Chapter 158
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Retreat (3)
Kill the Sword Sage and Saber Sage?
To Vanguard and Hanbi, it sounded like a pipe dream. Sure, they were top-tier in the Martial Camp, but they were leagues away from the Sword Sage or Saber Sage. Who would even dare compare themselves?
It wasn't their place to take down the Sword Sage and Saber Sage. If it had to be done, it would be Four Thousand Four's job alone. He had to do it by himself.
Could Four Thousand Four really sever the Northern Faction's right and left hands on his own?
"Whether you kill two or three, do whatever you want... but what about dealing with these guys first?"
Hanbi said, glaring at the spectral warriors slowly closing in.
The encirclement seemed already formed.
Exactly ten spectral warriors had brushed past them. From the moment the tenth one slipped behind, the frontal assaults suddenly ceased.
"It's been a while. You planning to kill us?"
The Sword Sage said with a smile playing on his lips.
Shing!
Four Thousand Four raised his sword, aiming it at the Sword Sage.
"I can sever your head in a single strike."
Four Thousand Four said calmly.
"Is that so? Then go ahead and do it."
"Would I give you the chance?"
"Hahaha! Craving a one-on-one duel?"
"It's hard to unleash absolute techniques if others interfere."
Four Thousand Four's gaze shifted to the Saber Sage.
"Haha! What bravado."
The Saber Sage laughed too.
They had a rough idea of Four Thousand Four's martial arts from their time in the Poison Grove. And based on that... they absolutely didn't believe he could behead the Sword Sage in one strike.
"I'll give you one strike. What if you fail to take my head? What then?"
"I'll drop my sword without a fuss, nice and clean."
"There are plenty of ways to make you drop it. Just bring out Master... and I could snatch it right away. What do you say? If Master shows up here, could you still hold onto it?"
"......"
Four Thousand Four fell silent.
To him, Master was an inescapable chain, no matter who he was. He was his teacher, after all. That's why he'd been willing to become a tool for killing.
Bring him here now? No need for a second word. He'd have to let go of the sword—what choice would he have?
Shing!
The sound of a sword being drawn rang out.
The Sword Sage's blade gleamed with a crystalline light. Even the reflections from the torches were dazzlingly beautiful.
The Sword Sage pointed his sword and spoke.
"You've piqued my interest in a one-strike duel. So let's do it your way first. Behead me in one strike. Fail, and drop your sword. Better to end it quick for both of us."
"Thank you."
"Thank you? Hahaha! Hearing that feels strange. Like my head's already rolling."
Shing!
The Sword Sage assumed his stance.
The Saber Sage took a step back. The spectral warriors followed suit, each retreating one step.
A one-on-one showdown formed, just as Four Thousand Four wanted.
Shing! Shh!
Four Thousand Four and the Sword Sage both advanced half a step simultaneously.
They were now close enough that their swords nearly touched.
A single large step from either side would strike the other. At that moment,
Tremble!
Four Thousand Four's sword shook violently.
"What?!"
The Sword Sage reacted instantly.
He looked genuinely startled, eyes widening in shock at the sword's shift. And then,
Clang! Slash!
Both struck without waiting to see who went first.
No—there was a clear sequence. The startled Sword Sage swung first. Four Thousand Four's counter came after... but it was so swift it seemed simultaneous.
"Danger!"
The Saber Sage, who had retreated, bellowed and charged in.
A one-on-one duel, where no one should interfere... but the Sword Sage looked so precarious that he launched himself forward.
Thud! Splatter!
A sickening sound echoed.
Blood sprayed like a fountain. Hot blood arcing through the air extinguished a red torch.
"You bastard!"
The Saber Sage rushed in wildly, slashing with his saber.
Four Thousand Four dodged the Saber Sage and retreated two steps.
The Saber Sage was already at the center of the fray, cradling the falling Sword Sage.
The Sword Sage had lost his head.
His headless body convulsed. His hands flailed as if reluctant to let go, his feet twitching as if seeking footing.
"What?!"
"Ugh......"
Vanguard and Hanbi's eyes bulged in shock.
No one had believed Four Thousand Four when he claimed he could kill the Sword Sage in one strike. They figured it was just psychological warfare—to intimidate before the fight or rile up the opponent's mind.
Yet he'd truly felled the Sword Sage in a single strike, beheading him as declared.
"What was that just now?!"
The Saber Sage gently laid the Sword Sage on the ground and said.
His eyes burned with volcanic fury toward Four Thousand Four, staring hotly.
"Not sorcery."
"I know. What was it?"
"Shadowless Step."
"Shadowless Step... on a sword?!"
"It occurred to me it might work, so I tried. And it did."
"Your first time using it as an opener?"
"Yes."
"Hahaha! Killed the Sword Sage on your debut move. Impressive swordsmanship. Haha! Hahaha!"
The Saber Sage burst into manic laughter.
His roar echoed thunderously off the cave walls, loud enough to worry about a collapse.
Shing!
He raised his saber.
"You beheaded the Sword Sage in one strike, so I'll do the same to you."
"Impossible."
"Why?"
"You've already seen my opening strike. You're guarding against the sword vanishing. How could it work now? This fight won't end in under five hundred exchanges."
"Five hundred or a thousand... I'm killing you."
"Guess that's our fate."
Four Thousand Four raised his sword.
Whoosh! Clash! Clangclangclangclang!
Sword and saber clashed repeatedly.
They traded advances and retreats. When the opponent attacked, they'd yield a step, then counter immediately after blocking. Neither gave the other a chance for two consecutive strikes.
Each had distinct styles.
The Saber Sage wielded his saber not with overwhelming power but with precise technique. Four Thousand Four, meanwhile, swung his sword with gale-force winds, like a whirlwind.
They inverted power and energy.
"What was that earlier? Guarding against a vanishing sword? Can a sword even vanish?"
Hanbi asked Vanguard.
"Not to our eyes."
"Then... it vanishes to the Sword Sage and Saber Sage?"
"Seems like it."
"Is that possible?"
"The Sword Sage's attack was off earlier. Normal Sword Sage wouldn't have swung like that. If his composure shook him into it... probably Four Thousand Four's sword vanished from his sight."
"The sword vanishes—no form, no sound. So he attacked... and Four Thousand Four's sword truly slipped in formless and silent? From a blind spot?"
"Something like that."
"No way..."
Hanbi shook his head.
But their guess wasn't far off. As Four Thousand Four and the Saber Sage dueled, the Saber Sage often startled and hastily retreated.
The sword vanished from the Saber Sage's eyes.
The Sword Sage had panicked and charged in those moments, but the Saber Sage perfectly withdrew from the field.
That was why the Saber Sage couldn't swing freely—lest he end up like the Sword Sage by fully committing.
Four Thousand Four, however, unleashed his sword freely.
Bigger, stronger, flashier... as if shouting, "The sword's right here—see it clearly."
Then, in one instant, it vanished.
"Ah!"
Vanguard snapped to attention.
This wasn't the time to spectate. Without the Sword Sage and Saber Sage, who commanded the spectral warriors? No one. Time to strike.
"Hanbi!"
Hanbi instantly caught on.
Shh!
They slid backward.
Not really retreating—they sidled up to the flanks of the retreating spectral warriors.
Stab!
The sword pierced the throat, then ripped left and right.
Spectral warriors wouldn't die unless decapitated. Had to be brutal with the blade.
One, one more, another...
The spectral warriors toppled like scarecrows.
Without the Sword Sage and Saber Sage fighting Four Thousand Four, they wouldn't have crumbled so easily.
"Hahaha! Sly bastard..."
The Saber Sage twisted his lips in a grin.
No trace of his initial leisure. He looked utterly exhausted.
"We're enemies, aren't we?"
Four Thousand Four said.
"True. Enemies. Today, the Sword Sage and Saber Sage fall completely."
"It was the poison's doing anyway—not really yours."
"Is that so?"
"I'll end it on the next exchange."
"With Shadowless Step? Won't work."
"Something occurred to me during our clash. Ever heard of Heaven-Earth Stir?"
"What's that?"
"The name of my technique. Wondered if you'd heard it before."
"Not mocking me... First time."
"I see. Here I come."
"Come on!"
Whoosh!
Four Thousand Four launched into the air.
Not truly airborne—the cave ledge barely allowed a slight crouch and leap.
One Sword Straight Down!
A technique better known as One Saber Two Cuts unfolded.
The Saber Sage blocked with his scabbard, then slashed at the side—One Saber Two Cuts' greatest weakness. But,
Puke!
Four Thousand Four's sword had already pierced the Saber Sage's heart.
The blade rose from the ground. From below, it impaled the heart and burst out the back.
"Kuh!"
The Saber Sage stared at his chest in disbelief.
"Heaven-Earth Stir technique."
"The heavens themselves shadowless... no, no... this is illusion... w-wait... Illusion Dream..."
The Saber Sage mumbled something. Only "Illusion Dream" was clear. He tried to say more, but it stayed trapped in his throat.
"Illusion Dream."
All the fragments flashing in his mind—mechanisms, formations, diagrams, martial techniques—now had their first clue. Thanks to the Saber Sage. Even if prefixed with "perhaps."
Swish!
Four Thousand Four withdrew his sword from the Saber Sage's chest and laid him beside the Sword Sage.
Legends who had shaken the martial world met their end deep in the cave.