Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1418 - 1411: Shadow Guard Shadow Edict

Chapter 1418: Chapter 1411: Shadow Guard Shadow Edict

After about ten minutes, a man dressed in black emerged from the woods. He had a Kyushu native’s face, with long black hair that, unlike other Kyushu men, was not neatly tied but fashioned into a long ponytail.

He wore a half-mask on the left side of his face, fitting the contour of his cheek, yet there was no opening at the eye. Instead, the mask covered his left eye, leading one to conclude he might be a one-eyed man.

The man had many weapons on him, with various small hidden weapons attached to the crisscrossing leather straps at his shoulder and waist. His primary weapon was an incredibly sharp longsword, about a meter in length, with a polished bamboo hilt.

Upon catching the first glimpse of the man, Feng immediately exhibited an unprecedented sense of crisis. This man might have looked ordinary, but his aura was incredibly strong, and intuition told Feng that this was an opponent not to be underestimated.

The man kept a firm grip on the bamboo hilt of his longsword, standing just outside of Feng’s effective attack range, seemingly waiting for something. Feng didn’t let his guard down either, gripping his long knife in one hand and slowly drawing his gun from its holster with the other.

Cheng Ziang, with Yichuan Ying, rushed out from their hiding spot. Upon seeing the man, Yichuan Ying’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help exclaiming, "Shadow Edict, are you here to save me? Don’t attack, they are all..."

But before Yichuan Ying could finish speaking, the man known as Shadow Edict had already made his move. With a speed faster than thunder, he swung his sword, sending sword energy hurtling towards Cheng Ziang and Yichuan Ying.

"Be careful!" Having experienced sword energy before, Cheng Ziang wasn’t intimidated by this type of attack. Instead, he calmly pushed Yichuan Ying away.

Cheng Ziang had just shoved Yichuan Ying aside when the piercing sword energy whizzed past them, cleanly slicing through the bushes and tree trunks in its path. The power it carried was imaginable, and even Cheng Ziang broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing Shadow Edict attack Cheng Ziang, Feng flew into a rage, swinging his knife at Shadow Edict and then lunging forward, following the sword energy.

This was Feng’s usual tactic, using sword energy as a feint and closing in for hand-to-hand combat. Most cultivators assumed Royal Dao masters were weak in close-quarters combat, so they were always pleased when they saw Feng advancing towards them.

However, this was exactly what Feng aimed for. Once the enemy let down their guard and their weapon clashed with her long knife, she would seize that moment to break their weapon and then proceed to slay them.

"Are you okay?" On the other side, Cheng Ziang, who had tackled Yichuan Ying to the ground, looked down at her and asked with concern.

"Don’t fight with Shadow Edict!" Yichuan Ying hardly noticed Cheng Ziang’s position as she continued to shout urgently.

"Why not?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.

"Shadow Edict is a Dual Dao expert, he’s my father’s Shadow Guard, specially assigned to protect my father." Yichuan Ying said anxiously.

"Dual Dao expert, huh..." Cheng Ziang was concerned, though not as nervous as Yichuan Ying.

"Aren’t you worried about your companion?" Yichuan Ying asked, seeing his reaction.

"My Feng is also a Dual Dao expert, I guess your Shadow Guard is going to die here today," Cheng Ziang said with narrowed eyes.

"I’m not joking, I’ve seen Shadow Edict’s strength, it’s really terrifying..." Yichuan Ying said with a worried expression.

"I’m not joking either, I just wonder if you’re willing to let him go," Cheng Ziang said with a shrug.

"If you’re not worried, then get off me quickly," said Yichuan Ying, noticing their positions for the first time and speaking with a hint of shyness.

"Oh, sorry, I didn’t notice." Cheng Ziang started, quickly clambering up and pulling her up as well.

In the midst of battle on Feng’s side, Shadow Edict instinctively kept retreating and releasing sword Qi to block her advance when he saw Feng’s sudden charge. They were very close to each other, so there wasn’t much room for Feng to dodge the sword Qi.

Yet, even so, Feng managed to precisely evade each incoming blast of sword Qi. Her footwork originated from Western Continent swordsmanship, which could be said to be the pinnacle of Western Continent sword techniques.

The swordsmanship of the Western Continent emphasizes footwork and places a great importance on the rebound mechanism. It involves dodging the opponent’s attack with the speed of lightning, then exploiting the momentary gap in the enemy’s offense to strike accurately at their vulnerable spots with one’s own weapon.

For this reason, although Yalunte hardly used magic and couldn’t release sword Qi, he still became a swordsaint renowned throughout the West Continent.

As for Feng, being the last disciple of the prophet, she could only be regarded as surpassing her teacher, the only difference being practical experience. However, this gap was quickly closing with each battle she fought.

Combining long-range attacks with Western Continent sword techniques, Feng could inflict significant damage both from afar and up close. In fact, she could exchange blows with Shadow Edict if she wanted, but that would be too brainless and boring.

Therefore, she preferred to take the initiative to attack, using close combat, which she was most adept at, to eliminate her opponent. She enjoyed the visceral experience of blades clashing and didn’t want to rely solely on her very lethal and sharp sword Qi.

With several brilliant moves, Feng skillfully dodged Shadow Edict’s attacks and thrust her long blade forward towards his face. Surprisingly, Shadow Edict’s reaction was not to block with his sword but to slap away the attack with his left hand.

He managed to hit the blade of the sword accurately, thwarting Feng’s attack. Not only was Feng surprised by this development, but even onlookers like Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but exclaim how impressive it was.

In truth, Feng hadn’t expected her thrust to finish him off, as she knew it was unrealistic. Her strike was a feint, intended to lure Shadow Edict into using his sword, so that she could counter with a slash to break his weapon.

In battle, breaking the opponent’s weapon could have a strong intimidating effect. At the moment a weapon is severed, most combatants fall into chaos, with only a few able to remain calm.

However, Feng hadn’t expected Shadow Edict to defy conventions and not use his sword to parry. Instead, he used his palm to deflect her blade.

Considering the vulnerability of flesh to steel, it was astonishing for Shadow Edict to confront a weapon with his bare body, something Feng hadn’t anticipated. Thus, at that moment, she was the one momentarily thrown into confusion.

"Shadow Edict is a master of the Ba Path, his protective True Qi can repel ordinary blade strikes, rendering him impervious to swords and spears," explained Yichuan Ying to Cheng Ziang, who was watching nearby.

"No wonder," Cheng Ziang acknowledged without looking back.

It wasn’t that Shadow Edict had pulled a clever trick; rather, Feng was still lacking in this aspect of combat. She had previously encountered a master of the Ba Path, who could deflect her Kedal metal long blade, but she had seemingly not learned from it and continued to ignore the concept of body-protecting True Qi of Ba Path cultivators from the East Continent.

After suffering a small setback, Feng quickly stepped back to regain her composure, ensuring she wasn’t taken by surprise by an attack from Shadow Edict at that moment.

Seizing the opportunity while Feng created distance, Shadow Edict once again swung his long sword, releasing fierce sword Qi towards her. The sword Qi skimming the ground carved deep trenches in the earth, and Shadow Edict’s sword Qi could easily sever the trunks of nearby trees in one clean cut, so if it hit a person, it would be akin to being dismembered.

However, Feng, having recovered, was unfazed by such attacks. She dodged effortlessly like an assassin with maximum evasion, and then charged at Shadow Edict once more.

People from the East Continent usually store magic power within their bodies and then release it. Feng did the same, as did Shadow Edict. If Shadow Edict kept releasing sword Qi like that, he would eventually be captured when his magic power ran out.

His advantage in close combat with Feng was entirely built on his protective True Qi. Once Shadow Edict’s magic power was exhausted and he could no longer sustain his protective True Qi, he would become mere mortal flesh, ready to be slaughtered by others.

Clearly, Shadow Edict realized this too. After Feng completely dodged all the sword Qi, he stopped using his magic to channel it and instead directly engaged with Feng’s long blade.

As their blades collided, the scenario Feng found most intriguing did not occur. Shadow Edict’s long sword withstood Feng’s strike without being broken. This made the onlookers, including Cheng Ziang, worried.