Hollow Knight's Nail was about to strike its target, a critical situation.
The Little Knight suddenly jumped, slashing downwards, and the two Pure Nails clashed with a clang.
One was like an advancing train, rolling forward, while the other was like willow catkins in the spring breeze, drifting aimlessly.
The Little Knight used the force to lightly evade the thrust.
Hollow Knight, who had been charging forward, suddenly vanished, only to reappear in mid-air, behind the Little Knight; his Nail descended like a guillotine, determined to cleave his opponent in two.
Before the Little Knight could react, Simon appeared at his side, using his Pure Nail to block Hollow Knight's attack.
All three were top-tier warriors, and no flaw would be overlooked; the Little Knight twisted his body in mid-air and struck Hollow Knight, leaving a long, narrow wound on his black Void body.
As Hollow Knight's body fell, Simon's porous cylindrical mask suddenly glowed brightly, and fierce Soul Energy surged out, transforming into a sky full of sword qi, instantly blossoming like summer lotuses.
These sword qi all possessed sentience, avoiding the Little Knight and leaving him unharmed, but for Hollow Knight, they were like harsh frost and snow; a great torrent of sword light enveloped him, cutting him madly.
Before long, golden light flickered in Hollow Knight's eyes, The Radiance's power surged, tearing apart the surrounding sword qi; his chest and abdomen swelled with murky yellow pustules, and he was held in mid-air by this power, then uncontrollably charged towards the Little Knight and Simon.
After unleashing the sword qi, Simon felt a bit dizzy; this move not only consumed an enormous amount of Soul Energy, but the sentience of the sword qi was particularly rare, genuinely requiring him to overdraft the residual dreams accumulated in the Black Egg within his dream realm; a few hundred warrior residual dreams were exchanged for this single burst.
His steps were a bit unsteady, and he appeared quite disheveled when dodging Hollow Knight's ground smash.
The Little Knight seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack on Hollow Knight, seemingly on the verge of defeating him.
Pure Vessel's tenacious will fought back; the strange and blasphemous pustules on his body receded, and Hollow Knight himself, somewhat exhausted, knelt on the ground.
However, what was terrifying was that his injuries were rapidly healing; Simon and the Little Knight only managed to land one strike each, but the wounds healed instantly, rendering their previous efforts completely useless.
Hollow Knight rose again, The Radiance within him shrieking.
His Nail swung, its speed nearly doubling.
Pure Vessel's strength was continuously recovering!
Simon exclaimed, "What a formidable opponent!" He then turned to the Little Knight and said, "I'll fight him first; you pay attention to the rhythm."
Before he finished speaking, he actively went to meet him, enduring Hollow Knight's torrential sword strikes and engaging in a fierce exchange; for a moment, Nails clashed, creating an incessant clang, heavy like hammering iron, dense like rain on a curtain.
Seeing that the battle was prolonged, Hollow Knight suddenly retreated, then vanished, leaving an afterimage in his place.
His movement relied entirely on bursts, yet possessed a speed close to Simon's teleportation; the output value of the Void substance was astonishing.
Fortunately, Simon was also a Vessel now, with swift reactions, otherwise he would only be able to cope with such attack speed through intuition and experience.
"Clang!"
Behind him!
"Dong"
To his left!
Hollow Knight transformed into a black cloud enveloping Simon, and his Nail was like bolts of lightning, striking at all parts of Simon's body.
Simon calmed his mind, observing each sword path carefully, and thoroughly comprehending Hollow Knight's swordsmanship.
Perhaps due to The Radiance's restraint within him, Hollow Knight's moves had little variation; each strike was very substantial, relying entirely on endless stamina to maintain an advantage.
Dealing with such an opponent required only overwhelming force, which was precisely what Simon liked.
"Slash!"
The sword qi spun, forming a halo that expanded, forcing Hollow Knight to continuously retreat.
Seemingly realizing that Simon and the Little Knight were not to be trifled with, Hollow Knight jumped to the side, slightly arched his back, gently rotated his wrist, and his slender Nail moved through the air like a fish.
The atmosphere eased slightly.
Immediately, the situation changed abruptly.
Hollow Knight then used an extremely gentle posture, completely unsuited to his current chaotic state, to swing a sword at Simon from a distance.
There was no sound.
But for a second.
Simon's heart suddenly jolted.
He instantly teleported away from his original spot, but he was still half a beat too slow.
A murky yellow light blade, like thin, warm jade, cut through Simon's chest.
This was the first time he had been injured in battle.
This strike was very fatal; Simon felt as if half of his strength had drained from the wound, and a distorted light surged erratically within his Void-condensed body, bringing not only intense pain but also making his mind somewhat muddled, his vision blurred and unfocused.
Hollow Knight continued to swing his sword, and invisible light blades appeared out of thin air, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, like ghosts or demons, chasing Simon and forcing him to run for his life.
The Little Knight quickly stepped forward to draw the fire, giving Simon a chance to catch his breath.
Simon stood at a distance, gathering Soul Energy to heal his injuries, his gaze fixed on the battle.
Hollow Knight continued to swing his sword unhurriedly; the Little Knight could advance a certain distance using his Shade Cloak, but then, before the shade matter could re-condense, he was forced to retreat step by step by the murky yellow sword light, utterly unable to approach the god-like powerful Hollow Knight.
If Pure Vessel, whose strength had not yet returned to its peak, was already this powerful, then how terrifying must The Radiance be?
Could She truly be defeated?
Or was all their effort futile?
Simon healed his injuries, gripped his Nail with both hands, and brought it to his waist.
The tip of the Nail pointed unmoving at Hollow Knight.
He must interrupt his sword swings.
Gathering qi.
Continue.
Reaching the limit.
Beyond the limit!
The porous mask gushed with chilling bone-white airflow, emitting a sharp wail.
Like a hundred ghosts crying at night.
Teleport!
"Boom—!"
The air was compressed by the rapidly expanding energy, creating a shockwave.
A white sun descended upon the world.
For a moment.
Light deprived sight, deafening noise deprived hearing, stinging pain deprived touch, scorching heat deprived smell, and the airflow disoriented up and down, left and right.
This extraordinary sword qi attack sent all three flying.
They tumbled in the air current, sometimes scraping the ground, sometimes soaring, like beans in boiling soup.
A massive amount of magical runes appeared on the surface of the great hall to prevent structural damage.
After a long while.
The dust settled.
Simon stood up, panting.
The Little Knight sat dazed on the ground, somewhat disoriented.
And Hollow Knight?
Hollow Knight, who had taken the full force of the blow.
His entire body was still completely unharmed.
The murky yellow cysts receded back into his body.
The Radiance shrieked once again.
Pure Vessel held his Nail inverted, raising it high.
He was still so powerful, like a distant mountain, unreachable.
Inspiring despair.
Simon reluctantly raised his sword.
The Little Knight stood ready.
The next moment.
The Nail entered a body.
But it was into Pure Vessel's own body.
Black blood spurted, transforming into specks of Void particles in the air, dissolving into nothingness.
He was self-harming.
Madly stabbing himself with his Nail.
The hissing sound of spurting blood.
Like a knight's elegy.
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