"This is our last spar before going to the forest again. I'm sure that you know it, but I'm not planning to hold back in the forest. I don't care about the speed record because my original plan is to kill as many demons as possible to get their crystal," Anna explained her plan since they were a pair.
"I know. I don't know if I can defeat a Low Level Demon by myself or not, but I'm not planning to back down. My kills might be more than you, who knows." Noel shrugged, turning her explanation into a provocation.
"Heh." Anna raised her sword. "In that case, show me whether you can do it or not."
"You might die." Noel also did the same, pointing it at Anna's neck.
The atmosphere became silent as both of them were observing each other's movement. Noel enhanced his muscle so that he didn't lose against Anna's strength.
The moment Anna slightly moved her foot, Noel jumped forward, taking advantage of that movement to catch her off guard.
However, Anna swiftly struck Noel's sword as if she had been expecting it. In fact, she might make that small movement to invite Noel in.
Once she repelled the sword, she spun her body and used that momentum to attack him.
*Bang!*
The two wooden swords suddenly hit each other again as Noel somehow made a swift swing after getting deflected.
"!!!" Anna widened her eyes because she saw the Spiritual Energy in that one swing. If not for her reaction speed, she would have lost her sword earlier. It seemed both of them almost fell to each other's trap.
'Swift Strike is not fast enough?' Noel narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back to regain some distance.
'What is that speed? Even his Swordsmanship is too good. He must have hidden his power this whole time.' Anna frowned, increasing the danger level of Noel.
Not only had Noel changed to be a calm and collected person, but he also could hide his skills until the right moment. It seemed Noel had changed to be a more dangerous person that might be able to kill her the moment she lowered her guard, she thought.
Meanwhile, Noel was frustrated that Anna could still react to his swing. If he had taken out her sword earlier, his winning change would increase drastically.
Unfortunately for him, the moment he regained his distance, Anna chased after him, trying to pressure him so that he couldn't show any of his hidden power again.
Noel wasn't scared of her, so he met her sword skillfully, deflecting all her swings. It seemed Anna didn't have any intention in using the Spiritual Energy in her sword except when he used his own ability.
It made their clash became even fiercer as both of them exchanged fifty blows within thirty seconds.
Noel managed to keep up with Anna's fighting style, but now that he had understood more about Ardagan Swordsmanship, he could see that Anna's movement was quite lacking.
It wasn't her skill that was lacking, but the speed and power in each blow as if she was holding back.
Her technique might be higher than what she currently showed.
'So, you're still looking down on me.' Noel's expression became cold as he made his decision. 'In that case, keep underestimating me because it shall be your doom.'
The two continued their clash for another few minutes before Noel was the first to bail out of this fight. He jumped back a few times while panting.
As expected, his stamina still couldn't hold that kind of clash for too long.
"Hu…" He took a deep breath to regain his breathing.
Unfortunately for him, Anna didn't let him do whatever he wanted. Despite using the same amount of energy as Noel, she had yet to break a sweat.
Noel could only grit his teeth and continue swinging his blade while searching for a chance to attack her.
After another thirty seconds, Noel made a powerful swing by covering his sword with Spiritual Energy. Of course, Noel could only control the Spiritual Energy to enhance his muscle for now. This kind of control was only possible because he was using Mega Slash.
With that huge amount of Spiritual Energy, Noel struck Anna as hard as possible.
Anna grabbed her sword with both hands and received this attack, getting pushed back for five meters.
'It's become more powerful…' Anna sucked a cold breath. Even though she had protected her hand with Spiritual Energy, the numbness still struck her fingers. 'I need to release a bit more of my power. I'm really lucky to have the chance to regress since I can deal with this monstrous talent skillfully.'
After knowing what to do, Anna ran forward to face Noel again. But to her surprise, Noel's expression changed for the first time.
"Heh." Noel suddenly smirked as if Anna had fallen into his traps.
"A smirk?" Anna gasped and suddenly felt the Spiritual Energy fluctuate on the ground. "Ah?!"
The moment she lowered her vision, she saw a small spot on the ground that was covered in a thin layer of ice. And her left foot stepped on it, making her fall.
Noel had raised his sword with both hands, preparing a hard strike at her head to kill her.
'A trap? How many times I have fallen into his trap in my previous life… And I still couldn't escape from it?' Anna panicked for a moment. Still, her soul already picked up the habit of reacting to Noel's trap.
"No!" Anna gritted her teeth and forced her hand to move, stabbing the ground with the sword to support her body so that she didn't fall to the ground.
Sadly, no matter how fast she moved, she wouldn't be fast enough. And she also realized it.
Hence, Anna chose a different option. The moment the sword reached the ground, albeit sideways which couldn't support her body, she used that little force to launch herself to Noel.
She then spread both arms to tackle Noel's body, specifically his stomach.
"I'm not going to let you achieve what you want!" Anna shouted.
'She can still react to that?' Noel gritted his teeth as he couldn't believe her reaction speed. He waved his sword, but it was too slow compared to Anna.
In the end, Anna was the first to reach him. However, due to her slipping and the lack of support, she didn't reach the place she intended to, which was Noel's stomach.
Instead, the target was a bit lower than the stomach… Yes, it was his crotch.
Her face was the first to hit it while her arms circled around Noel's butt.
But for Noel… He wailed in pain as he almost passed out from the pain alone. The momentum then made him fall to the ground.
"Uuuu…"