"I didn't want to use this on you."

Noah collected all the wires and spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. Alexander's kick had broken his ribs. Any other time that kick would have killed him. Alexander was truly a monster that could not be limited by levels.

"One of us will survive."

Alexander took his stance after sheathing his katana.

Noah took a step forward with open palms.

Swiff! Swiff! Swiff! Swiff! Swiff!

The silvery wires, too thin to be seen, suddenly moved. Alexander placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, expressionless, not caring that the wires cut his body.

"Hell's Thread, Kâlasûtra!"

The silver wires moved like a whip and opened dozens of different wounds on Alexander's body. The wounds were not very deep. Alexander avoided the wires targeting his critical area with small movements, but he could not dodge some of them.

Kâlasûtra made the silver strings vibrate like the strings of a guitar. This made the strings much sharper and more slashing than a normal sword. This seemed like a classical technique. But Kâlasûtra also maximized his control over the strings.

Alexander's eyes were focused on a single point as he watched the wires move. His hand was steady, his breathing was steady and his focus was supreme. His mind was as clear as the ocean. He slowly unsheathed his sword and raised it above his head.

At the same time, Noah made a fist.

Swiff!

The fifty or so wires wrapped around Alexander's body tightened and made it impossible for him to move. But Alexander's movements were unchanged. His muscles were as solid as diamonds, and despite the deep gashes, he slowly lowered his sword, his breathing unchanged.

His movement seemed very slow.

The distance between him and Noah was about forty meters.

"Do you want to die-?"

Not half a second after he said this, Alexander suddenly disappeared.

"Huh?!"

Noah's eyes suddenly narrowed.

His instincts were screaming madly.

He made a shield out of the Silver Silk in his hand and withstood the sword that came at him like an avalanche.

Bang!

Noah's feet stuck to the ground.

Alexander drew his sword and took a deep breath.

When he moved his sword again, thirty different sword thrusts happened simultaneously. Wide and fast slashing attacks pushed Noah's reaction speed to the limit.

Klang! Klang! Klang! Klang! Klang!

Sparks danced around.

Noah's Silver Silk had lost control. Alexander took advantage of this, drew his sword back, and with a kick threw Noah into the air. The hard kick lifted Noah ten meters off the ground. Alexander crouched and leaped upwards.

He swung his sword.

When Noah was in the air, he suddenly turned his body and face towards Alexander. Normally he should have moved upwards, but he stopped in mid-air. He made a sword out of Silver Silk and flew towards Alexander.

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Two swords clashed in the air.

Bang!

The energy from the collision forced Alexander to land on the ground. Halfway down, however, he was met by wires that moved to cut his body. Thanks to his agility, he moved his body with his sword. When he hit the ground, he moved again.

Woosh!

Alexander had changed completely since he found that strange booklet in the Black Dragon's Lair. He had learned many things not taught in the camp and had developed the strategy that would take him to the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

The main reason he was able to stand side by side with Noah was the information he got from this booklet.

Now he had the Rise of the Asura. It was the only technique that would allow him to use the Asura Katana at the highest level. At first, he could not assimilate the vast knowledge inside him, but when he combined it with the information in that strange booklet, everything became clearer.

When the darkness became light, he absorbed all the information like a sponge and improved himself. Working day and night and having a rival like Noah made him the abnormal genius he is today.

Noah went on the offensive again. It was the first time he had attacked like this since the day he met Alexander. Each punch and strike had the power to kill a fourth-tier man instantly. But he could do nothing to Alexander.

Alexander avoided attacks he could not meet, deflected others, and then attacked. No matter how skilled he was, it was foolish to engage in a power struggle with Noah.

Killing a level-five expert was not easy. Although Alexander and Noah had assassinated people at this level before, most of them had been done through plans. There were no assassinations he fought directly.

And it was much harder to fight and kill a genius like Noah.

"Okay, I accept. You are superior to me in strength."

"You keep talking nonsense."

"I'm not going to lose because you're stronger than me."

"You're finally showing your true colors."

"You look like you're going to cry if I don't."

"Look at yourself first. Stupid."

Noah shot out like a missile. He aimed his palm at Alexander. It seemed like a simple and crude gesture, but there was the tremendous force behind it. His touch was enough to render Alexander's upper body useless.

Alexander tried to retreat but was pinned in place by Silver Silk.

"It's all over..."

Noah's eyes welled up.

Half a second later, Alexander would leave this world. He had put 80% of his body's energy in his palm. Even a level five expert would have suffered severe injuries, let alone him. Alexander was only level two.

His death was certain.

'I won.'

Swiff!

Bang!

"Huh?!"

Noah screamed as a waterfall of blood flowed in front of him. He hadn't even hit Alexander yet, where was all this blood coming from?

He blinked his eyes. He felt like he was dreaming, but the pain he felt when he raised his arm brought him to earth.

"Urgh!"

Noah cried out and grabbed his arm. Blood gurgled down his shoulder, hard and muscular as stone. The arm that he had attacked Alexander with had been cut off at the shoulder and turned into mashed meat. It was as if Alexander had cut his arm off the moment he attacked. It was a wound that could not be underestimated and would be fatal.

Alexander continued to strike.

Having lost his arm, Noah collapsed within seconds.

"Cough! Wait, wait, I lost it."

Alexander's sword froze as he was about to make the final thrust. His whole body was covered in blood, from hair to fingernail. He was a shadow of his former self. Now he resembled a slaughtered demon. There was one difference.

All the blood on him was his.

"Cough, Cough!"

Noah coughed up blood. His skin turned blue, his out-of-control energy contaminating his blood. He was in a strange state called energy aberration. That alone meant it was all over for him.

Noah looked at the young man he had seen from his family. He stared blankly, as if he didn't realize what he was doing. But at the same time, his body was shaking uncontrollably and tears were streaming from his eyes. Although he had the eyes of a killer, he was actually a very fragile boy.

'He is very smart and strong, but he is fragile. If I'm not there for him, something will definitely happen to him.'

Alexander's eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what was happening. Uncontrollably he covered his mouth with his trembling hands and vomited. Yes, Alexander had never vomited even though he had done so many disgusting things, but for the first time he was disgusted by what he had done.

"Hey, you make me like this and then you throw up? Cough, cough!"

Noah coughed blood again.

"No-ah... Noah... Noah... Noah!"

Alexander was going crazy. He knew he had to stay calm, but no matter what he did he couldn't control his emotions. His ears were ringing, he felt dizzy and nauseous.

"We don't have much time... Listen to me carefully... I have taken so many lives so far... It was certain that one day I would die. After all, I go through this life realizing that... Don't hate yourself... I am the one who pushed you into this fight..."

"Don't talk like you're going to die!"

Alexander used all the energy in his body to harness Noah's life energy. But it was futile. It was like trying to fill a broken vessel. Noah's meridians were shattered, his acupuncture points destroyed.

Noah placed his left hand on Alexander's back and hugged him. He was bleeding from his mouth, but he didn't seem to be in any pain.

"You don't have to feel guilty, Alexander. I feel no pain, thank you for surviving... get happy... "

Tok!

The weak hand that had been patting Alexander on the back fell to the ground.

Alexander could not understand what had happened. Noah's blood was soaking his hands. Why was it so heavy? It felt like the whole world was in his hands.

For a moment all sounds stopped.

"NOAAAHHHHHHH!"