Vanguard of the Eternal Night

translator: xiin

editor: kara

No matter how hard the match was, it still needed to be played.

No matter how powerful the boss was, it still needed to be attacked--in short, it was either taking down the boss or being crushed to death by the boss.

Cardinal readjusted his mental state. This time, after entering self-reflection, Cardinal clearly realized one thing:

Stealth was ineffective against Odin.

Why was it ineffective? How could it be ineffective? No matter how he thought about it, the system couldn't possibly allow a person to have the ability to see through invisibility…

Therefore, Odin must have either a very special technique or lots of experience in order to be able to see through his stealth and diversions.

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Like all assassins, after identifying his opponent's strengths, Cardinal no longer continued to casually use his usual routines.

So, this time, instead of going into stealth, he chose to create an absolute opportunity.

Hook-shaped junctures were used to connect the carriages in a classic train. Cardinal quietly opened the connection point in front of the second carriage.

If the second carriage was suddenly disconnected from the front engine, it would instantly lose its huge forward velocity, then slow down due to friction--

In this state, people who were unprepared would definitely readjust their stance in order to deal with the inertia. No matter how strong a person was, there would definitely be such a moment!

This was the moment Cardinal was aiming for.

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When the carriage suddenly started to slow down, a screeching sound came from the friction between the rail and the wheels. At that moment, Tyron's figure in the carriage shook, and he adjusted his standing position.

The commentator also shouted at this time, "Here's his chance!"

It was in this short second that Cardinal stormed in again, sweeping in from the front of the carriage!

His blade cut through the chilly air in a flash, leaving a dazzling white light in Tyron's dark, golden eyes.

Tyron didn't dodge, exploding into high-speed movement from his original static state to clash against Cardinal's daggers--he transformed that moment of inertia into a startling forward dash!

The two assassins moved as fast as lightning. When they moved towards each other from opposing sides, they practically clashed together in the blink of an eye, and in the next blink, they had already passed by the other party!

Only then could the 'ding' sounds of metallic impact be heard, reminding people that during those two blinks, there had already been a confrontation of blades.

Then, they watched the health bars of both people decrease at the same time.

Tyron went from full health to 89% as the system judged that Cardinal had landed a three-hit combo!

Meanwhile, Cardinal's health dropped from 80% to 39%, the system judging that Odin had landed an eight-hit combo!

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The two men had only intersected paths for a mere moment.

After that, they both turned around at the same time and abruptly came face-to-face with each other&#k2013;&#k2013;Tyron was obviously more agile, and he started his next attack faster, heading towards Cardinal head-on once again.

Cardinal’s steps stalled, and he slid back, greeting Tyron’s lightning-quick short sword as he retreated!

The male commentator grew excited, "Blade fight! It's too fast to describe, hurry up and fight!"

As expected, it was a fierce storm of bladed attacks!

When two assassins were in close proximity and moved continuously at high speeds with one in front and one behind, the most likely situation would be a blade-wielding fight--

Nobody dared to use skills or techniques during such an ultra-high-paced fight, because after their speeds were raised up like this, each 0.5 second period may provide a whole set of combo opportunities for their opponent, and combos represented a massive amount of damage!

Blade fights were also one of the basic skills required of a melee contestant. Melee contestants could have no techniques or be unfamiliar with the system skills, but their ability to have a blade-wielding fight must have reached a certain level… Otherwise, they were nothing but ordinary people who couldn't even wield a blade. Even if they had a myriad of attack skills, they would still be unable to grasp opportunities and keep up with the pace of the fight!

When professional players, who had reached a high level of proficiency in blade fighting, fought against each other, it was similar to having peak martial arts masters fight with their internal power… This was something that couldn't be faked at all and also served to best reflect each individual's basic fighting level.

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In blade fights between warriors, the moves were often big and open, full of vigor and energy; but when two assassins had a blade fight, it was as quick as a spark of light, and everything happened too quickly for the eye to keep up!

All of the offensive and defensive blade movements were like trajectory lines in Cardinal's eyes.

At first, these tracks were easy to navigate through, but soon, as the speed of the blade movements grew faster and faster, the tracks became shorter and shorter--he began to fall behind Tyron's pace.

Seven strikes in a second! This was the limit of what Tyron had previously used in competitions… but, he was still speeding up!

Cardinal's forehead was covered in uncontrollable sweat. He had already retreated to the end of the third carriage and had to use the closed door to help him resist the overwhelming pressure coming from in front of him.

Male commentator: "The data is still rising steadily! Eight strikes per second!"

Cardinal's health began to drop steadily!

His eyes could no longer completely catch all of Tyron's movements. His strategy had changed from using all he had to defend against all of the opponent's strikes to trying his best to resist the moves that he could.

However, Tyron's speed was still accelerating!

It felt as though he was suspended on a steel wire, gradually coming to face the endless abyss beneath him--Cardinal knew that there was a limit, and that limit could be found in his own death, but he didn't know how long it would take to reach it.

This kind of feeling was like being watched closely by the God of Death, but it was nothing more than this.

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A hallucinatory whisper rang out in the air!

It was unreal and pure, sounding as though spirits were singing.

At first, everyone thought it was just some inconsequential noise.

But soon, they discovered that the quiet whisper was getting louder and closer--it was coming from the short sword, Song of Triumph!

The faster Tyron's blades moved, the less frequently his dagger, Deep Silence, appeared, because his Song of Triumph was about to be so fast that it was reaching the upper limits of speed!

It was like flying lightning, leaving graceful arcs and light tails in Cardinal's eyes while simultaneously sounding out in joy.

However, when it reached its opponent's ears, the sound was more like the low sound of a death knell.

Cardinal's heart suddenly tensed up because of the sound! He resolutely stopped the blade fight and crossed his two blades in front of him--

Technique: Wined Snake Strangle!

Cardinal's two daggers crossed and whirled in an instant, charging straight towards that streak of lightning.

All of this happened in a short moment, and everyone subconsciously held their breath as they watched Cardinal's last stand--

Would his health be depleted completely by Tyron's blade, or would he be able to complete his desperate counterattack and extricate himself from this extremely beautiful yet terrible blade fight dilemma?

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Nobody expected that the lightning flash would suddenly disappear.

When Cardinal took back his blades and resolutely decided to face a combo hit head-on, Tyron had almost immediately also retracted his blades.

Then, when faced with his enemy's double daggers, Tyron's body suddenly fell back. In the middle of his dodge, his black cloak dissolved directly into the shadows…

Shadow Jump!

In the next instant, Tyron's shadow appeared behind Cardinal.

The short sword and dagger hadn't yet emerged from the shadows, and it was like a cold, black fog was wrapped around them when they landed silently on Cardinal's throat.

Tyron didn't move.

Because, Cardinal had shown his technique and yet had been side-stepped once again by Tyron. His center of gravity was shaken once again, and he helplessly sent his own body into Tyron's hands.

Cardinal's body trembled, and he cut his artery on that incomparably sharp blade, leaving a deep wound.

The system judged: Critical attack, fatal blow.

It wasn't until Cardinal died and disappeared in a streak of white light that Tyron appeared fully from within the shadows.

Like a statue of the God of Death, he waited until his enemy's death before suddenly dropping his two blades and letting the blood flow down from the snow-white blade to coalesce at the tip of the blade and drop into the air.

The game was over.

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The commentators were still explaining that last encounter when the two contestants returned to the stage.

"It seems that the difference in skill level between the two contestants is quite obvious. Unfortunately, Cardinal encountered Contestant Odin, who is very strong at blade fights. The blade fight between the two lasted for eight seconds. It was five strikes per second in the first second, reaching seven strikes per second by the fourth second. By the last second when we started to hear the cry of the short sword, it was almost nine strikes per second…"

"This data is really scary! According to the A-League's official records, the fastest for a double-bladed blade fight was 9.17 strikes per second, and it was achieved by an experienced senior 50 years ago."

"It was really a very unwise choice for Cardinal to enter a blade fight at the start. Although Odin's achievements in blade fights can't be said to be unprecedented, he is definitely still one of the few absolute masters in the arena!"

As he listened to these two commentators' words, Cardinal's inner thoughts were: It's easy for you to say! It's easy for you to say!! You go up and try to sneak attack Odin if you have the ability! You're making it sound like I had a choice not to fight against him with blades!

While he was raging crazily inside, Cardinal kept up the silent temperament of a master on the outside and absentmindedly went get a drink of water from beneath the stage.

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Tyron usually washed his hands during the five-minute half-time break. He would also take the opportunity to see what Victor was doing in the first row (did he appreciate his husband's heroism?).

This time, he looked over to find that Victor wasn't sitting in his own spot anymore but rather sitting next to Cardinal's relatives and chatting with Cardinal's younger cousin.

Tyron: "……"

The master assassin knew how to read lips, so he spent a moment to see what they were talking about.

Victor: "You see, my boyfriend doesn't use a plug-in. He's stronger than your big cousin."

Younger cousin: "I don't believe it! My big cousin is the best in the world! Your boyfriend must be using a plug-in! It's just that the group of idiots in the A-League haven't discovered it!"

Victor made an 'oh' sound, looked left and right, then showed a very dark and terrible expression, "Little friend, do you dare to say it again? If you lie with your eyes open, you'll be picked up and eaten by a special child-eating devil--the devil will peel off your skin in a hot spring, then fry and toss you around over and over again! Stir! Fry! Braised! Stewed! Exploded! …"

He hadn't even finished speaking.

The little cousin burst into tears and wailed, "Waaaaaaaah!!"

Victor hid away his demonic expression instantly and showed a guilty expression. He quickly glanced around to ensure that the camera hadn't captured the scene and quickly took out two pieces of chocolate, handing them over to the little cousin.

The little cousin accepted the chocolate, but he was still sniffling and crying.

Tyron: "……" My Vic… Well, he'd learned well.

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At this time, Cardinal had discovered that Tyron was looking at the seating area for relatives, so he also came over to take a look.

He saw his little devil-like cousin starting to cry endlessly once again, yet Victor, who was sitting next to him, didn't seem to mind! He even gently treated him to chocolate! And, he touched his head so kindly!

Cardinal was rather embarrassed as he spoke, "Ah, apologies, my younger cousin is a little naughty."

Tyron looked at him silently and didn't speak.

The master assassin suddenly felt that his Vic… might have the potential to excel one's master?!