The length of a greatsword dictates its immense power. A common saying in martial arts captures this perfectly: "An inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch riskier."
The longer weapon is powerful and overt; the shorter is subtle, tricky, and carries hidden killing potential. "An inch longer, an inch stronger" means a longer weapon has a greater reach and attack power. "An inch shorter, an inch riskier" means a shorter weapon requires you to get closer to the opponent to attack, making the fight faster and bearing greater risk. Here, "risky" doesn't just mean personal danger, but refers to the fight's nature—it's a high-stakes, life-or-death approach designed to swiftly defeat the enemy.
Kai embraced the "riskier" approach. His weapons were standard-length longswords, significantly shorter than the greatsword wielded by the Black Knight.
If Kai had used his old combat style and charged in aggressively from the start, he would be pitting a weaker weapon against a stronger one, placing him at an immediate disadvantage. After all, before he could close the distance, the giant sword might already be cleaving his head.
The Black Knight might be lacking in some areas compared to the living, but in one respect, he was vastly superior: strength\! While a greatsword is difficult for an ordinary person to swing, this drawback was significantly reduced for the Black Knight.
Therefore, Kai's strategy from the beginning was defensive counter-attack. Although the Black Knight was incredibly strong and the greatsword wasn't slow in his hands, inertia is something even the dead can't avoid. Though his attacks were powerful and swift, swinging with that much force makes it difficult to quickly recover, change position, or defend, unlike with a shorter weapon. Kai was banking on exploiting this tiny window of vulnerability.
He planned to attack during the brief moment after the Black Knight completed a swing.
The Black Knight was equally decisive. Just as Kai's left-hand sword was about to strike his head, he executed a swift slide backward, creating a bit of distance. Kai's longsword only managed to strike the surface of the armor.
Although it wasn't a solid hit, sparks flew, drawing gasps from the surrounding spectators.
After missing the strike, Kai did not relentlessly press his advantage as he normally would. Instead, he cautiously retreated, re-establishing distance.
Against an ordinary opponent, Kai would certainly seize the opening and continue his aggressive charge. The problem was that the figure before him wasn't an ordinary opponent; he wasn't even a man anymore. The Black Knight's sudden backward slide was pure instinct, not fear that Kai's attack would hurt him.
How could a dead man fear injury?
If Kai had foolishly pressed his attack, he would surely have been met with a devastating, suicidal counter-exchange.
No, it would be more accurate to say Kai would be gambling his own life in an exchange. The Black Knight was already dead; even though Kai's longswords had been sharpened with dragon's breath, giving them the power to kill the undead, at best, the Black Knight would simply turn from a corpse into ashes. The difference in essence was minimal. However, if Kai were hit by that greatsword, he would immediately graduate from a living man to a dead one.
That was a losing trade.
So, Kai had to retreat to preserve himself.
This Black Knight was merely acting on instinct. He was strong, yes, but not truly formidable in terms of skill. Kai just needed to patiently wait for his opportunity.
As the distance reopened, the Black Knight, predictably, charged forward again.
This time, Kai chose not to dodge, but to parry. He crossed his two swords to block the greatsword's overhead chop. With a smooth motion, Kai used his right-hand sword to slide the greatsword aside, while simultaneously thrusting his left-hand sword straight for the Black Knight's chest.
The Black Knight was no easy target. He let go of the two-handed greatsword with one hand and used his armored gauntlet to execute an upward block, batting away Kai's thrust.
A knight's gauntlets and vambraces are thick, second only to the breastplate and helmet, designed to act as a shield when the main shield is absent. Typically, few knights would attempt this, as it requires highly developed skills in deflection and parrying to avoid having an arm cleaved off.
As the Black Knight deflected Kai's sword, he raised his leg for a front kick, aimed at Kai's abdomen\!
Kai had no choice but to bend his knee and bring it up, blocking the Black Knight's kick with his knee.
With a muffled thump, both combatants were pushed back by the force of the impact. This time, however, the Black Knight didn't give Kai a chance to retreat. In the moment they separated, the Black Knight seized the greatsword and delivered a swift backhand diagonal slash, preventing Kai from regaining his footing.
To dodge the slash, Kai was forced to stand his ground and block again with his longswords.
This block inevitably disrupted Kai's footwork, an opportunity the Black Knight immediately exploited. Without waiting to fully stabilize, he took a short, quick step, pushing off the ground with both feet in a horizontal alternation, and surged forward. His body hunched slightly, like a predatory leopard. The greatsword, which had been retracted before the dash, suddenly shot out like a venomous snake, a blindingly fast thrust as the Black Knight's core strength peaked.
This strike was incredibly fast and powerful, and timed perfectly, making it extremely difficult to defend against. This move was once Tristan's signature technique, a move that had led to the demise of countless enemies.
Fortunately, Kai had also learned this move and knew how to counter it.
Just before Tristan struck, Kai tossed away both of his longswords. He widened his stance slightly, brought his left fist to his abdomen, and clenched his right fist. Drawing power from his feet, through his hips, and rotating his waist, he delivered a powerful punch.
The punch struck the side of the greatsword dead-on\!
CLANG\!
The greatsword was immediately knocked off course, and the Black Knight's center was exposed due to his forward momentum. Kai wasn't about to miss this chance. Following the natural momentum of his right-hand punch, he lifted his right leg and delivered a fierce side-whip kick straight into the Black Knight's waist\!
The Black Knight was sent flying by the kick, crashing violently onto the ground\!
As mentioned before, Kai was trained in martial arts in his past life. Although he hadn't achieved major fame, his empty-hand combat skills were still formidable against ordinary people. Since coming to this world, Kai hasn't neglected his former training. In fact, due to the help of his unique abilities, his skill in this life has advanced to a level he never dreamed of in the last.
He spent a significant amount of energy points on this. Truth be told, Kai's strongest ability is his hand-to-hand combat; his weapon skills are secondary.
To put it in perspective, with Kai's current martial arts level and physical conditioning, if he returned to the real world, he could genuinely replicate the prowess of the great heroes you see in TV shows and novels. (Though feats of weightlessness, like stepping on leaves and flying, are impossible, as they defy gravity. Even 100 more years of practice wouldn't help with that.)
As Kai sent the Black Knight flying, the onlookers erupted in cheers.
Kai, however, felt no joy. While the Black Knight looked completely defeated, it was only superficial. The actual damage he had sustained was practically zero.
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