Wildness and Masks

"Good... good, good!"

The blue-haired knight, Will, laughed and shouted three times in a row, clearly enraged.

He tossed his hair back, and the Battle Qi he had just restrained burst out again, shattering the granite slabs beneath his feet.

As the future heir of the Bordel family, he had never faced such repeated provocations.

"Ogre, right? I'll remember you. You'll pay for what you've done!"

Without even performing the customary battle salute, Will charged at Ogre with his sword.

The moment Ogre agreed that the rest was over, the battle had already begun.

Clang—!

The clash between sword and spear rang out with a crisp sound.

To Will's surprise, his strike didn't break Ogre's spear, only leaving a deep mark.

How could this commoner have such a good weapon!

Amidst his shock and disbelief, Ogre had already kicked forward, not to push Will away, but to use the force to propel himself.

Using the recoil from his foot and spear, Ogre's remaining foot on the ground twisted slightly.

With a backward sidestep, he flashed to Will's side, leaving only a pit of shattered stones in his original position.

Will reacted quickly, after all, he was a knight trained by the family.

With nearly ten more years of experience than Ogre, he quickly caught up with Ogre's rhythm.

Swinging his sword, he slashed horizontally!

Seeing the sword about to hit, there wasn't a hint of joy on Will's face—because something felt off.

'Damn, it's an afterimage!'

Realizing something was wrong, Will didn't even have time to think about how Ogre could be so fast before he was struck hard by a spear.

The spear swept across the plate armor at Will's waist.

Sparks flew.

It wasn't that Ogre didn't want to aim for the head, but the head was too small a target. In the rush, Ogre could only aim for the larger torso.

At this moment, both of their hearts sank.

'The armor infused with Battle Qi is so hard!' / 'This guy is so strong!'

The first thought was Ogre's, the second was Will's.

The first round of their clash.

Ended with Will being swept to the ground.

At this moment, even those who didn't understand the fight could see that Ogre wasn't faking it before; the result was astonishing.

Will, knocked to the ground, quickly curled up to guard against a follow-up attack.

This was the instinct of every knight and martial artist who grew up in the borderlands.

This was what set him apart from Goblin Professionals.

The expected follow-up attack never came. When Will sprang up, Ogre was already gone.

'Where is he!' Will ignored the messy hair on his forehead, scanning his surroundings warily.

When he saw Ogre, he found him clutching his chest.

Boom—boom! Boom!

The continuous drumbeats came from nowhere, irritating Will.

But he couldn't afford to think about it now.

"Slash!" Upon seeing his target, Will immediately launched his attack.

Will intended to use an overwhelming strike to cut down Ogre in one blow, to make up for his lost image.

But the mishap in their initial clash made him realize his opponent wasn't simple.

He didn't hold back anymore, gathering his Battle Qi and slashing out several crescent-shaped blue energy waves—Battle Qi Slash!

Battle Qi Slash was a very practical move.

Almost every human knight learned this move first after completing the Circle of Life.

It transformed Battle Qi into a light blade, a qualitative change.

This gave knights the ability for mid-range combat.

Convenient, fast, practical—this was the consistent evaluation of Battle Qi Slash by Professional Knights.

As the intensity of Battle Qi increased, and with different attributes granted by various Breathing Techniques, Battle Qi Slash often carried different powers.

The power attached to Will's Battle Qi Slash was only one—cold!

"Will is serious now."

The spectators outside were all staring intently at the battle, afraid to miss anything.

At this level of attack, there was no way to dodge except by jumping or ducking, because Will's Battle Qi Slashes covered half the field.

However, what no one expected was.

Ogre didn't dodge.

Crackle!

Dazzling blue electricity danced in the spear's glow, directly confronting the Battle Qi Slash.

The result was obvious—the cold Battle Qi Slash shattered with a single strike from the electrified spear.

Creating high temperatures was far easier than causing low-temperature damage.

Ogre didn't retreat but advanced, directly facing Will.

"Thunder Battle Qi! How is that possible!" A Professional Knight in the stands couldn't help but stand up.

"No—that's not Battle Qi." A Professional dressed as a Mage adjusted the monocle on his right eye and confidently replied, "Battle Qi covers the whole body, stable and rhythmic, but his electricity is more like what a Control Type Mage would produce."

"Are you saying this guy is also a Mage? A Magic Swordsman?"

A Magic Swordsman was a rare branch of Shaping Type Mages.

"No... this should be his innate power, I believe it's most likely a natural power from his bloodline." The Mage confidently answered.

'Damn, how does he have this kind of power!'

The audience in the stands was thrilled, but Will's mind was in chaos.

Because he realized—Ogre's speed had increased again!

And that annoying drumbeat was getting louder and louder!