Benedict descended between two soldiers fighting, and without a word, he tapped his feet on the ground. Light flashed and he instantly accelerated, catapulting high into the air. Through five soldiers, behind two, pivoting around a tent, the knight weaved through the battlefield like a snake. His highspeed meant that his figure was visible but for a moment. Even the fastest humans alive might be unable to touch his shadow, such was the power of Martial Energy. It enabled people to transcend common sense… and yet, despair remained painted on his face. Every step worsened his injuries, and he was running out of Martial Energy. Once he runs out, he would be at the mercy of Lord Xu, or any other Perception Realm. His sword skills were not enough to turn the odds alone. And despite his desperate attempts to shake Lord Xu off his tail, the man had focused on him. It was not easy to lose a Perception Realm Expert! No matter how Benedict ran or hid, the man would find him. Lord Xu was like death-incarnate!
Gritting his teeth, Benedict knew he had to decide and quickly too. Abandoning Shirley was out of the question. There was never any doubt about that, especially after she sacrificed herself to create an opportunity to escape. They would have died already, had it not been for her. This left two options: to fight or to flee, both of which left his face twitching. Fighting meant he could funnel his remaining Martial Energy into a powerful attack, which could take Lord Xu by surprise, except… This was a Perception Realm Expert he was talking about, and one arguably close to this world's apex. That sort of power did not come as a fluke. Benedict's ambush would likely result in failure, and then his death would be unsightly. Conversely, fleeing was just prolonging the inevitable. He could not escape Lord Xu's perception, and the chances of anyone who could help were low. Actually… through his senses, he could somewhat detect the presence of multiple powerful Perception Realms in the area. Because of the disturbance that he and Lord Xu were causing, they had attracted their attention. He did not recognize their auras, so they were obviously enemies! He dreaded the possibility of more pursuers.
His indecision lasted for a second. He tapped his feet and jumped super high up into the sky, far higher than before. Whoosh! Air currents whistled around him as he soared like a bird taking flight! Lord Xu frowned when he saw this. As strong as he was, he could not fly, but this was not a problem. Reaching into his clothes, he pulled out seven daggers that glistened with a dark light. Had the elder birds been present, then they would have been surprised. Although these weapons were a bit crude and rough around the edges, they were unmistakably Lesser Noble Grade! Thus far, everything in the human world was only Mortal Grade, a fact owed to ignorance. This was because a Forger needed to infuse their creations with energy for Noble Grade. No one seemed to have this ability until now. Whoever made these daggers was probably one of the best artisans in the human world! Their help would be instrumental in restoring the Featherwind Sect's flying ship.
Sadly, even Lord Xu did not know the origin of his daggers. He 'acquired' them from an unwilling noble a long time ago, only to discover their unique properties much later. For example, the blade was ridiculously sharp and could cut through plate armor like nothing. Blood would slide off, and the edge would never chip too. The weight was also unfathomably light. Common sense would dictate that the heavier the material, the stronger it would be. A light, but strong material simply did not exist, yet… these daggers proved it could be done. Furthermore, there was this… 'presence'. It felt half-way between living and unliving, an extremely bizarre sensation. These daggers became his weapons of choice for the reasons above. They were far superior to anything he had seen before! They were practically divine-slaying weapons!
The moment the daggers were drawn, a cold chill ran down Benedict's spine! Despite being this far away, he could almost feel death's embrace; his instincts were that intense! This pressure felt scarily similar to that of his senior martial brothers and master. A terrible thought crossed Benedict's mind: had Lord Xu mastered Martial Energy? It was unsurprising that he thought this way. His senior martial brothers, Hidek and Lanar, were Perception Realm Masters, but their weapons were Greater Mortal Grade at best. The strength they could exhibit was nowhere near their peak. It was even worse for his master, the Sword King, since he was an Instinct Realm wielding a Superior Mortal Grade sword. While their weapons might have been the best the human world had to offer, they were just too weak. This was one of the reasons why the Featherwind Sect's five elder birds could contest against the Sword King in the skies above Guanhuang. They had matching weapons and armors for their rank, which allowed them to display their true strength! The importance of Grades could be seen here. The fact that Lord Xu revealed a Lesser Noble Grade weapon made him as dangerous as Benedict's senior martial brothers or master!
Whoosh! The first dagger! It whistled through the air and caught up to Benedict in an instant. One had to know that Benedict was already at a distance where his figure was comparable to an ant. A crossbow bolt would need several seconds to catch up, assuming it had enough power to in the first place. Yet, this simple dagger thrown by Lord Xu was many times faster than a crossbow bolt. He might not have Martial Energy, but this simple attack defied all common sense! This was the true power of a Lesser Noble Grade treasure! Benedict could barely track it; it was moving that fast. He had no choice, but to twist his body in an extremely unnatural way to dodge. The dagger sliced right between his clothes and skin, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike. His brow was laced with sweat. From this opening move, he could feel how strong that attack was. He might have dodged it, except this ruined his posture and left him vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Lord Xu smiled. This was exactly what he wanted to see!
The second and third daggers! This time, Benedict had to draw his sword. Despite being mid-air, he assumed the Hawken Style's second stance. Bang! The two daggers slammed into him with unbelievable momentum, reminiscent of a bull. Sparks flew. He was shocked! Although he was using his sword with one arm, due to the other carrying Shirley, he was using Martial Energy. Despite that, he could not parry the daggers at all! How could these tiny weapons carry so much power? Benedict was pushed back! Except how could a Mortal Grade resist a Noble Grade? His sword began to crack under the immense pressure before exploding! Lord Xu snorted when he saw this and assumed it was over. His daggers could already cut through metal. It was easy to imagine how flesh and bone would fare. But when he was about to sheathe his remaining four daggers, a look of incredulity emerged on his face. Benedict was somehow alive!
As it turned out, at the moment his sword was broken, he used his Bloodline Ability, Rain Weaver Arc, to protect his body. Normally, this would have been insufficient. He had low Martial Energy, which corresponded to his defensive strength, and as a Half-Perception Realm, he could not draw out his Bloodline Ability's maximum potential. That was something only a full Perception Realm or Rank 2 Lord could do! However, he had no need. First, he used his sword to slow down and control the trajectory of the two daggers. Then, when his sword broke, he used his Rain Weaver Arc to skillfully redirect the daggers away from his body. This was easier said than done, because a direct head-on confrontation would have broken through his weak energy threads. He needed to change the angle, bit by bit, and shift his Bloodline Ability across his skin to finally redirect the daggers away. The level of confidence and skill required for such a task was extremely high, yet he successfully combined the concept of the Hawken Style's second stance with his Bloodline Ability. This was a sign of his improving Sword Attainment. It was touching upon Perfect Sword Form now!