A Will Sovereign Chapter 11: Chapter 11— Standard.

Read chapter 11 of A Will Sovereign by Sloche on NovelPedia.

The moment Caelon's voice fell— Darian moved first. The metallic platform beneath his feet cracked slightly as his massive figure rushed forward with explosive force. Several practitioners immediately narrowed their eyes. Fast. Darian was far faster than ordinary Body Forging practitioners could react to. In an instant— he disappeared from the onlooking practitioners' field of vision. And in the next instant— he appeared behind Soldret. Darian planned to end the fight immediately and show Soldret that talent alone was not enough in a real battle. The moment before he swung his blade toward Soldret's neck— he suddenly felt his movement slowing down abruptly. Darian's movements, once invisible to the naked eye, could now suddenly be seen clearly by everyone. Soldret lightly leapt backward, widening the distance between them with a faint smile on his face. From the perspective of the onlookers— Darian merely appeared to be holding back against the inexperienced Young Master. But for Darian— his thoughts were unusually chaotic. He was confused. He could not understand what had just happened. While trying to make sense of it— he noticed the sly expression on Soldret's face and immediately realized it was Soldret's doing. No his unique pathway doing. Darian instinctively stepped back and tightened his grip around the longsword. Then— Soldret slowly raised three fingers. And lowered one. Leaving two remaining. Normally— Darian would have felt insulted. But instead— he realized what the gesture meant. Soldret would not make an offensive move during the next two exchanges unless necessary to defend himself. Which meant— he still had two chances left to figure out how to bypass Soldret's mysterious pathway. The atmosphere between the two gradually grew more intense. Some practitioners around the training grounds began shouting toward Darian. "Don't lose to the Young Master!" "Show him what the second step can do!" Others instead called out toward Soldret. "Young Master, don't give up!" Yet none of them realized how strange the fight truly was becoming. Only Darian understood it clearly. The pressure he felt was not only physical— but mental as well. A few moments passed. Then— Darian slowly exhaled. His grip around the longsword tightened as his stance lowered slightly. This time— he no longer treated Soldret as an inexperienced child relying purely on talent. The instincts of an Instinct Awakening practitioner gradually sharpened. His muscles relaxed. His breathing slowed. His senses expanded outward. The surrounding sounds suddenly became clearer. The wind. The shifting footsteps around the arena. Even the faint movement of Soldret's sleeves. Darian's eyes narrowed. Then— he moved again. BOOM! The metallic platform beneath him cracked apart as his figure shot forward explosively. Unlike before— this attack carried no recklessness. His movements flowed smoothly like water. Every step connected perfectly into the next. The sword moved with terrifying fluidity. Its trajectory shifted continuously mid-swing, splitting into overlapping arcs that obscured the true attack path. To ordinary eyes— it looked as though multiple blades were striking at once. The speed of the strike immediately caused several nearby practitioners to gasp. Too fast. Far too fast. Even some first-step martial practitioners approaching the second step could barely follow the blade's trajectory with their eyes. And this time— Darian did not disappear from sight. Instead— he intentionally controlled the rhythm of his movement. Watching. Waiting. Trying to understand exactly how Soldret's strange ability functioned. Then— Darian's pupils suddenly contracted. The blade descended instantly. But— he felt no resistance. No impact. The slash had completely missed. Impossible. The next moment— CLANG. A soft metallic sound echoed across the platform. Darian froze. His eyes slowly widened. Soldret stood directly in front of him calmly. One foot rested lightly atop the flat side