The wound on my shoulder wasn't deep.
But the blood that had fallen onto the stone slab still caused Kirito's pupils to contract sharply.
He could neither speak nor break free of his restraints; he could only watch as Kayaba took his first step.
The cross-shaped shield slammed into Lin Yuan's chest.
Lin Yuan parried with his sword, but the shield pushed him backward. Kayaba's longsword, hidden behind the shield, then thrust out, its blade grazing the " Nameless " inscription, forcing Lin Yuan to continue retreating.
The Holy Sword is not only for defense.
The shield blocked Lin Yuan's vision, while the longsword constantly changed angles from behind the shield. Each shield strike compressed the range of Lin Yuan's movement, and each thrust landed at the moment when his old strength was exhausted and his new strength had not yet been generated.
Lin Yuan took seven steps back.
Before the eighth step landed, he gripped the sword with both hands and slashed upwards at the cross shield.
" The Mountain Severance "
The purest power erupted along the sword's edge. The shield was forcibly lifted, and Lin Yuan seized the opportunity to move forward. However, Kayaba simply rotated his arm along with the impact, guiding a sword powerful enough to cleave the Boss's body towards his head.
" Mountain Severance " consists of only one sword strike.
It abandons variations and follow-ups, concentrating all the power of Lin Yuan's physical body into a single strike. Once this sword is deflected, an undeniable gap will remain.
Kayaba's longsword pierced through the gap.
Lin Yuan suddenly released his right hand and pulled back the " Nameless " with his left. The spine of the sword struck the longsword, and before the shockwave from the collision had subsided, his right hand had already gripped the hilt again, and he unleashed a second strike.
The second sword strike hit the shield, and the recoil was then carried into the third sword strike.
The sword shadows suddenly merged into one.
No Interval.
It is completely different from " Mountain Severance ". Each sword strike is not the end, but the beginning of the next. Lin Yuan uses the force of the collision to adjust the angle, and there is no real pause between the twelve strikes.
A dense series of metallic clangs resounded within the Ruby Palace.
Frozen in front of the crowd, Klein unable to speak, his eyes wide open, following the ever-accelerating sword light. In the past, floor bosses facing " No Interval " often didn't even have a chance to raise their weapons.
However, Kayaba changed his rhythm as the fourth sword fell.
The cross shield did not meet the sword's edge head-on, but instead thrust forward at the instant the two swords clashed.
The shield edge struck the area near the gauntlets of the Nameless Swordsman.
The angle of the fifth sword shifted accordingly, and the sixth sword lost its ability to draw upon the counter-force. The twelve swords, which were originally connected end to end, broke apart in the middle, Kayaba's longsword passed through the scattered sword shadows, leaving a second wound on Lin Yuan's side.
Lin Yuan took a half step back, but suddenly his footing changed direction.
The straight charge turned into a low, sweeping step, and " Nameless " slid along the edge of the cross shield. Just as Kayaba turned the shield, Lin Yuan's power had already shifted from his arms to his waist, and the originally light and swift sword suddenly became as heavy as an axe.
The sudden advance of the spear-wielding guards.
The arc of the chain-blade monster.
The heavily armored boss unleashes its power a second time after the initial collision.
There's also the rhythm of Kirito's Dual Blades filling the gaps between them.
That's not because " Mountain Severance " puts all its power into a single sword strike, nor is it because " No Interval " involves a continuous barrage of the same type of slash.
There is no fixed number of sword strikes in " All Things Return to One ".
Lin Yuan could substitute the sword techniques he had blocked, witnessed, and learned in combat. A straight thrust could be transformed into an arc slash, and a deflected force could be turned into a heavy blow in the next moment. Each change would send the accumulated power forward.
Kayaba took three steps back in succession.
The cross shield couldn't keep up with the speed of the sword's change of direction the first time. As the shield blocked the thrust, the real attack had already moved to the side along an arc; the shield moved to the side, and the second force, like a heavy sword, pressed down from the front.
The frozen players could not cheer, but hope lit up in hundreds of eyes at the same time.
Lin Yuan's sword became faster and heavier.
Different techniques are not a random patchwork. The power accumulated from each collision does not disappear, but flows towards the same point through countless variations.
Ultimately, all sword paths must be reduced to one sword.
" Nameless " crossed the cross shield and slashed towards Kayaba's chest.
Kayaba did not continue to follow the changes that occurred along the way.
He withdrew his shield ahead of time.
The cross shield came to a steady stop on that unfinished yet inevitable final sword path.
boom--
The power that had been building up all along erupted completely. The cloak behind Kayaba was stretched straight by the wind pressure, and the stone slabs under his feet shattered layer by layer in all directions.
The cross shield did not move.
"The process has indeed exceeded existing records." Kayaba looked at Lin Yuan through his shield, "But no matter how the sword path changes, the accumulated power always flows to the same place. I only need to hold that spot."
The longsword thrust out from behind the shield.
Lin Yuan turned his head to avoid it, but a bloody gash was still cut on the side of his face.
He used the momentum to retreat, and for the first time did not immediately resume his stance.
" Mountain Severance " will direct the power to a specific point.
No matter how continuous the story of " No Interval " is, there is always a direction for the next sword strike.
" All Things Return to One " can change all processes, but it must have an endpoint that can receive all the power.
As long as the destination exists, Kayaba can wait there in advance.
Lin Yuan raised the " Nameless " book and stepped forward again.
Kayaba's shield was already tilted to the right, awaiting his most frequently used first sword strike.
Lin Yuan did indeed slash down from the right side.
But he did not decide on a second strike until the sword and shield truly clashed.