System vs Rebirth

'How?'

While Noel asked that question, the guy clicked his tongue before smiling. "I guess even a baby, it's still a lion. Even if you lower your guard, you still put some distance…"

The guy was implying that Noel had the chance to block it right in front of his neck as if he was trying to make no waste movement. But Noel was more careful than he originally thought because he blocked it a bit far away from any vital area as if calculating the opponent's strength.

However, Noel didn't understand what he was talking about. He was still trying to figure out the enemy's strength.

It seemed the enemy didn't intend to wait for him as he charged forward with his blade, making the same swing as the previous one.

Noel remembered what happened in the previous slash and hurriedly used his Everchanging Sword Style to strike it. He used Fear to improve his speed for a split second, hitting the sword upward.

The guy smirked as if he didn't care about this sudden change of trajectory. He used the same ability to put a small wound on Noel's face.

Unfortunately, the distance between his neck and the sword was bigger than earlier. This time, Noel could finally see what was going on and ducked down.

His hair was cut a bit and Noel was forced to leap back.

Still, that clash gave him a lot of information. He recalled what happened earlier.

At the last second, the enemy's blade seemed to be releasing Spiritual Energy that formed another blade like an extension. It turned out the enemy could manipulate his Spiritual Energy freely as a weapon.

As if noticing Noel's change of expression, the enemy smirked and raised his sword to his back. Suddenly, the Spiritual Energy erupted on his sword as it gradually formed a longer blade covering the original blade.

"It seems you have noticed it." As one would expect from a Demon Banner Army's knight, he thought.

He didn't bother to hide it anymore. His smile was confident and his action was bold, thinking Noel wouldn't be able to do anything to him even if he knew it.

And to prove his confidence, he waved his blade horizontally. The Spiritual Energy erupted once again as the blade expanded.

"!!!" Noel hurriedly used the Surprise Emotion to bolster his defense and raised his sword to the right.

This time, the clicking sound felt like something was hit by a huge boulder. The sound was soon followed by a few bumping sounds as a few trees were cut down by this long blade.

Noel gritted his teeth, seeing this ten meter long blade. It was surprising to see there was a blade this long even if it was just an extension.

But wielding this kind of blade would surely take a toll on his physical body, so Noel ignored the numbing pain in his hands and leaped forward, trying to defeat him in close combat. With a sword that huge, it would be hard to use it anyway.

The guy had already expected this kind of movement since there were a lot of people who used the same strategy in the past.

Still, no one managed to kill him yet because… The guy's blade shrunk in a split second as the energy went backward, forming an extension to the guy's handle.

'A spear?!' Noel was shocked because the new form looked like a spear. That shock actually stopped him from attacking this guy as the latter was trying to stab him.

Noel was annoyed because he was forced to block this attack.

Meanwhile, the enemy was trying their best to defeat him and get all the glory.

After striking Noel, the guy retracted the blade again and changed its form again. Noel wasn't planning to lose either. These two strikes provided a lot of information about this guy.

His mind was pondering an attack pattern to use against such an opponent.

Before the third strike came, Noel rushed to the enemy while gathering his Spiritual Energy on his boots instead of his sword.

The guy was confused for a moment but decided to use the long sword again. He used the weight of a long sword and its momentum to launch Noel away.

To his surprise, Noel actually stopped and raised his right foot. Instead of blocking or avoiding this blade, Noel actually kicked it.

*Clink!*

The surprise didn't end there as another clicking sound echoed in their ears. The guy was astounded to see Noel's boot was actually as strong as a metal. He didn't know that his boot had been enhanced by the Hardening Rune.

Noel used this swing to step on the blade before using the sword's momentum to launch him forward.

The guy was shaken as Noel actually managed to come closer. Luckily, Noel would have a hard time stopping that momentum, so he would crash somewhere.

But what he didn't understand was why his instinct was telling him to block an attack.

The guy decided to follow the instinct that had helped him a lot in the past. Unexpectedly, Noel was actually right next to him.

Noel just used the Hyper Jump to step on air, stopping all that momentum. He thought he could catch the enemy off guard, but it seemed the Spirit Master was far stronger than his previous opponent.

"Tsk." Noel clicked his tongue, disappointed.

"Do you think you can defeat me just like that? A mere Spirit Wielder…" The guy shouted in anger, using all his strength to launch Noel away. "No matter how hard you struggle, it's impossible for you to go against me!"

"Oh really?" Noel actually smiled after that provocation. After all, he had left another package for him.

There was a sudden fluctuation of Spiritual Energy on his blade. The guy's body was shaken as he raised his sword, trying to figure out the situation.

But in that instant, ice formed on his sword, expanding to his head.

The guy tilted his head to the side out of reflex and the ice ended up cutting his cheek quite deep. It was different from Noel's superficial wound.

And Noel used this chance to provoke him.

"What did you say again?"