Substitute Spell Spirit

"Why don't you just kill yourself?"

When Valkas uttered these words, it didn't mean he held the winning hand; on the contrary, it was his signal of surrender.

Suicide was permitted in the Deathmatch Arena.

Once a combatant committed suicide, the deathmatch would end, and the microchip restrictions would reactivate, making it impossible for Valkas to desecrate the corpse.

As long as Ash left behind a complete body, the Healers could communicate with the Void Realm through Spell Spirits and pull his soul back from the Void Realm Mist into his physical form.

The moment Ash dodged his first Miracle: Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting, Valkas had already lost. Any subsequent attacks were merely desperate struggles fueled by wishful thinking. Even if he managed to win this deathmatch, he would fail to complete the mission he had been burdened with: to thoroughly exterminate Ash Hiss.

Compared to failing the mission, the scene before him made Valkas feel even more miserable.

There was nothing more agonizing than watching a genius rise before your very eyes—and if there was, it was becoming the stepping stone for that genius.

Even though Valkas was an elf in his prime at over a hundred years old, he still felt aggrieved by this turn of events. Are you kidding me? There are so many unlucky people in this world, why does it have to be me?

Honestly, Valkas's mental state was beginning to crumble, which was why he had blurted out the shortcut to the end, hoping Ash would hurry up and finish this nightmare.

"Why would I kill myself? I haven't lost yet."

"You think you have a chance to defeat me?" Valkas laughed in fury. "Oh, yes. In a thousand years, the Bard will be singing of your glorious deeds on the streets: 'Ash Hiss, who had never learned swordsmanship, faced an insolent Elf Swordsman in battle and miraculously defeated him, using that as the starting point for his brilliant, undefeated life.'"

"Ah, merciful Mr. Ash, the humble Valkas begs you to mention my name in your future autobiography. Would you mind letting me go down in history as a clown for ten thousand years? Hmm?"

"So, Valkas, when are you releasing your book?"

Ash lifted his left hand with great difficulty to wipe away the blood streaming down his forehead, preventing the gore from sticking to his eyelashes and obscuring his vision. A smile still hung on his face.

"I just have a reason why I must win."

"What reason?"

"I want to ask you if it was Xilin Dor who sent you to kill me, and if there is some conspiracy behind my imprisonment."

Valkas flicked his blade lightly, sending the blood and debris flying off the steel.

"What does that have to do with you needing to win?"

"If I don't win, will you answer me?"

"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Besides, even if I answered, could you tell if it was the truth?"

"That's a question I just asked someone else." Ash exhaled a long, ragged breath. "He asked me to help him resolve a doubt, and I said, 'If I lie, can you tell?' He said he actually could."

"So you can too?"

"No, I can't. But I figured, an answer obtained after beating you up would be closer to the truth than one obtained by simply asking, right?"

"It's been a long time since I've heard such a naive reason since I left the Nurturing Home."

Valkas bared his teeth. For the first time since he entered, he dropped the elegant facade he had maintained throughout the fight, revealing a sinister expression. "But if you don't kill yourself, you really might die, you know."

"Then we'll see whose sword is faster."

"Kill you before you can commit suicide? Interesting. I accept this challenge."

"Ah, I didn't actually mean it like that..."

Ash gripped his sword hilt tight, his muscles tensing.

"After all, I have no intention of retiring here. If I can't even cross over a stepping stone like you, then what right do I have to leave this prison?"

"Arrogant fool!"

The already shattered earth cracked once more. The invisible sword aura traced a ferocious outline in the dust, like a giant blade thrusting from the ground toward Ash!

Ash didn't even blink. He dodged the sword aura and the flying debris with everything he had, constantly dragging out the fight to let his body absorb as much swordsmanship experience as possible!

The Sword Maiden's swordsmanship experience was truly no joke. From the beginning, when Ash couldn't even track the movement of Valkas's blade, he had progressed to the point where he could predict Valkas's sword path just by watching his shoulders. He might not be a master of the sword, but he had at least mastered the art of dodging one.

He wasn't just seeking death; he truly had the confidence to defeat Valkas.

With the aid of the Sword Maiden's experience, the Miracle: Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting was no longer an unsolvable fog. On the contrary, with Valkas unable to exert his full power, the technique faintly revealed a flaw he could exploit!

It was like the final, difficult problem on a National College Entrance Examination math paper; Ash had suddenly discovered a magical auxiliary line. He felt he had a chance to conquer this challenge!

Give him a little more time, and he felt he could even find the blind spot in the strike zone of the Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting, slip through the gap, and counter-kill Valkas!

Just give him a little more time—

BOOM!

Ash groaned as the Spell Power in his mind circulated once more, releasing a cooling sensation that forced his reason to suppress the intense pain radiating from his thigh, allowing him to barely dodge the Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting!

He glanced at his thigh with his peripheral vision, then dared not look down again.

"Your growth rate is truly admirable. It's a pity—you're exhausted."

Valkas's tone was thick with irrepressible regret. "You've been losing blood since the start, and after such an intense battle, you've bled so much that your brain is suffering from oxygen deprivation and your stamina is plummeting. That's why you're getting slower."

"Even if you can suppress the pain to keep fighting, your body can't keep up. I carved a chunk of meat out of your thigh, and combined with the blood you've already lost, it's a miracle you haven't gone into shock yet."

"Do you know why I've been talking so much? Because the longer this drags on, the more your stamina drains. Now, your sword can no longer be faster than mine. Before you can commit suicide, my sword will crush your remains first."

"Thank you, Ash. And I'm sorry, Ash."

With that, Valkas lunged forward, his blade swinging as a violent sword aura tore through the ground once again: Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting!

Is my capacity truly limited to this point?

Ash Hiss sighed inwardly.

Long before Igula told him about Valkas, Ash had already anticipated the peril of this deathmatch. After all, they had no grudges or grievances; why would anyone challenge him, a newcomer who had only fought a single deathmatch?

When a stranger suddenly makes things difficult for you, it is surely because of a conflict of interest.

So why did Ash accept the deathmatch?

He knew that even before entering the arena, he could have refused outright. Others wouldn't even be able to curse or despise him for it; Ash possessed that freedom.

But Ash did not want to retreat.

First, he needed an opponent to digest the swordsmanship experience shared by the Sword Maiden. There was no place more suitable for taking a beating than the Deathmatch Arena—a place that was both dangerous and safe.

Second, he could hide for a moment, but not for a lifetime. Even if Ash refused this deathmatch, other troubles would eventually find him sooner or later.

Most importantly, as he had said himself, he was a man who intended to break out of prison. If he couldn't even step over a stepping stone like Valkas, then what kind of prison break was he planning? He might as well just lie flat and retire!

However, in life, there aren't that many miracles, and even if there are, they belong to others...

Just as Ash prepared to swing his sword to slit his own throat, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the spectator stands.

It was the Sword Maiden.

"If it hurts, pretend you are someone else; then it won't hurt anymore."

In that instant, Ash felt as if ice had melted in his mind. His Spell Power was circulating frantically, yet it remained tightly bound by an invisible cage, unable to touch reality at all!

Spell Power could be locked away, but knowledge could not. Even if you bound its hands and feet, it would still grow wings and take flight.

The long-dormant Substitute Spell Spirit suddenly began to dance wildly within Ash's consciousness.

Ash hesitated almost not at all. He did not dodge, he did not retreat; he chose to brandish his longsword and charge toward Valkas!

"It's over."

Valkas watched as "Ash" was engulfed by the Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting sword aura, and a trace of melancholy rose in his heart. As a Swordsman, in over a hundred years of experience, he had never seen a Swordsmanship Apprentice with better talent than Ash.

If it were a different time, a different place, or a different identity, Valkas felt that even if he had to serve as a stepping stone... it might not have been unacceptable...

Nothing was more painful than watching a genius rise, yet nothing was more exhilarating than watching a genius rise from up close.

Pop.

Hearing a sound like a bubble bursting, Valkas immediately sensed something was wrong. He looked closely and discovered that "Ash" had dissipated directly under the impact of the sword aura, leaving not even flesh and blood behind—

It was a Substitute Phantom!

"It's over!"

Valkas tilted his head slightly, only to realize that in his blind spot, the ground had kicked up a massive cloud of dust and debris from the Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting strike, enough to conceal the charge of a heavily wounded man!

As Valkas's sword fell to the ground, Ash's sword plunged into the former's throat.

The unsharpened blade pierced straight through!

Ding, ding, ding!

"Victory Decided. The winner is Ash Hiss!"