I ducked under a sword that flew over my head, parried a blow from another, and leaped forward, shortening the distance between myself and Ning Tian in an instant.
He grinned at me and attacked with all four swords at once.
Death and Metal Qi flared between them, creating a visible link between the blades—a barrier that surrounded me at all sides.
I was a fraction of a second away from being pierced in four places, but at my current speed, there was still plenty of time to think.
There were options. Parrying, blocking with a technique, or trying to break the formation to escape—these all were relatively safe, but would stall this fight.
Lin Chu and Lin Kwan might not have this much time. Ning Tian was more experienced, and likely more powerful than Lin Kwan—she needed all the help possible.
So I evaluated my risks and chose a minor short-term risk instead of a major long-term one.
