I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

"Oh Sun! He actually split a bullet with his sword?!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed in amazement.

"Damn! How is that possible?!"

Ford, frustrated and perturbed, retreated and hurriedly pulled out ammunition to load into his firearm.

Wood took a quick step forward, raised his long sword, and fiercely slashed down.

Clang!!

A shrill metallic clash rang out.

A look of shock crossed Wood's face.

He felt a numbness in the palms of his hands and looked down to see a plain short sword that had appeared at some point, blocking his long sword.

"Alright, let's stop here."

A calm voice sounded.

"Mr. Charles, you..."

Wood looked in shock toward the newcomer, recognizing him as Charles, the club owner.

Although he knew in his heart that Mr. Charles was a master of swordsmanship, he had not expected that the other could appear beside him so suddenly, and then with only one hand block the furious slash he had made with both hands.

"Bastard!"

Ford finally loaded his ammunition, his face contorted with ferocity as he lifted his firearm and aimed at Wood, ready to pull the trigger.

That sword strike truly had frightened him.

He thought he was about to be beheaded!

He must strike back!

Clang—!

A flash of sword light swept by, and Ford was stunned to see that the firearm in his hands had been split into two sections, and his index finger had also vanished.

"Ah! Ahhh!!"

Pain surged, and Ford clutched his severed finger, dropping to his knees.

Blood sprayed and he cried out in pain, his face turning red.

Smack!

Bales casually waved his hand, and the blade of the short sword slapped across his face, making a dull sound.

Ford collapsed unconscious in response.

"Get someone to inform them, and while you're at it, throw him out."

Bales instructed softly, and Wood nodded in agreement.

"Marlowe should pack up and leave as well."

The slender man froze for a moment, then his face showed regret. He had not even begun to speak before Wood pushed him out.

The commotion thus subsided, but the bystanders did not disperse.

"Hey, Mr. Charles really is a master of swordsmanship... Did you see? He effortlessly blocked Wood's strike and even split that guy's firearm, knocking him unconscious. So fast, I didn't catch it!"

Xibert chattered nonstop beside Chen Lun, his eyes filled with admiration.

Then, in a probing tone, he started:

"Just now, Mr. Jack... did you use a staff to block a bullet?"

Chen Lun looked surprised and shook his head with a smile.

"You saw wrong, Mr. Xibert."

"Is that so...?"

Xibert frowned, yet he was sure he hadn't been mistaken.

This black-haired young man was definitely no ordinary individual!

"Mr. Charles! Since you're here, why not teach us some swordsmanship?"

A guest spoke up.

The news that owner Charles was skilled in swordsmanship was known to many of the club's clients.

As someone spoke up, more voices of supplication followed:

"Yes, Mr. Charles, I'm a great admirer of yours! It was such a pity you didn't participate in the last swordsmanship exchange!"

"...Why not just teach us a few moves, Mr. Charles?"

The chorus of agreement grew louder, and Bales looked at them calmly.

Then he thought of something and nodded slightly.

"Well, alright..."
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The crowd began to cheer.

Bales scanned the room, finally settling his gaze on a tall young man in a black suit.

"Why don't we have this gentleman as the sparring guide?"

"Mr. Jack, here's a long sword for you to use!"

Xibert, looking very pleased, immediately handed over his own long sword.

He also wanted to see if this Mr. Jack was hiding some skills.

Chen Lun glanced at Bales, uncertain of his intentions. But since the "Dark Knight" himself had asked, he obliged to give him that much respect.

"Thank you, Mr. Xibert."

Chen Lun took the long sword, responding with a polite smile.

Then, under the envious gaze of the crowd, he slowly stepped forward,

leaning his silver staff against the wall before turning to face Bales.

"Mr. Charles, what would you like me to do?"

he asked.

Bales looked at him calmly and then replied:

"It's simple, you just need to attack me."

"Oh?"

A trace of surprise flickered in Chen Lun's eyes.

Although Bales was a "Sequence Five", he was after all using a mere mortal's body, so why was he confident he could withstand his attack?

"Alright, Mr. Charles, please be careful."

Chen Lun took off his black hat and hung it on the silver staff.

The others, hearing his words, started to chuckle.

Mr. Charles should be careful, it's surprising that this young man could say such a thing…

Clang!!

A loud sound came, startling everyone.

Those who had been whispering jokes stopped abruptly. They looked up and were immediately astounded.

The scene on the ground stunned all the bystanders.

The seemingly not-so-strong black-haired young man was holding a long sword in one hand and slashing at Mr. Charles, who blocked with his shortsword as sparks flew.

This strike seemed surprisingly powerful; even Mr. Charles could not completely withstand it and staggered back several steps, nearly losing his balance.

"!!"

Everyone was shocked.

Suddenly, the black-haired young man launched another fierce attack.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang…!!

The sword light flashed like lightning, too fast for their eyes to catch.

But it was clear to see that Mr. Charles was at a disadvantage!

"Unbelievable!"

Xibert was inwardly astonished.

"Mr. Jack really has more up his sleeve, a low-key master of swordsmanship!"

Swordsmanship instructor Wood, back in the open-air training studio, stood frozen in his tracks as he witnessed this. His eyes were fixed on the figure in the black suit and the sword light he swung.

"How is this possible…?!"

He muttered.

"Even Mr. Charles…!"

Bales made a highly skillful parry, deflecting Chen Lun's powerful and heavy strike.

He again stepped back several steps to release the force and glanced down to see his short sword blade was already dented and pitted.

"I didn't expect you to have such strong physical attributes…"

Bales's tone carried a hint of surprise.

"It seems I underestimated you, Mr. Jack."

He flicked his wrist to send a sword flower, feeling injuries already present in his wrist, arm, and shoulder.

After all, it was just a normal human body, faced with Chen Lun's repeated fierce attacks, and despite his superb skills in unloading force, it was still inevitably subjected to some impact.

"But this, at least, reassures me, you won't easily die under the 'Curse of the Same History' …"

Bales spoke softly.

His voice was very low, only audible to Chen Lun who was closest to him.

"The Same History…?"

As Chen Lun continued the assault, thrusting his long sword straight, Bales chuckled lightly, slicing horizontally with his short sword to knock down the thrust. Then he twisted around the blade of the long sword with his sword's hilt and pushed it away with a twirl.

"Seven years ago, in this club, there was a firearm duel, and two men chose to duel over a verbal dispute… but in the end, both were unharmed, and it was a stray bullet that killed a bystander."

Bales launched a counterattack; his sword wasn't fast, but he was exceedingly tricky, forcing Chen Lun to respond seriously.

"What you just experienced was a 'repetition' of that 'history'... but the curse's intensity isn't very high currently, so it doesn't pose a major threat to you."

Clang! Clang…!

Chen Lun, with a keen eye, saw through Bales's moves and parried the attacks.

'No wonder… my Divination was erroneous, is it because the weight of the Curse of Poison of History is too high...? This indeed is the threat of the 'Same History', tough to defend against!'

Chen Lun thought to himself.

"You have strong physical attributes, but your skills are too crude."

Bales spoke.

"Yes, you are right."

Chen Lun readily admitted this fact.

Although he hadn't used his full strength, all his attribute points had nearly reached the threshold of a low Sequence Transcendent.

Bales, merely using an average human body and handling several interactions with him without losing, already demonstrated his profound mastery of swordsmanship.

Particularly, each chop or thrust from Chen Lun was cleverly deflected or parried by Bales, who even incorporated some counterattacks in the process.

"Although I am not the original master of this body, I also have my understanding of swordsmanship... Maybe I can offer you a little help."

As Bales spoke, he attacked again with his battered short sword.

[Bales Wolf has imparted to you the skill "Knight Swordsmanship (Passive)"! Progress is currently at 5%!]

A notification box popped up in Chen Lun's vision.

He raised his eyebrows.

'Skill transfer?!'

Such opportunities were rare, and unexpectedly, Bales was willing to teach him a skill.

What puzzled Chen Lun was that their level of affection hadn't reached that degree yet.

'But, that doesn't prevent me from learning the skill...'

Clang!

Bales's sword clashed with Chen Lun's again, and while pressing down on the blade, he took the chance to step forward, and used his shoulder to bump Chen Lun, disrupting his attack rhythm.

The demonstration was not over yet.

Bales continued to show a variety of maneuvers like using the hilt to strike, sidestepping with a knee kick, swinging the sword back to jump, and pulling back to dodge, demonstrating evasion and counterattack during sword fight combat.

[Knight Swordsmanship (Passive) progress is now 30%!]

[Knight Swordsmanship (Passive) progress is now 55%!]

[…]

[Knight Swordsmanship (Passive) progress is at 100%!]

[You have successfully mastered the skill "Knight Swordsmanship (Passive)" through the guidance of Bales Wolf's swordsmanship!]

[Knight Swordsmanship LV1 (Passive)]

Skill Description: The combat techniques mastered by Bales Wolf through years of battle, coupled with superb swordsmanship when used with sword-type weapons. It includes attack swordsmanship, defense swordsmanship, counterattack swordsmanship, and combat footwork among other techniques.

As a Moonlight Dark Knight, a single person armed with a sword can be as formidable as an army, possessing overwhelmingly powerful fighting skills that can terrify the enemy!

'This passive skill is strong… This will significantly enhance my regular combat capabilities when using the "Astrolabe Ritual" Silver Sword form!'

Chen Lun's gaze sharpened.

'Add points to the skill, max out the "Knight Swordsmanship"!'