Chapter 9: Crimson Thorn

"The one who really wants to steal the Twilight Blade is you, you're also a robber," said Rayan.

"No."

Crimson Thorn sneered, "I'm different from a robber. I just have them do things for me. A robber would steal your things and might even kill you, but I wouldn't do that. I only kill those who deserve to die. After getting the Twilight Blade, I would even leave some money as compensation."

"Taking someone's belongings doesn't make you a robber?" Rayan asked coldly.

"A sword that obviously doesn't belong to you, even if I let it go, others might not," said Crimson Thorn. "Rather than being killed and having it stolen by them, it's better to give it to me."

She added meaningfully, "At least in my hands, the Twilight Blade can exert its true power."

Rayan snorted coldly, "If one person tries to steal the sword, I'll kill one. If a group tries, I'll kill the group, continuing until the end of time, regardless of their strength!"

The icy coldness in Rayan's eyes made Crimson Thorn slightly stunned; she hadn't expected the delicate-looking youth in front of her to have such a strong resolve. However, she quickly recovered her arrogance, "I came to Shadowcrest Ridge without any gains, thinking I would return disappointed. I didn't expect you to give me such a big surprise. Good."

Crimson Thorn's casual tone, as if stealing the Twilight Blade was nothing difficult, somewhat irritated Rayan. He tensed his body and challenged, "What are you waiting for then? If you disagree, come and try it yourself."

The Twilight Blade had already absorbed the Battle Qi of over a dozen Fighters, its blade turning towards an orange hue. If he were to confront Crimson Thorn head-on, it would be a tough battle with an uncertain outcome, but he wouldn't be easily defeated. Moreover, if he could kill the dozen or so Fourth Order archers hiding in the trees and absorb their Battle Qi first, his chances of winning would be even greater.

Crimson Thorn understood this, laughing like a bell, "Of course, I'll try it myself. However, I will wait for your Twilight Blade to cool down before making a move. By then, you'll just be a Fourth Order Fighter. Even if the Twilight Blade is sharp, without its special effects, you won't stand a chance against me."

Rayan just pursed his lips slightly, his handsome face showing no sign of panic. He lifted the Twilight Blade, "No problem, I can take the initiative to attack now." Saying so, his figure flashed, quickly charging towards Crimson Thorn.

Crimson Thorn raised her hand, revealing the half of her slender, fair wrist hidden under her robe, "Fire arrows!"

The archers hidden in the dense forest, upon hearing the command, hurriedly drew their bows and aimed. They infused their Fourth Order Battle Qi into the sharp arrows, shooting towards Rayan.

Rayan, while blocking and slashing the arrows that flew at him like locusts, methodically advanced towards Crimson Thorn's position. The arrows significantly slowed his speed, making Crimson Thorn seem unbelievably far away.

Crimson Thorn stood calmly in the distance, like a stone sculpture, but the orange-red Battle Qi fluctuations around her made Rayan feel an overwhelming pressure.

When Rayan was still some distance away from Crimson Thorn, he seized an opening and swung his sword at Crimson Thorn. The faint orange Battle Qi clung to the blade of the Twilight Blade, surging towards Crimson Thorn like splitting the wind and waves.

Crimson Thorn dared not be careless. If she confronted him head-on now, she would definitely not benefit. The safest method was to delay some time, letting the Twilight Blade cool down first.

She leaped backward, nimbly avoiding the attack of the Twilight Blade. The moment she landed, her blood-red robe fluttered slightly, and the heavy black giant sword she carried seemed as light as nothing.

Rayan's strike missed, making it difficult for him to launch a second assault. The Fourth Order archers hiding in the dense forest intensified their attacks, sending a continuous barrage of red arrows at him.

Crimson Thorn's eyes curved into a beautiful smile, "You're still far from it..."

Before she could finish, Rayan suddenly turned and leaped towards the dense forest, relying on the surged blade aura of the Twilight Blade to directly stab at the nearest archer.

Crimson Thorn was momentarily stunned, then realized what was happening. The previous attack on her was a feint; the real aim was to kill the archers and absorb their Battle Qi! But by then, it was too late to stop Rayan.

The blade aura of the Twilight Blade was incredibly sharp, directly splitting both the person and the tree into two halves. The Second Order Battle Qi slowly gathered on the blade of the Twilight Blade through the wound on the corpse.

"Smart move, kid," Crimson Thorn couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

After absorbing the new Battle Qi, the orange blade aura of the Twilight Blade became slightly brighter. But Rayan didn't stop there; he repeated the tactic, continuing his attack on Crimson Thorn.

With the new wave of Battle Qi, Crimson Thorn clearly felt the pressure. She dodged again, watching helplessly as Rayan turned his blade aura towards another archer.

Not a clever trick, but a big problem.

The arrow rain was not only Crimson Thorn's barrier but also a trap for Rayan. Now, it had become a hot potato. If Rayan was allowed to absorb the Battle Qi from those archers, she would definitely not be his match in the end. But if she confronted Rayan head-on now, she wouldn't have any advantage.

After much thought, Crimson Thorn sighed in frustration, "This little rascal is really annoying!" Saying this, she casually pulled out two ice darts shining with a blue glow from under her blood-red robe.

Rayan had already lifted the Twilight Blade in his hand when he suddenly heard the whistling of the wind behind him and quickly turned around to block with the Twilight Blade. The first dart posed almost no threat, lightly hitting his Twilight Blade and immediately being cut into two by the scorching blade. The second dart, however, veered significantly off course, flying past Rayan's side.

Rayan tensed, and upon looking at the archer in the tree, saw that he had been hit by the dart and fell down like an ice sculpture, shattering on impact.

"Enemies not killed by the Twilight Blade can't absorb Battle Qi. Let's see what you can do now!" Crimson Thorn said with a cold laugh.

Rayan retorted, "Let's see whether your darts are more, or my Twilight Blade is faster! I don't believe you run a dart store!"

Though darts are common ranged weapons, the ice attribute is exceptionally rare. Ice can slow down, delay, and immobilize, having a stronger control effect compared to the acceleration effect of wind weapons. However, materials for making ice attribute items are very scarce, requiring one to venture deep into the ice glacier territory of the Maple Snow Kingdom's border, into the lands where barbarian tribes reside, to take the blood of a Third Order ice lizard. Then, an expert blacksmith is needed to refine it. Its value far exceeds a few gold coins.

Crimson Thorn had already shot four ice darts, and Rayan believed she couldn't have more than ten on her, so he stopped feigning attacks on Crimson Thorn and directly charged at the nearest archer.

The archers in the trees were terrified, facing either death by Rayan or by Crimson Thorn; death was certain either way, leaving them no will to shoot arrows.

Crimson Thorn's ice darts were quickly released, drawing a perfect blue arc in the air, hitting Twilight Blade's target before him, shattering the archer into ice shards.

Rayan immediately selected a new target, and Crimson Thorn, without hesitation, threw another dart.

Neither engaged in direct combat, but both sought to outpace the other. Clearly, Crimson Thorn's skills were more refined, her darts not only plentiful but also unerringly accurate.

The number of archers hiding in the trees quickly dwindled, with the few remaining throwing down their weapons and fleeing towards the direction of the Rope Bridge. The dense forest blocked part of Crimson Thorn's view, and Rayan seized the opportunity, chasing after them with the Twilight Blade.

Just as he lifted his sword, ready to eliminate the few archers in one go, Crimson Thorn suddenly caught up with ghost-like steps, firing darts again, obliterating the remaining archers at the head of the Rope Bridge.

Looking at the corpses scattered around, with the Twilight Blade unable to absorb Battle Qi and gradually cooling, Rayan's nostrils sweated slightly.

"I just need to delay a little longer..."

Crimson Thorn slowly pulled out the giant sword from behind, "You're done for, Rayan."

Facing Crimson Thorn's mocking gaze, Rayan's eyebrows furrowed, but he quickly calmed down.

Crimson Thorn's decisive and ruthless moves, the ghost-like steps she had displayed, which he had never seen before, and all while carrying the giant sword—if she put down the giant sword, her agility would be unimaginable for Rayan.

This level of disparity in strength probably seemed like a cat-and-mouse game to Crimson Thorn. If he didn't take advantage of the Twilight Blade's Blood Drinking effect now, he would have no chance to defeat Crimson Thorn.

Determined, Rayan immediately thrust the Twilight Blade without warning.

Crimson Thorn sneered, "Too weak. I've observed you for so long, and you seem to only know four moves: chopping, stabbing, picking, and slashing. I really don't understand how such a fool learned to condense Battle Qi." Saying this, she flipped her wrist, white as the moon, and the black giant sword pressed down on Rayan like a collapsing mountain.

The powerful orange-red Battle Qi made Rayan's feet sink deep into the mud, and without giving him a chance to breathe, the black giant sword, light as a swallow piercing the forest, aimed at his injured ribs.

Spotting the weakness at a glance!

Rayan gasped, not focusing on attacking, and hurriedly swung the Twilight Blade to deflect the black giant sword. The moment the Twilight Blade and the black giant sword collided, Battle Qi sparked brightly.

Under Crimson Thorn's clearly superior swordsmanship, the Twilight Blade couldn't fully display its power. Rayan took the opportunity to leap back, not giving Crimson Thorn another chance to attack.

Crimson Thorn didn't plan to continue the attack either. She lifted the giant sword in front of her, looking at the new dent on it, and couldn't help but sigh softly, "Legendary swords are indeed powerful." If they continued to clash directly, even if the Battle Qi could cancel each other out, the Twilight Blade could still cut through her giant sword. Only by delaying, allowing the Battle Qi on the Twilight Blade to disappear, would she have a sure chance of winning.

Crimson Thorn wasn't particularly fond of the black giant sword; it was made of pure iron, edgeless and bladeless, carried on her back purely for the sake of arduous training. She had been carrying the giant sword for training since she was at the First Order Battle Qi, until the Tenth Order, when the heavy giant sword became as gentle as a willow branch to her.

She casually twirled the sword flower, taunting Rayan, "Your swordsmanship is really terrible. If it weren't for relying on the Twilight Blade, you probably couldn't even beat a three-legged cat, could you? Or is your teacher a three-legged cat?"

Rayan's delicate face flashed a cold smile in response, "You're always masked. Perhaps you have many pimples on your face? Or maybe missing teeth? A crooked mouth?"

He nodded affirmatively, saying with certainty, "Yes, definitely."