?Although the question seemed exceedingly abrupt at such a moment, Soma had grown accustomed to his master’s habit of suddenly voicing strange thoughts.

As a bandit leader, Red Eye was certainly qualified, being sinister and cunning, never hesitating to get his hands dirty, nor to unfairly withhold his subordinates’ shares.

To those bandits, having such a boss was already quite admirable.

With both strength and brains, Red Eye’s bandit group had managed to reach its current size.

Despite not really wanting to answer such a nonsensical question, Soma, out of respect for his master, scratched at the scar on his face and dredged up an answer from the depths of his mind: “Lighting a fire, drinking booze, and eating meat?”

That was generally what he did in the camp during such times, as even merchant caravans would not dare to move about.

No one knew exactly what dangers lurked on the Silverwind Prairie.

Everyone who claimed to have mastered its secrets had already been buried beneath its soil, with grass growing three feet tall over their graves.

Upon hearing Soma’s response, Red Eye nodded, not indicating whether the answer was right or wrong, but simply smiled.

“If that’s your answer, then let me share mine with you.”

Suddenly, a gust of wind arose, blurring everything in front of Soma’s eyes.

Though taken aback, he was a seasoned warrior and quickly regained his composure, his hand already gripping the hilt of his knife.

“Soma, do you know what the difference is between you and me?”

Soma stood firm, scanning his surroundings as Red Eye’s voice seemed to come from all directions amidst the howling wind.

Strangely, even though the voice sounded close, he couldn’t see anyone.

No further explanation was needed; he realized what was happening.

Undoubtedly, this was an ambush.

Someone had followed them!

“Kill the enemy before you, and I’ll give you the answer.”

With those words, Red Eye’s voice vanished, and simultaneously, the raging wind ceased without a trace.

Soma looked around; Red Eye was nowhere to be seen.

Despite the earlier gusts, the streets remained unchanged.

No, there was a change.

A figure appeared in his line of sight, standing in the middle of the street.

It seemed to be a young man, about sixteen or seventeen years old, holding a straight sword similar in style to the long knife in his own hands, his resolute face expressionless.

Recalling Red Eye’s voice, Soma raised his right hand, the tip of his blade pointing directly at the figure’s face.

“Are you here to kill me?”

Hearing Soma’s question, Howard did not respond.

He simply tightened his grip on the sword in his right hand, then fixed his gaze on Soma.

Antalya’s instructions were straightforward: she would draw Red Eye away, leaving Soma as Howard’s target.

This presented a simple, singular choice for Howard, who stood no chance against Red Eye; facing him, Howard wouldn’t last even a round.

However, against Soma, he held a slight chance of victory.

Despite Soma being an experienced fighter, Howard was not without his own foundations.

Even if he couldn’t immediately adapt to the combat style of the new world’s magi, his body’s reflexes remained, and his magical knowledge hadn’t vanished.

Before setting off, Antalya left Howard with a simple statement, neither a mission objective nor any form of encouragement or provocation, just a straightforward declaration.

“Soma is Greg’s enemy. He was there last time.”

That was enough.

Howard remembered the night he spent drinking with Greg.

Now, Greg’s fate was unknown, and the man responsible stood before him.

“What an unpleasant reality,” Howard murmured, his tongue briefly flicking across his lips as he took a step forward, mana radiating from his body.

“Though it’s not Greg standing here, I believe if it were him, he definitely wouldn’t let you go. So, I have even less reason to do so.”

With his blade angled, Howard’s speed surged to its limit in an instant.

Soma wouldn’t give him any time to warm up, so he had to seize the initiative at the very start of the fight to avoid falling behind in the ensuing exchanges.

Otherwise, not only would he be at a disadvantage in terms of mana capacity, but his mana techniques would also be inferior.

A moment’s delay, and he would lose any chance of counterattack.

Under the influence of mana, Howard’s initial movement conjured a sudden gust of wind, blurring Soma’s vision.

No longer concerned with conserving energy, Howard was prepared to use any method that might gain him the slightest advantage without hesitation.

Amidst the sharp whistling of the wind, Howard, like a phantom, rapidly closed in on Soma, his blade hidden behind him, making it impossible to predict the direction of his strike.

However, all this seemed to have no effect on Soma, who simply narrowed his eyes, raised his right hand level, stepped forward, and executed a diagonal slash.

Mana clung to the edge of his blade, forming a three-foot-long blade aura that cut through the air and the wild wind, heading straight for Howard. .

With a focused gaze, Howard, without slowing, stepped out in a zigzag pattern.

In a moment, his figure split in two, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade aura, and his speed increased even further.

In the next second, Howard was right in front of Soma, leaping up and rolling sideways, his blade flashing brilliantly.

Soma felt a surge of adrenaline but maintained his composure.

Despite Howard’s attack appearing extremely dangerous, the flamboyant movement also dispersed the force on the blade.

With a thrust of his wrist upwards, Soma’s long sword met Howard’s blade, not to block it head-on but to deflect it from the side.

From his elevated position, even if the force on Howard’s blade was dispersed due to his movements, the combination of gravity and mana still made it formidable.

To directly block it would play into Howard’s hands, allowing him to use the force to maintain his height and initiative.

But now, with Soma’s counter, the roles of who leveraged force against whom were reversed!

In an instant, the sound of clashing blades was incessant, mana burst forth, and Soma, countering Howard’s direction, spun around, their blades entwining in combat.

“Break!”

With a forceful shout, releasing his breath, Soma’s wrist surged with mana, stepping forward and thrusting, his long sword unfurled with a sky-scouring posture, slicing towards Howard’s exposed abdomen.

Should this strike land, Howard would be gravely injured at the least, with death on the spot being a careless mistake away.

Howard, facing the approaching blade of Soma, showed no sign of panic on his face, only a rock-solid calm.

As he flipped his straight sword, Howard began to spin once more.

Not forward or backward, but a lateral roll.

In mid-air, without any leverage, Howard performed an incredible dodge, as if gravity did not apply to him.

Like a wisp of smoke, he drifted to one side along the airstream raised by Soma’s long sword, finding his leverage in Soma’s attack!

This was truly a dance on the tip of the blade.

Landing from his flip, Howard didn’t hesitate; as if mana perpetually suffused his entire body, he launched an attack in an instant.

Soma, caught in uncertainty, but Howard in the heat of battle wouldn’t afford him the time to ponder.

In the moment of Soma’s distraction, Howard had already reached him, his straight sword slashing horizontally towards Soma’s head.

Soma narrowly blocked this attack, but in the blink of an eye, Howard’s second strike was upon him!

Like a machine that never knew fatigue, Howard spared no expense of his available mana, pouring it all into his assault!

Howard’s movements bore no hesitation, his gaze unwavering.

Each action seemed like a memory etched into his bones through thousands of refinements, effortlessly summoning both mastered and unmastered techniques at wil.

Howard had driven Soma into a dead end with no escape.

Though Howard was at a comprehensive disadvantage in terms of sheer power, his machine-like precision in skill miraculously turned the tide of battle.

Both fighters moved with incredible speed, their agility and strength vastly enhanced by mana, controlling a hundred meters within six seconds, their short-term bursts even quicker.

To an ordinary observer watching from the sidelines, they would only perceive two blurred shadows colliding dozens of times within a single breath, the sharp sound of clashing blades incessant and piercing.

With his blade held in a reverse grip and hidden behind his back, Howard charged towards Soma, his footsteps shifting in a complex pattern that made his form blur, rendering it difficult to predict his angle of attack.

Despite being at a disadvantage under Howard’s relentless assault, Soma had not completely lost the opportunity to counterattack, still daring to seize any possible chance.

Howard’s offensive was fierce, but his inherent physical strength set a limit to his output.

While he could suppress Soma, it came at the cost of a higher expenditure of mana and physical energy.

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