The first time using "Shadow Deception," the casting animation of the Skill was much longer than Yang Yu had imagined, taking almost two seconds before Yang Yu completed it.
This Skill, like the "Reflective Coating" he had learned, could be applied to any object, possessing great potential.
The trouble was that the Skill required the body to be within a certain range to be effective, leaning more towards close combat.
If it could be combined with ranged attacks, the Skill would bring about more varied tactics, and Yang Yu could even consider teaching Iyas to kite with it.
The holy bird flying in the sky swooped down at Yang Yu.
Yang Yu calmly raised his Shield, adjusting the angle, and swatted the holy bird back toward Sekamens as if playing ping-pong.
His Attack was actually reflected back by Yang Yu, and Sekamens showed no hesitation. He swung his Long Spear, splitting the rebounded bird in two, and charged forward again towards Yang Yu.
The entire movement was fluid like water, without any sign of hesitation, and his heart was not shaken by Yang Yu’s unfamiliar Skill.
"Nice instinct. It seems that in this period, you really have learned quite a lot," Yang Yu said with a smile on his face, finding the strengthening of an NPC to be not such a bad thing.
He just happened to have a few things he wanted to check out.
Generally speaking, if you defeated a certain NPC, you could not gain Experience Value from them again.
But, in many games, for the growth of the protagonist, after defeating certain characters, given some time, those characters would grow stronger just like the protagonist, and then new Experience Value could be gained from them.
Before, when Yang Yu challenged the same opponent repeatedly, he could not gain Experience Value.
But if it involved characters that also had the potential for growth, perhaps he could gain Experience Value from them again.
Now, having defeated Sekamens, he must be more motivated and strive to improve his Level.
If the assumption holds true, Yang Yu could harvest a wave of Experience Value from Sekamens today, and after he improved further, he could reap another large wave of Experience Value from him later.
In that way, Yang Yu could continue the same process, nurturing a few more NPCs with good relationships, and later, when in need of Experience, just call them over for some sparring, greatly harvesting Experience from them to become even stronger.
Yang Yu’s appreciation did not stop Sekamens from closing in. In complete silence, he earnestly approached Yang Yu.
The closer Sekamens got to Yang Yu, the more he noticed Yang Yu’s composure.
That composure, as if no matter how hard he tried, Sekamens could no longer defeat Yang Yu.
The chance he had to defeat Yang Yu was gone for good.
Suppressing the wavering in his heart, Sekamens launched an Attack with his Long Spear. Instead of a thrust, he chose a wide sweeping Attack.
He knew Yang Yu was agile; a broad sweeping Attack could inflict more damage than a pinpoint thrust.
Sekamens’s Attack went from right to left. Yang Yu held the Shield in his left, the sword in his right, and an Attack from left to right would likely be blocked by his Shield, giving Yang Yu a chance to counter.
But an Attack from right to left could effectively seal off Yang Yu’s Shield.
The height of Sekamens’s sweep was also aimed at the midsection of Yang Yu, who would not be able to avoid the Attack by bending at the waist or jumping.
As Sekamens contemplated how he would respond to such an Attack if their positions were switched, Yang Yu still stood in his original spot, immobile as if he hadn’t seen Sekamens’s Long Spear coming.
Would it indeed be so easily successful?
Just as this thought flashed through Sekamens’s mind, Yang Yu suddenly moved.
Unexpectedly, Yang Yu didn’t opt to retreat backward to evade but instead briskly stepped toward Sekamens.
"Could he be planning to clash with me?" Sekamens wore disbelief on his face. For this Attack, he had applied plenty of buffs, and in his opinion, Yang Yu, who obviously favored Defense in his equipment, simply couldn’t meet the condition for a head-on clash...
But Yang Yu fearlessly approached him.
"Could it be, in just a few months, he has changed his combat style?" Sekamens steadied his breath as much as possible. He had already launched his Attack, changing its style was no longer an option.
Whether he missed or successfully hit Yang Yu, it wouldn’t change the outcome.
All he could do now was wait for the result to emerge, react timely, and prepare for the next Attack.
But for Yang Yu, Sekamens no longer had a chance for another Attack.
When Sekamens’s spear blade was less than twenty centimeters away, Yang Yu suddenly half-turned and lashed out with his Shield, employing "Shield Block."
The Shield collided with the Long Spear and "clang," Yang Yu’s Shield completely negated Sekamens’s sweep and even deflected the Long Spear.
Following that, Yang Yu’s sword followed in a spiral, landing a strike on Sekamens’s abdomen.
After the Attack ended, Yang Yu coolly took a step forward away from facing Sekamens, returning to his initial position, and turned to look at a surprised Sekamens.
Cold sweat broke out on Sekamens’s forehead as he gasped for air; a faint scratch remained on the silver-white Armor.
Yang Yu’s recent Attack seemed as if it wanted to drag him into the Abyss, gripping his heart tenaciously.
Yang Yu’s response was too quick and unexpected.
And it mercilessly crushed Sekamens’s confidence.
If Yang Yu had chosen to follow up on his victory just then, Sekamens probably wouldn’t be standing here unscathed.
From just one simple exchange, Sekamens knew that he was no longer on the same level as Yang Yu.
He knew from the start that Yang Yu would unhesitatingly Transcend him, but he never imagined that day would come so swiftly.
The unwillingness lingered in Sekamens’s heart, yet he was powerless to change anything,
"I concede, you win this time."
Having said that, Sekamens dropped the hand that was touching the scratch on his Armor and without looking back, walked to the edge of the Duel Arena.
He needed some time to digest and come to terms with Yang Yu’s recent Attack, and with the fact that he was far inferior to Yang Yu.
Not far from Sekamens, Qi looked completely stupefied and at a loss, unable to accept the outcome.
What on earth just happened? How could it be that with just a simple move, my team leader felt an imminent loss and hastily surrendered?
Damn it, I was counting on my team leader to create an opportunity for me!