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nMight have forgotten but Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and happy birthday to all.

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nThis might was something he had expected of Childe, but he was still caught off guard by his swift and sharp attack nonetheless.

nThat was precisely why he always tried to prepare for every kind of situation in advance, especially since his lover taught him to fight properly, using stances and breathing techniques that could be applied during a real confrontation, rather than just during training with the swords.

nWhile the vast knowledge of the martial arts and wuxia books he read in the past was very informative, seeing it live, and training himself to the bone was completely different than reading about it, which was why the training with Hu Tao helped him to understand how to respond in certain scenarios almost automatically.

nHowever…

nHe had severely underestimated his opponent…

n*Swish*

nYomite was careless and didn’t notice a second arrow that was released right after the first one.

n“Ugh!”

nHe barely managed to move out of the way, as the arrow passed through the top of his head, just missing his scalp by less than an inch, leaving behind an explosion of water where he’d once stood.

nSeeing that he dodged both of his attacks, Childe smiled widely.

nYomite returned the smile, though not quite as wide. “Nice aim. Where did you buy the aimbot?”

n“Aimbot? I’m not quite sure what you mean by those words, but I assume you complimented me just now. You have good reflexes to have dodged the second one, people usually just die. Oh well, that just means a bow will not be enough.” Childe replied, stepping towards him, a confident step, as if a walk through the park instead of a battlefield, his actions mirroring the feel of a cat ready to pounce on its prey or a light breeze blowing across a field instead of a roaring typhoon of battle and bloodshed.

nWith a wary eye on Childe who now began slowly moving forward, Yomite similarly trotted forth with his claymore poised above his head like a javelin.

n(Now then, where is his real weapon hidden?) Yomite observed him carefully, awaiting the blades that ended his life before. (Why is he entering close range with a bow? That doesn’t make sense…think…think…where did he hide the weapons…)

nAs he got closer, Childe halted, and turned on his heel, unleashing a set of weaponry made of pure water, transforming his bow into a dual blades of Hydro.

nMorphing from liquidy fluid to crystal sharp aqua razor blades, the two pieces of art had smoothly chiseled edges.

nThey flowed easily in harmony with one another, executing the graceful strokes of two oil on water, the sounds of their play resounding between them. Both emitted small clouds of mist, shining brightly in the sunlight.

n(There they are…So he can make weapons himself…He wasn’t hiding them anywhere…)

nYomite recognized the blades at a glance.

nThey both eyed each other cautiously, then Childe grinned suddenly at his opponent, showing all of his teeth in what looked like a predator’s smile.

nHe continued to approach him until they were mere inches away.

nChilde readjusted his stance, watching how his Hydro blades gleamed like water crystals.

nThey stared into each other’s eyes for another moment, staring intently as a silence stretched on between them, then finally broke when Childe launched into a fully melee attack.

nIt pierced forward, swift as the flow of water, slicing down at Yomite, aiming directly for the vulnerable spot around his neck, seeking it’s target…

nBut――

n“Oh? You caught that as well?”

nWith a thunderous boom, the tip stopped before reaching the Yomite’s torso.

nOf course, Childe had not slackened his hand. He always tried to the best of his abilities, to experience the most a duel could offer. Never going easy on any enemy, regardless of gender.

nThus, it was evident he hadn’t stopped the blade, but rather the tall man, bearing the expression of confidence.

nOne of the swords fell out of Childe’s grip like an errant child would drop their umbrella at a rainy day, down to the ground where it rang harshly upon impact more than ten feet away from him.

nHe jerked back a bit in shock. He didn’t expect his attack wouldn’t even leave a scratch on the weapon Yomite was holding.

n(Quite sturdy. An artifact? Hmph, the fool is wasting its potential by not praying to it.)

nThe shockwave from his falling weapon was loud enough for bystanders nearby to hear, if there were any.

nBut in the void of the space where they stood, there were no reactions except for Yomite standing completely still.

nSuch sound occurred, the echo faded out rapidly, leaving no sign that there had been any sounds at all. Only the two of them remained in silence.

nChilde retreated slightly, holding up a hand to steady himself and created a replacement to his missing Hydro blade in a few moments, this time, changing it’s tip a bit so that it gave the blade a sharper edge, thus making it far deadlier than the one before.

nThis meant he had unlimited weaponry at his disposal, and each of the weapons were deadly, even if made out of pure water.

nHis hand stopped just shy of the tip, and he saw himself reflected in the pale-blue glow of the water.

nThe glow from his blades stood out sharply against the sea blue aura around him, lending him a sinister air.

nWater droplets danced around him, illuminated from afar by the glowing sunrays breaking through the clouds in all directions.

n“Think you’re ready to take a nice beating, Comrade?”

nYomite slowly readied his claymore. “No, but I think I’m ready to win. You’re not as strong as I thought.”

n“You’ve seen nothing yet.”

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