Chapter 312: Exchanging Blows

To the Sky Sword supporters, this originally was a competition that completely lacked suspense. But, after two losses in a row, they weren't as cocky as before. Judging from the current situation, they were glad that they acted reasonable because that man was equally matched with Mobis!

Shing!

The pitch-black sword in Rhode's hand was like a viper that wandered around Mobis. Mobis's blade emanated a green radiance, which formed a barrier to deflect the pitch-black sword. Crisp exchanges of strikes sounded and sparks flew between both men. Rhode took half a step back while Mobis snorted and brandished his Chrysoprase Sword. However, as his sword was about to pierce into Rhode's body, the black viper in Rhode's hands once again shot up and widened its huge mouth, aiming for Mobis' throat.

Clang!

The black and green blades clashed and their holders retreated simultaneously. Everyone stared in astonishment and at this moment, they weren't only impressed that Rhode was able to resist Mobis' attack, but they were also flabbergasted by his beautiful swordplay. In the middle of the arena, only two shadows were seen twisting and flashing.

How troublesome.

Mobis's heart sank. On the other hand, Rhode's expression remained unchanged as though he wasn't too concerned over who his opponent was. Even if it was the guild leader of Sky Sword, Rhode wasn't fearful at all.

This was only the beginning.

Both of them were clear on this. This battle appeared to be progressing fiercely. But, in fact, both sides were only probing each other out and hadn't given their best. From the exchange in blows, Rhode sensed that Mobis was being cautious. It was apparent that he had tightened his guard against the "country bumpkins" after suffering two losses in a row. This might not be good news for Rhode, but it wasn't bad either because he realised that not only was Mobis being cautious, but also hesitant. To Rhode, this was to take advantage of.

It's almost time.

Rhode lowered his head and turned to his Composition Adornment.

Triple-set properties ready.

Mobis raised his sword and tilted his body to the side. His sword and gaze aligned into a straight line, pointing forward.

Then, he dashed.

Dazzling green radiance darted toward Rhode. The blade slashed through the air and released an ear-piercing sound. That was Mobis' famous sword skill: Wind Hissing.

As coarse and wild as a storm. As gentle as a breeze. As ice-cold as a blizzard. The nimble Wind Hissing sword skill was a nightmare for most of his enemies. For the first few seconds, it made use of its aggression to force one breathless. At the next few second, it lowered its speed from a ten-grade gale to a three-grade wind. Such a change in tempo was the most obvious feature of the Wind Hissing sword skill. Once his opponent had fallen into its tempo, it would be much harder to escape from it.

However, it wasn't an issue for Rhode.

Rhode stooped over slightly and slanted his body to the side. Then, he was totally engulfed by the sword skill.

At the same time, Mobis stopped his attack abruptly and turned to the left. Then, the wind erupting from his blade instantly slowed down.

The pitch-black sword emerged in midair.

Rhode appeared beside Mobis. His razor-sharp, odd sword struck out a faint, ear-piercing sound as it secretly aimed for Mobis's heart. But, at this moment, the harmless Chrysoprase Sword transformed into a whirlwind.

The blade air erupted and protected Mobis from Rhode's attack, at the same time repelling the viper-like blade. Not only that, but the whizzing blade air also pushed Rhode off balance. Fortunately, Rhode wasn't gravely injured.

At this moment, Rhode's counterattack finally began.

He landed on the floor and leaped up with his pitch-black sword in hand. Dozens of meteor-like blade lights flashed and collided with Mobis' whirlwind defense.

Bam!

The whirlwind lost its force and dispersed while Rhode re-emerged before Mobis.

But Mobis didn't flinch at all.

He seemed to be waiting for this attack from Rhode and as the latter appeared, Mobis steadily took a few steps back and the Chrysoprase Sword in his hand erupted into a powerful whirlwind. The whirlwind shrouded the entire blade and blasted forward along with his movements.

—!

The ear-deafening whirlwind forced everyone's eyes shut. They instinctively cowered, shut their eyes, and avoided the sound.

The whirlwind blasted a deep crevice on the ground and shattered slabs were dragged into it. The audience headed for safety immediately.

No one imagined that a sword could possess such amazing powers.

Although the audience was horrified, they also felt relieved.

That man wouldn't survive that attack, right?

However, not everyone had such thoughts.

"What?"

Anne widened her eyes and tilted her head in suspicion.

"Leader is so weird."

"Weird?"

Lize turned to her.

"What's weird, Anne?"

"Hmm... How should Anne put it?"

Anne knitted her brows.

"... Leader seems to be lacking something... Oh yea, oh yea! Those spirits that Leader had by his side during battles. This time, Anne didn't see any of them!"

"Hmm? Now that you mentioned it..."

Lize turned to the arena curiously. Indeed, if Anne didn't mention so, she wouldn't have realised it. But now that she thought about it, in this battle, Rhode's performance was a little out of the norm. No matter what kind of battle he got into, he had summoned all sorts of spirits to fight alongside him. But this time, he battled alone... Previously, Lize thought that something wasn't right and now, she finally got a hold of what the problem was.

But... What was going on?

At this moment, the battle had an abrupt change in situation.

Mobis didn't belittle Rhode's strength, but the latter's [Shadow Embrace] had given him a lot of trouble. From the exchange of blows earlier, Mobis understood that this young man was no weaker than him in strength.

This discovery stunned him. If Rhode continued to grow, he would surely reach the Legendary Stage in future. For such a formidable opponent to be in the King's Party, Mobis had unprecedented fears.

He realized that Rhode's understanding of sword skills was equally immense, or even more so.

This was the first time Mobis had an intention to kill.

Indeed, he was the guild leader of the Sky Sword Guild and hoped that his guild could win. But at the same time, he was also a loyal follower of the Reformist Party. Could he stand idly by and see such a powerful enemy join the King's Party?

Definitely not.

Finally, his loyalty toward the Reformist Party prevailed over his hopes for his guild to win. Anyway, the Liberty Wings Guild had Rosen with them, so even if they won, they still wouldn't stand a chance against them. Since that was the case, he might as well do something within his capabilities and remove this threat!

After making this decision, Mobis changed his battle style. His previous whirlwind defense could resist Rhode's Blade of Destruction. But he purposely decreased the might of his whirlwind defense for the sake of his plan. On the surface, it seemed as though Rhode had torn apart his defense but as a matter of fact, Mobis was preparing for his killing blow.

Then when Rhode darted toward Mobis, the latter unleashed all his strength.

"Hu..."

Mobis laid down his sword and panted. To the contrary, the young man should've been dead by that attack now.

Mobis was confident with his judgement because he was sure that, at that moment, he didn't witness any magical radiance emanating from him. It was apparent that the young man didn't anticipate this killer blow, which was why he didn't even prepare his sword for this attack and was engulfed by the whirlwind... Wait a minute.

Mobis was dumbfounded.

He did witness Rhode darting out with his sword, but it seemed... just like that!

At this moment, a shadow flitted by the corners of Mobis' eyes.

Damn!

Mobis defended against the black sword that had flown towards him. He desperately turned around and lifted his sword before witnessing the black sword brush his hair. If it were an inch closer, even Mobis wouldn't dare imagine the results.

This young man is terrifying!

Mobis' heart sank and he pushed forward. Rhode's attack missed and he quickly leapt back to draw a distance away from Mobis.

I can't give this young man anymore space!

Mobis was nervous. He felt like Rhode's swords skills were exceptionally strange. The Dark Brandish was the strongest sword skill of the Dark Elves and could even be considered the most ingenious and strange sword technique. It was so ingenious that even the Elves with speed as their forte couldn't see through it, so how could Mobis possibly do so? Besides, the Dark Brandish wasn't an unfamiliar skill to Rhode. He could even cast it with his eyes closed, so how would there be any issues?

Mobis detected the strange speed of Rhode's sword skill and hurriedly made a decision. He leapt forward with an attempt to restrain Rhode's speed and space. From their previous exchange in blows, Mobis had given Rhode too much space and now was the time for him to make up for his mistake!

But could a mistake be so easily made up?

Mobis dashed forward and restricted Rhode's vicinity while the latter shot a glance at him and brandished his pitch-black sword. Then, Rhode's blade extended its length and aimed for Mobis!

The viper lurking in the darkness finally revealed its poisonous fangs!