so refined that there wasn't a single flaw; the trajectory of each slash was absolutely perfect.
This is the most standard way to use a knight's sword.
It sounds simple, but it's incredibly difficult to execute. Each move may seem simple, but it requires exceptional eyesight and combat experience to use in battles against stronger opponents.
And once you reach that level...
There are virtually no flaws!
The greatest skill appears clumsy; that's probably what it means.
Faced with these conventional sword moves, Mihawk's sword skills were completely useless, and he could only barely keep up with Lin Yan's movements by relying on his newly learned speed.
"Huh...?"
Shanks, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
This is unbelievable!
That Mihawk...
They were actually outmatched in pure swordsmanship!
As the saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details; almost every swordsman could see that Mihawk was currently being suppressed.
Moreover, they were outmatched in sword techniques!
This is, frankly, an extremely unbelievable thing.
You must know that Mihawk is the World's Greatest Swordsman, renowned for his Yoru. Trying to suppress Mihawk in swordsmanship?
Whether they can even last a minute is questionable!
Is the World's Greatest Swordsman a vegetarian?
And yet, this scene unfolded right before our eyes!
For a moment, many swordsmen showed expressions of existential doubt.
"My god, am I seeing things? That Mihawk actually..."
"Impressive, truly impressive! I am completely humbled by such insight and courage."
"Uh, but senior, wasn't that just a regular slash? It didn't look that powerful. How could it possibly overpower Mihawk?"
"You don't know anything! Watch carefully!"
"..."
All the swordsmen present, those with any skill, watched Lin Yan's slashes intently, as if they had seen some unparalleled secret manual, their eyes gleaming.
If it weren't for the terrifying sword energy surrounding them, they would have genuinely wanted to go closer and see for themselves.
At this very moment, Mihawk is under immense pressure.
Sink!
It's damn heavy!
After exchanging a few sword strikes with Lin Yan, Mihawk's arm began to tremble uncontrollably. What kind of monster is this?!
The swordplay was flawless, without any weaknesses, and that was one thing—the strength...
Are you sure you're even human?!
Every time Mihawk faced Lin Yan head-on, he felt like he was arm wrestling with a giant, the pressure was unbearable.
If it weren't for my decent swordsmanship and knowledge of techniques for deflecting force, I probably would have been lying on the ground long ago.
You're probably not a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex, are you?
Mihawk knew very well that this couldn't continue, or his defeat would only be a matter of time.
So Mihawk quickly gritted his teeth and made a decision.
Retreat!
As a swordsman, Mihawk surprisingly abandoned continuing to fight Lin Yan without hesitation, and instead retreated quickly, withdrawing from the battle for the first time since their confrontation.
"..."
Seeing Mihawk retreat, Lin Yan didn't continue the pursuit. She simply stopped wielding her Holy Sword and watched the other side with interest.
Let's decide the outcome with one decisive move.
Knowing full well that continuing like this would likely lead to defeat, Mihawk made a very serious suggestion to Lin Yan.
There's a gap in both physical fitness and swordsmanship; it would be a miracle if he could win by continuing this grueling fight.
Although he doesn't care much about the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman, even Mihawk would be unwilling to accept defeat without using his full strength.
He didn't care about the title.
The real question is whether to fight with all our might!
Now, my only chance of victory is to use my strongest sword technique and test my strength against Lin Yan!
"Interesting, let's do it that way."
Lin Yan, of course, did not refuse.
Like Mihawk before him, he was also uninterested in the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman. He came here for two reasons: first, to keep his promise to Mihawk, and second, to see where his limits lay.
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Mihawk's face.
Thank you.