Chapter 458

Ayad rubbed his wound with his left hand. The bleeding from his laceration—which extended across his chest to his waist—stopped.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Ayad’s wound, which looked to be healing.

‘I knew it. I didn’t manage to reach all the way inside his body.’

He couldn’t feel the cut of his bone and flesh during the attack.

Ayad had moved his body backward the moment Heavenly Drive had touched him to minimize his injury. He wasn’t bullshitting about his battle experience.

‘However…’

Raon smiled while looking at Ayad’s distorted eyes.

‘The mental shock seems to be huge.’

Raon could feel the wrath from his eyes. Even though he couldn’t agitate him with his words alone, it was starting to be achieved.

“Haa…”

Ayad exhaled a heated breath while raising his bloody left hand.

“I wasn’t careless, but you were more aggressive than I thought.”

He brushed his cheek with the blood on his hand. He was looking even sharper than before despite his already fiery appearance.

“Your luck ends now. There won’t be any more flukes.”

Ayad raised his sword around the level of his waist. His murderous pressure engulfed Raon like a tidal wave, showing that he was going for real.

“Luck? Fluke?”

Raon sneered while meeting Ayad’s eyes.

“The small chance of winning you had disappeared the moment you said that.”

“That’s not up to you to decide!”

Ayad furrowed his brow and kicked the arena.

Whir!

Raon raised the heated Heavenly Drive above his head and increased the Ring of Fire’s output to the maximum.

‘Ayad’s swordsmanship is forged from battle experiences. I can’t be careless against him.’

Ayad had carried out the largest number of missions even before his personality was ruined.

Since his sword was polished through countless battles, his skills had a type of practicality that was different from systematic techniques. He was capable of piercing through his vitals in an instant if Raon was careless.

Whir!

Ayad moved from the center to the left like a bouncing billiard ball and thrust his sword. The blade, shining blue from the blue astral energy, was rushing towards his chest.

Cring!

Raon swung Heavenly Drive down. He was about to push Ayad’s sword back when the trajectory of his sword suddenly changed.

‘He’s quick at changing directions. However…It’s within my predictions.’

The blade rushing towards his chest suddenly bent towards his abdomen. He must’ve been targeting his energy center from the beginning.

Claang!

Raon twisted the wrist holding Heavenly Drive while gaining distance with Supreme Harmony’s Third Step.

The red blade fell in a curve to fend off Ayad’s sword.

Sparkle!

The clash between the extremely powerful astral energies created purple sparks that covered the entire arena.

Raon swung Heavenly Drive once again through the sparks, and Ayad deflected the sparks to continue his assault.

Since they both had plenty of battle experience, they were well aware that it would become even more dangerous for them if they withdrew.

Rumble!

The arena—or rather, the entire great training ground—trembled violently from the frightening clashes.

Clang!

Raon licked his lips while deflecting Ayad’s attack, which was initially targeting his neck but twisted towards his heart.

‘How fiery.’

Ayad had managed to incorporate sharpness and bloodlust into his sword by adding practicality to the principles of power, swiftness, and variation.

Because of that, the ferociousness sent the chill all the way to his bones every time Raon blocked an attack.

“Let’s see how long you can keep defending!”

Ayad made his violent declaration from behind the wall of sparks. The moment Raon focused his senses at the center, a deadly blade emerged from the left.

Whir!

Just as the blade engulfed in astral energy was about to fall upon his shoulder, Raon slashed Heavenly Drive upwards like a salmon swimming against the river.

Claang!

The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat cut through the blue astral energy and created the red trajectory of a dragon in the air.

‘This is my chance.’

Raon had expanded a significant amount of power for that previous surprise attack. It was the perfect opportunity to attack his weak spot.

Rumble!

Raon wrapped his shoulders with Glacier’s coldness and charged towards Ayad through the sparking storm.

“Kuh.”

Ayad furrowed his brow. He was surprised but he still reacted quickly.

He stepped back and slammed his sword down at the speed of lightning.

Cring!

He wasn’t trying to block Heavenly Drive. The aggressive blade was bending towards his wrist.

Unlike the last time, it wasn’t bending as smoothly as a whip—it was falling at an angle like an iron shield.

“Not a chance.”

Raon used the Supreme Harmony’s Second Step by stepping forward with his right foot. He advanced like a ray of light while leaving a deep footstep on the ground.

Swish!

It was an exquisite move that nullified Ayad’s sharp attack and closed the distance between them at the same time.

“You bastard!”

Ayad tried to retrieve his sword, his eyes wide, but Raon had already entered his space.

Raon swung his elbow at point-blank range—he could reach Ayad by simply extending his hand.

The aura-imbued Black Dragon Coat was polished like a sharp blade and turned into a dagger.

Swoosh!

Ayad swung his left hand so that he wouldn’t take damage from the same trick twice.

It was a palm technique consisting of gathering and unleashing aura from the palm. The circular concentration of astral energy rushed at Raon like a boulder.

‘A boulder can be cut down.’

Raon didn’t withdraw. He used the Fangs of Insanity’s sword technique with his elbow to vertically cut down Ayad’s palm attack.

Creak!

Raon pierced into the blue aura, splitting it in half, and thrust the fist holding Heavenly Drive.

“Kuh!”

Ayad managed to create a shield of astral energy in that short period of time.

‘I expected that.’

He controlled the aura focused on his fist with the Beast Union’s Coiling Power. The heat rotated like a storm and pierced through Ayad’s aura shield to smack into his cheek.

Whack!

Ayad almost looked like his head was getting pulled from his body as he bounced back before he rolled on the ground.

“So, when are you planning to show me your battle experience?”

“Kuh…”

Raon tilted his chin while looking at Ayad, who was coughing up blood on the ground.

“You keep targeting all my vitals, but none of it is working.”

“Shut up!”

Ayad wiped the blood away with the back of his hand and stood up.

He didn’t seem to have taken that much damage even though Raon had used enough strength to hit him.

‘So I wasn’t mistaken about it. He’s gotten stronger.’

Ayad would’ve gotten an internal injury from the punch if he was the same as before.

He seemed to have gotten a lot sturdier and deeper, both on the outside and inside. He must’ve taken an elixir or something.

“I haven’t even started yet.”

“I agree with you.”

Raon nodded with a smile on his face.

“Because this much is nothing compared to the pain you’ve inflicted on others.”

“I told you to shut your mouth!”

Ayad charged at Raon with malice-filled eyes.

The aura around him intensified even further, and his frightening energy soared into the sky.

He must’ve been going all-out, as his speed had doubled and the astral energy on his sword had sharpened even further.

“No, you told me to shut up.”

Raon laughed at Ayad and incorporated Heavenly Drive with the Fangs of Insanity’s principles.

The blade trembled violently and roared like a savage beast chasing its prey.

Claang!

Even though it was a clash between swords brimming with astral energy, neither of them was getting pushed back. They started to push each other while destroying the arena.

Raon added power, swiftness, severing, and even variation to the Fangs of Insanity, but he couldn’t defeat Ayad’s attack. He was using a different swordsmanship than before.

‘Has he been hiding a martial art?’

Raon smiled while looking at Ayad’s eyes that could be seen in between the blades.

‘Keep trying. I’ll extract everything you have and devour it.’

* * * 

“Huu…”

Ayad exhaled roughly while fending off Raon’s sword, which rapidly fell towards his shoulder.

‘What the hell is this guy?!’

Every single one of his attacks was fierce enough to send a chill down his spine. He felt like his body was splitting apart even though the blade hadn’t even reached him.

‘Damn it…’

He was embarrassed that he’d told Raon about the difference in realm and battle experience before the fight started.

His swordsmanship was on a whole different level, one where the battle experience couldn’t make any difference.

‘Even the Severing Hawk Slash didn’t work against him.’

The Severing Hawk Sword was an advanced intuition sword that was completed throughout his battles.

He hadn’t expected that such a young man would be able to fend off a technique that he had improved from his countless battles against humans and monsters.

‘Moreover, it’s getting harder and harder to fight him.’

Whenever Raon’s eyes sparked with that frightening color, it became more difficult to block his attacks, and his sword couldn’t reach his enemy.

It was difficult to believe, but Raon seemed to be analyzing his swordsmanship as he fought.

“Haah!”

Ayad shouted loudly and unleashed the Hundred Hawks Swarming Slash of the Severing Hawk Sword.

His blade was extended like the claws of a hawk in the sky capturing its prey.

However, speed and power weren't the only strengths of the Hundred Hawks Swarming Slash.

The astral blade rushing towards Raon’s heart spread around like sunlight shining upon a lake, splitting into five different pieces.

Whap!

None of them was an illusion. The astral energies attacking his heart, right arm, energy center, solar plexus, and neck were all genuine. Raon was going to die immediately if he’d missed a single one of them.

Raon’s eyes sparked right before the five blades reached him. A shield of fire emerged from the trajectory of his downward slash.

‘That won’t be enough!’

He destroyed the outer area of the shield with the Hundred Hawks Swarming Slash to close the distance between them.

While his blade was advancing to take Raon’s life, a dragon’s head appeared from the blade behind Raon’s back.

Whaam!

A tremendous amount of heat gushed out from the wide-open jaw. The power was no less than the rumored breath of a dragon.

“Kuh!”

Ayad gritted his teeth and mustered his aura from his energy center, but he was unable to block it completely because the fire was too powerful.

Crack!

The Hundred Hawks Swarming Slash disappeared, and even the wall of astral energy that he’d created afterward shattered. In the end, he got burns on his arms and legs.

The sword duel would’ve been over with that move if the Blue Spirit Elixir hadn’t enhanced his body.

“That move just now wasn’t half bad.”

Raon nodded in satisfaction.

A small amount of blood was flowing from his shoulder. It was completely different from Ayad’s burns on his arms and shoulders.

Rip.

Ayad bit his lip to the point of bleeding.

‘I thought I could easily defeat him with my own strength.’

He did acknowledge that Raon was a powerful opponent, but he still believed that he would get an overwhelming victory without using the Hundred Potentials.

However, that wasn’t the case. He’d become unstoppable, getting even stronger than at the beginning of the sword duel.

‘I have no other choice…’

There was only one path left for him. He had to activate the Hundred Potentials the moment Raon Zieghart confidently attacked him to shatter his head.

“A laceration, a beating, and burns. I’m not satisfied with that.”

Raon twisted his lips. The energy blazing around him was even more intense than when he’d made the flame dragon.

‘Yes, come at me.’

Ayad straightened his back and wielded his sword with both hands.

Whoosh!

Raon rushed from his right side along with the violent sound of the wind. The sword he was holding soared like an erupting volcano.

Claang!

He managed to fend off the rapid strike, but Raon’s attack wasn’t over yet. The sword changed direction like lightning and attacked from the left and right sides at the same time.

Even though Ayad had a higher realm, Raon’s swordsmanship was better than his. It was truly a strange situation.

‘Not yet. I need to wait a bit longer.’

The Hundred Potentials caused a heavy strain on the body. It was necessary to wait for the right moment to finish him off in a single strike.

Whoosh!

Powerful energy gathered around Raon’s sword. A small opening appeared in his movement as he activated his special technique.

‘Now!’

Ayad unleashed the Hundred Potentials. His energy center pounded like it was about to explode, and a huge amount of aura was pulled out of it to the point where his mana circuits were almost shredded apart.

Whirr!

His noted blade forged by a master blacksmith resonated in pain and a majestic astral blade burst out to reach the sky.

The powerful astral energy wasn’t any weaker than a Grandmaster’s astral sphere, and it crashed upon Raon.

Whaam!

The red line of heat on Raon’s blade was pulled out, and a tremendous impact burst out.

The arena was completely destroyed, and even the mana barrier protecting the spectators was ripped apart.

“Huff…”

Ayad grasped his chest. His nausea indicated an internal injury, but the attack was effective.

The sword duel was over. Even a monster like him couldn’t possibly stand back up after taking such a powerful attack.

‘Did I end up killing him instead of breaking his energy center or an ar—huh?”

He unconsciously widened his mouth. A black shadow was standing up from the mana storm soaring into the sky.

Whoosh!

Raon was walking towards him through the subsiding mana storm.

Sticky blood was flowing from his forehead and his right shoulder, but they didn’t seem to be serious injuries.

“B-but how…”

“Because I could see irritation and anticipation in your eyes.”

“What?”

“In your irritation, you revealed that you had no other choice than using that technique, and there was an anticipation that you could win when you used it. You can’t even hide your feelings in your eyes when you blabbered so much about battle experience.”

Raon sneered while putting his bloody hair up. Ayad’s heart tightened upon seeing the red flames in his eyes.

‘Th-this is my only chance.’

His internal injury was getting worse and worse. There was no chance of victory if it dragged on any further. Since he’d managed to injure him, even by a little, it was necessary to finish the fight right away.

“I’ll finish you off!”

Ayad ignored the fear running down his spine and unleashed the Hundred Potentials and the Severing Hawk Sword at the same time.

He amplified his aura three times instead of twice and swung his sword at Raon.

Whaam!

Raon calmly raised his eyes. He fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive while watching Ayad’s astral energy cover the entire sky above the training ground like the sword of warrior god.

“Don’t hide my sky.”

Raon stomped the ground and raised Heavenly Drive.

His sword was pointed at the space itself instead of the sky. The flow of the training ground synchronized with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat and created a huge flow.

Whir!

Even though Ayad’s strike was falling at the speed of lightning, it became as slow as a snail.

It wasn’t correct to say that it became slower so much as the Azure Sky Sword was forcing it to slow down.

“Wh-what?!”

Ayad his eyes rolled in panic. His lips trembled as he realized that he couldn’t move his body.

“This can’t be happening!”

He must’ve realized what was happening, as expected of a highest-level Master.

“Kuaah!”

Ayad’s eyes became bloodshot. He unleashed even more aura at the risk of more serious internal injuries and mustered his aura to release himself from the Azure Sky Sword’s pressure.

It was more than three times the normal amount. A bone-shattering amount of energy could be felt from him.

Whir!

Raon quietly swung down Heavenly Drive, which was raised above his head.

It was the Azure Sky Sword’s first technique, the Great Bind of the Heavy Sky, that clashed against Ayad’s huge astral energy.

Whaam!

The majestic pressure of the sky surrounded Raon’s blade and created a huge turbulence.

The trajectory of the blade incorporating the will of a warrior rather than power, aura, or swordsmanship, destroyed the astral energy that had nothing but aura.

Raon could see the astonishment in Ayad’s eyes in between the astral energy crumbling like a sandcastle.

“I advise you to brace yourself, because, as I said before…”

Raon clenched his teeth.

“My sword isn’t as kind as this house.”

“W-wait!”

Raon’s sword didn’t stop despite Ayad’s scream. The weight crushing Ayad’s body was that of the sky instead of a blade.

Crack!

Along with the sound of his bones being ground into pieces, the place he was standing sank into the abyss.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]