This strategy was very straightforward and simple, and it is to focus on Defence

  Just try to survive the last blow and live longer than the NPC

  There is no need to keep clashing head-on with it as he usually did and then perishing together

  This sounds very simple but it is actually challenging to realize, as that last blow isn't easy to defend or dodge

  But sadly there was no other way other than this, as all of the offensive possibilities were dug up by the NPC and there was no possible way to further improve on them without creating a new technique or ability

  But doing so will just make Lorien's life worse as the NPC will just copy it

  Thankfully though, not all doors are shut, as contrary to offense, Lorien could tell that the NPCs didn't evolve and uncover the full potential of defense, or at least that's what he believes

  This may have been because they were the ones that were mostly on the attacking end and they followed the strategy of 'The best defense is a good offense'

  This is not to say that their defensive capabilities are lacking, as that is far from correct

  If it's just normal defense then yes, the NPCs have developed it to the peak

  But what Lorien wants to do now is see if he could use the method of burning lifespan for defense and maybe add some other 'things' to it if possible

  He knew that this would be difficult, as different from 'offense' where all he need to do is control all the new energy and release it

  Defense needs much more precise control as not only does he need to control the 'new' power gained from burning lifespan

  He also needs to control and divert the force coming from the opponent's attacks which makes things much more complicated

  So with this in mind, he started experimenting, he focused on finding ways to better defend, parry, and rebound attacks while keeping control of his power and not letting it backlash

  Thinking back to this, Lorien's mind wandered to the battle a month ago, a smile appearing on his face as he remembered how he had finally succeeded

  .

  .

  .

  Inside a forest

  The gentle breeze blew past the trees causing their crowns to shake lightly

  The sound of leaves rustling sounded alongside the singing of birds

  Animals and insects echoed back here and there announcing their presence

  But suddenly a loud noise broke this natural and relaxing atmosphere

  *Clash*

  *Swish*

  *Cliing*

  Between the trees, two figures could be seen battling at incredible speeds

  Golden sword trails kept appearing and clashing everywhere causing a loud yet crisp noise to reverb

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  This continued for a while until a *Cling* louder than usual sounded

  Following that, both shadows jumped back distancing themselves from their opponent

  Neither of the two looked okay, their clothes were torn, and bloody wounds were visible everywhere on their bodies

  Looking at the 'Final BOSS' in front of him Lorien ignored the pain he was currently feeling and focused all on it as he knew that the 'final blow' is coming

  It is really thanks to his long time fighting those NPCs that he could ignore the pain

  Otherwise, it would have been funny if he just started screaming in pain right now like he did when he first started his training

  His attention still on the NPC, Lorien's eyes suddenly shrunk as he saw it hold its sword above its head, as a desperate and frantic 'aura' then permeated the air

  Feeling the exponential increase in the NPC's power and the Desolate 'aura' accompanying it, Lorien didn't waste any time and imidiatly started burning his lifespan and stamina

  Having used this 'technique' for so long Lorien already gave it a name, and it is [Limit Burst]

  And just as he used it, the NPC in front of him abruptly struck forward with its sword toward Lorien

  This blow was dazzling, bursting with all of its energy and life in one strike

  The golden blade instantly pierced through the air leaving a golden trail behind

  In an amazing feat of control and skill, all this power was condensed on the edge blade itself, none of it getting leaked or wasted

  In a flash, the slash arrived in front of Lorien seeking to cut him apart

  Thankfully this is not the first time he faced this attack, so he had time to react as he had already started burning his life span the moment the NPC did

  Just as the Sword was about to connect Lorien raised his own sword instantly blocking it

  Having only burned 90% of his lifespan opposite the NPC's full 100%, Lorien's power was inferior

  But he was ready for this, as he's been waiting for this moment and training for it for a long time

  The moment their swords clashed Lorien immediately redirected most of the power into the earth under his feet

  *Boom*

  This caused the floor in a 100m radius to imidiatly crack and the upper layer to turn into powder

  Clenching his teeth, some blood seeping through the corner of his mouth, Lorien endured the pain caused by redirecting all of this force through his body

  He knew this wasnt enough as other than the brute force behind the slash he needed to also diverted the sharp power of the slash itself

  So by shifting his sword a bit to the side, the slash immediately continued on its course

  *Swish*

  Following the noise and the flash of golden light caused by the sword trail, a long 200m gully instantly appeared

  Having been successful in defending until now Lorien didn't waste any time as he knew that it is time now for the counter-attack

  So by taking advantage of the remaining force Lorien relaxed his body allowing it to be launched back

  As soon as he was in the air he immediately did a back flip before landing on his feet not far away

  Having done all of this Lorien knew that he had finally succeeded in defending this attack

  All that happened just now may seem very simple and easy

  But only he knew how much training he actually had to do to be able to accurately divert and control such power without killing himself in the process

  But that wasnt the point now as Lorien knew that the NPC was now in its final moment and even if he didn't do anything it would die

  And having trained for so long to beat it he didn't want the battle to end like that

  Having already burned 90% of his life span he continued burning 5 more percent to gain more energy for this last attack

  Ignoring the traffic state of his body caused by burning his life span, and defending against the attack

  Lorien used the new-found strength made by burning his life and slashed forward

  Disappearing from his position, the earth under his feet cracked in the process as Golden Sword Trail flashed in air

  All of this happened in an instant

  The NPC that had just attacked was already exhausted and it couldn't even defend itself

  *Swish*

  Following this sound, Lorien appeared again behind the 'Final BOSS' who just stood there still in a slashing posture, a bloody line appearing in the middle of its body

  This line quickly expanded from bottom to top before the NPC's body suddenly separated into two sections down the middle

  As for Lorien who had just won his body swayed for a moment before he fall to the floor with a *Thud*

  His vision was blurry, the insides of his body were in shambles, blood seeped through the wounds on his body falling on the floor

  But even in this state, he was smiling happily

  The reason he was so happy was that even though his state was very bad he could still survive if healed appropriatly, which means that he had fully won

  "Hahahaha! I Finally Won"

  Following this declaration everything around suddenly blurred and twisted for a moment before it was restored

  The damaged forest was back to normal, and all the damage caused by the battle disappeared from existence

  As for Lorien, he was also restored to his full state, not even a scratch was on his body

  .

  .

  .