Greenburg has temporarily escaped the shadow of war, but the tension in the air has not completely dissipated.

The construction of the fortifications continued day and night, with the sounds of hammering and shouts becoming the new background noise.

For Linde, this rare period of "peace" was spent not only inspecting the progress of various fortifications, checking supplies, and comforting the wounded, but also spending his time training with Nix.

A relatively quiet training ground with rammed earth floor inside the castle became their exclusive venue.

Far from the noisy construction site, the only sounds are the mournful whistling of the wind through the crumbling walls, and...

"Meow!"

A clear, delicate shout was accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound.

A petite black figure, like a wisp of smoke, instantly emerged from the shadow of a stone pillar, its two gleaming short blades aimed with deadly precision at Lind's ribs and neck!

Its speed and the angle of attack far exceeded those of ordinary Silver Warriors!

Linde's pupils constricted slightly, and his gold-level reaction speed was pushed to its limit by the faint light of the activation halo.

His body spun at an almost impossible angle, and the unsharpened training sword in his hand turned into a blurry curtain of light.

Ding! Ding!

Two crisp metallic clangs rang out almost simultaneously. Linde precisely parried the short blade aimed at his ribs, but the strike aimed at his neck barely grazed the tip of the blade, sending sparks flying!

The cold, sharp blade grazed his skin, raising a small patch of goosebumps.

The shadowy figure, having missed its target, retreated without hesitation, like a startled fish, instantly disappearing into the narrow shadow cast by the sunlight beneath Linde's feet.

"Tsk!"

Linde shook his wrist, which was still a little numb from the shock, but his eyes were full of admiration.

"Come out, Nix. This angle... even I almost got hit."

Hehe~

A smug and playful chuckle came from the shadow of a flagpole not far behind Linde.

Nix "flowed" out like mercury, landing lightly on the ground without making a sound.

She tossed her short black hair, her pointed cat ears trembling slightly with excitement, her large amber eyes sparkling as she looked at Lind, and fine beads of sweat glistening on the tip of her small nose.

"I feel like I can 'swim' faster in the shadows lately, meow! And I think I'm a little stronger too, meow?"

She bent her arm as if to show off, trying to display non-existent biceps.

Linde stepped forward and habitually rubbed her wonderfully soft head, causing Nix to squint her eyes comfortably and make a gurgling sound in her throat.

"The progress has indeed been significant."

Linde sincerely praised it.

"Especially the timing of using environmental shadows for surprise attacks and retreats is getting better and better. Those two blows just now, if they were from an ordinary bronze warrior, would have been seriously injured even if they weren't killed."

He then changed the subject, his tone becoming increasingly veiled, as if testing the speaker:

"However, regarding strength..."

Linde suddenly made a move, as fast as lightning, and struck Nix's shoulder with a palm, controlling the force to the level of a peak Silver rank.

Nix reacted extremely quickly, instinctively slouching and twisting her body, while faint shadowy ripples seemed to ripple across her body surface, attempting to deflect the force.

But she is not a power-type athlete after all.

"Hmm!"

Nix let out a muffled groan, staggered back two steps after being struck by Lind's palm, and her face turned a little red from the force of the blow.

"Ouch... Sir, you're cheating, meow!"

She rubbed her shoulders and complained, feeling wronged.

Linde withdrew his hand, understanding dawning on him.

"Your strength is stable at the silver level under normal circumstances, which is already quite good."

Lind analyzed.

"When you merge into the shadows or launch an attack from within them, your power experiences a brief boost, roughly touching the threshold of the Gold level. It's very short-lived and puts a significant strain on the body. As for Gold-level power..."

He shook his head.

"We're still far from it; it's a qualitative difference. Head-on confrontation isn't your style."

"I know, meow!"

Nix pouted, but she wasn't discouraged.

"I don't want to compete with those big guys in strength, meow! I want to be like a shadow, elusive from them, and then... swish swish!"

She made a throat-slitting gesture with a fierce expression, but because of her cute face, it didn't seem intimidating at all; instead, it looked a bit comical.

Lind couldn't help but laugh.

Nix's combat talent is indeed astonishing, especially her use of shadow power, which seems to be an innate instinct.

This unpredictable ability makes them natural scouts and assassins, no matter where they are.

He is already considering how to better integrate her abilities into future tactical systems.

"Very good, keep this line of thinking."

Linde raised his training sword again.

"Remember, your strengths are stealth, speed, and unexpected angles."

Strength is merely an auxiliary force, used to ensure that your fatal blow can break through defenses.

Again! This time, try using my shadow to immediately teleport in another direction after your initial attack and launch a second attack. Don't linger!

"I understand, meow!"

Nix's eyes sharpened, and her figure blurred again, silently slipping into the shadow of a low wall beside her, as if she had never been there.

Only a faint, lingering scent of felines in the air hinted at the lurking danger.

Linde focused his mind and calmed his nerves. His gold-level perception spread out like an invisible spider web, capturing the most subtle fluctuations in the surrounding shadows.

During practice, Linde did not use the vision provided by the activation aura, since the system was still too cheating in some ways.

Linde himself also harbored the idea of ​​strengthening his own abilities outside of the system.

On the training field, two figures, one tall and one short, moved again, their sword shadows and blade flashes intertwining, accompanied by the girl's clear shouts and the sharp sound of blades cutting through the air, as well as... the occasional "meow" sound mixed in with a hint of coquetry.

This brief moment of tranquility on the edge of the bloody battlefield, and the vibrant training, became a rare bright spot in the somber atmosphere of Grinburg.

Lind knew that Nix's rapid growth might become an unexpected trump card in the upcoming confrontation with the Orcs and possibly the reappearance of the Shadow Abyss forces.

At that moment, listening to the energetic "meows," his tense nerves seemed to find some relief.

The noise from the training ground gradually subsided, leaving only the low murmur of the wind whistling through the broken walls and ruins.

With a swift movement, Nix flipped over, like an ink droplet thrown into water, silently disappearing into the shadows at Lind's feet, which appeared exceptionally deep due to the elongated shadows cast by the setting sun.

Linden could clearly feel that familiar, slightly lazy warmth curled up in the shadows, accompanied by a soft, contented gurgling sound, like a warm stove that he carried with him.

"If you're tired, take a good rest."

Linde said something in a low voice, and the shadow beneath his feet swayed almost imperceptibly, as if in response.

He straightened his slightly wrinkled clothes from training and stepped out of the quiet corner.