Jelena waved the longsword in her hand in a beautiful flourish and gazed at Caroline's slender sword. Compared to Jelena's standard cast longsword, Caroline's was slightly longer, but more slender. Like the others, Jelena was afraid that she would be able to break it with just a little bit of force when she saw it. But she didn't let that stop her from being gullible, and judging by the way the sword had behaved just now, it certainly wasn't as fragile as it appeared to be. She took a closer look at the sword, and at the same time, she couldn't help but move a little closer. Based on the wounds she saw on the corpses, if Jelena was right, Caroline's sword skill should be based on stabbing, and the most important thing to deal with such a warrior was not to close the distance, so as not to give them a chance to kill them with a single blow.
Caroline continued to hold her sword in the same noble manner, but this time she held it flat in her left hand, as if to announce something to Jelena. And then, the contest began.
"Drink!"
Jelena let out a cry, her whole body was like an agile flying leopard pouncing on her. The longsword in her hand flashed with cold light, attacking Caroline like stars in the sky. It seems that she has decided to attack close to Caroline, in order to prevent her from attacking. This kind of combat means, although powerful, but must be stored in order to burst, in Jelena's opinion, as long as she can entangle Caroline, so that she does not have time to build up the power to burst, and not pull away from the distance suitable for stabbing words, then she is a sure win not to lose.
Unfortunately, the swordsmanship used by Caroline is completely different from that of Jelena's world.
"Ding!!!"
In the face of Jelena's attack, Caroline didn't have the slightest intention to retreat, on the contrary, she actually took the initiative to step forward, the fine sword in her hand like a shadow following the other party's sword, Jelena only felt that the direction of her own attack was being held back by a small force, and was actually skewed away from the direction of the other party's sword. She was shocked, and hurriedly used all her strength to try to pick off Caroline's sword. But Caroline did not use the same force to restrain herself as she thought, on the contrary, Jelena felt that her sword swung in the expected place without any effort, and although Caroline's thin sword was tightly attached to her sword, Jelena could not feel the resistance of the other side at all, as if the original Caroline was intentionally going along with her.
It's going to be bad!
Jelena's heart felt that there was something wrong, perhaps it was because it went too smoothly that she became suspicious. If Caroline's strength was not as strong as her own and she was pushed away, then at least she should have been able to stop her sword with a small amount of strength, instead of moving like a dance with herself like this. In an instant, Jelena thought about it, but it was too late. Jelena's sword was already slashing at Caroline's side because there was no obstruction as expected, and if she didn't stop at this moment, she would see blood in a second!
But at that moment, Caroline suddenly flipped her wrist and turned, the thin sword in her hand wrapped around Jelena's long sword, and then changed the direction of Jelena's attack, so that the long sword swept against her side, instead of cutting on Caroline's body.
How is that possible?
Before Jelena could react, Caroline's action did not end there, after angling away from Jelena's attack, her thin sword was like a viper and then stabbed forward in the inside of Jelena's arm, before stopping in front of her neck.
The speed of these blows was extraordinary. The mercenaries who watched from the side only saw Jelena's sword swinging out with unrivaled momentum, while Caroline seemed to lift her sword in such a way that she somehow managed to reach Jelena's side! And now Caroline is still in that elegant sword posture, as if she was not fighting at all, but dancing.
"It ends here!"
A thick voice rang out, and the two immediately withdrew their swords and separated. Jared slightly raised his eyebrows and looked towards the direction of the voice, only to see a dry and thin body, white bearded old man clapping his hands and walking over. The surrounding mercenaries who had been shouting immediately quieted down, and at the same time made a path for him, it seems that this old man has a very high prestige among them.
"Who is he?"
Jared asked Florence, lowering his voice.
"He ... days!"
Florence sniffed and scrutinized the old man for a moment, then suddenly became alarmed.
"Well, isn't that Mr. 'Hawkeye' Kashut? It's rumored that he's no longer in the business, so why is he in this place?!"
"Is he good?"
"At least, that's what the rumors say."
Carefulness is the virtue of a businessman.
"This young lady, your skill with the sword is truly amazing."
The old man looked at Caroline and smiled slightly, but then his expression became much more grave.
"However, it's unlikely that such a skillful swordplay is used against monsters."
The originally lively crowd instantly became much quieter, they were uneasily whispering to each other, and at the same time, they watched Caroline with a wary gaze. Indeed, the reason why the mercenaries use that kind of big open and close sword stance, on the one hand, because most of the sword art is created by men, tends to be bold, on the other hand, the mercenaries most often meet with wild beasts and magical beasts, to deal with them do not need to be so subtle techniques, the other side will not have this kind of leisure mind. Beasts are beasts, no matter how cunning they are, they are just beasts, and the only correct way to deal with them is to fight with force.
But Caroline's swordsmanship was clearly not a technique used for hunting animals. It was undoubtedly created with killing in mind, and for the sole purpose of killing.
"Is it not human beings who are the most vicious and wary beasts of all times?"
Jared stepped forward and took the old man's words. In response to his sarcasm, the old man smiled, stroked his beard and nodded.
"You're right, kid. But our enemies aren't people. Maybe once in a while, but ... not all the time."
He glanced meaningfully at Caroline, who looked back at the old man with indifference, without surprise or joy.
"So, gentlemen, it's late at night, so get some rest. Be on guard!"
The old man said, clapping his hands. The mercenaries who had been watching immediately dispersed and went about their business. Jared also looked at the old man, and took Caroline to leave. The originally bustling venue became cold for a while, and the old man watched Jared and Caroline's backs leave, before raising his head and looking at the female leader standing respectfully by his side.
"What's wrong? Jelena?"
"Teacher, why did you say that?"
When no one was around, Jelena immediately asked.
"As a matter of fact, we mercenaries also have a lot of people like that, don't we? We do not just deal with beasts ah, I think you have also seen, these two warriors are very strong, if we can absorb them into the group then ..."
"Jelena, you really are too young."
The old man laughed out loud, then raised a hand to signal Jelena to stop. He coughed, and then the old man's expression became grave.
"Did you feel anything when you fought that lady just now?"
"... I'm sorry, I don't seem to be feeling anything."
Jelena remembered for a moment, then shook her head and replied with great shame. But the old man nodded his head in satisfaction, as if agreeing with Jelena.
"Yes, there is nothing."
"Eh?"
Jelena's a little confused.
"Teacher, you mean ..."
"That young lady, her swordsmanship was exceptional." The old man twitched his finger, then reached out and pointed at Jelena's neck, stopping at almost the same spot as Caroline. With just this hand, we can already see how powerful this old man is." From this position, if she flicked her wrist, you'd be dead."
"Indeed, sir."
"But you feel nothing."
Once again the old man's inscrutable smile appeared .
"Don't you get it yet?"
"Could it be,you mean ... "Jelena frowned tightly and thought for a moment, then replied with some surprise."" You mean, Caroline has the assassin's means of hiding her killing aura?! Could it be that she is an assassin?"
"It's close, but it's still not right."
The old man shook his head, then he lowered his hand and turned to continue looking around at the dark, endless desert.
"I should say, she doesn't have a killer's aura at all. Jelena, you're a warrior, you should know very well, whether it's a mercenary like us or an assassin who focuses on hidden assassinations. The moment we kill, we will inevitably show our killing intent and fighting spirit. As long as we're fighting, it's inevitable. But do you know why we do it?" The old man didn't wait for Jelena to answer, but went on." It's because we know that in front of us is the enemy we must face, and the prey we must kill. Our bodies will react on our behalf, but that lady is clearly different."
Here the old man sighed, his eyes narrowed slightly and he turned towards the tent. Only the old, heavy voice, accompanied by the night wind, drifted through Jelena's ears.
"Give them up, Jelena. Fighting without the will to kill means that 'it doesn't matter what they kill in front of them', there's no difference between people and things for them. Such people are too dangerous to be in our mercenary group."
Jelena dumbly looked at the old man's back, suddenly felt a fierce heat at the neck, she was surprised to reach out and wipe, only to see the original white palm, at the moment, but there is more a touch of faint blood marks.