Chapter 23: Is This the Holy Spirit's Iance?
"What's wrong with you, kid?"
Seeing Alex before him, Stone couldn't help but ask curiously. It wasn't surprising that the Grand Knight had such a question.
Alex looked quite straoday. Despite his persisteermination, his expression showed clear signs of fatigue, as if he hadn't fully woken up.
"It's nothing, mentor. Just had a nightmare..."
Hearing Stone's question, Alex shook his head helplessly.
In fact, it wasn't just a simple nightmare.
"A nightmare? Haha, I didn't expect you'd still have nightmares... It seems you have time fhtmares, which means my training isn't intense enough. e on, perk up! By the way, what's that about?"
As he spoke, Stone gnced curiously at Alex's waist. In addition to the standard on he used for training, there was also a short sword hanging there.
"Are you pnning to dual-wield swords?"
"I just figured out some teiques yesterday."
Hearing Stone's question, Alex showed a bitter smile. Normally, he would have loved to chat more with Stone, but now, he didn't even have the energy for that.
"So I decided to give it a try."
"Give it a try? Alright, kid. Let me remind you, don't always think about shortcuts. Although traditional methods might seem old-fashiohey've sted for a reaso's see what you've e up with!"
"Yes, mentor."
As he spoke, Alex drew a long sword and a short sword, then focused ily on Stone.
"Hmm?"
Seeing Alex's staone was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise.
What's with this kid?
It was no woone was so shocked. He had been training Alex for more than ten days and had gotten to know the young man quite well. Until yesterday, Alex's performance was as expected.
From their sparring, Stoiced that while Alex had a good fighting spirit, he seemed not very adept at close bat. Although Alex had a good grasp of battle situations, his swordsmanship was on par with a novice.
Stone found this curious, seeing that Alex seemed better suited for le attacks, but his archery skills were also unimpressive. As fic... he certainly didn't look like a mage.
But that was until yesterday. In fact, from the moment he saw Alex today, Sto something different about him.
But he couldn't pinpoint what it was until he saw Alex draw his swords. At that moment, Stone's eyes lit up with realization.
If until yesterday, Alex had been a noviow his stance radiated the aura of a battle-hardened veteran!
In Stone's eyes, Alex stood with swords in hand, but his posture wasn't banced. Instead, his left shoulder drooped slightly, and his body was somewhat bent.
This stance didn't look impressive; to an untrained eye, it would seem like Alex didn't even know how to hold his swords properly.
But to Sto was a versatile stance, capable of both offense and defense. Alex looked like a tightly coiled spring, ready to react to any move Stone made. If Stoacked, he would either be tered or dodged.
What was even more arming to Stone was how naturally Alex assumed this stahere was no indication that Alex was f himself into it, suggesting it was an ingrained habit.
Such habits are usually found ierans who have fought through tless battles, not in someone as young as Alex.
Was it a ce? Or...
Thinking this, Stone's expression became more serious. He raised his greatsword, staring at Alex. In the moment, Stoepped forward, his sword swinging down towards Alex like a bolt of lightning!
What surprised Stone was that just as his giant sword swung down, Alex seemed to have anticipated this move and rolled to the ground, narrowly dodging Stone's attack.
He then stood up again, holding his dual swords and keeping a close wat Stone.
"You've definitely improved."
Stone nodded with satisfa as he observed Alex. In the previous strike, Stone had iionally left a gap, expeg the old Alex would have rushed to terattack, but Alex's swift evasion and seamless recovery showed he had learo trol his impulses.
This was the mark of a qualified warrior. Charging in recklessly was a fool's errand; a skilled warrior knew when to advand when to retreat. Without a precise internal judgment, the only oute was death.
"Alright, let's see how you hahis!"
Stone, now intrigued, raised his giant sword and attacked Alex again.
Sihis was just a "training" sessioher Stone nor Alex used any fshy, powerful sword teiques.
It urely a test of swordsmanship — sshes, sweeps — with Stone's giant sword cutting through the air, often aiming at Alex. Meanwhile, Alex evaded left and right, narrowly avoiding Stone's attacks each time by rolling.
This is getting iing!
The more Stoched Alex, the more he realized this young man was extraordinary. On the surface, Alex seemed to be struggling against his attacks, but Stone knew better.
Alex's evasive teiques, while seemingly ungraceful, were actually quite advanced. Not only did they allow him to avoid each strike, but they also kept him in a position to terattack at any moment.
Even more impressive was that Alex hadn't terattacked yet! Stone didn't believe this was because Alex was too focused on evasion.
He sensed a faint threat and noticed that Alex's left hand, which held the short sword, hadn't moved yet. Stone was sure that this sword wasn't just for show.
"Whoosh!!"
Stohrust his giant sword fain, and as expected, Alex rolled to the side to dodge. Stohen gripped his giant sword with both hands, preparing to strike down at Alex.
At that moment, Alex suddenly stopped rolling and charged forward, his left hand's short sword swinging towards Stone's right hand!
No!
The moment he saw Alex's move, Stone's instincts screamed danger. Something was terribly wrong!
Unfortunately, it was too te for Stoo ge his attack. He could only watch as Alex's short sword struck the end of his giant sword.
"g!!"
The swords cshed, and the giant sword was deflected backward, an almost unbelievable sight.
But Stone didn't care about that; what scared him was that when Alex parried his attack, all of Stone's strength seemed to vanish.
He couldn't even stand, colpsing to his knees as if his body no longer obeyed him. His right hand lost its grip, and the giant sword flew out of his hand.
Stone couldn't even dodge; he could only watch as Alex's long sword aimed straight for his chest!
Just as Alex's bde was about to pierce him, Sto his trol over his body return. In the face of death, Stone unleashed a burst of power!
"Boom!!"
A r whirlwied around Stone, f an armor of wind. Alex, caught off guard by this st-minute "cheat," was blown away, crashing heavily to the ground.
Fortunately, Stone quickly regained his posure and withdrew his power, looking at the fallen Alex with an embarrassed smile.
"Master, that was a bit much..."
Lying on the ground, Alex looked helplessly at the t knight before him. Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly spar?
'The moment I almost won, you pulled this trie? Where's the basic trust between people?'
"Uh, my bad, that's on me. I lost this round, I admit defeat."
Seeing Alex's acg eyes, Stone blushed and promptly admitted his fault. Then his eyes brightened with realization, and after cheg to make sure no one else was around, he pulled Alex close and whispered in his ear.
"Hey, kid, when did you learn that move... Is this the Holy Spirit's legacy?"
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