Bab 1286: -1270- Fight
"Ugh...! Cough...!"
From Ikki's throat came the most painful and heavy groan he had ever uttered.
Altera's ruthless strike had severely wounded Ikki, who couldn't avoid it in time.
A ghastly wound extended from Ikki's shoulder to his side, causing a massive amount of blood to gush out.
This was undoubtedly a fatal wound.
"Zeng..."
The azure flame-like glow on Ikki's body vanished instantly.
"Thud..."
With a muffled sound, Ikki's body could no longer hold itself up and slowly collapsed.
Blood stained the ground beneath Ikki, spreading outward from his body like a pool of blood.
"Onii-sama!"
Seeing this, Shizuku could no longer hold back and rushed over.
This time, Rozen did not stop her, allowing Shizuku and the others to pass by him and run towards Ikki.
As for Rozen, he silently made a talisman appear in his hand.
"Order..."
In a low chant, Rozen quietly released the talisman, which seemed to disappear the moment it was launched.
However, on the fallen Ikki's body, a faint green glow began to shimmer.
Using the jutsu of invisibility, Rozen concealed the healing talisman, allowing it to secretly adhere to Ikki's body and heal him.
Unaware of this, Shizuku frantically rushed to Ikki, who had fallen before Artilla.
"Onii-sama...! Onii-sama...!"
Shizuku, fighting back panic, placed her small hands on Ikki, causing her hands to ripple with magical power.
Generally speaking, water mages could release healing powers, as the human body is primarily composed of water. If one could freely manipulate the water in the body, achieving a healing effect would not be difficult, and theoretically, even miracles like resurrection could be possible.
Although Shizuku couldn't reach that level yet, with her A-rank mana control, she was still capable of basic healing magic, enough to treat some injuries without any problems.
Of course, Shizuku couldn't heal fatal wounds, which is why she was so panicked.
What Shizuku didn't know was that it wasn't just her efforts at work; the invisible healing talisman was also taking effect.
With both working together, Ikki finally coughed several times and began to move.
"Onii-sama...!"
Shizuku cried tears of joy.
"Ugh..."
Ikki could only let out a pained groan.
In this situation...
"This is your current limit."
Altera spoke coldly to Ikki, who lay in a pool of blood.
"Your swordsmanship is superior, and your realm is higher, but you are not skilled in combat."
Indeed.
In Altera's eyes, Ikki was someone not adept at combat.
"Your sword doesn't exist for battle." Altera said indifferently, "But I am a warrior, so you are no match for me."
This was the only thing Altera could express.
In China, there is the parable of "Butcher Ding dissects an ox."
It refers to a chef who, through persistent repetition of dissecting oxen for years, honed an extremely skillful butchering technique. Despite being a chef, his butcher knife seemed to wield the most exquisite swordsmanship, dissecting an entire ox with precision.
This is the so-called mastery through practice.
One does not need advanced swordsmanship or powerful martial arts; continuous and focused effort on a single task ultimately accumulates experience, transforming a butcher into a master swordsman in their own right.
Altera was the same. Without advanced swordsmanship or astonishing techniques, she relied on her innate strength and the relentless killing, trampling, and destroying of enemies on the battlefield.
Thus, even without sophisticated swordsmanship or techniques, she remained a formidable swordsman. Her sword, powerful and formless, could defeat even the most skilled swordsmen.
Of course, the factor of strength was also unavoidable.
Altera's immense power wasn't just due to her combat abilities but also her inherent strength.
For instance, Artilla's stats had reached A-level or even above A-level in all aspects after Rozen resolved the issue of magical power.
Fighting with such extraordinary stats, combined with the swordsmanship honed on the battlefield, naturally made her incredibly strong. Not to mention, Altera also possessed skills.
To put it bluntly, even without considering her anti-world and anti-civilization abilities, Altera could rival or even surpass extraordinary servants like Scáthach and Karna.
Facing such an Altera, Ikki couldn't win even after using Ittou Shura and his seven secret swords.
However, if we only consider their stats, the difference between Ikki, who used Ittou Shura, and Altera wasn't that significant.
After all, Ikki had put everything into the fight, whereas Altera hadn't even used her magical power and had only been swinging her sword with her natural stats.
In this light, Ikki's overwhelming loss to Altera wasn't due to a disparity in stats but rather in their technique and essence.
"Your swordsmanship is exquisite, but sometimes combat doesn't require exquisite techniques. As long as you can truly defeat your opponent, that's enough," Altera said.
Because of this, Ikki couldn't defeat Altera.
In short, although Ikki surpassed Altera in technique and realm, Altera far exceeded Ikki in practicality and combat effectiveness.
Like Rozen, who had also spent years honing his skills in seclusion, his true strength grew significantly through countless real battles during his ten years of traveling in this world.
Ikki was strong in technique, realm, and methods, but true strength requires not only technique and realm but also experience, spirit, and heart.
A true strong person excels in heart, technique, and body.
While Ikki's swordsmanship could rival that of top-tier servants, whether he could actually win against them remained uncertain.
This was what Altera could teach Ikki.
Ikki's technique was sufficient, and his realm was enough; he merely lacked in combat.
"Fight."
Altera declared.
"As long as you keep fighting, you will grow stronger."
Leaving these words, Altera turned around and disappeared like a phantom.
"Wait...!"
Shinguji Kurono and Saikyo Nene wanted to stop Altera, but it was too late.
"Sigh..."
Rozen also sighed as he watched Altera unhesitatingly cancel her materialization.
The scene was left with only Ikki's continuous groans.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone