Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The current situation was horrendous for Rhode.
Although he didn’t have the experience of fighting the enemy ‘Marlene’ in the game, the fact that she had defeated over 10 player groups proved that she wasn’t easy to deal with. On the other hand, the enemy angel was the biggest trouble. In the game, Rhode selected the Soul Messenger talent tree as his main attacking build. But now, due to the holy sword cards, his battle style leaned more toward sneaky tactics. The only advantage his group had now was him against his other self because he couldn’t be more familiar with his battle style. On the contrary, his other self knew nothing about his current sword skills. Since both of them couldn’t summon any spirits, experience was the key in this battle. If Rhode recalled correctly, his other self was clad in a defense set armor with the undead immunity, which was basically worn against the Undead Army when he was level 60. Although the level of this armor wasn’t as high as [Spirit’s Prisoner], [Historical Wing], and [Sisko’s Fantasy], the set armor enhanced his attributes and it could be said that both sides were almost on par in defense.
If Rhode could use his spiritual powers, he would immediately activate [Self-Affirmation] to raise his strength to level 85 and slaughter his other self. But now, he could only rely on the foundations of his sword skills.
As for the enemy Lize, her ability to fly was a huge advantage, not to mention her powerful strength and defense as an angel. Without the support of the spiritual energy, no one in Rhode’s group could possibly fly like her.
Rhode had two choices now—either focus on only one target and unleash all their attacks or deal with their respective enemies by themselves. The person who defeated their other self would then assist the others.
However, both choices weren’t great. It was still doable for Anne, but Lize and Marlene didn’t practice close-combat strategies with Rhode at all. He would be thankful if they didn’t mess up his formation, not to mention coordinate perfectly. The second choice wasn’t too reliable either. Even if Marlene could resist the enemy’s attack, Lize surely couldn’t defeat the angel by herself.
At this moment, a familiar voice sounded before Rhode made his decision.
“You girls deal with your other selves. I will settle this man!”
Darn it!
Rhode retreated swiftly as a huge black blade brushed his head and crashed into the ground. Rhode lifted his head and saw his other self winking proudly at him with a smirk.
He really is me. He instantly judged the difference in strength between us. Does he intend to defeat me with this strategy? Damn it. Since you’re my fate image, I should have guessed earlier that he’s as scheming as me. He grasped the situation while I was hesitant… Darn it. Now isn’t the time to admire myself!
Rhode cursed inwardly and unsheathed the sword hanging on his waist. After gaining the holy sword cards, he had basically stopped battling with only swords. But he was fortunate that as a noble, he would always have a sword hanging on his waist as a symbol of status. Despite the sword being an ordinary one, it was still much better than fighting with his bare fists, after all.
“Anne, Lize, Marlene, they aren’t here to play with you and you will die if you aren’t careful! Anne, protect Marlene and Lize if possible because they can’t handle their fate images!” Rhode flitted across the arena and two shadow clones emerged from him, brandishing their blades at the target. The enemy Rhode twitched his brow and revealed an amusing smile.
“Oh? Shadow Clone Technique? That’s new.”
“You’ll get to feel it yourself!”
Of course, Rhode wasn’t that kindhearted person to tell the enemy about his sword skill. Currently he could only unleash his Fantasy Daybreak swordsmanship and if the enemy realized this swordsmanship… Rhode narrowed his eyes—perhaps he would be the one in trouble.
Fortunately, after dodging the enemy’s strike, Rhode knew that even though he couldn’t unleash spiritual powers, the techniques from his swordsmanship was still available. But even so, he felt helpless because the two shadow clones were basically created with his extraordinary speed of his constitution, which was why he couldn’t summon multiple shadow clones like in the past. This also meant that the heavy hitters in the Fantasy Daybreak swordsmanship were completely sealed and unavailable.
The other ‘Rhode’ didn’t seem surprised at all. Instead, he let out a chuckle and raised his enormous black blade. Clang! Clang! He struck away the two shimmering blade rays from the shadow clones. Then, he slashed an arc of blade ray at Rhode.
Tsk. This is really…
Rhode cursed inwardly. Although he had fought with his fate image in the Wheel of Fate in the game, this experience was completely different especially after the fact that the enemy was his avatar in the game while he was the ‘true self’ now… This was rather mind blowing.
Rhode didn’t have the time to think about such nonsense anymore. He laid his sword before him horizontally and sparks splashed as their blades clashed. The enemy didn’t flinch. He thrust his sword forward while Rhode dodged like he knew that this attack was coming. Rhode twitched his brow and deflected the threat before him. Then, he turned into a shadow and pierced his sword into the enemy’s chest. But at this moment, the enemy retracted his sword and jumped back to dodge his attack.
“Woah. Hahaha. How dangerous. You’re indeed me; so familiar with my skills.”
“You really do love to utter nonsense, don’t you?”
Rhode grumbled while the enemy revealed a grin. “You can’t say that, brother. I’m the other you, so doesn’t that mean that you’re talking about yourself too? Alright, alright. I know you’re also this sort of a person in this world. But since I showed up in your world and don’t have the face of a woman like you, I don’t need to act like I’m as cold as a block of ice. Hahaha…”
“You…”
“I advise you to not criticize me. We’re the same person, so it’d be the same as criticizing yourself, isn’t it?”
“…”
Rhode had never felt the urge to slaughter someone into bits this much. Although he knew that this was his personality… Damn it. Who could tolerate it when this happened to himself! Even if the enemy was himself, he couldn’t accept such humiliation!
“… Get ready to die.”
Rhode sulked, clutching his sword firmly. He stooped over slightly and at the same time, he exuded a violent burst of murderous aura. The enemy instantly displayed an astonished expression.
“Oh? You’re revealing your tricks so soon?”
“You said that we’re the same person, so of course I know what you’re thinking.”
Rhode twitched his brow and said.
“How interesting.”
His other self showed a stern expression and raised his sword.
“It seems like you’ve gotten some fun things in this world. Although I know you won’t give up, I’m the same too despite being a fate image. I don’t want to give up like an NPC. Alright then, let’s have a good one.”
The man displayed a smile; a smile that Rhode couldn’t be more familiar with.
At the next moment, the dark violent whirlwind and swift shadow clashed.
