Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1770

Leaving the martial hall, they went for a walk. Sunny offered Nephis his arm once again, and they strolled along the lively streets of Bastion, making sure to be seen by as many people as possible.

It wasn't every day that ordinary citizens could catch a glimpse of Changing Star, so many were stunned and excited. She smiled politely at them and nodded from time to time.

Luckily, a Saint was different from a celebrity. Although she was immensely popular, people treated her with a sense of solemn veneration. No one bothered them wanting to receive an autograph, and no one tried to exchange words with her — they just looked from afar and kept a respectful distance.

Nephis herself, meanwhile, was quite curious about the details of the day-to-day life of the city. As they walked, she often asked Sunny to explain this or that, listening to his explanations with keen interest.

«…Before last year, most people in Bastion sustained themselves on the food rations delivered from the waking world and the meat brought back by the abomination hunters. But then, the fields outside the city were finally able to yield a harvest — crops capable of thriving in the Dream Realm soil had been cultivated decades ago, but scaling the production took time. In any case, the city is almost self-sufficient now. These food stalls became popular after the supply of locally sourced flour stabilized, as well. Would you like to try a fish cake? It's not really fish, of course… but it's still delicious…»

She smiled and shook her head.

«No, thank you. I am quite full.»

Hearing that, Sunny felt satisfied. It seemed that she had enjoyed the picnic.

Feeding people felt nice, indeed… Especially this particular person. Nephis looked at him with curiosity, and then asked in a neutral tone:

«Master Sunless… can I ask you a question?»

Sunny raised an eyebrow.

«Of course.»

She lingered for a moment.

«You've been observing my swordsmanship. What did you see?»

He had expected her to ask that, somewhat.

The arrangement between Nephis and him was for the purpose of crafting a weapon for her, and to do that, Sunny had requested to study her swordsmanship and battle technique.

However, his persona was that of a sorcerer, not a warrior. Nephis did not know how deep his understanding of combat went, and if he was even capable of learning anything about her transcendent battle prowess. In fact, if anything, she would think that his knowledge of swordsmanship was shallow.

She did not know that although Sunny's understanding of combat was not the deepest in the world, it was certainly the broadest. He doubted that anyone, including her and the three Sovereigns, had absorbed as many battle styles as he had.

So, Nephis was curious to learn how much he saw, and to what degree he was capable of appreciating her swordsmanship.

Sunny remained silent for a while, then sighed and said in a somber tone:

«Your swordsmanship… is ruthless.»

She seemed amused by his answer.

«Ruthless?»

He nodded and contemplated his next words carefully.

«At first, I was really surprised. You are renowned across two worlds as one of the most skilled warriors of humanity, Lady Nephis. You are also the daughter of Broken Sword, whose swordsmanship is legendary. And yet… your technique seems grossly reckless and unbalanced.»

She smiled silently,

Sunny coughed, and then continued calmly.

«It is an exceedingly aggressive style, and your offense is stunningly lethal. However, the defense… the Master of that martial hall earlier would have beaten his students senseless if he saw them neglecting defense to that degree. Despite that, your footwork is too strange. It is meaninglessly conservative, to the point of appearing awkward. It's all a proper mess.»

Nephis laughed quietly.

«In other words… I am a fraud?»

He smiled sadly, then shook his head.

«It would seem like that, but of course, it is not true. The truth of the matter is that you are too ruthless.»

Sunny's smile faded slowly.

«Your battle art has no mercy at all — not for your enemies, and not for yourself. You disregard defense because you expect to be hurt, mauled, and maimed. Your Aspect allows you to recover from almost any wound, after all, so no matter how terribly your body is mutilated, you can continue to fight. For that reason, your style simply breaks every possible convention of combat technique. You've reinvented the very concept of swordsmanship from the ground up, removing self-preservation from its foundation.»

He sighed.

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