Chapter 295: Practice Target
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
"Nice name! Any story behind it?" Wang Tong chewed on the possible meaning of the name. He wondered if it used to belong to Zhou Zhi.
"It belonged to a girl with rosy cheeks who loved power instead of powder." Li Ruoer confirmed Wang Tong's suspicions by alluding to General Zhou Zhi.
As her words ended, the blade started to dance with Li Ruoer's hand.
Wang Tong sensed that Li Ruoer had used double GN force. Although Ma Xiaoru's soul energy was at par with Li Ruoer, with the double GN, Li Ruoer's damage output was much higher. The usage of the double GN force was a secret kept only among the direct decedents of the creators of the five most potent tactics, and it had become one of the prerequisites of an Einherjar. There had been people outside the great houses that had achieved the sixth level in their cultivation. However, because they weren't aware of the double GN force, they would never become an Einherjar.
Since there had never been an Einherjar in House of Ma, it was clear that the Li Family had hidden the secrets of the double GN force away from even their closest allies. However, the Ma had also many closely guarded secrets that were unknown to the Li.
It was the first time that Wang Tong had ever seen such a practical yet deadly swordplay. He conceded that Li Ruoer was not only a master Enchantress, but also possessed robust physical attack capabilities. Unknown to Wang Tong, despite the enchanting effect of the Tactics of the Enchantress, the tactics was meant to be used during combat. Wang Tong had pushed Li Ruoer to a corner after defeating her in a few rounds of a battle of wits. The defeats and humiliations had hindered Li Ruoer's cultivation. So, Li Ruoer had also planned to attend the tournament, and just like the girl with the rosy cheeks, she too, craved power.
However, Li Ruoer was more devoted to her climbing up the ladder of power than Zhou Zhi, since she was convinced that she wouldn't meet a man who would steal her heart the way Li Feng had from Zhou Zhi.
Quickly, the room was filled with clangs of the metal hitting against each other. The sword carried a formidable force, with a striking technique that had been refined and improved over three centuries.
Li Ruoer worked hard to become the most powerful woman. She never considered herself less worthy than anyone else, including her brother. Although she also knew that the world did not revolve around her wishful thinking, she believed that as long as she continued improving herself, she would become the strongest one day.
She wanted to prove to the world that the Tactics of the Enchantress was the most powerful of all tactics, including the Tactics of Vayu of House of Li.
The Enchantress rained her attacks on Wang Tong and forced him into a defensive position. Wang Tong had thrown away the hammer, since it was heavy and cumbersome. However, he had kept the shield. Once he infused the shield with GN force, it became a very useful tool for defense against Rosy. Wang Tong registered a sinister intent that threatened to kill in Li Ruoer's every strike, despite the fact that it felt less belligerent than most swordplay techniques. Wang Tong reminded himself to be careful, not to be fooled by any seemingly benign moves. He reckoned that the enchantress had used him as a practice target for her cultivation, as he lamented her underestimation of the practice target's power.
After a forceful double-jab from the blade's tip, the shield shattered. The force threw Wang Tong off balance and made him stagger a few steps back. Li Ruoer rested her hands on the pommel of the blade and watched Wang Tong struggle to regain his balance. The shimmering blade seemed to have turned even brighter; the GN force was awakening the memories of generations of the enchantresses, releasing their power into the blade.
"Wang Tong, is that all you got? I will do away with you today!" Li Ruoer was slightly disappointed after seeing Wang Tong had failed to live up to her expectation. However, she would gladly get rid of her trouble.
Wang Tong threw away the remaining pieces of the shield and cranked up her soul energy. Having experienced the real power of both the Tactics of Blaze and the Tactics of the Enchantress, Wang Tong marveled at the difference and similarity between the two tactics. The two tactics had drastically different attack techniques and GN force attributes. However, they both used double GN force as the foundation of their damage output method.
"Come on, be nice! You are supposed to be a lady. Fine, I am done warm up now. Bring it on!"
"Save your bluff, show me what you got now while you still can. I promise you won't have a second chance!" Li Ruoer was disappointed by Wang Tong's power, since she had so far sensed only a fifth level soul energy, and he had very mediocre defensive and offensive abilities.
Wang Tong held a nonchalant smile as he clenched his fists. His fingers seemed to have squeezed out Li Ruoer's energy surrounding him, and replaced it with his own hungry GN force. Li Ruoer felt his power as well, and her face suddenly turned black.
She had never felt so much energy from anyone of her age, not even from her brother.
Knowing that any resistance was futile, Li Ruoer pulled her soul energy back to defend her sea of consciousness against the assault of Wang Tong's powerful force. All this while, the enchantress wondered how Wang Tong could have achieved this much power at such a young age.
Wang Tong licked his lips in excitement. The same outburst of energy field had paralyzed one of the disciples of the Templar, Hu Yangxuan. Therefore, Wang Tong was pleased to see that Li Ruoer didn't even flinch, and marveled at her incredible ability to react to changes during combat.
Eyes burning with a luster that meant vengeance, Li Ruoer attacked again.
Wang Tong was pleasantly surprised to see that his opponent was still able to attack while being under his overbearing energy field. He remembered what a nightmare it had been on the day that he had to break the spell of Mr. Wannabe's energy field. Wang Tong figured that the masters of the House of Li must have taught Li Ruoer the way of countering the powerful energy field, and therefore, she would be able to handle it with ease.
Wang Tong launched himself at Li Ruoer, fist boring down on the enchantress. He meant to overpower his opponent with greater GN force. However, his opponent was playing a different kind of game.
Wang Tong's attacked opened himself up and gave Rosy and opportunity to slide in. Li Ruoer was unaffected by Wang Tong's energy field and carried out her attack flawlessly.
Suddenly, Wang Tong found Rosy appearing right above his head and coming towards his neck. He tried to stop in his tracks, but was carried forward by his momentum. Luckily, the blade missed him as it swooshed by his ear. Even with the protection of the GN force, Wang Tong could still feel the deadly coldness from the blade.
Wang Tong marveled at the enchantress's power, but was unruffled. Ever since the training in the crystal space, he had forgotten what fear was like.
Li Ruoer attacked again, and Rosy cut open the air in front of Wang Tong's nose. Wang Tong managed to bend backward in the most awkward way and threw a kicked at his opponent. The unexpected and unusual maneuver made Li Ruoer lose her balance while trying to dodge the kick.
Both fighters pulled themselves back, and the two suddenly gained a dozen meter distance between them.
Li Ruoer was a very powerful fighter. However, since she was a girl and was younger, she had always been under the shadow of her brother. There had been only one female Einherjar in the past few centuries, so her family didn't expect her to become a warrior either.
The tip of rosy trembled as Li Ruoer channeled more GN force into it, making the body of the blade start to vibrate and hum. Li Ruoer also cranked up her soul energy all the way to two hundred and sixty.
"Rosy's Smile!"
Li Ruoer attacked with the blade in such a way that it was hard to tell if it were the Enchantress wielding the sword or the other way around. The body and weapon had merged into one. Imbued with deadly GN force, the tip of the blade pierced through Wang Tong's energy field and aimed squarely at Wang Tong's head.
Wang Tong threw himself at the attacker with a powerful punch. He was convinced that since women were naturally weaker than men regarding physical strength, he needed to play to his advantage and subdue the Enchantress with force.
Wang Tong's aim was true, but Li Ruoer's blade seemed to shift its track slightly in the most unfathomable fashion. The still trembling blade tip traced an arc as it glinted in the air and it cut through Wang Tong's clothes, and into his flesh. Li Ruoer's attacks were deceivingly plain, but underneath every seemingly straightforward attack was a sack of poison that would be unleashed at the most unsuspecting moment.
Wang Tong no longer held back his power and punched the blade with his signature move: the Layer Fist of Tong. Instead of attacking Li Ruoer, Wang Tong decided to focus on her blade, Rosy. It was a daring move since if there were the slightest weakness in Wang Tong's punch, he might never be able to punch again for the rest of his life.
The blade and the GN force infused fist collided with each other. Li Ruoer's body trembled as a flow of GN force surged back and forth between her body and the blade.
Suddenly, Rosy was knocked off course, creating an opening. Wang Tong took the opportunity and closed in on the Enchantress. Wang Tong had registered that the perfection in the Enchantress's executions had become her enemy, since it had made her moves very predictable.
Once Wang Tong got close to Li Ruoer, he attacked with abandon and rained punches and kicks onto the Enchantress and her blade. Li Ruoer held her ground firmly and continued to execute her defensive moves flawlessly. From time to time, she was even able to sneak in one attack or two, trying to break the engagement. However, Wang Tong was able to dodge these attacks using the most unlikely and daring moves so that he wouldn't break the momentum of his aggression.
The flow of the combat had gone under Wang Tong's control as he forced the Enchantress to a corner and pinned her down. Despite Rosy's initial absorption of the force in Wang Tong's attacks, Li Ruoer still found it difficult to handle the power that had passed through the blade to her hand and though her body. Despite her usage of the double GN force, she could feel that her opponent's attack was gaining more vigor and energy after each strike.