Pillar of Yita

Then there was a high balance damage, forcing him to take half a step back.

Fang Hong still hadn’t summoned the Energy Angel and took a step forward.

R’s voice was a beat slow: ”Get close to him.”

After Nightingale retreated, he immediately sensed someone in the darkness approaching him, and felt a shock in his heart—is the opponent a Supreme One? Because among Combat Artisans, only a Supreme One would engage in close combat. If that’s the case, he’s made a big mistake.

Because judging from the previous performance of the Screeching Banshee, he always assumed the opponent was a Construct Lord.

Actually, his guess wasn’t entirely wrong.

But Fang Hong and R clearly don’t play by the rules.

Fang Hong swiftly retracted his right claw, simultaneously drawing a short sword with his left hand, and swung it at the opponent’s neck. He learned his short sword fighting skills from a certain ’young lady’, though he hadn’t put in much experience and only grasped the basics. But knowing what kind of person Handwasher is, even if he wasn’t the top Nightingale in the country, he was definitely at the top of the first tier.

’She’ taught experiences that were naturally the essence of art.

This sword strike was incredibly cunning—typically, even if ten Handwashers had taught him, Fang Hong wouldn’t be so arrogant as to challenge a genuine Nightingale in short sword skills, but at this moment, his opponent had lost their balance.

And Nightingale had no time to judge if the sword attack was high or low. He instinctively felt he couldn’t handle it and had no choice but to tilt his head back and topple backward.

This tumble was not without cost. At least the emergence of blue evasion damage was real.

”Qualified,” R said, though there was a hint of surprise in his voice.

Miya was also looking at him, with a trace of surprise in her silver eyes. She had seen Fang Hong’s Alchemy talents before, and although Little White had mentioned that he had some combat talents as well, this was the first time she saw him fight in person.

Clearly, he was much better than she imagined.

Skills and levels can be refined, but sharp combat intuition is a must-have condition for a top Invoker.

After the Nightingale’s roll, he also immediately realized something was wrong. The opponent’s clumsy short sword skills clearly couldn’t resemble that of a Supreme One. He guessed he had been tricked and couldn’t help but curse.

After two exchanges, the balance and evasion values were significantly depleted. However, the Nightingale had roughly gauged Fang Hong’s actual level and now retracted his two daggers, preparing to roll forward and get close to Fang Hong again. After all, having probed the opponent’s inadequacy in close combat, he naturally intended to engage in melee.

However, before the opponent could act, Miya’s calm voice had already reached Fang Hong’s ears:

”Mongoose Strike, twelve feet, follow with two consecutive strikes.”

Fang Hong took a step back, once again casting the Clockwork Fairy.

Nightingale lunged forward, stabbing both daggers ahead, ’coincidentally’ missing once more. Additionally, Fang Hong, trained by Odin and Miss Leiya to near reflex, sidestepped, and even countered with a slash at Nightingale.

Nightingale reacted quickly, blocking with a metallic clang.

Both felt uncomfortable after the exchange; Fang Hong’s short sword was nearly knocked out of his hand after being blocked—despite having initiated the attack, his block and balance were nearly depleted. Nightingale felt equally bad because missing the initial Mongoose Strike had already caused a loss of balance.

After that block, the evasion and balance values plummeted once again.

Fang Hong was pushed back several steps, hitting a wall. Nightingale immediately knelt on one knee.

”What the hell are you doing?” R was a bit annoyed: ”Why did you attack him, do you think you’re Odin?”

Fang Hong felt exasperated. That earlier sword strike was purely instinctive because Odin’s flow of moves naturally followed that sequence. He learned the flow but didn’t expect habit to become nature—if he were a warrior, the opponent would likely have already conceded.

Unfortunately, he’s just a Combat Artisan.

Luckily, Fang Hong had a way to compensate. In any other profession, upon separation, it would have given Nightingale a chance to catch his breath. But Fang Hong is a Combat Artisan, specifically one that follows an unconventional path.

A flash of light in the darkness, and Nightingale finally saw the previously golden flash was the Clockwork Fairy—but who sends Clockwork Fairies slamming into faces? Actually, this collision wouldn’t take much life, at most forcibly deduct a bit of health.

Yet human instincts are hard to change, like the subconscious reaction to protect the eyes. Nightingale instinctively swung his knife, splitting the Clockwork Fairy in two.

This sword appeared impressively graceful, but Nightingale’s expression changed as soon as he struck.

Fang Hong lifted his hand once more, firing a Rocket Claw from his left hand.

At such a close range, Nightingale barely had time to react; his intuitive dodge finally saved his life, retreating due to a system-forced evasion at nearly 80% evasion value cost. Twisting at an impossible angle to evade Fang Hong’s attack.

But though he dodged, he lost all center and balance, immediately crashing to the floor. Fang Hong managed to hold back until this moment, lifting his injured right hand painfully and swung forcefully—a blue light appeared behind Nightingale, outlining a graceful female form.

”Now.”

Miya’s voice was slightly delayed.

Energy Angel raised both hands, thrusting the dual blades downward.