"Young man, your journey ends here."
Albton held the sword with one hand, the sword named Pale Tooth. Although it was just an ordinary magic sword, it bore witness to the honor and achievements acquired by this knight throughout his lifetime.
He placed his left hand flat on his right wrist. As soon as he finished speaking, a layer of white frost-colored flame ignited on the thin blade. Brand recognized it as the swordsmanship that made him famous throughout his life—White Flame.
Despite Brand’s skills, Albton was a true court swordsman. He became a knight at seventeen and earned the title of craftsman by forty. He fought for Erune all his life, a hero of Erune until his death, but ’White Knight’ Albton was truly renowned after becoming an Undead.
In his era, Albton was one of Madara’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. His title of ’Conqueror’ Albton not only silenced crying children.
Brand retreated quickly, feeling an immediate sense of danger. In Tagus’s camp, there were two commanders he least wanted to encounter—the Conqueror ’White Knight’ Albton and the War King ’Red Knight’ Leidios, especially the former. It seemed that Lord Martha decided to play a little joke on him.
But the White Knight struck at lightning speed. Before Brand could finish his thought, Albton had already slashed down. It resembled a silver crescent moon-shaped flame descending from above. Even before the sword arrived, Brand felt the bone-chilling cold breath. He immediately reeled, unable to pause, and rolled to the side.
The flame cut through the ground with a ’bang,’ causing the rocks to instantly layer, the cut section covered with white frost.
Just the wind pressure breaking the rocks made Brand’s heart tremble. This was the lowest level of silver power. Even his White Crow Swordsmanship, when in Power Burst status, could only manage to cut wooden materials.
But as he rolled aside, ’White Knight’ Albton already mounted his nightmare warhorse, charging forward—this Undead Knight disregarded his own subordinates, trampling a scatter of bone debris as he leaped beside Brand.
A scattering of bone fragments flew—
Then the White Knight raised the longsword high, utilizing the momentum from the horse’s leap, and delivered a downward slash towards the young man.
Brand had no choice but to raise Azure Light Piercing to parry. A teeth-jarring crash, both swords clashed with maximum force, bending backward simultaneously. Brand felt his arm almost break, his entire body shot back like a cannonball, tumbling on the ground several times before barely managing to stand up.
At least an energy level of 25.
Brand pressed the ground with one hand, shouting in his mind how fortunate he was. He used the Power Burst technique at the last moment, or else his arm would have been shattered. Even so, he still felt frequent tingling in his right hand, initially fearing loss of sensation.
But it was truly terrifying, the Second Power Level, the strength of a Silver Knight. A single-handed strike far exceeded seven tons, nearly reaching the point of forming wind blades without technique. Brand stared at the rapidly approaching pure White Knight, instinctively longing for his Holy Sword Card. Defeating this monster required such power, yet at this moment, he lacked Earth Element to activate it.
Albton and his horse drew closer—
Brand gritted his teeth and raised his sword once more, this time gripping it with both hands above his head—the sword tip slightly pointed towards the ground, assumed one of the best stance to unload power in Military Swordsmanship.
"Varied but not refined."
The White Knight glanced down at him, a cold, hoarse voice echoed from beneath the helmet. He raised his sword and slashed down, Brand countered with the sword guard against Pale Tooth. Adjusting the angle of the Elf Sword at the last moment, sparks flew, deflecting Albton’s sword along Brand’s sword trajectory.
But the remaining force still pushed him backwards; Brand’s rear foot immediately bumped against the ground. This subtle movement used frequently in Military Swordsmanship to balance the body seemed instinctive, slipping aside but maintaining a stable half-crouch on the ground.