Chapter Seventeen: The Handshake

Seeing the opponent’s mighty sword energy about to pour down, Komer helplessly raised his hand to stop their impulse. “Miss Katrina, I can tell you my identity, but only to you. Would that allow us to pause the fight for now? What do you think? I know your martial skills have reached the realm of martial arts, but that doesn’t mean you can defeat me.”

After considering Komer’s proposal, the red-haired girl fixed a cold gaze on him. “Alright, I accept your offer. But I have one condition: you must take my sword strike!”

“Agreed! Then please, Miss Katrina, go all out!” Komer’s heart swelled with pride. From the flickering sword light, he could tell that the opponent had been in the martial arts realm for quite some time. Even Sorenberg and Vladkov would likely struggle to succeed against them. Before being rescued from another world, he hadn’t feared them, but defeating them easily would still be difficult. Yet for him now, it was no problem.

Like a river of stars pouring down, a stream of silver light instantly covered the entire hall. The sweeping silver-white sword energy was vast and overwhelming, seemingly intent on sweeping away everything in its path, leaving no room to breathe. It was then that Komer truly understood the dominance of true masters in martial arts. It turned out that Sorenberg and Vladkov had never truly unleashed their finest skills, leading him to believe that martial arts were merely a subset of magic. He never imagined that even at the initial stage of martial arts, such power could be achieved.

But that didn’t mean Komer was helpless and doomed to die!

Retiring his Thunderstorm Magic Lute, Komer’s fingers spat out drops of dark red blood, which instantly turned into purple-black membranes. These membranes multiplied—from one to three, then to nine—layer upon layer, forming a thick barrier of countless membranes in front of him.

The formidable sword energy shot forward, and the flashing sword light pierced through countless layers of membranes in an instant. The purple-black membranes dissipated into purple-red smoke, spreading slowly. The intense, foul smell was nauseating.

Shocked, Katrina never expected her invincible Tianhe Sword Qi to encounter such strong resistance. In her mind, even the magic shields of great magicians could not withstand the power that could split the heavens and earth—this was the ultimate manifestation of her condensed combat energy, beyond what human strength could resist. Yet what she saw now made her realize that among magic practitioners as well, there existed forces capable of matching her Tianhe Sword Qi.

It wasn’t just Katrina who was shocked. The Silkworm Cocoon, which Komer had devoted the most effort to perfecting, was almost pierced by the opponent’s sword Qi. Although Komer had anticipated the sheer power of the sword Qi, he still hadn’t expected his last line of defense to be so fragile. If it weren’t for a hastily added solidification spell, the sword Qi might have created a bloody hole right through his body.

Frightened, Komer quickly cast three solidification spells in succession to strengthen the Silkworm Cocoon. Meanwhile, Katrina, now suspended mid-air with no way to retreat, spun wildly like a rapidly rotating top, using her sword, which continued to thrust forward, as its axis.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!” The relentless piercing sounds continued. Even the indestructible Tianhe Sword Qi, combined with Katrina’s spinning attacks, was too much for Komer’s resilient Silkworm Cocoon. The gleaming sword pierced through the final barrier without any hindrance, delivering a devastating strike that chilled Komer to the core.

Before the smile on her lips could settle, Katrina realized her mistake. Her empty illusion vanished before her eyes, and Komer’s stunned expression seemed to mock her. Filled with rage, Katrina swiftly swung her sword horizontally, creating a gust of wind that stirred up endless dust in the hall. “Despicable coward! Come out!”

Komer, who had dodged the attack using his illusionary shadow, slowly appeared in a corner of the hall. After sighing helplessly, he said softly, “Miss Katrina, aren’t you being too unreasonable? Does true heroism only lie in head-on confrontation, while evasion must be labeled as cowardice and dishonor? Where in the world is such logic?”

Stunned silent by Komer’s questions, yet filled with pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it, Katrina glared at the annoying man for a long time before spitting hatefully and sheathing her sword with a thud.

“Well, Miss Katrina, the noble Queen of the Mediterranean, I think we can now sit down and talk calmly, right?” Seeing her bright gray eyes regain their clarity, Komer nodded inwardly. Truly worthy of being the leader of the Kat family’s fleet—just this composure was enough to make many people feel ashamed. It was quite rare for a woman to maintain such calm and wisdom at all times. Komer didn’t think the earlier scene was an act of irrational impulse; perhaps it was a way for her to conceal her true nature.

Her cool, serene gaze lingered on Komer’s face for a moment before the red-haired woman, with one hand on her sword, finally smiled and nodded. “Hmm, not bad, kid. I have to admit you do deserve to talk to me. Though I don’t trust you. Enough with the preliminaries—time to get to the point. Fulfill your promise first. Who are you? What brings you here?”

The direct questions caught Komer off guard despite his preparations. After gently rubbing his thumb and index finger together for a while, he finally raised his head and met her cold gaze. “I am Komer, lord of Caucasus and Leon in the Kingdom of Nicosia. As for why I’m here, I’d like to keep that to myself for now. Perhaps I can answer Miss Katrina after our conversation progresses further. Is that acceptable?”

“Komer of Caucasus and Leon?” A look of surprise flashed across Katrina’s face before a mysterious smile appeared. “Interesting… really interesting. While everyone is talking about your heroic adventures on the Land of Mist, you end up on Grande Corsica. Could it be that a hurricane blew your ship to Gozo? Or do you want to become a true Dark Priest? Can you tell me what really happened?”