CHAPTER 1540: CHAPTER 326 NELLIE’S ATTACK

Pannis stared intently at the knight’s spear embedded where he had just been standing, his temple muscles twitching as he forced a stiff smile onto his face, though he looked uglier than if he’d been crying. His rich combat experience allowed him to instantly discern the speed of the knight’s spear, which was off the charts compared to the limits of strength he remembered Nellie possessing; it could only be described as terrifying. Just one spear thrust had made it abundantly clear to Pannis that Nellie’s attack speed was now well beyond his own. Had he not anticipated the attack in advance, dodging it would have been nearly impossible, and the sharp knight’s spear would have pinned him to the ground like a bug nailed to a board. As for the power carried by the knight’s spear, Pannis couldn’t be certain—nor did he wish to be—since only a fool would want to verify such a thing with his own body; however, the transient visual distortion left in the space once cut by the spear was clue enough.

"It would explode, wouldn’t it? If it hit an ordinary person, they would surely be blasted to pieces by its tremendous force." Pannis’s smile became even more rigid, as sweat beaded on his forehead, and he let out a strained chuckle, "I feel, there isn’t such a deep animosity between us, ha, ha, ha. You could be gentler, really you could."

There was no response. Nellie, gripping her knight’s spear, maintained the pose she’d taken when her spear had struck the earth, standing motionless like a statue.

"Phew, that’s good, that’s good, just don’t move a muscle," Pannis sighed in relief, immediately retracting the Bow of Release in his hand and casually sliding the Hunting Arrow into his belt. Stealing a glance at the still and silent Nellie, Pannis quietly took a step back, but then his expression turned to one of near sobbing, for the moment he stepped back, the erstwhile statue-like Nellie suddenly turned her head, her icy gaze locking back onto his face. Cold sweat formed on Pannis’s forehead as he swallowed hard and said in a hoarse voice, "That... that was just your imagination, really just an illusion, I’m not lying. Honestly, I haven’t moved at all, don’t believe me? Look at my legs, they’re in the exact same position as before... um, you didn’t see my position just now, did you?"

Following Pannis’s gaze, Nellie’s indifference shifted to his legs, which were clearly in a different position from before, and then back to Pannis’s face. Her expression unchanged, it was unclear if she comprehended what Pannis had said.

"Ha, ha, ha, it’s actually a misunderstanding," Pannis continued, his poor attempt at lying so transparent he didn’t even seem inclined to retract it. He persisted with his forced smile, his eyes shifty as he said, "Sometimes your eyes can deceive you—you think I moved, but I didn’t. It’s just an illusion brought on by your eyes, even if... oh, damn."

Once more, before Nellie could act, Pannis had vacated the spot, and Nellie’s knight’s spear shot through the afterimage he left behind. This time, however, the spear did not plunge into the ground, but hovered in midair, its tip flickering with cold light that sent shivers down one’s spine.

"Cough, cough, this attack, it was aimed at the heart, you know? That’s very dangerous," said Pannis, holding his heart with a lingering fear in his voice. "You see, the air here is fresh, the scenery stunning, and the environment simply exquisite—not at all a suitable place for a battle. How about we show some civility, too? You put down your weapon first and then we can elegantly settle this with a game of rock-paper-scissors... Hey!"

What resounded around him, aside from the piercing whistles of the lance tearing through the air, were also the sounds of fabric ripping. By the time Pannis reappeared in the distance, a piece of his sleeve had been torn, but fortunately, no blood was spilled. Pannis glanced at the tear on his sleeve with dissatisfaction and said, "Don’t go too far. Just because I’m dodging doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you. If you keep this up, I’ll have to fight back. I’m warning you—you... you’re coming at me again?"

This time Pannis didn’t dodge. The one-handed sword had somehow made it into his hand, precisely intercepting the long lance. As he had anticipated, the lance contained enormous power; despite his skillful block, the sheer force still numbed his entire arm. Furthermore, Pannis could no longer afford to talk nonsense. Perhaps because this was a close-range block, Nellie did not pause as she had done in the previous attacks. Instead, she used the momentum from the charge, her left shoulder leading, and crashed directly into Pannis’s chest.

Pannis’s expression grew even grimmer. Charging was one of the most basic skills of a knight, simple yet powerful. He had witnessed Nellie easily shatter solid rock with that skill when her body had not yet transformed into the Divine Body. Now, he feared that even metal of the same volume might not withstand Nellie’s impact. Pannis had no interest in comparing hardness with rock or metal, and even if his own body was harder than metal, he found no pleasure in such comparisons. So before the collision could reach him, he twisted his wrist and the hilt of his sword gently touched Nellie’s shoulder. His body took advantage of her momentum, floating backward like a drifting cloud.

But Nellie, as if she had locked onto Pannis, left him no chance to breathe. Just as the distance was about to increase, her lance drew a subtle arc, stabbing again toward Pannis’s chest. The nearly four-meter-long lance amplified Nellie’s attack range several times. Pannis’s retreat was swift, yet it was still not faster than the lance which could nearly tear through space. The unobstructed lance thrust forward, closing in on Pannis, while Pannis had already reached the limit of his speed, and it seemed nearly impossible to accelerate further. For a moment, it looked as though he had no other option to avoid harm other than to block. However, his one-handed sword had just been shaken off its intended path due to leveraging against Nellie’s shoulder and was in no position to return for a defense. Pannis could only watch as the lance drew ever closer to his chest.

However, Pannis was, after all, Pannis. Anyone who had battled him knew better than to predict his next move. He always found unexpected methods to change the rhythm of the fight, reversing the outcome of battles. Of course, this time was no exception. Just as the lance was about to pierce him, Pannis’s body suddenly dropped, letting the lance graze above his shoulder and neck.

Yes, his body sank as if submerging into water, allowing him to avoid Nellie’s pursuit.