I Was The Hero, But I Woke Up as a Phoenix Princess! – Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Chapter 28: The Battle of Drawing Swords
The straight steel longsword sliced through the air, the wind carrying Reske’s disdainful yet extremely infuriating voice.
Ig’s pupils contracted, his expression turning extremely solemn.
Although the swordsman opposite him hadn’t used his Silver Rank Dou Qi as agreed, just by observing his aura and the surging Dou Qi fluctuations, Ig could tell that the opponent’s strength was considerable even among Silver Rank individuals.
“Moreover, this guy definitely plans to vent all his resentment towards that Little Phoenix on me!”
Ig gripped his sword hilt tightly, but his movements were incredibly fast. He rapidly retreated to evade the crushing sword momentum, bringing his Ending upright to block in front of him.
“Imp, die!”
Amidst the mercenary swordsman’s enraged curses, the edge of his sharp sword carved an extremely sharp trace in mid-air, the sharp qi emanating from the sword chilling.
“Clang! Clang!”
In just a few breaths, sword momentum like a torrential rain descended, clashing with the sword Ig was using to block.
With each clash, Ig’s arms trembled, his figure shaking. He rapidly swung his sword, leaving behind bright sword marks, but they were crushed and shattered by the opponent’s straight and powerful true sword, forcing him to retreat several steps.
“Bang.”
A cleaving strike hit Ig’s Ending, which was blocking in front of him, the immense force causing Ig’s arm to tremble involuntarily.
Ig’s worn leather boots shifted back half a step uncontrollably. Amidst the piercing pain from the immense force, his entire body felt as if it were being grazed by sword qi.
“Such strong power…”
Ig gritted his teeth hard, a flicker of gravity crossing his face. However, he maintained his swift footwork, angling his sword to deflect the opponent’s power.
Ig raised his sword again, preparing to defend and to counterattack, though it seemed futile. In his azure eyes, a brief flicker of light, which had momentarily stalled, reignited with the impetus of his spiritual power.
The swordsman named Reske, although indeed only reinforced with Bronze Rank Dou Qi, was, as he expected, far superior in the quality of his Dou Qi and the strength of his physique.
If he hadn’t forcibly infused “Sword Qi” from Ending into his Dou Qi, and utilized the “Eye of Insight” that he had tried based on the inscriptions Verafia had demonstrated yesterday, to capture the traces of the opponent’s sword strikes, then that single cleaving attack would have been enough to render him unable to fight.
– This could only be considered a heavy blow, not even a full-power attack, let alone a combat technique unleashed through the resonance of Dou Qi and physique!
“Maybe I should just surrender now…”
This thought flashed through Ig’s mind, but he immediately dismissed it with a shake of his head.
Although he knew Verafia was just saying it in anger before, if he truly surrendered now, and this Young Lady decided out of displeasure not to teach him Lord Lothel’s inheritance anymore, then he would truly have nowhere to cry.
“Not only can I not surrender, but I must win as much as possible! But how should I defeat a Silver Rank swordsman who is so much stronger than me…”
A sharp gust of sword wind slashed past, and Ig narrowly dodged it. The young man raised his right arm again, holding Ending, and with a swift and precise movement, met the opponent’s sharp blade, his mind racing.
The clashing of swords and blades echoed like a sudden downpour. Ig continued to struggle to maintain a meager existence amidst the opponent’s seemingly overwhelming sword momentum.
“Although the combat techniques I’ve learned are of higher quality, they are completely useless under the suppression of absolute strength; even with my talent, swordsmanship, and footwork, I can only barely hold on like this.”
An unavoidable heavy chop carved an extremely sharp trace in mid-air. Ig gritted his teeth hard, took a step forward, with nowhere left to retreat, he swung Ending.
After the fierce blow of Ending, the enraged sword edge abruptly shifted. Ig’s wrist flicked, and he stumbled back, deflecting the impact, but he was not harmed in this decisive blow.
Ignoring the enraged shouts of the opponent, Ig’s gaze fell upon this sword, which the legendary hero had never been without in former days.
“The only thing I can rely on is the power of Lord Lothel. Sword Qi… I need to merge my spirit and will into it, and finally, protect my Dou Qi, and what’s more…”
Ig recalled the scene from late last night: the exquisite beauty sitting beside him, her clear and pleasant voice filled with seriousness.
Ig stomped hard on the ground to stop his retreat. A cluster of bright light flashed on the sword blade held by his wrist, and Ending let out a clear ring.
…
“This guy has pretty good combat sense… Being able to deal with such a sword strike in such a short time, even I back in the day probably couldn’t do it. Hmm, looks like he’s figured out his ‘talent’?”
Below the battlefield, Verafia rested her delicate hand on her chin, her scorching gold eyes sparkling with dazzling colors, a hint of admiration flashing within.
“Although his Dou Qi talent is a bit lacking, his swordsmanship talent is quite good, and his foundation is solid. It seems Eggesti hasn’t treated this guy too badly… Heh, Eggesti…”
Verafia subtly shook her head, her gaze returning to Ig.
Verafia had deliberately provoked the Silver Rank swordsman named Reske, hoping to use him to see the true strength of Ig, the successor of “Lothel.”
“After all, being my successor is not an easy task.”
This was not Verafia’s arrogance, but a factual statement.
In the entire Peka Kingdom, and even the Agrand Continent, apart from Lancaster, who styled himself as the Hero of the Sacred Sword and sat upon the throne, Verafia didn’t know how many of her former acquaintances and the new nobles who depended on them would become her enemies, as she, “Lothel.”
Therefore, although Ig was her only best choice, it didn’t mean she didn’t need to scrutinize him:
Dou Qi talent could be compensated for with acquired effort, but a person’s will and instinct for combat were determined by innate factors. The simplest way for a shining new star to shine was to possess combat power far beyond the ordinary.
If Ig were to easily fall to this Reske, Verafia, while confident she wouldn’t abandon his training, would definitely shift her focus and energy to more important matters.
However, it seemed this young man was doing quite well now?
A faint, elusive smile appeared on the girl’s youthful face.
“Miss Verafia, your attendant’s swordsmanship is quite good.”
Suddenly, Helia’s praising voice came from beside her.
Helia’s gaze was fixed on the young man who seemed to be caught in Reske’s stormy waves but was still tenaciously holding on, even occasionally counterattacking.
“With such solid footwork and swordsmanship, I too cannot help but be impressed. I’m afraid even many aristocratic talents from great families who have been taught by famous masters are no better than this.”
Hearing the man’s praise, Verafia immediately lifted her swan-like, snow-white neck proudly, a look of self-satisfaction appearing on her delicate and pure jade-like face.
“Of course! This is swordsmanship personally trained by this young lady, how could it be bad?”