harleyscars Chapter 490, Page 499: The Broken Cycle 9
Chapter 490, Page 499: The Broken Cycle 9
Chapter 490, Page 499: The Broken Cycle 9
After regaining his footing, Ian did not attack immediately.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly, looking at Kag who looked bewildered because his ultimate move had been broken, and a very faint look of "I've learned something" seemed to flash in his cold eyes.
immediately.
In the next few exchanges between Ian and Kag, Saruman was horrified to discover that Ian's swordplay began to show a subtle, ruthless, and direct style of combat, characteristic of Kag's battlefield fighting style, and even occasionally included a "devious" prelude to the previous underhanded move.
Although it was immediately covered by more refined techniques, that fleeting shadow made Saruman's scalp tingle!
He—he really is studying!
We're not just learning the moves, we're learning the style!
Learn that fighting instinct honed on the brink of life and death!
"Even something that's a matter of life and death can be cursed with a blood curse?" Saruman finally understood how pale and powerless his previous warning had been. In Ian's eyes at this moment, Kag had probably changed from an "intruder who needed to be eliminated or ignored" into a "moving, somewhat distinctive sample library of swordsmanship and fighting spirit."
What made Saruman even more desperate was that Ian didn't seem to be in a hurry to retaliate and end the fight. Instead, he seemed to be having fun and enjoying it. This realization sent a chill down Saruman's spine and made him feel an absurd sorrow more than any direct threat of death.
"No! No!!" At this moment, Kag also noticed something amiss. He belatedly realized that Ian didn't seem to be in a hurry to retaliate and end the battle.
Instead, it's more like observing and learning, or rather, it's all about observing and learning!
At first, Kag did not notice.
Extreme anger, a death wish, and the scorching heat from burning battle aura acted like a thick veil, obscuring his keen perception of the details of the battle.
He focused solely on attacking, squeezing every muscle and every wisp of fighting spirit to its limit, transforming them into the simplest yet most violent chopping, slashing, hacking, and thrusting! The greatsword, carrying a crimson storm, attempted to overwhelm the unfathomable youth before him with a torrent of pure power.
Ian's figure swayed amidst the storm of sword strikes, yet he remained steadfast. The ordinary longsword seemed to possess magic, always appearing in the most crucial places, effortlessly deflecting Ian's relentless attacks. Kag had only one thought in his mind: Break through it! Cut it down! Even forcing his opponent back a single step would be a victory for the warrior!
But gradually, an inexplicable sense of unease began to ripple in the lake of his raging heart. Ian's swordplay no longer seemed as "pure" as it had been at the beginning.
Some of the parrying moves that were originally extremely simple and as if measured with a ruler would occasionally have a very subtle, almost imperceptible prelude to the power just before the force was exerted. That was the tiny tremor that Kag had made habitually and almost instinctively when he used heavy weapons for a long time in order to unleash the maximum power in an instant!
Although Ian's shaking was smaller, more frequent, and more precise, Kag was all too familiar with his core intention to exert force!
The same applies to some evasive footwork.
Ian's originally graceful and elusive footwork, as elusive as a ghost, would occasionally incorporate a slightly clumsy but highly efficient side-sliding technique—that was the life-saving footwork that Kag had honed through countless trials on the battlefield amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, in order to change direction quickly in a small space and avoid fatal attacks!
When Ian used it, there was less of the brutality and messiness of the battlefield, and more of composure and precision. However, the explosive power of his instantaneous change of direction and the way he shifted his center of gravity made Kag recognize its source at a glance!
"They're really stealing my stuff!"
What truly shocked Kag was during one of their encounters.
He exerted all his strength, unleashing a powerful and devastating "Mount Hua Cleave" strike, aiming to split mountains and shatter rocks. The giant sword slashed down with a piercing sound as it cut through the air.
Ian still didn't take the blow head-on. Instead, he slashed upwards at an extremely tricky angle, the tip of his sword precisely hitting the weakest point on the side of the greatsword, cleverly deflecting the violent downward force.
This is not unusual.
Ian had used similar techniques many times before.
But then, in the instant that the greatsword was deflected and Kag's chest was slightly exposed, Ian took a step forward, his longsword changing from a sweeping motion to a thrusting motion, transforming into a swift, cold light, aimed directly at the opening in Kag's chest that was slightly leaning forward due to the exertion of force!
That thrust was swift, precise, and ruthless!
More importantly, his method of exerting force, the choice of angle, and even the momentum of going forward and focusing on breaking through a single point are surprisingly similar to his unique skill, "Armor-Piercing Thrust," which he has practiced for many years and is used to deal with heavily armored enemies. It emphasizes breaking through the surface by focusing on a single point and concentrating all the power of his body on the tip of the sword.
Although Ian's thrust was not enhanced by fighting spirit and relied purely on physical strength and timing, he had already grasped its essence!
"He—he's actually imitating me!" Kag was suddenly shocked, as if he had been doused with ice water, and the last bit of pride and wishful thinking vanished completely.
All that remains is sheer disbelief.
It's not uncommon for moves to be seen through and countered, but to be imitated by an opponent at such an astonishing speed during combat...
Even improvement? That would be the greatest humiliation of his decades of hard work!
They're toying with his pride!
Once again, anger, like fueled by oil, instantly burned away any lingering doubt. Shame overwhelmed everything.
"Damn it!!" Kag roared, his attacks not weakening with his stamina, but instead becoming even more ferocious and cunning in his rage! He no longer adhered to his usual battlefield tactics, and began to unleash some of his most trump cards...
He even unleashed complex sword techniques and combinations that he rarely used himself.
"Let's see how you learn now!"
With a fierce determination, he wielded his greatsword, his crimson battle aura sometimes transforming into raging waves crashing against the shore, and sometimes condensing like a venomous snake spitting its tongue. His sword moves combined feints and real attacks, alternating between fast and slow, attempting to use unpredictable variations to escape his opponent's terrifying learning ability.
However, the reality is cruel.
"Are you going through menopause?" Ian's sarcastic remark was quite witty. His learning speed was also so fast that it was almost despairing, even giving Kag the absurd feeling that he was actively "feeding" him tips.
Kag gritted his teeth and unleashed a signature move that had made him famous—"Spiral Slash"! This move requires special techniques for circulating battle qi, allowing the qi to spiral around the sword. When the sword is drawn, it not only has extremely strong penetrating power but also produces a strange rotating and tearing effect, specifically designed to destroy the enemy's defenses and weapons.
Back then, he used this very move to break through the magical armor and steel shield of an enemy general amidst a vast army, securing victory in one fell swoop.
The crimson greatsword, with a deep, drill-like hum, spun and pierced towards Ian, pulling and stirring up the chaotic energy flow around it!
"Great stuff! Great stuff! I've learned it!"
When Ian first saw this move, a glint seemed to flash in his cold eyes. He didn't choose to meet it head-on, nor did he completely dodge. Instead, he slightly turned his body, and his longsword slashed out at an extremely clever angle, the tip of the sword not aimed at the center of the greatsword, but rather grazing the edge of the swirling battle aura.
"Sizzle—!"
A piercing scraping sound rang out. Ian's longsword was like the most precise instrument; at the moment of contact, his wrist vibrated at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye! It wasn't a simple block; it was more like "stroking" and "feeling" the rotating rhythm, energy intensity, and power transmission of the spiraling battle aura!
The greatsword was guided to deflect, and Ian used the recoil to retreat lightly, while Ziguang remained locked on the fading spiral of battle aura on the Kager sword.
It was as if something was being rapidly recorded and analyzed in my mind.
"He can even learn this?"
Kag's heart sank, but his attack continued. After a slight adjustment, he tried to use "Spiral Slash" again, this time changing the direction of rotation and the angle of thrust.
However, when his greatsword thrust out again with a spiraling force, he was horrified to see that Ian's longsword also carried a slight rotational force in an extremely faint yet clearly discernible way! Although it lacked the power of battle aura, and was purely a clever exertion of the wrist and arm muscles, its core rotational trajectory and timing of force exertion had clearly grasped the essence of the "Spiral Slash"—that spiraling, penetrating feeling that concentrates power from the inside out!
"He really learned it! How is that possible!" Kag was absolutely certain this time, and the horror in his heart was like a cold tide that instantly overwhelmed his anger.
This is no longer a simple imitation of external movements!
This demonstrates an understanding of the core logic behind the techniques' power generation and energy utilization! How could a wizard possess such an extraordinary comprehension of a warrior's unique fighting spirit techniques?!
This is simply against common sense!
The battle continued, but Kag's mind was in turmoil.
He then used a series of "three-stage thrusts" that were perfectly coordinated with his footwork and made it difficult to distinguish between real and feint attacks.
He has a move called "Flash Strike" that uses his fighting spirit to instantly burst forth and achieve amazing acceleration and change of direction; he also has a move called "Reverse Flow Strike" that he rarely uses and combines force deflection with a fierce counterattack.
Ian, like a super learning machine with unlimited memory and a top-of-the-line processor, entered a highly efficient "data acquisition and pattern recognition" phase. He first cautiously observed and probed, occasionally imitating a few superficial aspects, but mostly sensing the force, trajectory, and intention of his opponent's moves while defending.
As the number of encounters increased, Kag became increasingly desperate, discovering that Ian's "imitation" was becoming more and more like Ian's, capturing his essence more and more. It wasn't just a resemblance in form; it was beginning to possess that unique "meaning."
Although the opponent's "three-stage thrust" was faster and smoother, lacking the bloodshed of battlefield combat, the oppressive feeling of its alternating illusions and relentless pressure was exactly the same.
Although the opponent's "blitzkrieg" lacked the dazzling effect of a burst of fighting spirit, it perfectly replicated the tactical thinking of instantly changing the rhythm and taking things by surprise.
Even the ingenious concept of "Reverse Flow Strike," which contains a counterattack opportunity within the block, was quickly understood by Ian and integrated into his own defensive system.
Later on...
"Behold my divine might!"
Ian was no longer content with simply imitating and replicating. He began to disassemble and analyze Kag's different moves, and then perform bizarre combinations and optimizations in actual combat!
"Huh?!?!?!" Kag saw that after Ian parried, his counterattack was a fusion of the focused penetration of "Armor-Piercing Thrust" and the prelude to the rotational power of "Spiral Slash". Although it was not completely fused, after all, it lacked the support of battle qi, but the strangeness of its idea and the ingenuity of its connection made Kag, the original owner, feel a chill down his spine!
A few minutes.
But to Kag, it felt like centuries.
Finally, he unleashed his most prized and powerful move—the "Mountain Cleave"! This move emphasizes concentrating all the strength and fighting spirit of the body into a single line, cleaving down from above with the force of a mountain crashing down, aiming for a decisive blow. It is a powerful weapon for attacking and breaking through defenses. Kag risked his last bit of fighting spirit and stamina, raising his greatsword high, crimson flames soaring into the sky, and then, with the force of a collapsing mountain, slashing fiercely at Ian!
This time, Ian did not use any clever tricks to deflect the attack, nor did he dodge.
The ordinary longsword in his hand traced a path almost identical to the trajectory of Kag's "Heavy Mountain Slash."
Yet it is more streamlined, more efficient, and features a perfect arc that eliminates all unnecessary pre-processing steps!
They started later, but arrived first!
At the most delicate and tense moment, when the power of the Kag greatsword reached its peak and was about to crash down, Ian's sword, as if prescient, precisely struck three inches below where Kag held the sword with both hands—an extremely hidden but real weakness in the chain of power transmission between the greatsword and battle aura.
It is also a "node" that is temporarily vulnerable due to the full force of the attack!
"clang--!!!"
A deafening clang of metal, far more muffled and powerful than any previous collision, rang out!
Kag felt a concentrated, sharp force, seemingly capable of piercing through any defense, surge through the sword, instantly shattering his already crumbling battle aura defenses! A tearing pain shot through his wrist, his hand split open, and blood splattered! For the first time, the indestructible greatsword that had accompanied him through many battles almost flew out of his grasp!
"I lost? I lost in close combat to a wizard???" He felt as if he had been hit by a giant hammer, staggering back seven or eight steps. Each step created chaotic energy ripples in the void, and his crimson battle aura flickered like a candle in the wind, almost completely dissipating!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"
He was panting heavily.
Kag barely managed to steady himself, veins bulging on his forehead, blood and sweat blurring his vision. He stared incredulously, almost blankly, at Ian, who remained standing there, his breathing perfectly steady. Ian casually twirled his sword, the movement fluid and natural, subtly carrying a hint of Kag's own ruthless and direct battlefield swordsmanship, yet governed by a more refined and sophisticated control.
It appears to be—perfectly natural, without any flaws?
Ian seemed quite satisfied with his attack, nodding in a tone that was almost bland and bored.
He spoke as if he were commenting on the taste of today's breakfast.
"Hmm, the power generation technique and energy utilization are interesting, but the moves are too rigid and lack variation. They're sufficient for dealing with grunts on the battlefield, but against true masters, the openings are too obvious. That 'Heavy Mountain Slash' just now," if the power from the waist and hips could be lowered by a third, the leverage would be even greater, and if the timing of the battle qi explosion could be advanced even by half a second, perfectly synchronized with the muscle power explosion, the power could increase by at least 30%. By the way, that weak point in the power transmission would also be covered by a stronger battle qi, preventing it from being easily broken through in one strike.
He spoke of it casually.
It was as if he were simply stating an obvious physical law. But every word was like the sharpest scalpel, precisely dissecting the core strengths and weaknesses of the Kag swordsmanship.
It also provided key areas for improvement!
Is this guy teaching me how to be a warrior?
At this moment, Kag was stunned, and it was difficult to describe his state of mind.