Villain Ch 55. The Duel [Part 2]

BlazeRunner lunged at Zoe with incredible speed, his daggers were in his hands. He was hoping to land the first strike and gain the upper hand in the battle.

Zoe watched him carefully, her eyes following his movements as she prepared to defend herself. But rather than move recklessly, she knew that agility was the dual dagger user's advantage, so she let him come to her.

When he was almost upon her, BlazeRunner prepared to slash his daggers with deadly force. But Zoe was ready for him. Instead of waiting for him to strike, she took advantage of her sword's reach and attacked him with a swift and efficient movement.

Her sword was aimed straight at BlazeRunner's chest, the tip poised to strike. It was as if she was using a rapier rather than a sword, so precise and deadly was her aim. Before BlazeRunner's daggers could even reach her, Zoe's sword plunged into his chest with a sickening thud.

BlazeRunner let out a cry of pain, his body wracked with agony.

[Critical Hit!]

[BlazeRunner has taken 201 damage points!]

The fatal hit from Zoe's sword had pierced BlazeRunner's body with deadly precision, and his team members could only watch in shock and horror, blood soaking his clothes.

BlazeRunner stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with disbelief as he looked down at the blade that had penetrated his body. He let out a pained gasp, his body shaking with the intensity of the agony that wracked his virtual form. It was a fatal hit, and the fact that BlazeRunner had run straight at it had only made it worse.

The others watched in amazement as Zoe displayed her incredible skill in combat. Vivian, in particular, was impressed by the efficiency of Zoe's movement. The fact that Zoe had ended the duel with just one move showed the skill gap between them.

Allen, too, watched everything in silence. He had known from the start that Zoe would win this battle. According to Kafra, Zoe had already won one-on-one fighting VR game tournaments several times. While they were only at the city scale and between academies, the opponents were pro players. Zoe was a pro player in her own right, used to battles between players like this.

Shea simply smiled contentedly; her eyes fixed on Zoe as she stood victorious on the battlefield.

BlazeRunner's HP had hit zero, and he fell to the cave floor with a sickening thud. He was a dual dagger user so his HP wasn't much and his defense wasn't as big as a swordsman's, so that was enough to kill him.

[Congratulations! You won the duel! ]

[You have managed to kill a player]

[Kill player 6/10]

"It's so disappointing. I thought I would have more fun than that," Zoe let out a sigh of disappointment as she sheathed her sword. She had been looking forward to a challenging duel, but the fight had ended all too quickly. She couldn't help feeling let down by the ease of her victory, despite the fact that she had emerged as the clear winner.

The other members of BlazeRunner's team looked on in shock and disbelief. With the odds stacked against them, they had known it was going to be a tough battle. But they had never expected to be so thoroughly outmatched.

As they began to gather their bearings, the rest of the swordsman's team began to back away slowly. It was 3 VS 3, but after the second win, victory belonged to Allen's team. Yet the female swordsman spoke up again, her voice firm and determined.

"Do you mind another match?" she said, her eyes fixed on Zoe. From her tone of voice, it was clear that she was not willing to give up that easily.

The healer and the other members of her team immediately grabbed her shoulders, trying to pull her back. "That's enough," they pleaded. "Just leave this place for them. We can hunt elsewhere."

But the female swordsman remained undeterred. She shook off their grasp and took a step forward, her gaze still fixed on Zoe.

"This will be great training for me," she declared, her voice ringing out clear and strong. "After all, dying because of other players won't reduce my EXP, and we still have to wait for the others to get here."

"I don't mind," Zoe replied confidently, her voice echoing through the virtual landscape. "I'm ready for whatever challenge you throw my way."

But the swordsman was not content to let Zoe have all the fun. "You already have your match," she said, her eyes flickering with a fierce determination. "So, I want to challenge another player."

Shea, with her trademark smirk, took a step forward, ready to face off against the female swordsman. "Fine, I will---"

But before Shea could even complete her sentence, the swordsman cut her off with a sharp gesture. "Not you," she said, her voice ringing out clear and strong. "I want to challenge her," she pointed to Vivian.

Vivian, who had been standing by Shea's side, looked up in surprise at the swordsman's words. "Me?" she echoed, pointing at herself. Her voice filled with disbelief.

The female swordsman nodded her head. Apart from paying attention to the previous battle, she also paid attention to the rest of Allen's team. She could see the confidence and experience etched into their every move. All of them were veterans of the game, well-versed in the art of combat.

Except for Vivian.

The swordsman's eyes flickered over to that female archer, taking in her wide-eyed amazement and excitement at the battle before them. It was enough to make the swordsman believe that Vivian was the weakest of them all. But she knew better than to underestimate anyone in this game.

On top of that, even though Shea and Vivian were both ranged fighters. As a mage, Shea had the skill to freeze her enemies. If combined with lightning attacks, it would be deadly. And she knew Shea had a lightning strike. And based on Shea's confidence the swordsman believed Shea had that skill.

So even though challenging an archer like Vivian didn't mean it was better, she could only hope that Vivian wasn't as pro as Shea.