Ais tensed, relying on instinct to quickly sidestep, dodging the Mo Ye that flew towards her. However, in that instant, the longsword in her hand met the oncoming Gan Jiang—blades clashing, the sound of metal on metal rang out, and she shattered Gan Jiang, black fragments scattering in the air.
【Only Names, Separate Heavens and Earth】
Welf didn't stop, projecting Gan Jiang and Mo Ye for the third time, his figure surging forward with the throw of the swords.
【Two Heroes, Shared Fate Separated】
The black and white twin swords, like two nimble dragons, slashed left and right at Ais's body, riddled with openings. Ais tried to block, but this time the advance was too fast, the attack too fierce.
That strand of golden hair that had been cut off slowly drifted down at this moment, as if dancing its last dance in the air.
“Clap clap—”
Just then, a round of applause suddenly came from behind, breaking the brief silence of the training ground. Welf and Ais turned to look, only to see Riveria standing there, her cheeks flushed.
However, Riveria didn't even look at her, gloriously ignoring Little Ais, and walked straight to Welf's side.
The Elf Princess came before Welf, gently raising the towel in her hand, and lightly wiping the sweat from his forehead.
206
Chapter 206: Ais \u0026 Lefiya: We Seem a Little Redundant.
This move was the ultimate creation of 【Artistry】.
In this practice match, Welf used this move for the first time since his rebirth.
One of the reasons was that 【Crane Wing Three Strike】was essentially a sword technique designed for one-on-one combat, while in the Dungeon, Welf's main opponents were mostly monsters.
Another reason was that the current Welf was not so reliant on "Artistry."
The power of 【Crane Wing Three Strike】was undeniable, but if it were a Heroic Spirit of Cu Chulainn's level, he wouldn't need this kind of ultimate skill enhancement at all. With his own powerful strength and speed alone, he could unleash or throw an impeccable, sure-kill spear, directly suppressing his opponent with absolute power.
Apart from Ais, most people in Orario's impression of Welf was not based on his "swordsmanship." Although his swordsmanship had reached an ultimate height close to that of the gods, what truly made him famous was his extraordinary "magic" and "skills."
Ais gasped for breath, sheathing her sword, nodding slightly, and respectfully said: "Thank you, Master!"
The girl turned to look at Riveria, who was beside her, and after hesitating for a moment, asked: "Riveria, are we going back to the Loki Familia next?"
Although she didn't understand, she didn't show it, just nodding slightly with a hint of confusion.
Lefiya: "Ah? Am I leaving too?"
The two girls exchanged glances, their eyes seeming to say: "We seem a little redundant here…"
Riveria's expression straightened, and she said seriously: "Shiro and I have serious matters to discuss."
Although Ais was a little reluctant, she nodded and said to Welf: "Master, then we'll leave first."
Lefiya also bowed to Welf: "Thank you, Mr. Welf."
Riveria watched the two girls leave, then turned around and walked towards Welf. Her expression changed from the gentleness just now to seriousness, her eyes revealing a hint of complex emotions.
Riveria felt somewhat unnatural under her gaze, turning her head away, not daring to meet Tsubaki's eyes.
“Be careful, Shiro.”
Tsubaki smiled and saw them all the way to the entrance of Welf's workshop, said something meaningful, waved her hand, and turned to leave.
Having just finished sparring with Ais, Welf had expended a lot of energy, especially using a high-intensity move like 【Crane Wing Three Strike】. The intense exercise during the training process made him sweat a little. However, when Riveria approached, she smelled a fresh scent of gardenias, probably the smell of shampoo.
Riveria felt inexplicably nervous in her heart, as if affected by this scent, she subconsciously swallowed, and her heartbeat couldn't help but quicken.
“Shiro.”
She said softly: "Next, we need to talk about those magics."
Riveria's expression was a little embarrassed, and she said softly: "The Goddess Loki and I have discovered that without you, those magics are almost impossible to use, or rather, very difficult to cast normally."
Of the three great magics, attack and defense magic have been unsealed, and healing magic has not yet been unlocked.
Riveria continued: "When you were by my side, I was able to cast it successfully, the effect was very good, everything was normal. However, when you left, I tried to cast that magic again, but found that I couldn't use it at all."
The second situation was that when Welf was not by her side, Riveria wore the 【Eternal Crown】. At this time, she could cast those magics, but the consumption of magic power was very large, far more than the normal consumption of magic.
After Welf heard this, he asked: "Pain? Are you saying that there is discomfort in the process of magic power flowing?"
Riveria nodded: "Yes, that magic power is too powerful and violent. When it flows through my body, I even feel like I can't bear it."
The two's eyes met.
Riveria lightly stroked her heart, which was beginning to beat faster, and at the same time, slowly moved closer to the other party.
【Attack power against elven women is greatly increased】
… …
A few minutes later, Riveria's breathing became heavier and heavier, but just then.
207
Chapter 207: Resolution, Acknowledgment.
Welf and Riveria came to the reception room, pushed open the door and saw Ryu sitting there waiting.
Welf and Riveria exchanged glances, and then Riveria nodded in response.
Ryu was preoccupied and didn't notice these things.
“Ryu, why did you come so suddenly? Is it about the Goddess Demeter?”
“Lunoa and the others are with the goddess, they will take care of the goddess's safety. But I suddenly thought of something, so I came here immediately…”
However, she cannot realize this wish for the time being. Ryu is responsible for protecting the Goddess Demeter and cannot freely enter and exit the Dungeon as she did in the past.
Before she could finish speaking, Riveria asked: "Do you need me to leave?"
Ryu shook her head: "No, please let Lady Riveria listen as well. I thought of a situation—【Beast Tamers】"
She paused and continued: "Those beast tamers basically don't venture deep into the Dungeon, but rely on the protection of other powerful adventurers to capture and tame monsters."
“That's right, those flying dragons are the monsters tamed by the beast tamers.”
Riveria nodded: "However, most of the beast tamers of the Ganesha Familia can only tame monsters on the surface."
These creatures are more like “animals” than “monsters”. Flying dragons, for example, are the main “product” of the Ganesha Familia's beast tamers.
Her voice lowered slightly, and a subtle haze flashed in her eyes: "Those beast tamers of the Dark Faction are completely different from the beast tamers of the Ganesha Familia… They are all extremely dangerous and troublesome opponents."
Due to their innate ferocity and chaotic nature, it is almost impossible to completely control the monsters of the Dungeon. These creatures are full of hostility and aggression from the day they are born. They know no fear and cannot be tamed into docile fighting partners.
“Those people can use various means to guide the behavior of monsters, making these monsters more violent and deadly. For us at the time, these beast tamers were often more troublesome than the enemies on the surface.”
【Heart Skill, Yellow River Crossing】
However, this was not the end. Just as Aiz shattered Kusanagi, Muramasa in Shirou's hand was thrown out again. At the same time, Kusanagi, which had flown behind Aiz earlier, also flew back at this moment, forming an attack from behind.
Aiz felt the danger approaching and once again relied on her keen intuition to dodge Kusanagi coming from behind, but immediately after, a cold light flashed before her eyes. Muramasa attacked again, and she quickly swung her sword to counter, shattering Muramasa. However, in this confrontation, a strand of golden hair was lightly cut off by the blade and fell to the ground.
In the last instant, the black and white twin swords stopped—Kusanagi's blade stopped at Aiz's waist, while Muramasa's blade stopped at the side of her neck, the sharp blade almost touching her skin, the coldness from the blade making her afraid to move for a moment.
After sending Aiz over, Riveria did not leave immediately but stood aside and quietly watched the battle.
After applauding, Riveria took out a clean towel from her handbag and walked lightly towards the two. Aiz was stunned for a moment when she saw Riveria walking towards herself and Shirou, and took a few steps forward, looking a little confused.
Little Aiz: “???"
【Crane Wing Three Strikes】 is the strongest usage of Kusanagi and Muramasa. By projecting three pairs of married swords with mutual attraction, Shirou can continuously throw and slash, forming an unavoidable combination.
These monsters do not have the human body structure and movement patterns, so using 【Crane Wing Three Strikes】, a high-precision anti-personnel swordsmanship, does not meet the needs of combat.
This trick, which pushes skill to the limit, also reflects the user's shortcomings in ability data such as "strength", "speed", and "magic power" from a certain perspective, so it is necessary to compensate for these shortcomings through skillful techniques.
The reason why Shirou doesn't use 【Crane Wing Three Strikes】 much now is because he has mastered more powerful methods beyond skill.
Even, among all his ability values, the highest is not "agility" at all, but "magic power".
Shirou waved his hand gently, dispelling the projection: "Let's end today's practice here."
Enough is enough, too much is as bad as too little. Little Aiz can gain a lot of insights through this battle and needs some time to digest these contents.
Riveria smiled softly: "Well... you go back first. Shirou and I still have some things to talk about next."
Aiz was a little surprised and couldn't help but think to herself: "Am I hindering you..."
Riveria looked at Aiz and then said: "Oh, right, Lefiya, you come along too. At this point, there's no point in training with Shirou, the gap between you and him is still too big. You might as well follow Aiz first and continue practicing basic close combat skills. Laying a good foundation is the most important thing."
Shirou nodded: "Okay, you all did a good job in today's training. Remember to rest more afterward, and you can come to me anytime if you have any questions."
"Shirou, about 【Fortress of Avalon】"
There are some things about this skill that I need to explain to you."
Shirou and Riveria walked towards the workshop, and on the way, they met Tsubaki. When Tsubaki saw them together, she showed a smile that seemed like she was "watching a good show", a smile with a bit of teasing and ridicule.
The light in the workshop was soft, quiet and clean, and the air was filled with the scent of metal and tools. After Shirou and Riveria walked in, the workshop door closed gently behind them, isolating all the noise from the outside world.
She couldn't help but close her eyes, feeling the faint fragrance, as well as a faint hot aura mixed in it. That was the unique vigor and heat of a young man, accompanied by the rise and fall of his every deep breath.
She gently fiddled with her hair with her fingers, the slender movement being a natural reaction to the tension in her heart. Riveria took a deep breath, calmed her emotions slightly, and then raised her head to look at Shirou.
A trace of doubt flashed in Shirou's eyes, but he quickly understood what Riveria meant. He knew she was referring to the three fourth-tier magic spells brought by 【Fortress of Avalon】.
"When we were in the Loki Familia before, I tried the defensive magic 【Distant Utopia】"
In fact, she had already tested that these magic spells existed in three different states.
The first situation is when Shirou is not around, and Riveria is not wearing the 【Crown of Everlasting】—in this case, these magic spells are completely unusable, as if their power is completely locked.
Not only that, but the effect of casting them seems to be weakened, and compared to when Shirou is around, the range of the defensive magic is obviously smaller. Moreover... Riveria even felt a trace of pain in the process of magic power flowing.
"So, so—"
Riveria hesitated a little and reached out to Shirou.
"I will provide assistance when you need it."
Shirou said, and without hesitation, he took Riveria's hand.
Shirou did not dodge, and the figures of the two gradually overlapped.
【【Innocent Monster】 effect activated】
【(There are other unanalyzable hidden effects)】
"Bang bang bang!"
The door of the workshop was knocked, and Tsubaki shouted: "Shirou, 【Gale】 is here to see you."
"Shirou... Ah, Princess Riveria."
Ryu subconsciously stood up when she saw Shirou, and then noticed that Princess was also there, and habitually gave a salute.
It's just that her condition was obviously a little abnormal, her emerald hair was scattered, the ends of her hair were slightly messy, and her eyes were a little erratic.
Shirou asked.
Ryu paused, her tone becoming serious: "About the enhanced monsters that Shirou encountered in the dungeon."
When she mentioned this, a trace of unconcealed unwillingness flashed in Ryu's eyes—she also longed to go on adventures with Shirou and wanted to fight alongside him.
Ryu looked at Shirou and said: "Shirou, about those enhanced monsters, I thought of..."
Shirou: "Beastmaster?"
Riveria pondered for a moment and said: "Beastmaster... This is an uncommon profession among adventurers. Nowadays, only some members of the Ganesha Familia should be truly engaged in this profession in Orario."
Shirou thought for a moment and suddenly thought of something: "The flying dragon we rode before... was also tamed by them?"
The strength of the beastmasters in the Ganesha Familia is generally not high, mostly to . Their targets of taming are mostly monsters that have deteriorated on the surface.
Ryu looked at Shirou, her eyes revealing a trace of solemnity: "Now, people's impression of beastmasters is basically this kind of auxiliary, production-type profession. But once, beastmasters were not only like this in Orario."
Riveria also nodded in agreement: "Indeed, during the heyday of the Dark Faction, the abilities of beastmasters were far beyond imagination. They 'tamed' a large number of powerful monsters in the dungeon, using these monsters as their fighting tools."
However, although they cannot truly control these monsters, it is actually not difficult to guide them to carry out destruction.
Riveria said.
"And among those beastmasters, there is a very famous one, 【Slave Cat】 Jairo Halma of the Rudra Familia."
Ryu said in a low voice, with a trace of suppression in her voice.
Jairo Halma was the culprit of the destruction of the Astrea Familia.
