Chapter 444: A Brutal Clash! The Battle Escalates!
A massive wound had been carved into Stella's body from the waist inward, blood spraying outward like a fountain.
For Stella under Dragon Spirit, an injury like this was not fatal.
Given a little time, she could completely recover.
But even that "little time" was still time.
Regenerating blood, restoring organs, rebuilding bones, and repairing flesh—
Even the current Stella needed several seconds to fully recover from such severe damage.
More importantly, massive blood loss caused momentary dizziness, while heavy injuries slowed the body.
Even if that weakness lasted only an instant, it was more than enough to become fatal in Luke's eyes.
Blue starlight suddenly blazed.
Before Luke and Stella could fall into the magma below, an enormous barrier formed beneath them.
The starlight barrier replaced the destroyed arena.
Maintaining this newly created platform consumed a huge amount of Luke's Prana, but it also eliminated the problem of unstable footing.
Luke continued pressing down.
Starfall Sword, still buried in Stella's body, carried her with it and slammed her into the starlight platform!
Stalling for time?
Having no way to deal with her?
His opponent was some monster with terrifying regeneration?
Heh.
Luke could not care less about any of that!
Could his sword hurt her?
Could she actually be wounded?
Could her mana, stamina, and spirit be worn down?
If the answer was yes—
Then there was only one thing Luke needed to do!
Cut first and worry later!
If one sword was not enough, use two.
If two were not enough, use three.
And if three still were not enough—
Then cut her countless times!
As long as she could be injured, and as long as every injury drained her strength and spirit, then the path to victory was obvious!
Wasn't this just a contest to see who collapsed first?
This kind of battle was exactly what Luke excelled at!
Everything else could be considered afterward.
For now—
"Let me cut you first!"
Boom—!
Violent sword intent erupted toward the heavens!
A seemingly endless storm of sword energy swept across the entire venue.
With the starlight platform dividing the battlefield, below was a blazing crimson domain—
And above was a raging domain of swords!
Standing within that storm of sword energy, the sensation of countless blades cutting across her body jolted Stella out of the daze caused by her severe injuries.
She looked at the figure standing before her, now releasing his fighting spirit without holding anything back.
And Stella smiled.
Regardless of the final result—Luke had finally acknowledged her as an opponent worth fighting seriously.
She had waited far too long for this moment.
Ever since their mock battle when school began, Stella had dreamed of truly facing this man as an equal combatant.
And now—That dream had come true!
But the price was that from this moment onward, Luke would not allow her to retreat even half a step.
Now that his fighting spirit had fully awakened, retreating once would mean facing an endless offensive.
If she dared step back, Luke would never give her another chance to counterattack.
There was only one way to respond.
Do not retreat.
Use everything she had—And force him back instead!
What followed would no longer be a simple contest.
It would be a brutal clash!
Slash—!
Stella tightly grabbed the Starfall Sword buried inside her body.
The razor-sharp blade instantly sliced into her soft palm.
And because she gripped it with force, the sword already embedded within her body sank even deeper.
Her newly repaired body once again erupted with blood.
But Stella ignored both the injury and the pain.
She used all her strength and reinforced herself with enormous mana, locking Starfall Sword firmly inside her body.
Then flames erupted around her free right hand.
The golden Laevateinn formed instantly and slashed toward Luke, who was now trapped in place!
Faced with that ferocious attack, Luke made his choice.
He neither dodged nor retreated!
Clang—!
Ser-Veresta directly met Laevateinn!
The clash of the two swords once again thundered through the sky.
Blue starlight and crimson flames intertwined.
The sound of blades striking each other rang out without pause.
And upon that starlight platform, the two began an incredibly brutal confrontation!
It was a clash of blades.
A collision of wills and souls!
Neither retreated even half a step!
A sword strike was answered with another sword strike.
If a blade could not block an attack, they used their fists.
If even that was impossible, they took the blow with their bodies and traded wounds for another opportunity to counter!
Blood continuously scattered through the air before falling onto the platform.
The starlight floor, originally glowing with brilliant blue radiance, gradually became stained red.
Most of that blood belonged to Stella.
But some belonged to Luke as well.
And Luke's share was steadily increasing.
Because as the battle continued—Stella was growing at an astonishing rate.
Her attack speed increased.
Her reaction speed increased.
Her combat experience increased.
While fighting Luke, Stella relied on the terrifying vitality of Dragon Spirit and almost completely abandoned defense.
Every time she was injured, she learned.
Every time she healed, she evolved.
Her growth rate was simply abnormal.
Especially when it came to strength!
Every strike became heavier than the last.
Every blow became more terrifying.
It was as though Stella's growth had no limit whatsoever.
But this kind of development—Luke could not reproduce it.
That was right.
Luke could not grow in every aspect as unreasonably as Stella did.
This was a difference in talent.
What Luke could improve during battle was his swordsmanship.
As for strength, speed, combat experience, and everything else, he had always relied on time and accumulation.
Those were the results of nine full years of effort.
Unlike his swordsmanship, they had been built one step at a time.
Yet Stella was catching up to them within only a few minutes of fighting!
An all-around genius.
That was the greatest difference between Stella and Luke.
In swordsmanship talent, Stella might never compare with Luke.
But in nearly every other area—Luke could not compare with Stella.
Every flash from their collisions became brighter than the last.
Every impact became more deafening than before.
Their battle escalated as though it had no upper limit!
Whenever Stella grew stronger, Luke responded by revealing an even higher level of swordsmanship and suppressing her again.
That suppression then forced Stella to grow once more.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
At first glance, the battle seemed deadlocked.
Luke even appeared to hold the advantage.
But that was not truly the case.
Neither could inflict decisive damage upon the other.
Luke's injuries on Stella were simply regenerated.
Meanwhile, Stella could not yet break through Luke's swordsmanship.
But under those conditions, once Stella's growth surpassed the current limit of what Luke could suppress—The entire battle would reverse in an instant!
Most importantly, Luke's combat ability would gradually decline as his stamina and mana were depleted.
But as long as Stella remained under Dragon Spirit—She stayed at peak condition!
If this continued, Stella was confident she could win.
No—Victory would become inevitable!
And yet…
The smile that had remained on Luke's lips throughout the entire battle made Stella feel a faint sense of unease.
…
…
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