Chapter 114: The Water Fiend’s Young Fox

For strong knights, even significant blood loss is of no consequence; their superhuman vitality allows them to heal in a short span of time, with the worst-case scenario being a few hours of unconsciousness. All Vinigo wanted was a display that looked tragic and intense.

He turned toward the other knight and let out a soft whistle.

"Humble... human. I am a god; come and worship me," Vinigo said coldly. "Otherwise, I shall kill you!"

"I am the one who will kill you for offending the dignity of the gods!" the knight roared, drawing his sword and striking downward in a direct blow.

The strength was sufficient, the speed was fast, and the point of attack was sound—a textbook strike.

However, such swordsmanship, without the backing of truly formidable power, was useless against Vinigo. He whistled, suddenly lunged forward, and waved his hand.

A fine, nearly invisible mist rose beneath Vinigo’s feet. This layer of mist seemed to accelerate his speed instantly as he vaulted into the air, his right hand appearing to grasp a short sword fashioned from water vapor.

"Soaring Moon!"

The mist passed right through the knight’s longsword. The knight’s blade struck the *Ruduo* rings on Vinigo’s left hand and was held firmly in check by the thick metal.

The knight groaned as two marks, as if struck by a giant axe, appeared on his breastplate.

Vinigo whistled softly. He suddenly appeared behind the knight, grabbed him by the back of the neck, and flung him aside.

"Do not block my path, mortal."

The knight roared, attempting to charge forward, but suddenly a row of ice daggers appeared before him, blocking his way.

The knight stepped onto these double-pointed daggers himself. The insidious weapons instantly pierced his soles, leaving him unable to rise. Vinigo whistled, turned back, and looked at Sherry, who stood silently on the roof.

"Are you done, human?" Vinigo asked.

"Easily," Sherry replied.

Boom!

Within the manor, the protagonist finally made his entrance.

Having taken so long, the Viscount had finally donned his full suit of armor. He walked out with a solemn expression, holding his sword in both hands.

"A fairly decent human, hmph." Vinigo whistled, hopped to a distance of five meters in front of the Viscount, and stood on one leg, swaying slightly.

"Come and fight," Sherry whispered. She flicked her hands, and in an instant, six ice daggers flew like swallows, striking Viscount Dussen from different angles.

Dussen did not budge. Those ice daggers, sharp enough to pierce raw iron, were insufficient to cause much damage to Viscount Dussen’s gleaming mithril plate armor and full-face helmet. Dussen’s attention was entirely focused on Vinigo.

Water Evil, Pale Moon... the clearly inhuman appearance, the aura of lingering malice, the cold tone—in his heart, Viscount Dussen had already marked Vinigo as a mortal enemy.

A demon! What Viscount Dussen loathed most was that brand of evil, absolute egoism.

"It seems I have guessed something—interesting," Vinigo whistled. "School of Godly Thought: My name is Water Evil, descending here now to accept the challenge of you mortals."

"Demon... you must die!" Sir Dussen snorted coldly. "Champion Knight, Viscount Virant Dussen."

"My apologies." Vinigo nodded slightly in a gesture of respect. "Ice Demon, leave this to me. Ensure no one interrupts us. Go."

"As you wish." Sherry nodded and vanished from Vinigo’s sight. Vinigo turned to Dussen and beckoned with his hand.

Dussen had no intention of being polite. He held his longsword diagonally and suddenly slashed out at a speed almost impossible to track.

Clearly, this champion knight did not share Vinigo’s peculiar hobby of naming every sword technique.

Vinigo whistled. The opponent’s move was too fast—so fast that he had almost no time to think. Relying on the instincts of the Water Evil, he slid backward to evade, simultaneously waving his hands to cast two water blades forward.

Dussen did not care; he pressed forward with long strides. His strength was astonishing; despite wearing fifty kilograms of armor, he moved as nimbly as if he were walking. His full set of plate armor was made of a mithril alloy; at fifty kilograms, it was equivalent to five tons of heavy steel armor, allowing him to ignore Vinigo’s water blades entirely.

But Vinigo could not ignore Dussen’s mithril sword.

Demon-breaking, unbreakable... Dussen’s mithril sword possessed magical properties that were terrifying to Vinigo.

"Troublesome. Whistle." Vinigo hummed lowly. His feet seemed to slide across the ground, and with the aid of the water currents swirling around his feet, he dodged Dussen’s sword skills with an agility beyond human imagination.

"A demon calling itself a god..." Dussen articulated his calm fury, waving his sword like a master chess player, forcing Vinigo into a dead end step by step.

A chess player—but the prerequisite for a chess player is to follow the same rules. And the rules for Vinigo and Dussen were different from the very beginning.

"Whistle..." Following his habit of making strange noises, Vinigo slid his feet and lunged toward Dussen’s left flank. The Champion Knight reacted with remarkable speed, turning in time to meet Vinigo with a simple, clean vertical slash.

Clang!

The *Ruduo* collided with the mithril sword, producing an exceptionally loud ringing sound. Without a doubt, the Water Evil was the type that relied on agility and low-altitude bombardment; in terms of sheer strength, he was no match for Dussen. Vinigo was sent stumbling backward by Dussen’s strike, and in the next moment, Dussen’s longsword shot toward his heart like a meteor.

A true Champion Knight!

Vinigo hopped backward, and while in mid-air, he flicked his hands.

"Soaring Moon!"

He spun, using six water blades to strike Dussen’s thrusting sword in rapid succession. If strength was lacking, he would make up for it with quantity!

Every impact of a water blade against the sword caused the blade to deflect by a fraction. In the blink of an eye, after dozens of clinking sounds, Dussen’s sword slid past Vinigo’s waist.

Vinigo landed, but before he could counterattack, he had to retreat again, or else Dussen’s upward sweep would have taken his life.

Simple and robust—perhaps these four words were the most appropriate assessment of Dussen’s swordsmanship.

Vinigo needed an opportunity.

Fortunately, Dussen was old. He was no longer the Champion Knight who had struck fear into all his enemies years ago.

He was just a retired old man; though he still possessed great strength, keen reflexes, and masterful sword skills... he was old, and he was no longer what he once was.

His stamina was depleting too quickly.

This was something that neither experience nor careful training and maintenance could compensate for.

Vinigo keenly observed this. He leaped backward and threw three water orbs.

Named "Moon Ring Wave," these were malicious water spheres meant to restrain the enemy.

Dussen, expressionless, raised his sword to block the water orbs that would have otherwise struck his visor. Although the full-face helmet offered strong protection, it still had necessary ventilation holes—enough for the demon’s corrosive water to seep inside.

He did not underestimate his opponent; he was well aware of what a formidable enemy the evil entity before him was.

"Whistle," Vinigo sounded softly, leaping into the air once more to gaze down at his enemy.

"Foolish man, as I perceive it, I admire you," Vinigo said. "Then, I shall grant you a magnificent defeat."

"You are still... not qualified!" Dussen panted slightly, involuntarily beginning to breathe through his mouth.

"Your breathing is erratic, fool." Vinigo whistled softly. "A pitiful creature, then..."

He adjusted his posture slightly, locked his eyes on Dussen, and accelerated toward him.

"Full Moon!"

The suddenly appearing water orbs did not catch Dussen off guard. He roared, slashing with his sword at high speed, shattering Vinigo’s water orbs in six strikes, turning them into a spray of water across the ground.

"Yo, not bad," Vinigo hummed.

The final strike landed between the *Ruduo* rings on Vinigo’s hands and was clamped tight. Dussen grunted, pulled hard, and slashed, leaving two wounds on Vinigo’s arms.

"As expected," Vinigo said.

Two silent ripples of water washed over his arms, causing the wounds to heal without a trace. Vinigo raised his head and looked at Dussen’s visor.

His response was Dussen’s longsword, thrusting straight at Vinigo’s heart.

Vinigo reached out to parry, but in an instant, Dussen’s sword created several illusions, weaving through the center of Vinigo’s *Ruduo* rings like a fish and piercing his right chest.

"As expected," Vinigo said again.

Vinigo twisted his body, slick as an eel, allowing the sword to pierce his chest while avoiding vital organs, pinning the blade with his own body.

Dussen pulled his sword, and Vinigo surged forward, keeping the blade wedged within his body. Vinigo pressed his entire frame against Dussen, leaving the knight no room to maneuver his elbows.

The next second, Vinigo used "Full Moon."

He transformed his entire body into a water orb, enveloping Dussen within it.

How strange—had the noble Champion Knight truly been defeated by a sphere of water?

Dussen’s face turned deep red, not from a lack of oxygen, but as a precursor to him exerting his full power. The next second, a thunderous blast of energy erupted, scattering the water orb in all directions.

Vinigo whistled as he leaped from the water. He spread his arms and hummed softly: "Fool, this is the grace I bestow upon you!"

"Fantasy End! Heaven Ascent: Water Wave!"

The immense impact transformed into thousands of piercing blades at the moment of the Fantasy End, leaving thousands of gashes on the expensive armor—armor that could have bought several manors—until both the armor and the human body within were torn into a tattered mess.

Though he would not die... Vinigo was certain that Dussen had lost consciousness.