Demon Bible

Chapter 175: Insufficient Technique

"The Nidon Family, a branch of a Saint Family. There is very little information on them." Ever since Rhine returned from his studies in Sky Spring City over a decade ago and became the Bishop of Tail Fin Town, practically no trouble had found its way to the Nidon Family.

Even before then, the Nidon Family rarely took action. As a branch family, many of their members did not receive effective training.

Due to limited resources, their focus was often concentrated on just a few individuals.

And for the most part, these few individuals never truly displayed the specific areas where the Nidon Family's Saint's bloodline excelled.

It had only been faintly manifested in the Nidon Family Head.

The Decisive Blade.

His exploits had been buried in dust for many years.

Time was simply like that. After a few fleeting decades, no one cared about the figures of the past anymore.

The Decisive Blade was no exception. Having been in retirement for so many years, Nemus had only managed to uncover a few scraps of information about him without conducting a deliberate, intensive search.

The most prominent trait of the Decisive Blade was that his sword possessed a locking function, always striking its target with absolute precision.Therefore, Nidon was often accustomed to throwing his weapon.

As a result, many people frequently did not consider him a true swordsman.

However, after fighting him, they would inevitably realize that the title of Decisive Blade was entirely well-deserved.

As for the Saint's Essence of the Nidon Family, because they were not a local Saint Family and their sacred words and family doctrines had never been leaked, it was exceedingly difficult to investigate clearly.

'I can only hope that Opper and the others manage to investigate thoroughly,' Nemus thought. Naturally, the Nidon Family Head was no longer a threat, but Rhine was a completely different story.

If Nemus's predictions were correct, that man would likely be a formidable opponent.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Dual Swordsman immediately understood why his opponent held the title of Decisive Blade.

His opponent's massive body did not move particularly fast, but each methodical step carried an immense, suffocating pressure.

"Because I can decide absolutely everything!"

"For instance, this strike will leave you heavily injured!" Upon closing the distance, Nidon declared the future. As his words fell, he swung his sword.

Acting purely on instinct, the Dual Swordsman raised both blades, using one to block while keeping the other poised for a counterattack.

Before his eyes, the sword move appeared to be a diagonal upward slash sweeping from left to right.

However, the Dual Swordsman inexplicably moved his blocking sword toward his own right side, effectively parrying empty air.

Although he sensed something was wrong the instant he moved and immediately tried to change his angle of defense, it was still too late.

Nidon's sword sliced across the Dual Swordsman's body.

Yet, at the precise moment of impact, a green silhouette materialized over the Dual Swordsman, absorbing the brunt of the attack.

As a result, the Dual Swordsman merely suffered a laceration across his chest and was sent flying backward for a few meters.

Summoning Spell: Green Spirit Embrace.

The heavily injured Dual Swordsman was completely in disbelief that he could make such an amateurish mistake.

For a swordsman, instinctively reading the trajectory of an opponent's attack and reacting instantly—whether to block or dodge—was a fundamental skill.

This was the "sword sense" forged through immense amounts of real combat experience.

It was the absolute bedrock of a swordsman's discipline.

Yet he had somehow blundered against such a simple strike.

The blade hadn't even been moving fast, and he had clearly seen the direction of the sword move.

"If that is the case, then it is highly likely that there is nothing wrong with my sword art, but rather, it is the trait of your ability!" the Dual Swordsman declared, immediately pinpointing the true issue after a brief moment of disbelief. "That is correct. My ability is decision. I can decide your response."

"Therefore, no matter what you do, you cannot win against me!" Nidon stepped forward again, murderous intent gleaming in his eyes. "With the next strike, you will die!"

At that moment, the Dual Swordsman could feel an invisible blade pressing against his forehead, sinking just a bit deeper, piercing his flesh and pinning itself against his skull.

The sensation of impending death flooded his entire body.

He suddenly realized that in this tier of combat, the effectiveness of his sword art was much lower than he had imagined.

Swordsmanship was merely the lowest and final ring among the three rings of combat power.

Faced with the opponent's overwhelming advantage in attribute values and ability traits, he—an ordinary person devoid of a bloodline and practicing an unremarkable Breathing Technique—seemed incredibly fragile.

"Fortunately, I am not fighting alone, and my swords have not broken!" Blood seeped from the Dual Swordsman's chest, but thanks to the Green Spirit Embrace, his injuries were not fatal.

Standing back up, the Dual Swordsman discarded his fear and chose to place his absolute faith in his swordsmanship once more.

His initial perception had been manipulated, forcing him to make the wrong choice, but he had noticed the anomaly immediately afterward and managed to put up a partial defense. That meant his secondary perception had returned to normal.

"So, my sword art is not useless. I just need to push it further to overcome even more enemies!"

Fueled by this revelation, the Dual Swordsman did not retreat to flee. Instead, he charged straight toward Nidon, who had just announced his death.

In response, Nidon unleashed his next strike.

It was a simple, top-down diagonal cleave with a slight deflection.

Yet, guided by his initial perception, the Dual Swordsman instinctively dropped his blade to block low while stepping backward.

His instincts had made a completely erroneous first choice.

However, the strike that was meant to cleave the Dual Swordsman in half was intercepted by his second sword. Using a burst of finesse, he skillfully redirected the lethal blade, forcing it to slide harmlessly off to the side.

The Dual Swordsman's hands trembled slightly. This was the pressure brought by his opponent's superior attribute values. Had he not undergone the Whale-ification modification to inflate his own attribute values somewhat, the immense force would have knocked the weapon right out of his grasp, regardless of his redirection techniques.

But right now, a joyous smile stretched across the Dual Swordsman's face.

"Since my first instinct is wrong, then I will just play along with the mistake."

"In combat, I will simply treat one enemy as two, attacking me in tandem from different angles."

"Whether that perception is wrong or not, I will treat it as part of the enemy's assault and counter them both simultaneously!"

This was the countermeasure the Dual Swordsman had devised. Relying on his masterful sword art, he would treat the phantom attack born from his false perception as a second assailant and defend against both.

Unfortunately, in the very next moment, the Dual Swordsman found himself completely overwhelmed.

Aside from the reality-warping trait of his Decisive Blade, Nidon's foundational swordsmanship was not poor in the slightest; in fact, it slightly surpassed the Dual Swordsman's.

After Nidon unleashed two more strikes, two fresh gashes appeared on the Dual Swordsman's body.

At this rate, it would only take two more strikes for the Dual Swordsman to be utterly defeated.

But just as the Dual Swordsman had noted earlier, he had not come here alone.

Several invisible entities shot out as Feather Sky Serpents launched an assault on Nidon from all directions.

At the same time, Arlo crossed the battlefield, appearing on his flank with a cold gleam flashing from the blade in his hand.

The Desperado Duo and the Halfling Brothers took a slight detour, flanking toward Leydo, who was standing behind Nidon.

The Opper Merchant Guild had never cared for fair duels!