Imperial Sword Style: Sky Cleaver
Imperial Sword Style
7th Form — Azure Wall
Aura
The Death Warrior swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc. The aura that had been rippling along the blade was released all at once in perfect time with the sword’s flow.
Its lethality was not high. He had spread the condensed aura wide. The tanks who brushed against that blue wave of force were only lightly shoved back; they took no serious damage.
“Kill!”
But that tiny disruption in the formation was exactly what the Death Warrior had been waiting for.
Death’s Stride
He slipped through the gap in the tank line and charged straight into the heart of the formation, thrusting his azure blade toward the mages.
“Banish!”
Thud.
The banishment spell hurled the Death Warrior dozens of meters backward. Had it been even a single second later, two or three mages would have lost their heads.
“Do you really have the leisure to look away from me?”
Ingrid smirked.
The heart of battle is how effectively you use the resources in your hand. That truth is even sharper when mages fight one another. Primary elemental affinity. Number of spells mastered. The lag between finishing one casting and beginning the next. Far more variables than a duel between knights.
Even equal mages had to weigh all of that. Ingrid, who had once stood on a far higher plane, possessed the talent to turn the smallest opening into something fatal.
Unique Formula — Solar Eclipse
Multiple Chant
Lightning × 5
Modified Formula — Shatter
The spell finished in an instant. It punched through the empty space left by the Death Warrior who had charged into the faltering tank line and vanished.
Crack!
It struck the mage who had cast the banishment. He blackened and burned without even a scream.
One by one. Without fail. Ingrid steadily reduced the number of mages.
“Gyaaaah! Burst Flare!”
The Skeleton Wizards’ firepower was no joke either. Burst Flare, known as one of the stronger B-class spells, poured out whenever an opening appeared.
Our magic power is superior, yet we still can’t seize the initiative.
An A-class magic-type superhuman gasped for breath. The defensive arrays inside the base had already been neutralized. After losing the first move they had been tossed about by the enemy’s relentless pressure. Death Warriors charging from both flanks while scattering aura only made things worse. Whenever someone tried to prepare a decisive spell to reverse the tide—
“Oh my. Are you sure that’s wise?”
Ingrid’s mocking laugh arrived together with another spell. She looked for all the world as if she were playing above their heads.
Even if single-shot power is strong, we have the edge in variety!
Rings, talismans, staves that boosted magic power—every piece of gear and every support skill the Chinese superhumans had mastered. A pack of Skeleton Wizards inferior in both specs and judgment should have been easy to crush.
It should have been that way.
A skill that fuses magics?
Ingrid simply toyed with the defending mages.
“What the hell are the warriors doing?!”
The mage snarled. The warrior-types, tanks included, were in no better shape. Blue flashes collided again and again in midair. Undead that used aura—Death Warriors and Abyss Revenants—poured on the assault.
“Since when do undead use sword styles?!”
“It is a sword style built around the use of aura.”
Not all auras are equal. Some A-class monsters are born able to deploy it. Even so, they lag a step behind hunters of the same rank. Aura is power forged by projecting the user’s will. The clearer the mental image, the higher the mastery of mana application, the greater its duration and destructive force. That is why a hunter’s aura outstrips a monster’s.
It should have been that way.
Yet the undead under Sir Isra’s command were driving the A-class hunters back.
“We’ll join in as well—ack!”
B-class hunters who could only use Mana Release were pure dead weight. The only thing that can stand against aura is aura. After a few clashes their weapons snapped like dry reeds. They were lucky if they merely stayed out of the A-class hunters’ way. Unless they threw their entire bodies into the path, hunters of B-class and below had no way to help.
“Push them back with raw power—ugh!”
A tank spat blood. Warriors wearing at least rare-grade gear, some even unique pieces, were shoved aside as if they weighed nothing. The Chinese hunters had no way of knowing the truth: Minho’s undead army far outclassed ordinary monsters. Base specs already sat in the mid-to-upper A range. Achievements such as Undead Maker and Ancient Restorer provided further correction, and buffs like Wedge of Retribution and Hate Liberation stacked on top. Pure specs reached A+ level. On top of that they had mastered the solid Imperial Sword Style to expert proficiency. Their lack of self-awareness made their patterns simple—yet—
“Press them.”
Sir Isra, an outstanding commander, offset even that weakness by issuing orders while her own blade never stopped moving.
One by one they fell, bleeding. The northern and southern entrances were already under undead control. A few tried to force a breakthrough anyway.
Sword of Judgment
One of the signature skills of the Executioner Jeong Seungil. A sure-hit ability that would always reach its target unless the opponent possessed something like cognitive distortion. That was precisely why the Death Warriors granted Jeong Seungil’s soul had been stationed in the rear.
“Reinforcements! Reinforcements!”
“How long has it been since we sent the signal? Why is no one coming?!”
Chinese hunters screamed. Wang Dalei kept broadcasting emergency mana waves. Every single attempt was being blocked by Megus—something a hunter of Wang Dalei’s far lower level could never detect. He also had no idea that the hunters around the base had been lured by false information and defeated one by one.
“When are the priests going to snap out of it?”
“They lost control authority while casting a group spell.”
“Unless we find and take down the priest who interfered with the Lexio Divina, nothing will work.”
Many of the priests—natural enemies of the undead—had been reduced to bystanders. Every time one more hunter fell, the Chinese side felt the noose tighten. Xiao Zai could smell the air of defeat hanging over the battlefield.
To reverse this, I have to take that woman down.
Clang!
More force poured into the hand gripping his hilt.
“Your strength is excessive.”
Sir Isra offered the advice in a gentle tone.
“Have you grown impatient?”
“Nonsense, Park Minho’s summon.”
“You should shut that mouth of yours. How dare you casually utter my Lord’s honored name.”
The auras shaped upon their blades scattered pure blue light without a single flicker. Yet after several exchanges Xiao Zai understood.
If this fight drags on, I lose.
He stood at the absolute peak of A-class—one step from S-class. It should have been enough. But Sir Isra’s aura was purer, and it recovered faster.
She handles aura more skillfully than I do.
He acknowledged her strength and set pride aside. Clinging to pride in this unprecedented crisis was a luxury he could not afford. Perhaps that was why a cold light began to swirl in Xiao Zai’s eyes as he gripped his sword.
Ahhh!
Beyond the wall he had chased for years—the realm that had long frustrated him—glimpsed itself in the collision with Sir Isra’s refined aura. A fragment of enlightenment born only at the end of a life-or-death struggle. If he survived this fight, Xiao Zai would reach S-class without fail.
Yes. I must survive.
The opponent who had given him the key to S-class was also the enemy trying to take his life. He had to defeat Isra if he wanted to advance with certainty.
So—
“I’ll show you.”
The sword that sublimated the enlightenment he had just seized. Xiao Zai raised his blade high.
Wooooong!
The sword resonated with his will and trembled. Aura split into countless strands. The blue radiance, divided and then rewoven, began to overlay the edge.
Aura Blade—the power of destruction that symbolized S-class warrior hunters.
“Hoh. To gain enlightenment in the midst of a death match.”
Sir Isra observed the Aura Blade as if appraising a fine piece of work.
“Can you handle it?”
“Giving me time to deploy the Aura Blade?”
“Indeed.”
“Unfortunately, if you give me time, I also have quite a bit to do.”
Sir Isra raised her own sword high.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
Deep azure energy surged up the blade.
Aura → Incomplete Aura Blade
Xiao Zai’s eyes trembled.
“Th-that is—!”
“Hmm. With this body the limits are clear.”
A powerhouse who had once imitated aura even with a zombie-level corpse. Sir Isra forced the Aura Blade into being with the enlightenment sealed inside the final form of her sword style.
“Why? Did you think only you could do it?”
“The clue I spent my entire life chasing—how can a mere summon—ahhhhh!!”
Xiao Zai swung, screaming in desperation. The brilliant Aura Blade that was said to cut through any power swayed wildly, like unfocused eyes. The mental image that should have been rock-solid had shaken, and the Aura Blade shook with it.
Imperial Sword Style (Modified) — Isra Form
12th Form — Sky Cleaver
Kwa-chaaaang!
Xiao Zai’s Aura Blade shattered into glittering fragments. The man who had swung it was split cleanly in half with a wet crack—.
“Enemy general. Slain!”
Sir Isra severed the half-split head of Xiao Zai and raised it high.
“Good grief.”
Sir Isra’s cry made my head throb. Just because Xiao Zai had been cut in half and killed did not mean the base siege was over. A weary sigh slipped out on its own.
The purpose of this raid was the complete annihilation of the enemy. No prisoners.
“Great Lord! I’ve returned!”
“Good work.”
“I killed them all, didn’t I? Did well, right?”
Hearing such bloodthirsty words delivered with a bright smile was more than a little awkward. I was the one who had ordered the divide-and-conquer. The Chinese hunters dying inside the base were dying because of my command. I would not look away. They had started it. Even while paying them back, I refused to become like them.
【Master. Things are gradually being cleaned up.】
At Megus’s thought I stood, dusting off my rear. Oof. Sitting still for hours had left me stiff as a board.
“Your skill at suppressing presence has improved, hasn’t it?”
“That’s a relief. Still, doing this for several hours makes me feel like I’m about to grow mold.”
To maintain Harsh Command I had to remain at the exact spot where I first deployed it. I had slipped near the basin with only the lightest escort, doing my best to make use of the talent Stealthy Footsteps I had inherited from Zaug. Sir Isra had fretted that I might run into stragglers.
When I returned to the basin entrance, desolation greeted me. Azure eyes of the dead glittered in the dark. The place that only a few hours earlier had held hundreds of living, chattering people now held not a single spark of life.
“I offer this base to my Lord.”
“Alright. Good work.”
“Kill!!!”
At the victory declaration the Death Warriors roared, their cries shattering the silence of the basin.
Ladies and gentlemen of the Superhuman General Bureau—do you think this is the end?
They say a gentleman’s revenge is never too late even after ten years. I’m a petty man, so I can’t wait that long.
It’s going to get a lot more fun from here on out.