Chapter 197, Chapter 115 Authority
Ig staggered to his feet, supporting himself with his sword, and climbed up from the shattered ground. Duke Oran walked forward, dragging his sword, creating a sharp, piercing sound across the land. With every step he took, the already overburdened ground trembled.
Vast cracks spread. Suddenly, the blood sword emanated a cold, bright light. Even the colorless void shattered like dawn under the sword light. Ig, pressing End onto his chest, also drew out a sword style with extreme speed.
“Flowing Light Sky Chasm!”
Ig was repelled by the colossal sword momentum.
Ig got up, his right hand pressing on his chest, and coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood. However, the injuries he sustained did not exceed his body’s capacity—he clearly perceived that the power he could barely withstand had been shattered into pieces by the sword intent contained within before it even collided with his body.
This felt less like a battle and more like a casual trial, a sword technique lesson, or perhaps it was precisely that.
But Ig’s peripheral vision landed on the edge of the shattered world.
He had always known that this fragile world was constantly collapsing. During the recent impact, countless spaces had an nihilated into dust… and in the void enveloping it, deathly still storms formed by various sharp and strange fragments were constantly devouring this “City of Blood” whose power was rapidly being drained.
“You can tell.”
Duke Oran’s voice echoed, followed by a solemn sword light descending. Ig gritted his teeth, not choosing to retreat again, but instead stepping forward to face the sword light’s slash.
Ig knew that if he only dodged, no matter how quickly his sword skill improved, he would never catch up to this old monster from a hundred years ago. Even if Duke Oran didn’t intend to kill him, falling into the void, let alone for a weakling like him who was only Bronze, would be a dead end even for someone as strong as a Saint Rank.
The sword light exploded with a roar. Suddenly, a diagonal sword cut lit up the ruins, which then split into two pieces. Ig stomped on the ground and leaped out. In a mere instant, countless tiny wounds were inflicted on the youth’s body. Even with his incredibly fast recovery rate, blood continued to drip.
But in the next moment, the blood light from End’s cut appeared before the swordsman.
With a clang of swords colliding, Ig’s arm shook. End held back the descending blood blade, his azure blue eyes directly meeting Duke Oran’s blood-red pupils, as if he were a blood-colored demon king.
“Imitating my sword intent, Lotte’s successor. This is what you should be doing…”
Before Oran could finish his words, Ig swung End back, knocking away the sword edge.
“Senior Oran, you don’t believe I can defeat you.”
A straight sword jab was almost at the swordsman’s throat, but it was instantly shattered by the cold light emanating from the blood sword. Ig’s eyes showed no change in expression. End, which had been descending, was abruptly pulled back up.
Duke Oran showed a look of surprise. The blood sword in his hand, its sharp blade pressing against End, made a crisp metallic clashing sound.
Dazzling sword techniques erupted from End, the dense traces of sword light forming a continuous expanse; however, the opposing swordsman’s response was even more perfect. With every swing, a sword light was cleaved, and the overflowing sword qi continuously pierced Ig’s defenses, causing blood to flow from his body.
Although Ig was on the offensive, the situation on the field seemed as if he were being suppressed. The swordsmanship displayed by the ancient swordsman was far above anyone Ig had ever seen. Even as his own swordsmanship was constantly being honed, the distance between them felt like a chasm.
With Duke Oran’s attacks, and even his deliberate exhibitions, even if Ig could continuously learn and imitate his sword techniques, the level of legendary sword arts was far beyond what he could easily reach.
This was why Ig had spoken those words earlier, and it was also the truth.
How could he defeat Duke Oran by simply imitating the sword techniques learned from him, before surpassing them?
A drop of blood was severed by the sword blade, then fell in an arc in mid-air.
Constant injuries and fatigue threw Ig’s breathing off balance. Cold sweat streamed down his face, mixing with the blood to dampen his black clothes, but he did not give up his attack. The hand gripping the sword hilt remained steady and strong as he suddenly drew and slashed his sword.
Duke Oran narrowed his eyes. The sword techniques displayed by End became increasingly aggressive, like a dark, oppressive storm converging, pressing down without regard for his own safety.
“Kid, just this won’t be enough to defeat me—”
As the end of Duke Oran’s sentence echoed in the air, suddenly, the black-haired youth’s pupils lifted to meet his gaze. In his azure blue eyes, calm and rationality converged, unblemished by ripples. The sword momentum of End in Ig’s hand suddenly paused.
A hint of surprise appeared in Duke Oran’s blood-dyed eyes. The black-haired youth swung End back and down.
“Flowing Light Sky Chasm,” “Pulling the Sun and Moon”——
Sword slashes cloaked in white light were imprinted in the air. The dark, oppressive sword technique storm was instantly swept away, replaced by a straight, bright sword thrust.
Bang!
The violent sound of colliding blades could not be obscured even by the overflowing flowing light. Ig’s expression was calm. In the instant the sword blades halted, his activated talent, Appraisal, forcefully deduced hundreds of thousands of times, consuming the spirit of a star, and pinpointed a narrow gap in Duke Oran’s sword technique.
The blade of End once again shone with brilliant light. Under an entirely different sword technique, the magnificent radiance carried by the diagonally slanted sword edge poured in like a sea of stars.
“Starflow Sword Qi Slash!”
A brilliant sword light, comparable to a galaxy, poured out in an instant, forcefully breaking through Duke Oran’s defense. The swordsman of blood stepped back before the overwhelming sword light, his metal combat boots sinking into the ground, and cracks spreading out.
“You want to defeat me using Lotte’s sword techniques? Heh, your idea is quite good, and it should have succeeded—”
Duke Oran’s blood-silk-like long hair swayed and flew, revealing his face. However, he still did not unleash the power of blood, merely raising his pair of blood-light-overflowing eyes.
End, carrying the brilliant sword light, fell in mid-air. However, space seemed to solidify at this moment, as if sliced apart from the intact world as if by a sharp blade.
Then, following Duke Oran’s gaze, the descending will touched the sword technique swung by End, cutting it easily as if it were a thin piece of paper.
Authority!
Ig grunted, but the term suddenly flashed in his mind. At the same moment, under the star-like sword light that had disintegrated into mere afterimages, Duke Oran took a step forward. The ground before him was all cut into pieces simultaneously. The raised sword blade transformed into a blinding line and slashed down.
Ig hastily held End in front of him to block. The immense force of the sharp sword edge collided, and countless sharp, piercing wills almost simultaneously permeated his body.
But before his consciousness could even register the pain, the colossal force released between the two swords sent Ig flying dozens of meters away, slamming heavily onto the ground.
————
It’s almost over. I’ll try to finish this volume within a few chapters…
