Bang!
With a deafening crash, the ground shattered, and a great cloud of dust erupted in an instant, completely obscuring the surroundings.
Amid the dust, Morin looked slightly surprised. His spear had struck Dunn over the heart, yet it produced the clang of metal on metal and could advance no farther.
Although the powerful impact sent Dunn's blood surging and forced him to spit out a mouthful of blood, this was only a minor injury, far short of Morin's goal of killing him in one blow.
A heartguard? Or...
Before Morin could think further, Dunn's Guard Sword came swinging toward him. With no other choice, Morin withdrew his spear and retreated.
Dunn had long since kept the Eye of the Firmament's silver mirror over his heart as a heartguard. For one thing, it could not be far from him. For another, the silver mirror was a Legendary item, after all. Even if he could not use its Transcendent abilities,
the strength of its material alone was enough to leave Professionals below Legendary rank helpless.
Touching his chest, Dunn silently rejoiced that he had placed the silver mirror over his heart. Otherwise, that blow would most likely have killed him. Although the Vampire Fruit had greatly enhanced his already superior ability to survive, his heart remained a weakness.
"You even have a Transcendent-quality heartguard, along with that Transcendent-quality Guard Sword in your hand. With resources like those, which faction do you belong to?"
Clearly, Morin had misunderstood something. After all, ordinary third-tier Professionals rarely possessed Transcendent items. Even Morin, backed by the Kingdom of Wesley and specially nurtured by it, had only his spear as a Transcendent item,
and the spear itself possessed armor-piercing, sharpness, magic-breaking, and other properties that could be described as specifically aimed at overcoming defenses. Yet even