Villain's Evolution: Investing in My Minions Yields Crazy Returns!

”Level 29?” Victor looked at him, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. ”Looks like you’re not nearly as difficult to deal with as I imagined.”

”Don’t get too cocky!” Edmund’s expression darkened.

As a talented Level 29 upperclassman, he had already been dissatisfied with the reputation Victor had recently gained. Now that his attack had been effortlessly neutralized in front of so many students, the anger burning in his heart naturally grew even stronger.

Boom!

His mana erupted once again!

This time, the pale blue glow surrounding Edmund’s sword became noticeably more intense, and even the air around the blade began to show faint distortions.

”Swift Wind Consecutive Slashes!”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Accompanied by a low shout, several fierce sword lights suddenly erupted, enveloping Victor from different angles!

Unlike the simple thrust he had used previously, Edmund was now clearly employing a genuine combat sword skill. Not only had his attack speed increased considerably, but the angles of his strikes had also become much more unpredictable. His continuous slashes flowed seamlessly into one another, leaving his opponent almost no opportunity to catch his breath!

But Victor remained completely unruffled.

His footwork shifted lightly while the training sword in his hand moved continuously, each strike meeting Edmund’s attack at precisely the right angle. There were no unnecessary movements, nor did he waste even the slightest bit of strength.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The crisp sounds of colliding metal rang out one after another!

One sword light after another was precisely intercepted by Victor. When Edmund attempted to conceal a sudden diagonal slash from below within his continuous barrage, Victor seemed to have seen through his intentions long beforehand. He shifted sideways in advance, causing the hidden strike, which should have disrupted his defensive rhythm, to miss once again!

This scene gradually silenced the students in the spectator stands.

Originally, they had expected the match to be completely dominated by the Level 29 professional. Even if Victor could rely on some special methods to hold out for a while, there was no way he should have been able to gain an advantage in a direct swordsmanship confrontation.

Yet everything unfolding before their eyes had completely exceeded their expectations!

Victor, who was only Level 23, was actually relying on his own swordsmanship to withstand Edmund’s relentless attacks head-on!

And judging from his appearance, he even seemed to be handling them with ease!

”Is this guy... really only Level 23?”

”Edmund’s Swift Wind Consecutive Slashes were completely blocked?”

”Haven’t you noticed? Victor’s defensive timing is perfect every single time! It doesn’t look like he’s reacting at the last moment at all!”

Hushed discussions gradually spread through the spectator stands.

Meanwhile, Edmund, who was personally fighting Victor, understood the pressure he was experiencing far better than any of the spectators.

”Impossible!”

Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead, and his sword hand had begun to grow slightly numb from the continuous exchanges.

Judging from their earlier clashes, although Victor’s strength and speed were certainly impressive, they were still far from sufficient to overwhelm him through physical attributes alone.

What truly made Edmund uncomfortable was his opponent’s almost unbelievable ability to predict his movements!

No matter which direction he attacked from or how he altered his sword techniques, Victor always responded at precisely the right moment. Several times, Edmund had barely begun changing the direction of his sword when Victor’s blade had already moved into position to intercept it, as though every single one of his actions had been thoroughly exposed!

The feeling was practically suffocating!

”How can something like this be possible?!”

Edmund gritted his teeth and swung his sword again, unwilling to accept the situation.

However, just as he prepared to continue attacking, Victor’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

’That’s enough.’

After exchanging blows for a while, he had already gained a fairly thorough understanding of Edmund’s combat habits.

Whether it was the angles he preferred to attack from, the rhythm of his consecutive strikes, or even his instinctive defensive movements when facing a counterattack, Victor had already formed a general understanding of them all.

There was little point in continuing the fight.

Since that was the case...

’Let’s end this!’

Victor suddenly exerted force beneath his feet!

[Shadow Blink]

Buzz!

An almost imperceptible mana fluctuation flashed through the air, and his figure suddenly vanished from its original position, leaving behind a rapidly fading afterimage!

”What?!”

Edmund’s pupils contracted violently!

Before he could even make out Victor’s movement trajectory, a dark afterimage had already appeared on his right side!

It was fast! So fast that Edmund didn’t even have time to turn around completely. He could only rely on his combat experience to hastily raise his training sword, attempting to block the incoming attack!

However, the instant Edmund assumed a defensive posture, Victor’s sword suddenly changed its original attack trajectory!

[Heaven Burning Sword Art!]

Although his mastery was currently only at the Beginner Stage, with the assistance of [Combat Intuition], Victor’s ability to grasp the precise timing of his sword strikes had already reached an astonishing level!

There were no unnecessary movements or complicated variations in technique.

He simply seized the momentary opening Edmund had exposed while hastily defending himself and swung his sword with tremendous force!

Bang!

The two training swords collided fiercely!

A powerful impact erupted instantly, causing Edmund’s sword arm to tremble violently. The defensive stance he had barely managed to establish was forcibly broken apart by the strike, and his entire center of gravity became momentarily unstable!

Just as alarm surged through Edmund’s heart and he prepared to forcefully readjust his posture, Victor had already smoothly rotated his wrist.

Whoosh!

The sharp sword tip traced an extremely short arc through the air before stopping steadily in front of Edmund’s throat.

The entire sequence had happened so quickly that, from the moment Victor activated Shadow Blink to the instant his final sword strike broke through Edmund’s defense, barely a heartbeat had passed!

Edmund’s body immediately froze in place.

He lowered his head and stared at the training sword hovering less than an inch from his throat. His face, which had previously been flushed from the intensity of the battle, gradually turned pale.