The Grand Duelist

Chapter 173: Besieged by Three Guilds[14]

"Bastard... If you think that a flimsy sword dance is enough to defeat me then you're too arrogant! Holder of the Mythical Class!" Kristian roared in anger when he saw that Joseph was targeting him. But everything happened too fast, the moment these words left Kristian's mouth.

Joseph's attack had already descended and he was now displaying the first part of the Grand Duelist's Graceful Swordsmanship's sword dance. 

First part!

All players were in their most vulnerable state when they were in the air.

Joseph quickly decided that the first part of his sword dance must send Kristian into the air.

Placing his Rapier below Kristian's waist. Joseph swung upwards and made a motion as if he was a fisherman taking his catch away from the seas. Since this attack wasn't considered as having any crowd control effects. Kristian easily flew upwards, shock evident on his face.

Second part!

Joseph leaped into the air, and like a whale diving back into the ocean. His Rapier shone in a dazzling light before piercing through Kristian's body.

A fountain of blood burst from Kristian's throat as he spat a mouthful of blood.

The divine light coming from the supports immediately enveloped his body and their support made him recover some of his health.

However...

[You suffered 106,812 damage!]

That recovery wasn't enough!

Joseph's attacks were far too strong for him to handle. 

Descending from the skies, Kristian adjusted his body while in the air despite air resistance and he managed to flick his wrist towards Joseph's direction.

"A Slice of Space!"

"Spatial Lock!"

"Spatial Prison!"

Three consecutive commands came out of his mouth.

The first distorted the space in front of him before shattering it into sharp pieces whose sharpness resembled glass. They all flew towards Joseph's direction, while the second command prevented him from making any sudden and instantaneous movements.

The last command, Spatial Prison instantly sealed Joseph's movements in the form of physical, yet intangible chains made from the void. Since these chains weren't considered as made by a skill that had crowd control effects.

They successfully restrained Joseph as attacks almost immediately rained down onto him.

"What a tough bastard!"

Joseph whispered a curse. 

He dealt at least six digits of damage against Kristian in just a few moments, yet he was still alive?

There was nothing else that one could use to describe him other than being tough! 

Joseph lifted a bitter smile.

Seeing the rainbow of colors made from all sorts of elemental attacks, he let out a sigh as he activated, yet another skill.

"Fame and Honor."

[The Grand Duelist's Fame and Honor]

Activate to temporarily enter a state of [ Valiantness ] 

* While in the state of [Valiantness] every attack received from all sources deals reduced damage, with the exception of attacks imbued with Divine Energy. 

* There's a rare probability of inflicting [Fear] to those that dared to attack you while you're in the state of [Valiantness] 

* Base duration of the skill is a minute, but the duration scales depending on how many enemies does the Grand Duelist have in front of him/her.

* For every enemy facing the Grand Duelist on the battlefield. The duration of [ Valiantness ] increases by half a minute. 

Skill Usage Conditions: The Grand Duelist

Skill Cost: None

Skill Cooldown Time: 3 Hours. ]

A popping sound rang out and a burst of energy followed suit.

At this moment, Joseph was now clad in a magnificent dazzling robe that made him look like a courageous and brave general in the middle of a battle. When the players that had low Spirit stat saw his current image, they all subconsciously cowered in fear.

Some even directly collapsed onto the ground, unable to endure Joseph's prestige.

"Calm my thoughts and emotions... Open my heart to your peace and magnanimity. Help me not to live in fear and reduce these feelings of anxiety in my body and soul... Lion's Heart!"

The Theologist, Forest Rain from Knights of Justice was quick to react as she almost immediately used Lion's Heart the moment she saw the collapse of her comrades. A warm light burst forth from her body and promptly covered his allies.

The fallen players quickly recovered from their system-induced fear as they all stood up, staring angrily at Joseph who was still in the air and was about to swallow all the attacks that they sent towards him.

Bang!

A loud explosion occurred.

Joseph raised his weapon horizontally in front of him at the final moments and activated [Guard].

[Guard]

Briefly raise the weapon horizontally in front of the user to block incoming damage from a single direction.

The damage received will be reduced to a portion of the original damage, but it requires timing and precision to use properly.

*Can block Super Armor negating skills.

*The damage negated depends on the gap between the strength of the attacker and the defending user.

Skill Usage Conditions: None.

Skill Cost: None.

Skill Cooldown Time 12 Seconds.]

His timing was precise, maybe because he frequently used Deflect. A mechanic that required exquisite timing to use.

However, the damage that he suffered was still too much as Joseph almost fell from the air onto the ground in a completely opposite direction from where Kristian landed at.

Shit, I'm not going to make it... WIll my Grace end here without it being used to its fullest? Joseph inwardly thought. An attack came in his direction and there was no way that he could block it for he just used [Guard] and [Parry] was still on cooldown.

But then suddenly...

Joseph remembered a particular skill that every player in the world of Victory had.

"Aerial Evasion!"

[Aerial Evasion Lv. 1]

The user will immediately recover while being attacked in the air. Invincibility is provided for a moment, immediately after activation but is removed upon the next user input or upon a successful landing.

Skill Usage Conditions: None.

Skill Cost: 15 Stamina

Skill Cooldown Time: 45 Seconds.]

Joseph made a double jump while in the air.

"Aerial Evasion!" Someone from Guild Crimson cried out.

Joseph maneuvered himself while still in the air as he descended towards Kristian's direction, intent on activating the third part of Grace. Unfortunately, when Joseph was about to reach Kristian. A Knight wearing a shining armor stood in front of him and blocked his way.

"Sweeping Kick!"

[Sweeping Kick Lv. 1]

Perform a sweeping kick that will temporarily incapacitate an enemy once it connects. 

Skill Usage Conditions: Have at least a leg to kick.

Skill Cost: 12 Stamina.

Skill Cooldown Time: 6 Seconds.]

Joseph didn't even think before activating this skill.

But the Knight, William was showing his experienced side at this moment.

He hopped upwards and avoided Joseph's attack.

When he landed, he turned his torso around and raised his leg. Sending a Roundhouse Kick at Joseph's chest.

[Roundhouse Kick Lv. 1]

Perform a roundhouse kick to a single targeted enemy.

Skill Usage Conditions: Have two legs to balance and the other to kick.

Skill Cost: 15 Stamina.

Skill Cooldown Time: 8 Seconds.]

Joseph slapped the leg aside with a simple deflect and sidestepped to get past William. But when he leaped towards the left, what greeted him were not only the attacks of the other players around him, but Vladimir was also standing on his way.

"Bastards... You three are really ganging up against me, huh?"

"Hmmph, stop joking. Aren't you the one that wanted this in the first place?"

Vladimir coldly scoffed.

William gave a smirk and interjected: "What's wrong mighty Mythical Class player? Are you out of steam, yet? Just admit your defeat already and give us our weapons back and we can consider forgetting what happened today."

Joseph didn't even spare a glance at William as he stared at Kristian.

Right now, Kristian was madly chugging as much Health Potions as he could and from the healthy glow on his cheeks. It was clear that he was steadily recovering his health. This was something that Joseph couldn't allow to happen.

But what could he do?

The Grand Duelist's Dash was still on cooldown and apart from it.

He had no other movement abilities!

What about The Grand Challenge?

Joseph really wanted to use that skill so that he could single out Kristian from the rest of his team, but it was still on cooldown! He used it against Ama Namin earlier, so it wasn't available to use.

Joseph's mind madly spun, but it was clear that these two wouldn't give him any time to think.

Right after William's words rang out, Vladimir extended both of his hands.

Joseph almost immediately leaped backward and dodged. Grapplers were masters of extreme close-quarter combats. It was unwise to fight them up close. He had to distance himself from Vladimir, but the Knight from Knights of Justice, William was coordinating beautifully with Vladimir.

The moment Joseph retreated, he maneuvered around Joseph and sealed his escape route behind.

Effectively creating a pincer attack that Joseph couldn't possibly escape from.

But what if he went for the sides?

It was impossible since even though the effective range of a Grappler was short.

A Knight's effective range was enough to cover both sides and if Joseph really attempted to escape through the routes on the left and right. Not only would William stop him from escaping, but the other players would also swarm up to him.

That was something that Joseph didn't want to happen until Kristian was killed. 

If he fell into their encirclement and Kristian supported them with a Spatial Lock and Spatial Prison.

That situation would definitely spell Joseph's doom.

Even if he had a Mythical Class that was vastly powerful than the classes of the average players here.

But what if he leaped into the air?

Joseph had no means of escaping whatsoever at this moment.

He just used Emergency Escape, Aerial Evasion, and Guard. 

The players from Guild Crimson and Guild Knights of Justice seemed to have noticed Joseph's plight as their attacks grew even more concentrated. Slice of Life abruptly came out of Concealment and appeared in the air above Joseph.

A look of anticipation could be seen on his face since he was thinking that Joseph would definitely leap into the air so he could escape.

Once that happened and if Joseph really did choose that route.

There was only one destination for him.

And that was his daggers. 

Slice of Life snickered.

Come... Hurry up... I can't hold back anymore! 

Slice of Life adjusted the daggers he held in his hands as a crazed light appeared in his eyes.

But it was at this moment that a change suddenly occurred.

Right before Vladimir, William, and Kristian's attack along with the attacks from the distance could land onto Joseph.

A dangerous glint shone within Joseph's eyes as he calmly whispered.

"Strife."

[Unique Skill: Strife.]

A unique skill created based on the Grand Duelist's Comprehension of the Concept of Discord.

This unique skill, depending on the Grand Duelist's input will turn everyone against each other. Once activated, all living beings inside including those with man-made souls will fight against each other.

If activated against players in a party, friendly-fire will be forcefully turned on and they will be compelled to attack each other without any exceptions.

*Strife does not distinguish between foes and friends. Before activating this skill, please be mindful of your surroundings and make sure that a friendly ally is not in your line of sight!

*The effect of Strife lasts for five seconds.

Skill Usage Conditions: Unique Comprehension of the Concept of Discord.

Skill Cost: Divinity Stat

Skill Cooldown Time: 48 Hours.]

Chaos descended onto the battlefield upon the activation of this Unique Skill.