After Tatyana released her aura, all the plants around her died. Spiritual waves with black undertones rolled around her, and her long black hair danced imposingly.
Mirrory didn't display anything like that as she calmly watched Tatyana's aura.
The other girls stood aside, gulping in anticipation of the battle.
Mirrory calmly spoke. "As we explained before, intents are the first step toward comprehending a law. They are divided into many different levels, similar to cultivation. General levels range from one to ten. Then, the Intent can develop into a domain or continue the Intent path. However, that's something for the future."
Tatyana leaned forward and lunged toward Mirrory.
Our girls felt the world slowing down because their perception had to strain to follow Tatyana's fast charge.
Tatyana chanted aloud for the girls to hear. "[Death Intent Level One]."
The aura around Tatayna's fist changed instantly, and they all felt extreme danger. The black haze surrounding Tatyana's fist gave them a feeling of pure dread.
Mirrory lifted her palm and calmly chanted. "[Reflection Intent Level One]."
*BANG!*
Tatyana's punch landed on Mirrory's hand with a loud explosion. The power behind that punch made their expressions turn solemn. However, what made their mouths widen was that it wasn't Mirrory but Tatyana who retreated from the exchange.
Tatyana lifted her eyebrow and saw her fist corroding by her own Death Energy.
"Reflection Intent. This is the first time I heard about it; it is quite powerful."
With a single thought, the corrosive Death Energy on her fist disappeared. Mirrory explained. "As you can see, we didn't channel any skill, and our attack was purely physical. Intents can be found in many forms. Tatyana's Intent is offensive in nature. The Reflection Intent is defensive in nature."
Mirrory saw that they understood, so she continued. "There are many more kinds, however. For example, Fist Intent, Speed Intent, Darkness Intent, Wind Intent, Luck Intent, King Intent, Spear Intent, Sword Intent, Greed Intent, Blood Intent, Life Intent, Slaughter intent, and Decay Intent... These are to name a few."
Tatyana charged again toward Mirrory, and our girls saw the aura around her change strangely. "[Battle Intent Level One]."
Mirrory talked calmly. "[Destiny Intent Level One]."
Once they were at a melee range, Tatyana's body sped up as her arms and legs began kicking and punching Mirrory in a perfect combination.
However, Mirrory seemed to predict every action Tatyana took and blocked every attack. If Tatyana displayed a perfect attack combination, Mirrory showed an otherworldy defensive combination.
The sounds of arms and legs clashing in with loud bangs filled the garden for a while.
They thought that they were in a stalemate, but they saw Mirrory's feet sliding slowly through the ground as Tatyana's attack became more and more powerful by the second.
Mirrory explained while blocking Tatyana's blows. "As you can see, Tatyana's battle intent allows her to move with unimaginable coordination. Moreover, the longer the battle drags, the more powerful she becomes. [Repel]"
A wave of invisible energy exploded from Mirrory's body, rushing toward Tatyana at extreme speeds. However, Tatyana reacted fast, concentrating the Battle Intent in her fist at one point.
Then, she took a step forward and punched with her whole body.
*BANG!*
Mirrory felt the heavy punch even if it didn't land on her, and she retreated five steps. She raised her eyebrow and flicked her long red hair. "Not bad. Those years on your back seem to have not been in vain."
Tatyana snorted. "Just a little trick."
Evelyn asked with a stunned expression. "What happened?"
Mirrory explained an absurd event calmly. "She just focused her energy in her fist and exploded it within the repelling wave, harmonizing the vibrations and blowing up the skill from within while simultaneously hurting me."
Their mouths dropped. 'She did what now!?'
Mirrory turned toward them and said calmly. "As you can see, Intents are very powerful. They don't lose to any skills you have at the moment. However, the strength we showed doesn't explain why a person who understands Intent is stronger than one who doesn't, right?"
They got thoughtful and realized that she was correct. Although Intents looked powerful, some of the skills they had could match or even overcome the strength they showed.
Mirrory commented. "Well, the thing about Intents is that they are not an individual thing. One person can learn multiple of them if they are talented enough. Moreover, you can stack different Intents to create mixes and more powerful ones. For example, if you combine Slaughter Intent and Spear Intent, you can get Slaughter Spear Intent. This will allow you to have a powerful spear technique, and each spear strike would carry the power of Slaughter intent."
They all nodded thoughtfully. It was indeed powerful.
Mirrory continued. "And that's not all. The Intent is valued because you can use it in combination with everything. They meld very well with different skills."
Seeing their confused expressions, Mirrory turned toward Tatyana. "Attack seriously, but try not to destroy the house."
Tatyana smirked, and her aura ballooned.
The Death energy in the surroundings rushed toward Tatyana's hand and slowly took the shape of an elegant and intricate sword.
After the sword materialized, Tatyana explained the attack as she cast it. "[Death Strike] combined with Death Intent level one."
Then, Tatyana swung the elegant sword in her hand.
*SLASH!*
The world before her sword died as a black crescent attack tens of meters wide rushed toward Mirrory at speeds barely perceptible for our girls. Mirrory calmly tapped the ground with the tip of her foot, creating a transparent barrier before her.
*BANG!*
The black crescent attack that made their body have chills was easily blocked. Mirrory commented. "Did you see that? Even an ordinary skill such as [Death Strike], which is as basic as it can get, can gain tremendous power. Now, imagine a powerful skill being coated by a high-level intent."
Their all nodded earnestly.
Yasenia asked. "So, how do we learn intents?"
Mirrory blinked and looked at Yasenia. "Don't you already have various intents?"
Yasenia was stumped. "What do you mean?"
Tatyana chuckled and called her. "Come here, little treasure."
Yasenia walked toward her. Tatyana placed her hand on Yasenia's head and invaded her body with her spiritual energy. Yasenia didn't resist and allowed the foreign body to roam around her.
Mirrory's eyes twitched when she saw that. 'This level of trust... I don't think I'll ever be able to reach it.'
Tatyana retreated her spiritual sense five minutes later and commented. "You currently have three level one intents in you. Sword Intent, Celestial Intent, and Monarch Intent."
Evelyn whistled. "That sounds potent."
Andrea nodded. "Impressive indeed. She already has three Intents."
Angel smiled widely. "Yasenia is the best~."
Cecile frowned. "I have to catch up again. I won't be left behind."
Kali laughed gently. "You girls, don't be hasty. We can't get hasty and hurt our foundation, right?"
Meanwhile, Yasenia was baffled. "Three Intents? When did I learn them?"
Tatayna's eyebrow twitched. 'This daughter of mine is sometimes too talented.'
"I don't know, little treasure. Can you think of moments when something suddenly clicked? Think about it since you'll be able to understand the Intents better if you know how you gained them."
Yasenia got thoughtful and returned to the others. She then lay on the ground and placed Kaleina before her, pampering her for a bit while she observed the rest of Mirrory's and Tatyana's match.
The others sat around Yasenia, pampering their dragoness instead.
Meanwhile, Tatyana turned toward Mirrory and smiled widely. "Well, you antique. Now that we've explained the most important parts to the children, we can have a little bit of real fun."
Mirrory lifted her chin. "As you wish, old woman."
Right after, they saw Tatyana's body disappear and appear before Mirrory in an instant. The sword in Tatyana's hand gleamed coldly as it rushed toward Mirrory.
Mirrory created a transparent shield and sword, retaliating against her. The shield deflected the sword, and she ruthlessly thrust toward Tatyana's heart.
Tatyana didn't lose balance, so she could twist her torso to dodge Mirrory's attack. Using the torsion, she spun her body as energy rushed toward her sword.
Mirrory felt the power behind the sword strike and took a step back, placing her shield before her.
*BANG!*
The girls saw Mirrory sliding backward because of Tatyana's powerful strike.
Without giving her a chance to breathe, Tatyana began an all-out assault with powerful sword strikes.
A cacophony of clashing sounds filled the area as their bodies blurred through the garden.
Tatyana suddenly jumped backward and raised her sword. "[Undead Summoning]."
Fifty black shadows materialized from the ground in an instant. All of them were skeletal, but their black armors carried the breath of Death with them.
Moreover, the aura they gave was that of an expert.
With nimble and orderly movements, the fifty undead began attacking Mirrory.
Mirrory looked at them calmly and rushed toward the Undead mob.
Angel and the others felt their heart pounding as Mirrory elegantly weaved through their attacks as her sword became a butcher of the undead.
Every three steps, two were for dodging and another for killing an Undead.
*Dodge.* *Dodge.* *Smash!*
*Dodge.* *Dodge.* *Smash!*
Tatyana observed as her undead died one after another. However, she didn't move.
By the time Mirrory finished her undead, the aura around Tatyana had become powerful and profound. Mirrory's eyebrow raised in surprise, showing the first expression since the beginning of the match.
Tatyana chanted. "[Divine Lich Empress Battle Dance]."
Yasenia and the others forgot to blink as soon as her words finished.
Tatyana's ordinary black dress changed to a royal red battle dress. She looked like a bloody Valkyrie, her beauty reaching whole new levels.
Then, Tatyana's body disappeared from their vision.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
The next instant, Mirrory was assaulted by a ruthless yet elegant sword combination. Each attack Tatyana released was clearly aimed at a vital point, and the strength of her blows was enough to push Mirrory around the garden area.
Mirrory barely kept Tatyana at bay, using her shield and some defensive skills to her advantage. 'Stronger than expected. It seems that I can't underestimate her.'
However, mid-combat, she recovered fast and used her own skill. "[Divine Truth Battle]."
Tatyana arrived before Mirrory, her sword flashing toward her neck at vertiginous speeds.
However, Tatyana's expression changed as she saw Mirrory's emerald green eyes looking coldly at her. 'I'm in danger!'
Believing in her Battle Intent and instincts, she changed the attack to a defensive move, placing her sword on her right vertically.
*BOOM!*
Her body bent sideways right after she did that as Mirrory's transparent shield slammed onto her sword.
Tatyana flipped midair, falling onto her feet with elegance. However, Mirrory was already before her with her sword thrusting toward her dantian!
Tatyana's expression became ruthless as her energy roiled through her meridians. Tatyana's voice was cold and murderous as she chanted. "[Perish]."
Mirrory saw her vision being covered by a black curtain before she felt like a steel wall slammed her head on.
*BANG!*
The others saw an enormous wave of Pure Death energy engulfing Mirrory, blasting her into the ground quite ungracefully.
Mirrory's eyebrows knitted as she hastily stood up. 'If my body were one of a true Unification Realm expert, I would've been in danger.'
Her thoughts were cut by the sound of a punch tearing the wind and approaching her face.
However, Mirrory wasn't someone easy to bully.
A melee combat without weapons developed right after.
Tatyana's fists were fast and ruthless, constantly aiming for vital points. Each time Mirrory blocked, there wasn't even a shockwave because of the mastery of her attack. That meant that she was transferring all her strength into Mirrory's body.
However, behind Mirrory, the floor cracked and exploded each time she blocked. Mirrory was expertly sending Tatyana's strength into the ground using an exquisite and precise movement technique.
They were evenly matched as the fight went on.
Each time Mirrory tried to counter-attack, Tatyana would sneak a punch, maintaining her advantage.
Of course, Mirrory wasn't losing either because Tatyana couldn't damage her. The blows that landed on her weren't strong enough.
The back and forth in the middle of the garden was like a beautifully coordinated dance of violence and elegance.
Andrea and the others had their mouths open. 'So beautiful, yet so deadly.'
After one minute of observing the exciting match, Cecile said with a heavy tone, "I can't win even if I use all my trump cards."
Yasenia was protecting Kaleina with her wings from the shockwaves when she heard Cecile. Yasenia chuckled and said. "Don't feel down, sweetheart. Remember that we are still little babies in their eyes. What kind of person haven't they fought? One is the companion of a Saint, the other a genius cultivator that has reached the Law-creator Realm and can still surmount cultivation levels to and fight."
Cecile nodded and sat beside Yasenia, using her finger to play softly with Kaleina. "I know. However, I wanted to acknowledge my weakness."
Kali asked Valeria, "Are you that strong?"
Valeria shook her head. "I'm not that good in melee combat. However, I wouldn't lose to either of them if we fought seriously. Moreover, they are still not using their real power. If they did so, this city would become rubble. What they are doing right now is a skill exchange. They are evenly matched, but Tatyana is slightly stronger in melee combat."
They nodded in understanding and continued to watch their battle. They could feel the intents flowing around them and interlocking seamlessly with their movements, increasing their battle performance to a higher level.
Tatyana and Mirrory stopped after ten minutes because Angel was already losing a lot of energy.
Angel couldn't help but breathe laboriously. "Huff, Huff, Mirrory consumes so much energy."
Tatyana and Mirrory looked at each other, still not having enough, but they weren't stubborn. Therefore, they stopped the fight.
And like that, the first spar between Mirrory and Tatyana ended in a draw.
...
...
...
Or, well, you can tell me if you feel any of them won in your eyes. What do you think?