Pain Factor
Whoosh!
Ying's sword came down bearing fierce animosity. His passive skill granting him a 10% buff, as well as a more polished finesse.
Clang!
Just in time, Captain managed to block with a blade of his own. The overbearing noise of strong steel backed by powerful wielders signalled the commencement of a ferocious dance of death.
On one hand was an enraged expert, who hacked and sliced with vicious desperation. And on the other, was a devilish tyrant who had weaponized his blazing desire to overcome.
Their clash was epic.
So epic, that the other mercenary (the girl) could not help but watch with wide eyes as her Captain struggled against the target named Ying.
Unlike Captain, she didn't seem to possess the strength or willpower to so much as rise to her feet. Thus, all she could do was focus her undivided attention on the battle unfolding before her very eyes.
Clang!
Bang!
Crash!
The two swordsmen exchanged blows. Their silver blades continuously flickered with ghastly intent as they both attempted to eviscerate the other. Occasionally, their aim would strike true and crimson blood would flow like water.
At a glance, the two would seem to be on equal footing.... That is, of course, if one ignored the streams of blood that flowed down from Captain's mouth and nose. But the truth couldn't be further from it.
"Ugh!"
Captain groaned aloud, struggling to move his sword. He was being pushed back. In all honesty, such an outcome was only natural.
After all,
His senses were dullened, his concentration waned and the strength he once boasted had nearly completely abandoned him in this time of need. What's worse, his opponent was as heartless as could be....
The way that malevolent grin of his stuck to his face—it was as annoying as it was frightening. But there was nothing Captain could do about it.
Ying consistently hacked at every opening he found, and each time their blades met in either a clash or a parry, Captain would be overcome by this fierce power. It was like a turbulent wave, which would guide his sword away and create more openings for his opponent to exploit.
As of right now, all of his training, all of his Cultivating seemed useless..... He had erred by falling into the trap, and now he was going to pay for it with his life.
Hopeless.
That was the perfect appellation for this situation. It would only be a matter of time now, before he finally fell to the other blade.
'No, no, no! The Patriarch.... the Patriarch trusted me with this mission. I won't lose to him.... I won't be defeated by a mere target!' Captain's consciousness raged. And with it, a fierce determination rose up from the pits of his depravity.
Mustering up every last bit of strength he could, he struck Ying's sword. The sudden attack caused a momentary lag in Ying's advancements, which allowed him enough time to take a big step backwards.
Unfortunately, his balance got disrupted mid-leap, and he ended up nearly twisting his ankle as a result. He staggered, all the while trying to regain his posture and composure. He twisted his torso with the powerful blade in hand.
Biting his lip, he endured the sting of a sword wound which suddenly popped up on his left side, and summoning up all the strength he had managed to muster, he thought quickly and decisively.
Of course, this thought was accompanied by action. Captain's unwavering spirit burned ever so brightly.
'Spring Serpent Sword Art: Coiling Dragon's Slash.'
Whoosh!
'Huh-?!'
Ying was overcome by a momentary confusion when Captain suddenly struck. His attack, although quite powerful, was also similarly reckless. Nevertheless, Ying was still shocked when, instead of a follow-up, the latter suddenly jumped back..... as if in an attempt to escape.
Ying gave chase.
His short sword lashed out before him, and his attack connected with Captain's side, drawing a fine amount of blood.
But lacking real sword fighting experience as he did, he'd utterly failed to see the ploy for what it was, even moving in for yet another strike.
He became greedy…. and most dearly did he pay for his avarice.
Before he could even bring down his sword, Captain suddenly twisted his body and sidestepped. His eyes flickered with destructive intent. Ying could have sworn he saw a red flash of light on his blade, as it rushed forth.
'Nani?-!'
Ying yelled confusedly as he watched the uncanny movements of Captain's blade. He could not help but be reminded of a ferocious serpent—the way it slithered slimily between the gaps of his guard, viciously digging into his flesh.
'Uack-!'
Ying groaned in pain as a deep wound appeared on his side. Vermillion blood flowed from the massive opening, and the sting of the torn flesh assaulted Ying's mind, bringing with it a hailstorm of mental strain.
Despite the significant pain dilation and Ying's high durability, the hurt of the wound still proved fatal to Ying's psyche.
Slash!
Ying's thought process only slowed as more and more wounds of similar calibre spawned on his skin, caused by Captain's relentless attacks. It only took an instant, but the tide of the battle had taken a 180 turn for the worse!
Ying coughed up blood as a fist broke through his defences and hammered down on his chest, sending him flying.
It felt like he had just gotten hit by a truck and when his back finally collided with the wall, it felt as though the wind had gotten knocked right out of his sails.
'Argh! It hurts-!' Ying groaned as he tried to pull himself up from the wall. His body suddenly felt ten times heavier than the Ordinary Sword and he was even struggling to breathe.
Probably due to the fact that he'd broken a few ribs.
'Damn--! So this is how it feels to get beat up in a Cultivation world? Damn, this game is way too realistic!!' Ying muttered and he managed to drag himself up.
He glanced at his opponent, but before he could even say 'Captain' Captain's figure had disappeared. All that was left were after images of him dashing towards the window.
'Damn it!' Ying cussed and dashed after him.
Of course, the system was already repairing his damaged body, but the question remained whether the regenerative algorithm could keep up with the chain of events.
Ying was slow. Too slow!
The pain caused his mind to spin wildly. It created a cloud of unreasoning which hindered Ying both physically and mentally.
Of course, the physical portion was the more bearable of the two. The low Pain factor and Ying's high Cultivation being his salvation, but the damage done to his mind was simply on another level!
By the time he had taken three steps, Captain was already mere inches away from his goal. Ying grit his teeth. He couldn't allow that to happen.
The only reason why the effects of the herbs were so drastic right from the get-go was because he had already saturated the atmosphere around with the poison by letting it incense for hours prior to their arrival.
If the saturated air somehow managed to escape and the wind got in, then the potency of his trap would fall exponentially, if not completely! Ying could not let that happen, that is, of course, if he still wanted to come out on top in this scenario.
But the mental backlash was simply too severe! Ying was still an ordinary human, thus he wasn't used to such… powerful sensations. Well, at least not yet.
'Damn it!! I just need to get rid of this hurt in my head! They say pain is all in the mind right, well then I just got to shut out the shit from my mind! Light as a feather, calm as the sea. Let's do this!!' Ying egged himself on. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully pushed the cloud of unreasoning away.
But life wasn't so simple. Of course, there'd be no effect!
...or so he thought.
Ding!
[Your title,