Falsely Accused, I Started Plundering Monster Traits

A chill ran through Lin Yan’s crotch, and the foot he’d been about to step forward with stopped as well.

Even when that last arrow had come straight for his face, he hadn’t felt this much pressure. If it was aimed at his head, he could dodge without a second thought. But now, just thinking about exactly where that arrow was pointed had his stress levels going through the roof.

Fuck. Why does this thing feel more threatening than an arrow aimed at my head?

Nadir had clearly noticed that too. He was in no hurry now, keeping his eyes on Lin Yan as he slowly backed toward the other weapon that had been knocked against the wall. At the doorway, Sahir kept his bow fully drawn, the arrowhead shifting slightly with every movement Lin Yan made. With one of them near and the other far, Lin Yan couldn’t make a careless move.

Just then, the system’s voice suddenly sounded in his head.

[I told you from the start. It was a defect.]

The corner of Lin Yan’s eye twitched.

Before this, he would’ve already started arguing with the system over how the hell that was supposed to count as a defect.

But now...

Looking at that arrow in the distance, maybe it really was a defect after all.

In those few seconds, Nadir had reached the wall and bent down to retrieve the curved blade that had been knocked away. With a light flick of his wrist, the blade rolled once along his palm, its edge tracing a brief arc of light before settling firmly back into his grip.

He raised his head again, his gaze crossing the open space between them and settling on Lin Yan. Then he slowly lifted one of his curved blades, the tip cutting through the air between them until it pointed straight at him.

The motion was smooth, every bit the work of a master—casual and unhurried, yet the provocation behind it couldn’t have been any clearer.

Lin Yan stared at the blade pointed directly at him. The corners of his mouth slowly pulled apart until he actually let out a dry laugh in irritation.

He had only ever used that kind of gesture once before—pointing a weapon at someone and plainly telling them to come at him. That had been against Gorok.

And now here he was, having the exact same gesture thrown right back in his face.

Lin Yan tightened his grip on the longsword. The smile gradually disappeared from his face, and his voice sank with it.

"Fine."

"You’ve got guts."

The instant the words left his mouth, Lin Yan exploded into motion, darting diagonally forward first.

Whoosh—!

The arrow tore through the spot where he’d been standing.

The moment his foot touched down, Lin Yan drove off again, cutting toward Nadir as the longsword came down from his shoulder with the momentum of his charge.

Nadir moved exactly as he had before.

One curved blade rose in advance, actively meeting the descending sword.

Lin Yan’s eyes shifted slightly.

Again?

The thought had barely surfaced before he held back part of his strength.

After what had happened last time, there was no way Nadir didn’t understand that the difference in raw strength between them was something technique simply couldn’t take head-on. A blade master of this caliber would never fall into the same trap twice.

This move had to be bait.

Lin Yan brought the sword down anyway, but held enough in reserve to pull the strike if he needed to. In terms of technique, he was definitely a step behind. But in strength, speed, and reaction, he held the absolute advantage—and that gave him far more room for error than his opponent.

The two weapons came into contact.

The collision Lin Yan expected never came.

Nadir’s curved blade slid down with the falling longsword, staying tight against its blade as though he had completely given up on stopping the strike.

Then his wrist turned ever so slightly.

The curved blade rolled around the longsword, its edge emerging from the other side and curling straight toward Lin Yan’s sword arm.

At almost the exact same moment, Nadir’s other hand moved.

The second curved blade shot straight out from his side. There was no wasted swing, its slender tip taking the shortest possible line toward the side of Lin Yan’s neck.

Two hands. Two directions.

One bound up his weapon and flowed straight into a cut at his arm.

The other went straight for the kill.

Both movements unfolded in the same instant.

Only then did Lin Yan realize that he had still fallen into Nadir’s trap.

That earlier intercepting posture had been a feint from the very beginning.

A blade master of this caliber would never make the same mistake twice. After their first clash, Nadir had already completely abandoned the idea of meeting Lin Yan head-on.

This time, what he was exploiting was precisely Lin Yan’s intention to use his superior strength to overwhelm him again.

By deliberately taking the same intercepting stance as before, Nadir had lured Lin Yan into feeding the strike straight into the blade path he had prepared.

The curved blade curling toward his arm had already cleared the longsword, while the other blade was closing in on his neck.

Should I retreat?

Backing away was unquestionably the safest choice.

The strength he had deliberately held in reserve was meant for exactly this kind of situation. With one explosive push from his legs, he could pull himself clear before the two curved blades closed in and open the distance again.

But...

That’s how a loser thinks.

Lin Yan let go.

The longsword dropped from his hand. The curved blade that had been winding around it toward his arm lost the line it had been riding and was carried downward along with the falling weapon.

The other blade was already at his neck.

Lin Yan snapped his head aside and twisted his body. His neck barely slipped clear of the edge, but his feet never gave an inch.

Shhk—!

The curved blade skimmed past the side of his neck, slicing open a gash where his neck met his shoulder.

The burning pain had barely registered before Lin Yan was already pressing forward with the same twisting motion.

They had already been fighting well inside close range. With that final push, Lin Yan erased what little room remained between them.

Both of Nadir’s arms were extended forward now. One blade had been dragged downward, while the other was still pressed against Lin Yan’s chest. The two curved blades that could weave and change angles even in tight spaces had now been forced into a range where there was no room left to open them back up.

Lin Yan raised his head.

Their faces were close enough to read the look in each other’s eyes.

And Lin Yan caught the flash of shock in Nadir’s gaze.

The corners of his mouth slowly lifted.

Finally.

Now they were in territory he knew.

Technique. Timing. Finesse...

All of it was just a way for the weak to make up for what they lacked in strength.

The strong only had to crush straight through.

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