As the rapier struck, Feld didn't advance but instead retreated. His upper body leaned to the left while his right hand, holding the sword, slashed upward from below, aiming straight for Hilda's throat! Despite his large stature, his long arms allowed his attack to reach slightly farther than Hilda's sword.
At this angle, Hilda's sword would only graze past Feld's chest, causing no harm. But Feld's reverse grip short sword could easily decapitate Hilda!
Hilda's pupils contracted, a hint of astonishment flashing in her eyes. However, her reaction was swift. She forcefully changed her move, tilting her neck backward and lowering her body to dodge sideways past Feld.
In that moment, Hilda saw Feld's blade skim along his own cheek, passing by her eyes.
"Whoosh..." The sound of boots scraping against the ground echoed as Hilda propelled herself several meters away, landing with one hand on the ground. She stared at Feld in disbelief as he resumed his offensive stance.
In midair, a small clump of golden hair slowly drifted down.
Hilda touched her high ponytail.
A small portion had been severed.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Hilda said, her face stern.
"What, scared now?" Feld grinned.
Hilda remained silent, but there was a noticeable change in her demeanor, indicating she was taking this seriously.
The next moment, she radiated a golden light, transforming into a beam of golden energy and charging at Feld, her sword tip aimed directly at his chest, even faster than before.
Feld, seeing this, wiped the smile off his face.
As the sword thrust approached, Hilda was smarter this time, not fully committing but withholding some power, ensuring she could change her move perfectly at any moment.
Feld sensed this and refrained from using the same tactic again. For a master, the same move could never succeed twice, especially when it didn't work the first time.
This time, Feld focused on defense. When the sword tip arrived, Feld made a diagonal slash, deflecting the force of the thrust.
But Hilda didn't stop there. She took half a step forward, changing her thrust to a slash, aiming along Feld's short sword towards his hand.
Feld immediately twisted his wrist, guiding the rapier to slice towards his side, while his other hand reached for Hilda's neck.
Feld's strength was overwhelming; Hilda couldn't even force the blade down. In desperation, she kicked Feld's body, trying to use the momentum to retreat.
But the next moment, Hilda was shocked to find her leg trapped. Feld seemed to anticipate her move, bending his elbow to brace against her calf while lifting his other leg, like a steel clamp, firmly holding onto Hilda's lower leg.
Then, with a swift turn of his waist, Feld swung his hand, grabbing Hilda's ankle, and threw her away. In midair, Hilda spun, then landed steadily. But when she looked up, Feld was already in front of her.
So fast!
Hilda gritted her teeth and forcefully activated her magic to enhance herself, turning into a golden light and rapidly retreating.
But Feld pursued relentlessly.
Everyone watching was dumbfounded by the sight. Despite his massive size, Feld was able to make almost impossible maneuvers during his rapid sprint, all without relying on combat skills!
Therefore, even though Hilda transformed into a golden light and continuously used her skill, "Refraction," within the arena, Feld's residual image could still keep up, and his short sword kept clashing with Hilda's rapier, creating a metallic clang and sparking.
This left everyone shocked—were Feld's ankles made of steel? How else could they withstand the force generated by his massive body? And he could even make nearly 90-degree turns in an instant? Could a human even perform such actions?
No, a human couldn't.
But a giant could!
By this point in the battle, even a blind person could see it: Hilda was being suppressed.
And she was utterly powerless to fight back!
"Clang!" A piercing buzzing sound.
Hilda kept moving backward, scraping the ground until she reached the edge of the arena, finally dissipating Feld's force. She was panting heavily, sweat dripping from her chin, indicating how strenuous it had been for her.
Meanwhile, Feld stood tall, with a smile on his face, appearing like a gentle and honest person. But in Hilda's eyes, his figure seemed shrouded in darkness at that moment, with his eyes bursting with violent red light, as if she could see the ferocious werewolf she once faced.
She shook her head, swallowed hard, and realized her mouth was dry.
The pressure Feld exerted on her was immense.
Far exceeding that of the ferocious werewolf.
But the next moment, that pressure suddenly vanished, leaving Hilda slightly stunned. She looked at Feld, who had placed his hands behind his back, resembling an instructor training students.
"Do you feel it?" Feld asked. "That killing intent."
Hilda remained silent, then nodded slightly.
She stood up, staring at Feld and asked, "Did you really want to kill me?"
"What do you think?" Feld countered.
"I think you wanted to kill me!"
"That's correct," Feld chuckled. "But in reality, I didn't want to kill you. After all, we're not enemies, but friends. This was just a friendly exchange."
Hilda tightened her grip on her sword and said, "What you just used were killing moves."
"Exactly, all of them were killing moves, aimed to kill you," Feld admitted directly.
"Why?" Hilda's voice trembled.
Feld shook his head and said, "Hilda, you're actually very capable, able to seize every opportunity and launch attacks against me."
"But every time, you held back."
"Do you know why?" Feld asked.
"Because this was a friendly exchange, and I didn't want to kill you. But you wanted to kill me!" Hilda said, her voice trembling, with a hint of... distress?
Feld shook his head. "That's not the reason."
"Hilda, I never wanted to kill you, but you thought I did."
"Just because every move I made was a killing move, did you die?"
"If I really wanted to kill you, in the twelfth move, I would have held my short sword in a reverse grip, and the blade would have pierced through your chin, straight into your brain."
"In the thirty-seventh move, with a reverse wrist lock, I would have dislocated your arm, rendering you powerless in battle."
"In the eighty-fourth move, with just a half step forward, I would have severed not just a piece of your shoulder armor, but your neck."
"But did you die?"
Hilda had nothing to say because she knew what Feld said was true. In those moves, she was just a hair's breadth away from death, and she could feel it.
That was why her emotions had gotten out of control.
He said it was a friendly exchange, but then... why did he go all out?
But at the same time, she was also thinking, why didn't she die?
"Control," Feld suddenly said.
Hilda's pupils contracted as she looked into his eyes.
"Control your opponent, make them fall into your rhythm, and then you can truly control yourself!"
"Your moves are sharp, but lack killing intent!"
"You didn't come here with the purpose of killing me. I understand that. But you have to know, your body and your mind are not in sync!"
"You think this is just a friendly exchange, that's correct. But you can't let that lead your actions before your body moves. You can't be thinking about how to hold back, how to hurt me, defeat me, but not kill me."
"You lack confidence, Hilda. That's not true confidence."
"Otherwise, why would you be afraid of accidentally killing me?"
"True confidence doesn't hesitate before taking action."
"You need to put your thoughts after your actions."
"Mercy is what you should show after your sword pierces my throat skin, not something you should think about and do before you even touch me."
"If you truly have confidence, you should be able to do it!"
"That way, you won't delay the pace of the battle, won't be caught off guard by me, won't fall into my rhythm, won't become passive!"
"Understand?"
"You won't always be in the academy."
"Your battlefield won't always be an arena with protective mechanisms."
"Treat every battle as a fight to the death, give it your all, and only consider holding back once you've gained control over your opponent!"
Upon hearing this, Hilda's clenched hand relaxed.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, sheathed her sword, and looked at Feld with a faint smile.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Feld also smiled, then looked somewhat helplessly at the pitted short sword in his hand and said to the little cat, "Sorry, little cat, I damaged your sword."
"I'll make you a better one later."
"Okay, meow!" Chichi didn't seem to mind and instead proudly lifted her chin, looking at the astonished group of students around her.
She only knew one thing: her big buddy had won, and won beautifully!
"Now, let's talk about your fighting style," Feld said.
But Hilda raised her hand to stop him and looked around at the students, saying, "This isn't the place to talk. Follow me."
With that, she turned and walked in a direction.
Feld nodded and beckoned for Chichi to follow.
Passing through the academy building, avoiding the crowd, Feld followed Hilda to a very beautiful garden.
In the garden, there was also a beautiful pavilion.
"Heidist has places like this?" Feld said, looking at the exquisite scenery and statues around him.
"This is my garden," Hilda said.
"Your garden?" Feld was surprised. "How did you manage that?"
Seeing the surprise on Feld's face, Hilda felt somewhat pleased for some reason, as if she had regained a bit of confidence.
"As long as you become the president of the student union, you can have an exclusive garden, and behind it is my exclusive dormitory."
"Oh my..." Feld looked towards the nearby area.
That was clearly a villa, with a fence, a large yard, and even a small estate. Did you call this a dormitory?
Arriving at the pavilion, Hilda sat down, waved her hand, and a set of exquisite tea sets and snacks appeared on the table.
"High Mountain White Peach, or Maraxia?" she asked.
The latter should also be a type of tea, which Feld hadn't heard of, so he chose High Mountain White Peach.
Hilda skillfully brewed a pot of floral tea for Feld, then elegantly took a sip before continuing, "That's enough."
"Your fighting style leans towards aggressive forms. Although your speed is fast, most of it is used for offense. You prefer blocking over evading."
"This requires high hardness and toughness for the sword, so I plan to use Nebula Iron as the main material to forge this sword."
"Nebula Iron is not only hard and tough, but also lightweight, so it won't affect your speed."
"Nebula Iron?" Hilda said. "That should be expensive."
"Hmm, I've prepared a pound of it."
"Combine it with some other materials, and including the hilt and guard, the total weight won't exceed 1.5 pounds."
Hilda was somewhat surprised.
Her ideal sword weighed around 1.5 pounds, so light yet not affecting the feel. But swords that simultaneously possess high hardness, strong toughness, and lightness are very rare.
Even if there were materials, ordinary blacksmiths couldn't forge them.
Like the sword she broke, it was already quite light at 1.8 pounds, but it lacked toughness.
Moreover, Nebula Iron is a high-grade material and isn't cheap. Feld prepared a pound of it, so this sword would cost at least two hundred thousand gold, not including Feld's craftsmanship fee.
And Feld's words earlier had a great impact on her.
So at this moment, as she looked at Feld, her eyes were filled with complex emotions.
And there was a bit of... anticipation.