"Die, you monster!"
Pei Min's roar drowned out the agony of his broken ribs and the blood welling in his throat.
He drew a sharp breath and poured his last reserves of strength into his arms. His two azure Power Swords erupted with an almost blinding radiance.
He neither retreated nor parried. Instead, he attacked to defend, lunging forward as his swords swept in from either side, tracing two lethal, crossing arcs toward the junctions between Rahn's vicious armour, waist, and thighs!
It was a fighting style that abandoned defence and staked one life against another.
Clang! Clang! Boom!
The dark red Greatsword in Rahn's hands swept back with astonishing speed. A precise upward stroke first deflected the blade aimed at his waist, sending a shower of sparks bursting from the clashing swords.
Then the Greatsword bore down, its broad blade smashing the other sword away from his thigh. The heavy impact numbed Pei Min's arm and sent him staggering.
Yet Pei Min's assault had also forced Rahn half a step back, disrupting the rhythm of his pursuit.
Man and demon clashed once more.
Sword light and bloody shadows crossed in a frenzy, accompanied by an unbroken barrage of metallic crashes and the shriek of energy tearing through the air.
Pei Min wielded his twin swords in an impenetrable web. Every strike carried all his strength, his transitions between attack and defence displaying the discipline and precision characteristic of Word Bearers swordsmanship. He targeted armour seams, joints, and the wounds he had already inflicted.
His injuries slowed his movements slightly, but his fighting spirit burned at its fiercest.
Rahn was furious.
His anger stemmed not merely from his failure to finish the fight, but from an indescribable sense of frustration.
When he had fought those White Scars warriors, brave and