Gun Parry (Thanks to Boss Krono for the Alliance Leader Support)

The rough hilt scraped against his palm. The resistance at the blade's edge vanished in an instant.

Juice from the bursting worms sprayed everywhere. The air filled with a sweet, bloody stench of rust and rotting flesh. Xia Lun flicked his wrist, twirling the blade. Not a shred of flesh or drop of blood clung to its cold, gleaming edge.

He had finally mastered Swordsmanship: Burst!

Xia Lun's eyes brightened. The exhilaration of his sudden insight was like drinking an ice-cold cola on a sweltering summer day. Its fizzy chill washed through him, sweeping away every trace of frustration.

His long hours of practice and thought had finally paid off. This time, he had truly grasped it!

He breathed hard, drawing oxygen deep into his lungs. Xia Lun raised his eyes toward the approaching monsters. Excitement narrowed his pupils, and his heart pumped strength-giving oxygen through his veins.

The key to "Burst" was finding the right rhythm: catching the instant an enemy's force shifted, then using Force Dissipation to redirect that force into his own attack. It disrupted the enemy's flow of power while strengthening his strike.

Until now, Xia Lun had never been able to pinpoint that instant, so "Burst" had remained beyond him. But these monsters, formed from knotted black worms, made every shift in their strength plain to see.

If advanced Swordsmanship techniques like Glancing Strike and Sliding Strike demanded timing measured in seconds, "Burst" demanded milliseconds. But when it worked, the power was tremendous.

"Narga Da? You..." Grandma Gunner's voice came from beside him.

Xia Lun did not answer. He loaded his flintlock pistol, relaxed his shoulder and elbow, and let his blade dip.

"Two human-skinned Evil Spirits and one crocodile-skinned Evil Spirit." He exhaled slowly, steadying his breath. "I can do this."

Then he walked