Sickening

San Zhenghe put away his knife and found a clean rock to sit on. He took a small water skin from his belt and slowly drank the clean water, while not far away lay a corpse with eyes wide open in death.

After enduring silently since the beginning in order to bloom in the end, his light was extinguished in an instant. He died without understanding how a blade could catch up to the speed of light.

San Zhenghe put the water skin next to him and took out a small paper package from his inner pocket. Inside were delicate pastries emitting a peach fragrance.

"Finally I can eat." Happily picking up a pastry and putting it in his mouth, San Zhenghe revealed a sweet, girlish smile and turned to look in the direction Li Changan and the others were fighting.

There were three pastries left. San Zhenghe reluctantly put them away, retied the water skin, and walked in that direction.

-----

"You want to get close to me?" Charles looked mockingly at the youth rushing towards him from fifty meters away. "While I was fighting Salman, you took out a despicable sneak attacker for me. Concede defeat and I'll spare you."

Li Changan did not answer. Dodging the continuous thunderbolts was tiring. The thunder and lightning wove together into an electric net, blocking his way forward. He needed to find a way through.

His speed was insufficient and he had to make up for it with reaction time. He couldn't keep up with the speed of the thunderbolts but he could see every minute movement Charles made, down to the fluttering of his eyelashes.

He could confirm Charles had broken through to S-rank in the Trial Field. He couldn't fully control that terrifying power yet. Every time he released thunderbolts, his gaze would involuntarily flicker towards where he wanted to attack.

This was Li Changan's only chance - when he felt Charles' gaze on him, he would dodge with minimal movement so as not to affect his speed.

From around seventy meters when Charles first noticed him until now, Li Changan had closed the gap to less than fifty meters.

Charles frowned. Of all the opponents he had faced, none had ever confronted his thunderbolts in this way. This was thunder and lightning - how could anyone dodge so easily?

Since when did close combat espers become so gutsy?

Charge! Charge! Li Changan had only one thought left in his mind. He had to get close to Charles to create an opportunity for Wen Anran.

"Stop right there!" Charles raised his hand and the electric currents interweaved to form an impermeable giant net, falling towards Li Changan's head.

Li Changan did not slow down. Seeing the electric net coming at him, he tore off his coat and threw it forward. The rubber lining commonly used as insulation was still insufficient against the thunderbolts. The powerful electric current would turn rubber into a conductor.

But all Li Changan needed was a moment's resistance.

Slipping through the hole created by his coat, Li Changan leapt through like a fish. After landing he continued charging forward without stopping, secretly relieved that Charles did not take the chance to attack during that moment when he lost sight of him in mid-air jump. That should have been the best opportunity for Charles to strike.

"You seem quite used to my methods of attack." Charles retreated. This was the first time he had retreated since entering the Trial Field. The youth before him posed tremendous pressure.

Like an assassin staking everything on one strike of the sword. One strike that would certainly take a life.

Li Changan had closed in to within thirty meters. Charles still could not hit him. Rather, the long-range advantage that should have favored him had become a weakness against Li Changan.

Espers activated according to the workings of the mind but Charles’ mind was still not operating fast enough to match Li Changan’s speed. Each evasion seemed as unpredictable as a drunkard’s stumbling yet somehow precisely avoided every thunderbolt.

Charles continued retreating but Li Changan drew nearer and nearer. He could turn and flee or ascend into the air but damned pride prevented him.

"The Pendragon Family has no cowards!" Charles roared, his convictions growing ever firmer. Taking big strides towards Li Changan, thunderbolts in hand, he hurled out spears of lightning like an angry god.

Ten meters! No slowing down! Li Changan gritted his teeth and narrowly dodged the lightning spear, feeling the smell of burnt hair from his temples. But this finally brought him within five meters of Charles.

Charles gripped the condensed, silvery white thunder sword and slashed horizontally before him. Everywhere it passed was charred black and even the air reeked of scorching.

Li Changan bent back to evade this strike like a compressed spring, rebounding towards Charles even more fiercely.

Clenching his fist, he smashed it forwards!

A transparent barrier quivered into view under the force of Li Changan’s blow but ultimately stabilized.

Experience had taught Li Changan not to be greedy with his strikes. Seeing no effect from one punch, he immediately flashed sideways into Charles’ blind spot and retreated.

Feeling the tremor in his defensive barrier, Charles reacted instinctively, slashing down with his sword. But Li Changan had already left that spot so the blow did not connect. The radiating thunderbolts only tore his clothes, leaving some black scorch marks on his muscular chest amidst old burn scars from boiling water.

Li Changan tore off his tattered shirt. Clothes were only drag now. He even considered stripping fully naked. Non-insulated clothing increased his area vulnerable to strikes.

But both Jiang Shuibu and Wen Anran had said battles still required some elegance. Fighting naked seemed crude, like a powerless human.

So in the end Li Changan only removed his top, still feeling rather discomforted.

Charles sucked in a breath. This was the first time he had seen someone with so many scars covering their body - cuts, bullet holes, burns, as if this man was a human model exemplifying all manner of trauma.

"You must be insane!" Charles tightened his grip on the sword. The over one meter long broadsword began shrinking until thunderous might was concentrated into a less than one meter length behind the silvery white blade. Space itself seemed slightly warped around it.

In less than ten seconds, Li Changan’s left ribs were slashed open. The white hot sword parted flesh and blood while cauterizing the wound. Electric current raged inside his body.

Such powerful swordsmanship. Could his trump card actually be his swordsmanship? Li Changan barely dodged the next stab, feeling somewhat sluggish from the tingling currents.

Gripping his sword, Charles smiled faintly. “Surprised? I first held a sword at three years old. After over a decade studying every sword art in this world, no one knows my wish is actually to become a sword saint!”

Li Changan was stunned before his expression gradually turned icy cold. Laughing angrily through gritted teeth he said, “Admire me? Don’t joke around. Do you really wish to become a worthless cripple like me? If we switched places, would you truly be willing? If I...”

Li Changan suddenly raised his head, “I don’t need your pity!”

Killing intent raged, making the lightning writhe.