Clang! A sharp sound echoed, and a flash of steel marked an instant.

Takeda Tomoe's ambush was sudden, swift, and naturally… effective.

In that instant, Juan Meng still faced attacks from both sides, finding himself in a difficult position, on the verge of being wounded.

Fortunately, he had teammates too…

Just as Takeda Tomoe unleashed that strike, Zhao Yingwang’s stone demon had already arrived.

As Zhao Yingwang's core summon, the former [Blood Stone Demon] had undergone multiple evolutions and was now a completely new S-level creature – the [Platinum Stone Demon].

This stone demon didn’t possess any special abilities; the only reason it was defined as S-level was because it was simply… strong.

How strong?

Let's just say… in terms of physical combat and health points alone, it was thirty percent stronger than a first-rate expert like Takeda Tomoe.

At present, the Platinum Stone Demon had arrived first, flashing to Takeda Tomoe's side and delivering a punch at the blade the latter was wielding.

Bang!

A fist capable of shattering mountains and splitting seas landed squarely, forcibly altering the direction of Takeda's blade.

Not only was Takeda Tomoe's ambush thwarted, but she herself was immediately plunged into danger…

"Tch… a summon with such a large build, yet it's still so fast…" Takeda Tomoe had studied Zhao Yingwang's matches before the competition, and she knew the Platinum Stone Demon was strong, but she hadn't seen this creature at full speed in the recordings. She was now experiencing it in actual combat.

Bang bang bang bang…

Without time to think, the Platinum Stone Demon's follow-up attacks were already upon her; nothing special… just a series of rapid punches from rapidly moving fists.

But Takeda Tomoe had to put all her effort into dealing with these simple moves because she was steadily suppressed by the stone demon in both speed and strength.

On the other hand, Itachi Makoto and Juan Meng's offense and defense had also entered a realm that was difficult to follow with the naked eye.

Itachi Makoto, having drawn a second black sword… instantly became a blur, reaching the peak of speed. His dual swords danced together, the exquisitely perfect swordsmanship like a violent storm, continuous and unrelenting.

Facing Juan Meng, who wielded a long weapon and possessed greater strength than himself, Itachi used the most correct tactic – close combat, acceleration, and continuous attacks.

Itachi's dual-sword style, with two weapons of different lengths, possessed two different striking intervals, so whether in close combat or general close quarters, it could exert high efficiency. On the other hand, Juan Meng, who used a "halberd," was at a considerable disadvantage in close combat; not only could the weapon's edge not reach the enemy, but the length of the halberd would also become a burden when adjusting his posture and parrying.

Under these circumstances, the direction of the battle should have been very clear…

But!

Amidst the clash of blades, every inch was contested, every move countered, and victory remained elusive.

"This guy…" After ten seconds of continuous attacks, Itachi Makoto couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, secretly exclaiming, "...isn't he ridiculously strong?"

Itachi had naturally studied the intelligence on Juan Meng before the competition; whether it was the hard data analyzed from recordings or the most recent practical combat data provided by Oda Ai and Sasaki Akira, they all indicated that Juan Meng's strength was, at most, a fifty-fifty match with Sasaki Akira, slightly lower than experts of Oda Ai's level.

But the actual situation before him was… Itachi Makoto, who was at the same level as Oda Ai, was using an advantageous battle style against Juan Meng, and yet the opponent was still defending flawlessly.

"I undoubtedly have the advantage in weapon type and combat distance, which means…" Itachi Makoto thought as he fought, "…am I also losing in 'speed' and 'skill'?"

He quickly rejected this deduction.

"No… that's impossible!"

Itachi's confidence was firm; his record in practice matches with Oda Ai in the team was five wins and five losses. And when facing opponents like Uesugi Jin who wielded long weapons… even using seventy percent of his strength, he had a perfect win record.

Moreover, although Itachi had not activated his ranking on the Player Comprehensive Strength List (for strategic considerations), Oda Ai, whose strength was comparable to his, was also ranked above Juan Meng.

All of these factors… indicated that he was stronger than Juan Meng, so he could not accept that he was in a balanced or even weak position in this duel.

"He must have used some kind of trick…" Itachi Makoto quickly came to another conclusion, "Some kind of… skill or item that can improve close-range defense efficiency; yes… that must be it! He must be barely holding on at the cost of extra consumption, as long as my attacks don't stop, the advantage will increase… he won't be able to hold on sooner or later!"

His reasoning wasn't illogical, but unfortunately… it was wrong.

Juan Meng hadn't used any special tricks; he was just using basic martial arts to deal with his opponent. The reason he could defend without flaws in this disadvantaged duel was simple – in terms of martial arts skills, Juan Meng was a cut above Itachi Makoto.

It was this "cut above" that erased the gap in their raw strength, and also erased the weapon's restraint in this close combat.

"Itachi! What are you spacing out for! Are you planning to play with that guy until when?" After a minute of fighting, Takeda Tomoe was starting to get impatient.

First of all, because the pace and intensity of this round of confrontation were fast and high, Takeda Tomoe's stamina was being consumed a little too quickly. As for the Platinum Stone Demon… as a summon, it didn't have the concept of "stamina"; as long as its existence time wasn't up, it could keep fighting.

Secondly, while Takeda and the Platinum Stone Demon were entangled, Zhao Yingwang in the distance had already begun to prepare other summoning rituals sneakily. God knows what kind of strange things he would summon next…

In short, from all angles, these two from [Sengoku] needed to do something quickly to change the situation on the field.

"Tch…" Itachi heard this, clicked his tongue lightly, and thought helplessly, "I want to finish him quickly too… but this guy…" At this point, his expression changed again, as if he had made up his mind, "Forget it… since the situation is already like this, those abilities that I originally planned to 'reserve for the last few rounds' can be used now…"

As soon as his thoughts settled, his offensive changed dramatically!

Having released the shackles in his heart, Itachi Makoto's fighting spirit soared, and the long and short blades in his hands… changed their styles simultaneously.

"This is…" Detecting the abnormality, Juan Meng immediately responded, activating a skill under his feet and retreating two zhang. (1 zhang = approx. 3.3 meters)

But how could Itachi Makoto let him escape? Seeing Juan Meng retreating rapidly, Itachi immediately used "Shrinking Ground" to follow like a shadow.

In an instant, white light flashed, and black light traveled alongside it.

The white katana, with [Secret Sword, First Blade], aimed for Juan Meng's neck; the black short sword, with [Moon Shadow], attacked Juan Meng's ribs.

The former was the strongest slash evolved from the simplest move, while the latter focused on extreme speed and unparalleled change.

The two moves arrived together, and the style was irresistible.

The intent of the sword was clear, and the peak of martial arts was seen.

This was an inescapable pursuit, and also a miraculous move that amazed countless experts.

But… at this moment, the expression on Juan Meng's face was still calm.

At that moment, Juan Meng raised his halberd, spun around, and released his fighting spirit.

Halberd and sword clashed, and cold sparks burst forth.

Vast energy suddenly met, a majestic decisive battle.

At the moment when the two extremes converged, time and space suddenly seemed to freeze.

A earth-shattering strike, the outcome was actually!