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As the joint content began, Hang Woo’s aura started to seriously pierce Ethan.

Until just now, his aura had been spreading in all directions, but as it suddenly focused on him, Ethan unconsciously took a step back.

‘This is on a completely different level from the monsters I faced in Hercules’ trials.’

Ethan frowned. Unlike during Hercules’ trials, in this joint content, he could use all of his abilities.

‘That’s why I can see it better.’

With the Eye of Horus, combined with Ethan’s original experience, he naturally couldn’t help but know.

‘There are no openings.’

No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any gaps.

But he couldn’t just keep observing like this.

‘Quickly draw the sword, centering on the left foot.’

It was clearly a bad move.

In that case, the long spear would instantly come into the center, causing great damage to Ethan.

On the other hand, Ethan couldn’t properly attack due to the awkward distance.

‘That distance is the problem. The reach of the spear is longer than my sword.’

But there was a way to break through.

Bam-!

Ethan stomped on the ground hard and swung his sword.

Ethan Swordsmanship First Form

Frost Lightning

He swung frost and lightning as if they were the blade of his sword.

That single strike contained the essence of the Cheok Shin Sword Technique.

“Hmm!”

Feeling the power in Ethan’s sword, Hang Woo smiled and swung his long spear.

Kwang-!

As the sword and spear clashed, Hang Woo moved.

The fierce spear moved to pierce Ethan’s vital points.

The seemingly solid spear bent flexibly, like a snake lunging with its mouth wide open.

Clang-! Kkaang-!

There was no opening for counterattack in Hang Woo’s offensive.

Ethan tried to deflect the attacks while spinning to counterattack Hang Woo, but it wasn’t easy to find an opportunity for a counterattack.

‘I can’t believe he can move the spear so flexibly.’

It was completely different from the spear techniques Ethan knew.

“Hold it a bit more firmly.”

Kkaang-!

Even while unleashing fierce attacks, Hang Woo seemed relaxed. He advised Ethan while swinging his spear even more violently.

The spear that had been bending like a snake now surged in like a wave.

‘Damn it!’

Ethan had no choice but to allow some attacks to get through against the rapid spear strikes. If the spear Hang Woo was wielding had been a real spear instead of a practice one, he would have suffered great damage from this.

Ethan had no choice but to take a step back.

Pak-!

Hang Woo’s figure disappeared for a moment.

“!”

Ethan was slightly taken aback by Hang Woo’s footwork as he closed the distance in an instant.

But Ethan also had confidence that no one could match his speed.

Hang Woo’s red lightning and Ethan’s yellow lightning clashed violently.

Kaang-!

It was such a powerful attack that the ground was cratered. Ethan also swung his sword in response but had to retreat two steps.

‘I used the power of frost and lightning to compensate for the advantage of Hang Woo’s spear. Now it’s a battle of the techniques I possess!’

Hang Woo glanced at Ethan and pulled his spear back once.

“Now that we’ve warmed up, let’s get serious.”

Shaaaaak-.

Red lightning imbued Hang Woo’s spear.

“Use all your strength. If you hold back, it could end in an instant.”

As soon as those words ended, Hang Woo extended his spear.

It looked similar to his previous attack, but its essence was different.

Rotating spear.

At the tip of the spear, along with the subtlety of rotation, immense power could be felt.

‘Counter-Radiance!’

Hang Woo’s own power, Counter-Radiance, extended directly from the spear tip.

He hadn’t said to use full strength for nothing. The Counter-Radiance used by Hang Woo himself was on a completely different level from what Ethan had used.

An aura that seemed like it could crush everything in its path.

Hang Woo’s original Counter-Radiance was so tremendous that it made sense why people said it could uproot mountains with strength alone.

‘Damn it!’

Ethan bit his lip and summoned all the strength in his body.

Counter-Radiance.

But he could never defeat Hang Woo with the same Counter-Radiance. That’s why he mixed Counter-Radiance with Hero’s Breathing and swordsmanship.

‘I have to clash with full power! There’s no room for even the slightest mistake!’

Ethan Swordsmanship Second Form

Moonforce

Kwaaaaaang-!

With an explosive sound, Ethan’s body staggered backward. But he was able to block Hang Woo’s Counter-Radiance with minimal damage.

Although Ethan staggered, he didn’t fall and managed to withstand it, causing Hang Woo’s eyes to change with interest.

“Oh.”

It wasn’t an attack using full power, but it wasn’t one that could be blocked with so little damage either.

“To be able to exert such strength in that physical condition. I can see how hard you’ve been working until now.”

Hang Woo seemed to have already seen through Ethan’s physical condition.

However, knowing the situation didn’t mean he was going to go easy, as he magnificently twirled his spear.

Swoosh!

Along with the spear that instantly closed the distance and aimed for vital points, Hang Woo’s words struck Ethan.

“Now, let me show you what you’re lacking.”

Sook-!

It was such a fast spear technique that it created the illusion of the spear elongating.

The spear hit Ethan’s shoulder and then consecutively struck his waist and legs. It was like the training Ethan had given to the academy students.

“You seem to have created your own swordsmanship quite well, but it still feels superficial. Of course, ‘superficial’ is only by my standards. It might work well enough against those below me. But at least against me, it doesn’t work.”

It might work against the upper ranks, but to a top-tier expert like Hang Woo, there were still lacking points.

“But that’s probably because you’re not familiar with it yet? The more you wield it, the more that swordsmanship of yours will be completed in your own way.”

Bbaak-!

“But right now, it’s lacking. Infinitely so, from my perspective.”

Ethan clicked his tongue.

He felt it himself. There were certainly many rough aspects to Ethan Swordsmanship.

‘But that roughness will be resolved with familiarity. First…’

Ethan utilized the subtlety of Heo Jin’s Acupuncture.

Swoooosh-!

Then he unleashed the special ability of the Eye of Horus, Bullet Time, to its limit.

‘Ugh!’

Tremendous pain surged, but its effect was excellent.

‘Unbelievable.’

Because of the excellent effect, Ethan could see Hang Woo’s movements more accurately than before.

‘How can he move like this? This fast?’

Surely with the Bullet Time ability, he should be able to see all of Hang Woo’s movements broken down.

Even in slowed time, Hang Woo’s movements were unparalleled.

‘I can’t grasp it!’

The biggest wall he had faced before, the Twelve Apostles Luna Spirit.

And the twelve trials of Hercules he experienced after that. This skill level was beyond comparison to those.

They had long been erased from his mind.

Kwang-!

Once again, Ethan’s sword and Hang Woo’s spear clashed. If he hadn’t used Bullet Time, he might have been helplessly struck and knocked unconscious by this attack.

It was that much faster and more ferocious a strike.

Moreover, such attacks kept coming at Ethan consecutively.

Kaang-! Kaang-!

He tried to block them somehow, but eventually had to allow some attacks through.

“Ugh.”

Ethan, who had been properly hit by the attack, coughed up blood.

He had gained some confidence after passing Hercules’ twelve labors and gaining various powers.

But that confidence crumbled before Hang Woo.

“Good eyes, good senses, good instincts. Plus, lots of experience. At a glance, it seems perfect, but that’s the pitfall.”

“……”

“All that experience is actually becoming a poison. You, you’re already thinking you can’t beat me, right? You’re not thinking about winning this sparring match, but rather focusing on showing all the powers you have and receiving my evaluation first? Isn’t that right?”

Hang Woo continued to push Ethan without needing an answer.

The subtlety of Counter-Radiance was alive in every attack.

Not only that, but the spear technique itself was ineffably mysterious, perfectly executing feint attacks that seemed to flow aura towards the shoulder but actually struck the abdomen.

The aura was so fierce that when it felt like an attack was coming, one had no choice but to defend reflexively before even realizing it was a feint.

‘Damn. It’s hard to block. At this rate, I’ll collapse without accomplishing anything.’

This feint attack was particularly troublesome because it emitted an aura that made it seem like a real attack was coming.

Stab-!

At that moment, Hang Woo’s spear accurately struck Ethan’s wrist.

Even though it clearly wasn’t a big impact, Ethan ended up dropping his sword.

Ethan’s sword fell at Hang Woo’s feet.

Dropping a weapon was nothing short of a huge humiliation.

For those who wield weapons, dropping one meant there was a huge difference in skill level.

“You’ve stopped now, right? That’s coming from your experience. You can already see it. How this sparring match will end, and what you need to gain from it. Look, even now you’re focusing on my mouth, not my movements.”

Hang Woo smirked.

“That infinitely cold-minded spirit is commendable. But sometimes there are times when you need to challenge even knowing you can’t win.”

Hang Woo kicked the sword at his feet towards Ethan.

“Pick it up.”

As he said this, Hang Woo continued.

“If you don’t understand what I just said, it will be difficult for you to become stronger.”

“……”

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment.

‘Certainly, Hang Woo’s words are right. I thought I had left everything behind in Hercules’ trials.’

It seemed that Ethan’s problems were still clearly visible to Hang Woo’s eyes.

‘Actually, winning is difficult.’

Beating a god? Unless the god allows it, it’s impossible. That’s why he had no thoughts of winning from the start.

But that was the problem.

‘I’ve ended up giving up.’

A bitter smile appeared.

But he couldn’t give up here.

Ethan opened his eyes and grinned.

“I understand what you’re saying, Sir Hang Woo.”

‘If I give up, 0 percent will always remain 0 percent.’

To create something from nothing.

“Yes, that’s the attitude.”

To increase the probability even from 0 percent to 0.1 percent, one must never give up.

Kkaang-!

Ethan picked up the fallen sword and swung it.

It was completely different from the movements shown earlier.

It was a bold movement that no longer showed any hesitation.

‘The habit I’ve had all along is hard to break right away.’

Then he could change it slowly. Ethan had always fought with some reserve and instinctively avoided using his full power due to the obsessive idea that he must not die.

He needed to control that.

‘I shouldn’t die, but I shouldn’t save my strength either.’

It was difficult to express in words or with the body, but Ethan had to accomplish this difficult task.

‘That’s how I survive.’

Wasn’t there a saying by Ethan’s favorite hero?

If you want to live, you will die; if you want to die, you will live.

Kkaang-!

In the midst of Ethan’s rough swordsmanship using his full strength, Hang Woo’s spear fell straight to the ground. It was an attack imbued with the subtlety of weapon disarming that Hang Woo had just used on Ethan earlier.

Hang Woo’s eyebrows raised.

He had only shown the subtlety of weapon disarming once.

Yet he had recreated it perfectly after seeing it just once?

And even used it against him?

Hang Woo had expected an immediate counterattack, but Ethan didn’t move. Ethan was just looking at the spear that had fallen at his feet.

Ethan pushed the long spear towards Hang Woo with his Frost Sword.

“Pick it up.”

At those words, Hang Woo smiled deeply.

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