Foggy Moon Garden, under the cloud canopy tree.

Although the scene of the turmoil had been "cleaned" by the elves who arrived in time, the remaining blood and traces of the collision of knives and guns, the trampling of iron boots, and the soil that had been splashed with blood and penetrated were unusually soft.

In an extremely strange and solemn atmosphere, all the elves of the entire Misty Moon Court were gathered in a circle under the cloud canopy tree, and in the center was this blood-stained, Colosseum-like sand.

Although the elven elders repeatedly emphasized that the two "messengers from afar" were engaged in a "battle of honor" under the joint witness of the ancient wood forest, the elves present, especially the war dancers, still could not hide the desolation in their eyes, and they were silent among the excited and excited young elves around them.

Like Luca, what they saw was not a "warrior duel" that risked their lives, honor and position, but the proud Gumu Forest between the empire and the Azorean kingdom, and even their own fate had to be turned into a bet and left to outsiders to decide.

This almost hopeless sense of powerlessness and unspeakable humiliation tormented them deeply......

In the middle of the sand, Middel, who was standing with his hands in his hands, took his saber from the iron-faced Lukka with a modest smile, and looked at the black-haired wizard opposite him leisurely, as if he had already won the victory.

“...... Loren, is it really okay?" The worried Al Yin stood aside, constantly "peeping" at the figure of the Azorean elf: "The other party is so confident, and the void reaction on his body is also very strong......"

"Rest assured, the so-called 'way of the samurai' of the Azorean elves is no longer a secret to me. Loren smiled and waved his hand, signaling the little wizard not to worry.

What's more, Loren himself also wants to try to see how far his level has become.

In the three years since the end of the Centaur War, although Byrne has been at war almost constantly, most of them are small-scale mobilizations and mainly witchers, and Loren's chances of being able to do it himself have greatly decreased, and he has hardly ever met an opponent of the level of Valkyrie Brünnhilde and Faoda again.

The only evil god apostle encountered was the Dwarven High King, and he was just a puppet Sibe, who was used by the "Black Cross" Serol to force the dwarves to civil strife, and he was not even as good as the centaur leader Chakar.

Middle... This Azorean elf is the first opponent he has met in three years that deserves to be taken seriously.

Even if it is just to find out the reality of the Azorean elves and find out what the so-called "way of the samurai" system is all about, this battle Loren must accept.

And most importantly... Why refuse?

He could leave the choice to the elven elders and let them decide, but that would be risky, and even if he agreed, it would probably be made very ineffective due to internal divisions.

Middell was right, killing him (or himself) in front of all the Oldwood Forest Elves was the best way to cut off the Oldwood Forest's right to choose, on the one hand, it could also serve as a deterrent, fear... It can make "friendship and peace" more unbreakable.

In the end, killing the other party's difficult character is equivalent to destroying the plans of the Azorean kingdom (empire) and buying more time for your own side.

Kill three birds with one stone.

At this moment, the restless sand suddenly fell silent.

As a witness to the "Battle of Honor" and the "temporary representative" elected by the elders, the Elder of the Foggy Moon Court slowly walked into the sand, looked at the two separately, and sighed in a low voice with a deep sadness.

Could it be that the future of the Ancient Wood Forest is to be decided by outsiders?

But there is no way to do it, if you want to let the Ancient Wood Forest decide for itself, no matter what kind of choice it is, it will definitely lead to a split in the end, and the already very loose Ancient Wood Forest will be divided into two, or even three......

That's what they never want to see.

"Today, we are here to witness a duel between two distinguished guests from afar, who gambled their lives and honor. The words of the Elder of the Misty Moon Court echoed under the cloud canopy tree:

"May the radiant sun bless the unyielding, and the moon that shines in the eternal night bless the righteous;"

"May the ancient cloud-crowned trees give them the courage to face life and death, and may the birds in the forest remind them of the faith in their hearts;"

"May the winner win, and the loser lose!"

Elder Foggy Moon Court took a deep breath, staggered back to the edge of the sand, and took the spear that symbolized the "Battle of Honor" from Luka's hand with a complicated expression.

The moment the tip of the gun hits the ground, it is the moment when the duel begins.

Standing in place, Midel breathed relaxedly, and leisurely pulled out the Azorean long knife from its sheath, the snow-bright blade as a mirror, leaving a two-step shadow in the bright sun.

Loren took the spear "Dragon's Tooth" from the little wizard and walked into the middle of the sand with a solemn expression.

There are two main considerations for using "Dragon's Tooth" instead of Byrne's Mithril greatsword "Dawn".

First of all, the night's duel proved that the opponent's move was unknown, but he was not afraid of the Mithril weapon, and the "Dragon's Tooth" was long enough to withstand the sneak attack of the "Folding Shadow Sword".

The best way to deal with this kind of enemy who is good at close-quarters sneak attacks is to keep a certain distance so that he can't stick to it.

"I see, use a long weapon to keep a distance from me, so that the power of the Shadow Folding Sword cannot be unfolded. Middell looked up and smiled and glanced at the dragon tooth in Loren's hand:

"But long weapons also have the disadvantage of long weapons, and they can't be fully used within an elbow - have you ever thought about such a problem?"

"Don't bother. Loren sneered and unceremoniously pushed back: "How the war dancers fight, I will fight." ”

"Oh......" Middel's eyes lit up, "It's the first time I've heard of a human learning the skills of an elven war dancer—it's a rare sight than the Dawn Moon." ”

"No, no, no, it's not that exaggerated, I'm just a good mimic. ”

"Lord Loren Turin, you're kidding again, there are only a handful of humans in the world who can imitate the War Dancer... I would like to ask, which elven warrior taught you?"

"You want to know?"

"Of course. ”

"But I don't want you to know. ”

"You really haven't changed, you're still so funny......"

The two of them kept going back and forth as they spoke, and it wasn't until the Elder of the Misty Moon Court raised his spear that they each took a step back, their eyes solemnly waiting for that moment.

Quiet tree shadows, a green leaf falling in the wind.

The spear was raised above his head, and he saw the Elder of the Fog Moon Court gritting his teeth, as if pouring all his strength into the body of the spear, and fell violently.

Bang——!

The tip of the spear sank into the dirt and landed firmly in the sand.

"Duel... Let's go!"

The moment the words fell, Middel's gaze changed suddenly.

Falling leaves, split in two!

The Azorean elves, who were still standing in place a moment ago, had already raised their knives to get closer in the blink of an eye, only five steps away.

The black-haired wizard with a blank face was unhurried, and the tip of the "Dragon's Tooth" spear swept through, forcing Middle's next plate with Sensen's killing intent.

But at that moment, there was a sudden chill in my chest.

Not good!

The hands holding the gun tensed, and instinctively withdrew the dragon's fangs that were stabbing straight ahead, while the head shifted to the right.

"Ding ——!"

Almost as the barrel of the gun was withdrawn, sparks erupted directly in front of the tip of the spear, and the long knife, which pretended to be a stab, left only one scar on the right shoulder.

Loren's heartstrings tightened, and without hesitation, he chose to slide and dodge, completing the defense while turning on "Beyond Perception".

"Well hidden!"

Middel, who calmly put away the knife, had a hearty smile on the corner of his mouth, and there was a hint of appreciation in his eyes: "Not bad, yes, the second encounter, you can actually see through the trick of the 'Folding Shadow Sword'... I'm still underestimating you. ”

"But last time we were just a game between friends to enjoy the moon, this time if you accidentally 'slipped' your hand again......" dragged a long note, and the corners of Middle's eyes showed a hint of coldness:

“...... But you really have to lose your life. ”

The black-haired wizard squinted, his eyes full of solemnity.

The so-called Folding Shadow Sword... Not only can he make his knife "longer", but he can also make his shadow turn into substance, becoming a second "Azorean long knife".

In other words, he had to deal with the attacks of both of his knives at the same time, and one of them would attack in the opposite direction, and even change its length in an instant due to the different angles of the sun.

Is... What a disgusting trick.

"I don't like such a despicable trick, but that's what it is... It's only interesting if it's full of unknowns. Middlel raised the corners of his mouth: "So come on, Lord Loren Turin......"

“...... Surprise me!"

The long knife rose horizontally, swinging at the black-haired wizard like a swift shadow.

Well?!

The long knife of the wheel dance left three afterimages in the air at the same time - cold to the point of killing intent, like a ghostly three sharp blades, attacking itself from the left, center, and right at the same time!

With a dazzling blade, even Loren, who has turned on "Beyond Perception", can't tell which one is a feint attack and which one is the real killing machine.

Which of the three offensives is real?

Or is it... His real killer move is hidden in the shadows?

Clenching his teeth, Loren quickly retreated, the tip of the dragon's tooth poking in from the center of the three afterimages, straight to Middel's face.

"Bell ——!"

The flames flared, and the tip of the gun was blocked.

But Blade didn't!

The bright blade glided less than three inches in front of Loren's eyes—if he hadn't chosen to retreat immediately, he would have landed on the ground at this moment.

"Poof——!

A fleeting shadow still left a bloody mark on Loren's right arm.

"Oh, hey, I warned you, why would I make the same mistake?" Middle, who swung the knife sharply, smiled cynically at the corner of his mouth: "Where the shadow of the knife sweeps, it is my blade." ”

"Regardless of the reflection of the sun and the moon......

Or is it an afterimage left by a visual pause......

It doesn't make a difference to me, it's just a sharp blade in my hand. ”

The expressionless Loren took two steps back, reopened his stance, and raised the edge of the dragon's teeth.

"The blade that lurks in the shadows and afterimages... The Shadow Folding Sword is such a despicable and insidious move. Dragging the long knife in his hand, the smiling Midl approached step by step, and his narrowed eyes contained a strong killing intent:

"It's completely inconsistent with Zaixia's character who likes fair duels - but it can't be helped, this is the way of the samurai who practices in Xia, the killing ghost who manipulates the shadows. ”

This guy... Or so much nonsense.

The black-haired wizard sighed, this was not the first time he had been pressed head-on by the enemy, but it was the most humiliating.

Faoda, Chakar, Brunhild... Even the "Black Cross" Serol suppressed himself in almost all aspects, and could only find a glimmer of life in the struggle.

The feeling they bring to themselves is like a natural disaster, and the strength is absolutely invincible and unshakable.

But the middel in front of him... But it is erratic and unpredictable, and he can clearly see his figure, but he seems to be hiding in the dark, like a shadow behind him, looming, and there seems to be no horror.

Just as he says it goes—the blade that lurks in the afterimage, the killer who manipulates the shadows.

"Bell ——!"

The clash of blades was heard, and the long, narrow blade struck the tip of the dragon's tooth again, without warning.

Loren's arm trembled slightly, and the force from the front made the spear sink and deviate from its original "track";

The light blade was unsinkable, but it skillfully suppressed the direction of the dragon's teeth, making it impossible for Loren to drag his spear to fight back.

Life and death are only in an instant!

The moment the blade was about to cut off his wrist, the black-haired wizard suddenly slid backwards to dodge, and at the same time released the "dragon teeth" without hesitation, causing Middell to miss the knife and barely win the gap of three steps.

Three Steps... That's enough!

Loren, who slid backwards, gently raised his left hand.

A high-level spell, the fire of Turin.

"Boom ——!!!!"

It was a heart-shaking roar, and the blinding golden red exploded between the two!

Watching the raging flames roll up, there were exclamations one after another around them.

But Middell didn't dodge, a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and the blade in his hand pierced straight into the dazzling flames.

"Poof——!

The knife flashed.

The cracking flames, like soft silk, slashed through the center with a flickering afterimage.

Loren's eyes widened, completely frozen.

How so?

How can it be......

The fire of Turin... The flames of the explosion actually ......

Cut off by him!

Before he could react, the black-haired wizard immediately slid back, dodging the afterimage that was coming towards the door.

"It's so dangerous, it's so dangerous, such a fierce flame, if you touch it, you'll be crushed immediately, right?" The golden-red fire reflected on Middel's face, making his smile a little more hideous:

"But you seem to have forgotten that the more ferocious the flame, the deeper its shadow becomes......"

"And the blade hidden in the shadow is getting sharper and sharper!"