MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 1002: Don’t Blame Me

Aura Nova was already before Anthony in less than a split second, her speed swift as she moved with a blip that distorted the very air around her. She didn’t pause or hesitate; the moment she appeared before him, her short sword screamed toward his eyes as she slashed without mercy or restraint. Anthony stayed calm as he watched the incoming attack, his katana remaining at his waist, undrawn, as though she simply wasn’t worth the effort required to unsheathe it.

As the attack was about to hit, he stepped to the side with ridiculous ease. With a sharp, slicing sound, Aura Nova’s short sword tore through the air where Anthony’s head had been. A huge sword arc, shaped from pure wind pressure, tore outward due to the overwhelming force of her attack, reducing everything in its path to nothingness. The compressed wind screamed as it expanded, devouring loose stones and carving a deep trench into the battlefield behind him.

But Aura Nova didn’t pause. She immediately moved again, as though she had already known her first attack was never going to land. Her second short sword screamed toward Anthony’s throat, precision and lethality intertwined within the strike. Yet Anthony only flashed her a faint smile as he dodged once again, the air bowing in his wake as he moved with effortless grace.

Aura Nova advanced again, undeterred by her own missed attacks. Within the span of a split second, she unleashed a flurry of strikes, slashing out over a thousand times. Her hands blurred as though they were about to glitch out of reality itself, her blades weaving a deadly web of steel and wind. Her sky-blue eyes remained locked onto Anthony as though she wished to see exactly how he would escape this overwhelming barrage.

Anthony wasn’t caught off guard by the sudden increase in the number of attacks. To him, it was all the same, one, two, a hundred, hundreds, a thousand, they remained just that: numbers, nothing more and nothing less. With that thought, his speed increased. His body blurred into a phantom of motion as he moved, dodging each attack the moment it was made, as though he had anticipated it before it even existed. Every swing, every thrust, every calculated angle was avoided with mechanical perfection.

The moment he dodged the last attack, Aura Nova suddenly appeared behind him. Her short swords tore through the air as though it were nothing but paper, one cutting in from the right, the other screaming in from the left, both targeting his neck as they aimed for decapitation.

But before the blades could tear through flesh, Anthony merely took a half step forward. With that single motion, he had already left the path of Aura Nova’s attack. He didn’t need to turn to see the incoming strike; it was as though he possessed eyes at the back of his head, and with his ridiculous perception, he might as well have possessed a pair. His awareness blanketed the battlefield, mapping every shift in wind pressure and every tremor in battle intent.

Aura Nova frowned slightly as her plan failed. She had unleashed a thousand attacks, then suddenly attacked Anthony from behind to catch him off guard... but only if she had known that Anthony was one of the few beings upon whom surprise attacks simply did not work on.

Yet her failure did not make her falter. She moved regardless. This time, she stepped forward and unleashed twin thrusts as though she were wielding a spear or rapier instead of short blades. With a thunderous boom, the air around the tips of her swords collapsed as they targeted Anthony’s spine with pinpoint accuracy.

Again, Anthony didn’t need to turn. With a single effortless step to the side, he dodged with ridiculous ease, as though he could see into the future itself. Aura Nova’s blades tore through the afterimages he had already left behind, shredding illusions of motion rather than flesh and bone.

The ground beneath them shattered upon impact, dust screaming around them due to the sheer force of their movements. Cracks carved themselves across the wasteland of their battlefield, spiderwebbing outward in jagged lines as the terrain struggled to withstand their speed and strength. Pebbles lifted from the ground, suspended briefly by turbulent winds before being blasted away.

Anthony appeared a few meters away as he landed with a deft touch, a smile on his face as he enjoyed this game of cat and mouse. He couldn’t help but commend Aura Nova’s effort and battle intent. Despite knowing that her chances of winning were low, she still attacked relentlessly, as though she truly believed she could and would emerge victorious.

Before he could even blink, Aura Nova was already upon him once more. She arrived in a burst of velocity that tore through the sound barrier, the wind barrier shattering in her wake. Her short sword sang toward Anthony’s Adam’s apple with lethal efficiency, the tip of her blade gleaming as it came within mere centimeters of drawing his blood.

Anthony simply shifted his head backward slightly, dodging the attack as though he were a master guiding an overzealous student. But the moment he did, Aura Nova followed up seamlessly. Her second short sword was already in motion in case the first missed. It screamed in from the side as it raced toward Anthony’s ribcage, the timing flawless, the angle impeccable.

Aura Nova couldn’t help but smirk. To her, in this position, Anthony had no choice but to draw his katana. But in the very next moment, her smirk vanished as Anthony’s speed increased yet again. His body dissolved into afterimages as he dodged with fluid, elegant motion, escaping both blades without ever unsheathing his weapon.

His form flickered into existence as he came to a stop a full kilometer away, a relaxed smile resting on his lips as he gazed at Aura Nova with serene composure. Aura Nova’s eyes snapped toward his position instantly, their sky-blue irises meeting his calm gaze across the devastated battlefield.

”Are you only going to dodge throughout this spar?” she asked, irritation slipping into her tone. While it was fun to play around during battle, she preferred being the one who toyed with her opponent, not the one being toyed with.

”Your swordsmanship isn’t even at Lucian’s level yet. Be careful what you wish for, Aura Nova,” Anthony replied calmly, his smile never fading.

Aura Nova didn’t respond. She had never loved talking during a serious battle that involved life or death. She had only spoken with Lucian during their spar because she had something to gain at that moment. Words were unnecessary here. Action was enough.

With that, her battle intent erupted from her body in a violent surge. The wind screamed around her with maddening force, spiraling outward in chaotic currents that distorted the air and darkened the sky above them. Her presence alone began to weigh heavily upon the battlefield, as though nature itself acknowledged her resolve.

She didn’t bother tapping into her Sword Intent. She wasn’t foolish. While she was talented, she had witnessed Anthony’s Sword Intent before and knew that his was superior to hers. In a direct clash of intent, she would lose. So for this battle, she would fight without relying on it, placing her faith instead in her speed, her technique, and her steel will.

Anthony sighed softly as he sensed Aura Nova’s intensifying battle intent. The air around him trembled slightly in response, though his expression remained relaxed, ”I hope you don’t blame me later or say I’m a bully, Aura Nova,” he said with a faint smile.