"Show me some different moves. I want to see more!"
Lady Ghost turned her head and saw the knight step forward, his body arching back as he took a throwing stance.
As you wish. Lightning Spear!
No further words were needed. A blaze of light, bright as the sun, burst from the knight's hand. The spear flashed like lightning and vanished in an instant.
This radiance was unlike the thunder wielded by ancient dragons. It was even closer to the power of a god than theirs.
Lady Ghost did not dodge. She simply raised her straight sword once more.
A weak god, then!!
Golden Lightning Fortification!
A vast surge of golden light erupted from her body, dazzling like the sun itself.
With her pale hand, she caught the thunderbolt effortlessly. A casual squeeze, and it shattered into fragments.
This woman's power was still as terrifying as ever!
Nolan's eyes flew wide open. He halted abruptly and rolled to the side.
Looking back, he saw a golden sword arc sweep past. The grass was left in chaos, a shallow trench carved straight through it.
If nothing was amiss, that had to be a variant of the "Triple Rings of Light" incantation!
"Little Nolan, be careful!"
Before Nolan could even react, the Ghost Lady lifted her long sword again, sending three more streaks of golden energy flying outward.
For her, casting incantations of this level was clearly effortless. She could toy with this young knight for as long as she pleased.
But at that moment, she noticed Nolan, half-crouched on the ground, suddenly pushing off with his feet. His body slid forward as if gliding, weaving away with an uncanny footwork pattern.
The radiant slashes plunged into the earth, throwing up walls of dust.
The Ghost Maiden narrowed her eyes. The swirling debris blocked her view of the target.
That brief hesitation was all it took.
From within the dust, an even more dazzling light flared.
The power's gone up. A higher-tier miracle?
A thicker Lightning Spear ripped through the dust head-on, hurtling straight toward the golden-haired beauty.
Great Lightning Spear!
The Ghost Maiden lightly tapped the ground and evaded. Just as she was about to comment, she sensed something darting through the smoke.
She flicked her toes and leapt aside with practiced ease.
She looked up. Nothing.
Gone?
No. The air had been torn apart. It had simply hidden its form.
"Almost forgot this little ghost can turn invisible."
Lady Ghost still wore a calm smile, but her hand showed no hesitation as she slashed out with her sword.
Clang!!
A thunderous crash followed. Sparks and lightning exploded at once as the golden blade collided head-on with the lightning-forged sword. The force was overwhelming, crushing Nolan down to one knee on the spot.
This was far beyond knight-level strength. It was practically cheating.
It wasn't that Nolan begrudged facing someone stronger. On the battlefield, enemies never restrained themselves.
But rules had been agreed upon beforehand. And now, a single casual strike had pinned him down so completely he couldn't even rise.
Continuing this fight was utterly meaningless.
The female ghost seemed to see through his thoughts. Smiling, she shook her head and admitted that she had been the one to accidentally break the rules. The strength in her grasp gradually eased, and she leapt backward several meters.
Without the slightest hesitation, Nolan vanished from where he stood once again, this time without making a sound.
Though her eyes caught no trace of him and her ears heard nothing, her other senses had already picked up on Nolan charging straight toward her.
Not even a flicker of hesitation. This little fellow was decisively ruthless.
She praised him inwardly. Faint tremors rippled through the air, and the golden radiance along her straight sword flared brighter and brighter.
The blade of light expanded rapidly, like several brilliant rings stacked atop one another, forming a powerful barrier in midair that forced anything approaching it to retreat.
Nolan had seen a similar incantation before, used by Miquella.
But Miquella's attack covered a wider area and followed a single pattern, spreading outward from his own body.
This one, however, could be launched outward as a projection. That was something Nolan had never seen.
A thunderous boom followed. Dust exploded into the air as the extended light blade sent Nolan tumbling backward in a messy roll.
When he looked back, he saw that an area roughly two meters in radius nearby had been carved apart by deep, jagged cuts.
If that strike had landed on him directly, the outcome would have been unthinkable. He likely would not have survived.
Nolan had no time to linger on his narrow escape. Half-crouched, he heard the female ghost call out in a teasing voice:
"Still got any strength left? Want to take a break?"
Nolan's figure reappeared. He brushed the dust off his clothes and sprang upright.
"I can keep this up all day with you!" he shouted back.
"Such a tough mouth. Then show me what you can do."
The female ghost smiled faintly. From his uneven breathing, she could tell he was only forcing bravado.
Still, she had no intention of letting him off easily. She decided to continue probing his limits.
She lifted one hand lightly. A blinding radiance burst from her palm, turning the night sky as bright as day.
Rings of light formed one after another, each blazing like a miniature sun, and hurled themselves relentlessly toward the young knight.
Faced with such dense firepower, Nolan did not attempt to dodge.
In this situation, vanishing at will or avoiding every attack was impossible. Rather than wasting effort, it was better to face it head-on.
If their strength truly matched, he believed he could block these light rings.
The young knight stepped back, gripping his Claymore tightly with both hands and holding it level against his chest.
Then he thrust forward violently. From the tip of the Claymore burst forth a torrential rain of golden arrows.
The arrow storm blazed like sunlight itself, carrying terrifying power and speed as it poured toward the incoming light rings.
Don't think only you gods and ghosts can break free from theory and create new techniques. I'm a Lord of Cinder too!
Sunlight Rain of Arrows!
The female ghost recognized at a glance that this arrow rain bore similarities to the Lightning Spear from before, yet it was clearly something different.
Surprised but unshaken, she retreated while thrusting her longsword forward.
In an instant, the ordinary straight blade transformed into a golden Claymore several meters long, blazing with radiant light.
Golden Piercing!
The strike was as fast as a streak of light. Had it been one of those lumbering Haligtree Knights instead, they would have charged straight into it, already thinking about how to brace behind their heavy shields.
But Nolan, still in motion, suddenly lowered his body, slipped sideways, and drew the Greatsword back to his waist.
Quickstep!
Followed by… Unsheathe!
In the blink of an eye, Nolan completed a flawless sequence of movements.
He rose halfway, stepped forward lightly, and swung the Greatsword in one smooth motion. The blade's arc tore through the air, as though it could cleave everything in its path.
This was a unique sword art from the Land of Reeds, carrying an unstoppable, forward-driving momentum as it crashed down with merciless force.