The cloak and dagger combat style is a fighting technique that combines a dagger in the dominant hand with a cloak in the off-hand.
The cloak is used to distract, entangle, or obscure the opponent's vision and weapon, while the dagger delivers quick, precise strikes or parries.
Blending defense and offense, this elegant yet deadly method is favored in duels and self-defense, showcasing both flair and strategic finesse.
The first time Bian and Earl Shin had clashed, the Earl was holding back to test his swordsmanship. It would be unusual if he went all out without knowing the capabilities of his opponent.
Now, the Earl already understood that Bian's control of the sword was a means to an end and not an end in and of itself.
Basically, Bian wielded a sword because he could. He didn't invest heavily in his swordsmanship, so although his fitness had increased, it wasn't enough to deter the Earl.
The same could also be said for Bian though. If this was his first time fighting the Earl, then it would give him a lot of trouble.
Fortunately, he had fought Earl Shin before and understood the principle of the Cloak and Dagger technique.
Or so he thought.
Bian feinted an attack towards the neck, the Scornful Bane was stopped a moment later by the winding cloak.
"Well that's new!"
Bian didn't expect the cloak to move like a serpent, ensnaring his weapon.
The dagger brushed past his ribs, producing a series of sparks and Bian forcefully withdrew from the Earl.
While going backward, Bian suddenly pressed in, slashing low, then high. Earl Shin countered, wrapping his blade briefly in the cloak again, this time twisting it — forcing him to readjust or risk disarmament.
Bian kicked out instead, catching his leg and forcing a stumble.
But his fall wasn't a mistake — it was a bait. As Bian stepped in, he flicked the cloak into Bian's eyes and rolled beneath his guard, his dagger slicing across his thigh.
Of course, Bian could still see even with his vision obstructed, he just couldn't counter the Earl on time.
'Is this fatigue or is Earl Shin actually very strong?'
What came next was nothing short of embarrassing. Almost all of Bian's moves were countered and the ones that weren't were evaded.
If not for the silver armor, Bian would have been turned to a sieve by now.
"Your armor is too strong. What the hell!"
Earl Shin cursed loudly.
His Cloak and Dagger technique was precisely dangerous because it countered conventional use of swords.
Unless his opponent had an overwhelming attack, he was very certain no swordsman could be his equal on the same level.
Yet, this human who was only okay with the sword was still standing well and alive.
His technique had countered him several times, but he couldn't get through his armor.
Even at the joints and other areas normally weak in other armor, his dagger couldn't penetrate through.
Earl Shin feared that the silver armor was sacred, as that would explain its terrifying defense.
As for aiming for the face? Such a move wouldn't work on Bian.
He could feel it, even though Bian concealed his intent well enough. His opponent already knew his face was the largest opening and once he aimed for it, there would be a disastrous counterattack.
"In that case."
Bian lunged at the Earl again, but this time the Earl didn't evade or use the cloak.
Instead, he parried his attack with the dagger.
Bian's eyes widened, as this was the first time he had ever been parried.
The cloak wrapped around Earl Shin's left hand and a straight punch connected to Bian's stomach.
"Okay... I felt that one!"
Armor could only perfectly guard against slash attacks. It was also very effective for thrusts but couldn't do much against striking attacks.
Bian took a couple of steps back to mitigate the pain in his stomach and calculated his gains.
What had he learnt so far?
If he always used overwhelming strength to end each battle, he wouldn't grow, and his demise one day would be swift and unexpected.
That was why Bian always preferred to break down his opponent's technique and exploit their flaws.
Doing so kept his mind sharp and ready to react against a myriad of responses.
So far, he badly needed an ultimate attack, which would have been useful against Marquis Nero.
He also needed a long-range attack and now Bian had to add swordsmanship to his list of skills.
He couldn't stand the fact that there was no opening to exploit in Earl Shin's Cloak and Dagger technique.
It most likely meant his skill with the sword wasn't great enough to spot or force an opening.
Now that Bian had come to this conclusion, he didn't have a need to hold back anymore.
"Earl, do you know what's better than fancy technique?"
[Firing on all cylinders]
The three inner pillars began operating at maximum capacity, his senses heightened, instincts sharpened and body crystallized.
Bian had a smirk as he spoke.
"Overwhelming power!"
Before the Earl could figure out where his confidence came from, Bian turned to a crystal blur that couldn't be seen easily by the naked eye.
"What?"
Earl Shin shrouded himself with the cloak, a move he had not pulled off before.
Not only did it completely obstruct his body, he also became intangible while he was in it.
Unfortunately, he activated this ability in the Emperical Aura, which rendered it useless.
Shua!
A white line streaked past at very fast speeds. The winds from the attack severed several buildings in half.
"H..."
Earl Shin had a look of wanting to say something, an unwilling gaze lingered in his eyes.
Bian looked at him coldly.
So what if he was better in every aspect?
Does the fastest always win the race? Or is it the strongest who wins the battle?
Neither, it's all down to timing and chance.
And when it came to luck, Bian had no reason to be concerned.
Earl Shin died and was swept away with his regrets, leaving Bian in the ruined capital.
Although his battle had not destroyed the entire kingdom, at least forty percent of it had been damaged.
"I'm this strong already."
Bian let out a sigh, removing the first primitive pill from the cauldron and dropping another tiger into it.
Thankfully, no other person came to battle him, at least not immediately, so Bian could level his strength before that happened.
He was very glad to be able to use the Inner Pillars as a finishing move. At least it could serve as a trump card for when he couldn't win normally.
Still, he had used his "trump card" too often these past few days. Sure, his fitness was lower and his geno core was all bronze, but still, Bian didn't like it.
"I really need an ultimate move!" he said, feeling excited at the prospect of having a finishing move.
He would have to think carefully and get back to the alliance to decide on an unparalleled killer move.
Although keeping the Emperical Aura active drained him constantly, it was to a manageable degree.
Bian couldn't afford to deactivate it and be blind when he knew how fearsome this duke would be.
At least for him to be able to kill a royal spirit and suppress absolute beasts like the Four Sentries, he wasn't an average foe.
...
Several hours passed by in a blur. The sky had gone beneath the horizon, but a strange indigo light lit up the capital of the kingdom.
Bian refined four out of the five Primitive Alabaster Tigers into pills. He left the last one, since most of the other creatures had fled from the capital, and he was in no mood to give chase.
He had already absorbed some points from the mutant tiger and its body was too large to fit in the cauldron, so Bian chopped it down and threw pieces of it into the cauldron at a time.
When a piece was refined, he would throw in another piece, stacking the pieces into one pill of the same size.
Unfortunately, the more he stacked, the longer it took for the cauldron to refine them into a single pill.
It wasn't until nightfall that Bian had completely refined it and had a fifth pill.
Immediately afterwards, he began moving to the castle at the center of the kingdom.
He swallowed the mutant pill in one gulp as he moved.
[Mutant Geno Point +1]
[Mutant Geno Point +1]
[...]
Bian gained an additional six points from the pill. Aside from the initial two points from the blood of the mutant AlabasterTiger, the rest must have been wasted one way or the other.
With fifteen mutant points, Bian felt his strength swelling rapidly. The feeling of getting strong was too intoxicating to quit.
He looked at the four primitive pills in his hands and fused them together.
He had two mutant pills which would give ten mutant geno points each.
Bian didn't hurry to swallow them though; instead, he tested the waters with the Emperical Decree, wondering if his life energy could fuse the pills to the Sacred level.
The Emperical Decree only drained his life span when his life energy couldn't handle the fusions.
Beast souls and geno cores were inherently easier to fuse, taking less life energy, but actual objects cost a lot more.
"Just barely!"
With his spike in fitness, he could just barely fuse the two pills together, but he would be utterly drained afterwards.
Had it been his life span that was consumed, he wouldn't feel tired, but Bian wasn't willing to sacrifice his life span.
He was initially heading to the castle to strengthen his geno cores, but the bronze cores wouldn't be of much help yet even if they were silver.
Instead, he found an intact house to settle down in and attempt to fuse the two mutant pills.