This sight delighted Adrian. This was what he had been hoping for. All his running around was just so he could tire out the leader of the demonic cultivators.
Swinging that huge great sword would certainly take its toll, especially after he was doing it wantonly. He had been observing him since the beginning of the fight. His sword skills were crude and rudimentary at best.
As someone who was a practitioner of swordsmanship, Adrian could point out many flaws in his swordsmanship. There was so much wasted energy and motion. He even speculated that this man had never learnt any swordsmanship at all.
And he was right. This leader of the demonic cultivators hadn't learnt any swordsmanship at all. The reason why he uses a sword is just because he thought it looked cool.
After dodging a large sword slash aimed for his head, Adrian began his counterattack. With a massive burst of speed, he lunged straight forward, attempting to pierce his throat.
This attack surprised the leader of the demonic cultivators. And rightfully so. Before this, Adrian had barely been able to dodge his attacks. Every sidestep and maneuver that Adrian demonstrated was always done at the last second.
This gave him the false sense of illusion that he was cornering Adrian and that it was only a matter of time before he wasn't able to dodge anymore. However, that was also a trap set by Adrian.
Seeing the gleaming sword fast approaching his throat, he panicked. With a last-ditch effort, he was able to deflect the sword away with his sword. However, his hasty parry left him unbalanced.
He had to take a few steps back to be able to keep himself on his feet. His face darkened as he spat out a few words in annoyance.
"Hmph. Are you finally going to fight back?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.
In truth, he was surprised by the power behind Adrian's sword strike. It felt equal to, if not more than, his own. His heart was in turmoil as he could not figure out how this cultivator in the fifth level of the Foundation Establishment realm could match him in strength.
He also began to wonder who he was. He already had a few speculations in his heart given the proximity of their location to Thorne City. However, he couldn't be sure of his guess.
Adrian didn't reply to his taunts and simply dashed towards him, with a speed far greater than before. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of him once again, with his sword hacking down. The demonic cultivator couldn't dodge and had to block again with his sword.
Ding!
A loud metal sound rang out as the two swords clashed against each other. Before he could be happy, another sword light was attacking from his side.
He managed to twist his body at the last moment to avoid the sword piercing into him. However, he couldn't avoid it completely. Blood spurted out as a small gash appeared on his waist.
The leader of the demonic cultivators winced in pain as he leaped backwards in order to put some distance between them. Adrian, however, stuck to him like glue.
He followed his every move and didn't allow him even a single moment's rest. In the blink of an eye, the situation had reversed. The demonic cultivator was the one scrambling to dodge and block now.
The other demonic cultivators, who were initially relaxed and confident, slowly started to feel uneasy. The change in the situation happened too suddenly.
The confidence they had in their leader was diminishing rapidly as they watched him have to go on the defensive against someone four levels lower than him.
Unconsciously, they started to back away. The coachman gripped the reins of the magical beasts tightly while secretly plotting an escape route.
Adrian was relentless in his assault. Even though he could never get a clean hit on his opponent, that didn't deter his assault. It wasn't without its merit. Multiple minor cuts could be seen on the body of the demonic cultivator as he desperately tried to block the assaults.
His dark robes were already dyed red, and his breathing was heavy. His mood was sour, and his face contorted with rage. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he let out a loud roar.
"Damn it! Let's see how you like this."
A large amount of demonic qi billowed out from his body, causing Adrian to momentarily pause his assault and back away. It was clear that this was a last-ditch effort by the demonic cultivator.
The demonic qi quickly condensed around his great sword, making the blade even larger than it already was. With large movements, he swung his sword downwards while yelling.
"Dark Demonic Slash!"
A dark sword light was released by the huge blade that charged towards Adrian at an astonishing speed. Before he knew it, the sword light was already in front of him. Adrian was barely able to dodge by sidestepping.
The sword light crashed into the forest behind him, completely destroying the trees in its path. It continued on for a few hundred meters before it finally dissipated.
Adrian's face turned serious as he stared at the corner of his robe that had come in contact with the sword light. That area looked burnt, and the demonic aura could be seen continuously corroding the fabric.
That was one of the reasons why people hated the demonic cultivators. Their methods were sinister, and their qi was deadly to weaker individuals.
Without hesitation. Adrian cut off that part of the fabric and turned his attention back towards the demonic cultivator. His face was pale, and his breathing was ragged. It was clear that the technique took a heavy toll on him.
'He can probably use it only two more times at most.' Adrian speculated internally. Of course, that was normal. With the qi capacity of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, a few slashes were his maximum.
That was both the advantage and disadvantage of martial skills. Though they had great power, they also demanded a lot of energy in return. An ordinary cultivator, whether orthodox or demonic, could only use it a few times before completely draining their qi.