Chapter 300
Chapter 300
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 63 – A Knight's Valor Knows No Recklessness (10)
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Whirrrrr!
Just as a bee's wings beat over two hundred times per second, knights who have reached Sword Resonance generate an average of more than two hundred vibrations per second on their blades.
However, this is merely an average. The higher a knight's skill level and the more accustomed they become to inducing sword resonance, the vibrations surge dramatically—sometimes exceeding a thousand per second, earning them the title of elite knight.
It's no wonder that sword resonance, also known as Sword Resonance, is called the pinnacle that swordsmen must strive for across tens of thousands of years. It resembles the high-frequency blades seen only in sci-fi films.
Reaching Sword Resonance doesn't make one invincible, but in dire situations where life hangs by a thread, it undoubtedly plays the role of a life-saving stroke—and delivers the desperate blow that clinches victory.
Thus, resonance is a tremendous power.
Even in this modern era, where greater realms like aura manifestation and sword aura emerge, sword resonance is no realm to be dismissed.
While sword aura's power is immense, akin to the unknown depths of a deep sea whose arrival is uncertain, Sword Resonance is like a mountain where steady progress yields consistent results, one step at a time.
And so...
'My Sword Resonance was definitely vibrating at five thousand times per second, right?'
The harder one strives, the more desperately one struggles—the exponentially stronger the power of resonance becomes.
Just like how a knight whose specialty is struggling harder than anyone else produces five times the resonance of other elite knights.
Of course, this wasn't precise. It could be less, or perhaps even more.
But right now...
'The vibrations feel like they've ramped up?'
At this moment, his resonance was stronger than ever before.
The resonance spread throughout his entire body produced even more vibrations than when focused solely on his sword.
Twice his usual output—around ten thousand ultra-high-frequency vibrations. Even Lee Han thought it felt downright lethal.
Despite its name suggesting it merely deflects or blocks attacks, the Rebound Aura Technique didn't just defend; it utterly pulverized the enemy.
'...Can't maintain it for long, though.'
Lee Han shrugged lightly.
The usable duration was roughly ten minutes.
Any longer, and...
'My body would melt away.'
This was a double-edged sword in a different sense from Indestructible Body.
It was like wrapping oneself in a peerless sharp sword— one misstep, and the body would melt, leaving no trace of its form.
However...
'Ten minutes? That's plenty.'
Boom!
"-Plenty to spare, even."
Wham!
This time, Lee Han moved first.
Whoosh—!!
It was the activation of Swift Divine Arrow Flight. In an instant, his body moved like the wind, shooting straight toward Ninsbur.
"Hm!"
Ninsbur's face hardened as he swiftly dodged.
To avoid clashing head-on.
'No matter how dangerous that technique is, as long as it doesn't touch me, it's fine. In terms of speed and skill, I'm still superior, so dodging should be no—'
Pop! Boom! Bwoom!
"-Just because your speed is superior doesn't mean I can't block your movements."
"!!?"
Explosive Fist Storm, Lee Han's mainstay technique, wasn't used for offense this time but as obstacles to preempt Ninsbur's evasion paths.
It was a simple strategy: if you can't match the speed, block every possible direction of movement. And right now, it was proving devastatingly effective.
For roughly one second, he pinned down Ninsbur's movements. To some, that one second might seem endlessly short,
but...
Whoosh!
"Got you."
Slash!
"!!?!"
Lee Han's massive palm roughly seized Ninsbur's face and slammed it straight into the ground.
Kaboom!
With ferocious intensity.
"Urgh!!"
But the pain Ninsbur felt wasn't just from the impact with the ground. Physical shocks from the outside barely fazed him.
Sizzle!
The mere touch of Lee Han's body felt like a saw blade ripping through flesh, sending waves of agony.
Splurt!
And as Lee Han's blows continued to pummel him, flesh tore, blood sprayed, and wounds grew so brutal that bones began to show.
Fwhoosh!
Yet no matter how severe the injury, the divine body regenerated it instantly.
As if such wounds were nothing.
"You whelp!"
Flap!
His recovered body slipped effortlessly from Lee Han's grasp in rage at the blasphemy against a god's form.
It was, of course, skill of the highest order. And immediately, a torrent of identical strikes poured forth without respite.
However...
Splat!
...it was Ninsbur taking the wounds, not Lee Han.
"!"
"Whelp? Hmm, maybe the real whelp is the guy stubbornly pressing on even after his advantage dies."
A handaxe—drawn from who-knows-where—slammed precisely into Ninsbur's shoulder.
It wasn't that Ninsbur failed to track Lee Han's movements and dodge.
Simply...
"Told you it won't work."
Lee Han had simply taken the hit and, in the process, pulled out the axe and thrown it.
Simple logic. Endure the opponent's assault silently and deliver a counterblow!
Well.
Crack!
Only someone with the absurd Rebound Aura Technique could pull it off.
Right now, Lee Han's entire body was a weapon.
Wherever he touched shredded the opponent's body like an electric chainsaw—or a hedgehog bristling with microscopic needles.
The difference from mere needles?
Sizzle!
"!!!?"
The excruciating agony they inflicted.
Sword Resonance wasn't just vibrating blades.
It was a martial art that unleashed the essence of the sword—sword force. Similarly, Rebound Aura Technique embodied and manifested the human force of Lee Han himself.
In that sense, Lee Han's human force was...!
"Grit your teeth."
Kwaaang!!
Harder and more destructive than anything.
"Ughhh...?!"
Ninsbur barely stifled a scream, but his face visibly stiffened, convulsions wracking his body.
The moment Lee Han's fist struck, the energy emanating from this human seeped into Ninsbur—like black ink invading pristine white paper.
Sizzle!!
Normally, no amount of human force could invade a god.
But his opponent was a warrior who had reached the realm of intent.
The energy that should disintegrate condensed through intent, scarring the divine flesh like an indelible tattoo...
Whoosh!
"......"
"...My apologies, O God."
—It seems fulfilling Your will is beyond me today.
...The words Ninsbur couldn't voice aloud.
The result of Rebound Aura Technique intertwining with intent had set Ninsbur's left arm ablaze.
He didn't know exactly why this phenomenon occurred.
But one thing was clear.
'It's a good sign for me.'
Just as momentum seemed to tilt in his favor...
"...I acknowledge it. You are a mighty warrior."
"...?"
"Your sword force—no, the immense destructive power from your human force, mingled with the 'Hero's Light,' is suppressing my regeneration. Impressive."
"What's this 'Hero's Light'?"
"Isn't it the power you're wielding right now? The threatening force awakened by those called heroes. I see many warriors in this era handle it."
"......Intent."
"So in this era, Hero's Light is called intent."
"......"
Lee Han sensed envy in Ninsbur's eyes for a moment.
As if mastering intent was something to covet...
"...Ah."
"What? That look."
"I get it. You died before you could even awaken your intent."
"......"
"That's why you didn't know. That's why you couldn't counter it. I see."
"Hm. You're sharper than you look."
"...To think I'm hearing that from an ancient now."
It had struck him as odd.
Why would a warrior of such high skill fight purely with physical prowess and martial arts, without invoking intent...?
'He never learned it—or died before he could.'
Perhaps in his teens, or even younger.
Yet as a soul, he lived on, training only his martial arts.
Still...
'He's insanely strong regardless.'
They called him the strongest warrior of antiquity.
That meant even in his teens, he'd crushed all the powerhouses of his time to claim that position.
'A short-lived genius.'
He knew because he'd fought him directly.
If he'd failed to activate Rebound Aura Technique, he'd never have beaten this guy.
He was that formidable, that powerful.
Even so, the tide had turned, and now Lee Han...
"Do you know why my god was called the God of War, not the God of Battle?"
"......What?"
"Because he fought 'winning wars.'"
"??"
"I admit it. Even with weapons, I can't beat you. Therefore..."
Whoosh!
"-I'll focus solely on the [war], not the fight."
...In an instant, Ninsbur vanished from sight.
It wasn't movement too fast for the eye.
Simply...
"...This bastard ran away?"
Whatever pride or whatever—he'd ditched it all and fled at full speed.
...Utterly dumbfounded.