Chapter 207: I Wish Everyone Would Just Get Lost (1)
Chapter 207: I Wish Everyone Would Just Get Lost (1)
Swish!
Brody’s attack grazed the top of Patrick’s head, passing by with hair-breadth precision.
Speed, discipline, and an unpredictability that struck from outside one's awareness—it was a perfect strike in every regard. However, his opponent was Patrick Schneider.
Regrettably, Brody’s attack achieved nothing more than severing a few strands of Patrick’s hair.
“Whoa, that was close. What kind of sword stretches like taffy…?”
Patrick, having evaded the strike, clicked his tongue. He had suspected the man had a trick up his sleeve, but he hadn't expected this. Furthermore, it wasn't over.
“I’m just getting started.”
Brody retrieved his blade and drew again from his waist in a fluid motion. Every time he did, his sword elongated like a whip, lashing out toward Patrick.
Bang! Ba-bang! Bang!
Even when the strikes missed, shockwaves erupted at their terminal points, causing the air to explode. The attacks were that fast and fierce.
Patrick continued to dodge the onslaught without moving from his spot. Suddenly, Brody’s eyes flashed.
“It’s over!”
Brody’s cherished sword, Grau, occupied every direction, closing in on Patrick with no room for escape. It was an unavoidable strike.
At that exact moment…
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Fifth Form
Dragon Scale Whirlwind
A whirlwind erupted around Patrick’s body, parrying every threat that dared to menace him.
Clang! Crash! Boom!
Brody’s brow furrowed as he watched Patrick overcome the crisis in a single move.
“To think you could block that.”
Brody looked disappointed that his decisive move had failed. Just then, Elione shouted from a distance.
“Patrick! That demon can distort space! You must fight as if there are no limits to his range!”
Brody shouted back, clearly annoyed.
“Shut up!”
The sword he swung elongated toward Elione this time, lashing out at her.
K-boom!
The blade, saturated with demonic energy, descended upon Elione with terrifying destructive power. However…
“Tsk, tsk. You should be more careful.”
Elione was unharmed. Patrick had dashed over at a speed invisible to the naked eye to save her.
Holding Elione in a princess carry, Patrick clicked his tongue and said, “You’re supposed to send advice like that secretly via Sound Transmission. Got it?”
“Sir Patrick?”
“Ah, right. You don’t know how to do that.”
Patrick scratched his head and set Elione down. She tried to say something to him, but…
“Let’s talk later. I need to take care of that thing first.”
Patrick turned his gaze back toward Brody.
“I was wary because I didn't know your trick, but now that I do, it makes sense. You manipulate space?”
“Indeed. And so…”
With a casual swing, the strike elongated once more, viciously targeting Patrick.
Patrick shifted slightly to evade it, while Brody spoke from a distance.
“Now that you know, what will you do? Do you think you have a way out?”
“……”
“Spatial manipulation is my unique Authority. It is a grand power that a lowly human like you couldn't even dream of. You will stand there, unable to do a single thing—”
“Hey.”
Patrick interrupted Brody with a look of utter patheticness. He asked, “You don’t have much real combat experience, do you?”
“Wh-what?”
“No, to be precise, you’ve probably never fought anyone equal to or stronger than yourself. You’ve likely only ever one-sidedly crushed those weaker than you. Am I right?”
“……”
Brody couldn't find a retort. It was the truth.
Even as a demon warrior, Brody was a young demon, not even five hundred years old. His power and Authority had been immense since birth, but he had only used them to trample the weak. He had never engaged in a life-or-death struggle against a true powerhouse.
“Tsk, tsk. This is why inexperienced brats are so…”
“How dare a mere human look down on a warrior of the Demon Clan?!”
Brody roared in fury and swung his sword again. His blade, thick with demonic energy, distorted space and dropped toward the crown of Patrick’s head. However…
Clang!
Patrick didn't dodge this time. He simply swung his sword, wreathed in an Aura Blade, and parried it.
“Not bad.”
Brody’s eyes narrowed. Patrick’s parry was so powerful that Brody had nearly lost his grip on his sword. However…
“But how long can you hold out?”
With a sinister smirk, Brody’s hands moved in a blur. His sword lunged at Patrick with a treacherous killing intent, like a venomous snake.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
Patrick stood his ground, swinging his sword to deflect the blows. Brody’s demonic energy and Patrick’s Aura Blade clashed, generating violent shockwaves.
“Hmm…”
Brody’s expression stiffened. Although he was the one on the offensive, Patrick’s relaxed attitude was getting on his nerves. No, it wasn't just relaxation. The emotion visible in that indifferent expression was closer to…
Boredom, tedium, and pity.
“You dare…!”
Brody swung his sword with even greater demonic energy. The attack, refracting through space and lashing out like a whip, flew as if to tear Patrick into shreds. However…
“Stupid bastard.”
Patrick muttered indifferently and swung his sword, now fully saturated with his Aura Blade. Instead of a defensive parry, he swung directly against the opponent’s blade to counter-attack.
The moment the two strikes collided…
K-BOOM!
“Gah…!”
A massive shockwave erupted, and Brody coughed up blood, stumbling back several steps.
“Cough… H-how?”
As Brody stared in disbelief at his broken technique, Patrick spoke.
“You idiot. Once the secret behind a trick like this is revealed, its effectiveness is cut in half.”
“Cough…”
“Lashing out with a switch from a distance? Did you really think that looked impressive?”
“You dare mock my Authority?!”
“The ability to distort space is interesting. But you know what?”
“……”
“In the end, I just have to dodge it, right? Or parry it.”
“……”
“If you’re just going to swing it from afar like a whip…”
“……”
“How is that any different from an actual whip?”
At that moment, a realization—an 'Ah…'—passed through the minds of everyone watching. Even Brody’s.
“If you’re going to use a sword like a whip, just use a whip from the start. Why perform useless circus tricks with a sword?”
“……”
Brody had no answer.
“Tsk, tsk. If I had that power, I would have used it to move my entire body, exchanging blows in close quarters. Like you did to April earlier.”
“……”
Brody’s face contorted. Patrick added with a smirk.
“Want me to tell you why you didn't do that?”
“Shut up. A mere human dares to—”
“You’re scared of facing me properly in close combat, aren't you?”
“I told you to shut up!”
“That’s why you’re just flicking your little switch from a distance. Because you don’t have the courage to fight head-on.”
“SHUT UUUUP!”
Brody screamed hoarsely and swung his sword with all his might. But just as Patrick pointed out… he distorted space to swing the sword like a whip once again. He couldn't bring himself to charge at Patrick.
Patrick watched the incoming attack and spoke calmly.
“No matter how strong it is, a beast without fangs is no predator.”
K-boom!
Brody’s strike slammed into the ground, seemingly splitting Patrick’s body cleanly in half. The witnesses were horrified by the sheer destructive power. To their eyes, it looked as if Patrick had been obliterated without even a corpse remaining. However…
“That move again?”
“I really want to learn that one.”
Those who knew Patrick weren't shaken at all. One only had to look at Brody’s crumpled face to know the truth. The figure that had been split in two was merely an afterimage Patrick had left behind.
“Now, let’s end this.”
The real Patrick had already closed the distance, standing right within Brody’s reach. Patrick had ducked low, lunging diagonally beneath Brody’s guard. From that stance, he unleashed his prepared technique.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Fifth Form
Dragon Scale Whirlwind
It was a defensive form of the Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles. However, at close range, Dragon Scale Whirlwind served a different purpose.
“Urgh… Gaaah!”
Brody concentrated all his demonic energy into defense within the fierce vortex of sword winds. Thanks to that, he avoided major injury. But regardless of that…
“Wait… Whoa, whoa!”
He couldn't stop his body from floating off the ground. This was the hidden effect of Dragon Scale Whirlwind. When used at point-blank range, it had the effect of launching the enemy into the air.
Originally, the utility of Dragon Scale Whirlwind wasn't to bounce an enemy's attack back head-on, but to spiral the enemy's force up into the sky. Therefore, if an enemy was within its domain, they were swept upward. Just like now.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Brody, who had been holding out, finally screamed as he was hurled high into the air. Floating more than thirty meters above the ground, there was nothing around him to grab onto. And directly beneath him…
“This is the end.”
Patrick was aiming at him, his sword held in a specific stance.
“N-nooooo!”
Simultaneously with Brody’s scream, Patrick unleashed his technique.
Twin Dragons Eight Sword Styles
Sixth Form
Nine Dragons Under Heaven
This was Patrick’s Intent-based secret technique, which he had previously shown during the Arcana finals. Since he couldn't use his Ultimate Secret Art right now, this was effectively the most destructive attack in his current repertoire.
ROOOOOAR!
Nine ferocious dragons frolicked upon Patrick’s blade before being unleashed, soaring into the sky. Occupying all eight directions, there was no path to escape the nine dragons.
“Grau!”
Brody held his sword forward and poured out his demonic energy to its maximum, trying to endure. However…
Rumble, rumble…
“Ugh… Urgh…!”
It was like a candle flame left in the middle of a typhoon. He couldn't endure. He couldn't block it. There was no need for reason or logic. The difference in pure power was simply too stark.
Brody’s demonic energy was rapidly consumed and then vanished. The nine dragons then savagely descended upon the defenseless Brody.
“KIIIIIIAAAAAAAGH!”
That was the end. In a despair that offered not a single shred of hope, Brody perished, leaving behind one final death rattle.
* * *
“Whew…”
Patrick sheathed his sword and took a short breath to steady his internal energy. He looked up at the sky and muttered, “Did I overdo it?”
But he soon shook his head. “No, a guy like that deserves this.”
To others, it might have looked like another one-sided slaughter. However, Patrick had used over seventy percent of his power in this battle. It wasn't because he lacked confidence. It was to uphold a great maxim that is most famous in the Martial World, yet forgotten by so many fools.
Never let your guard down.
Everyone knows the phrase. But the thing is, people are terrible at actually following it. From the greenhorns of prestigious Orthodox sects to the masters of the Unorthodox faction who claim to be experts in real combat—if you gathered everyone who died because they didn't follow that rule, their gravestones would fill Mount Bukmang.
Patrick had no intention of becoming one of those idiots. Thus, his philosophy when dealing with an unknown entity was simple:
Crush them with everything I’ve got.
He had used Nine Dragons Under Heaven to leave no room for error. In fact, since he couldn't recklessly use his Ultimate Secret Art, Radiant Dragon’s Reign, Nine Dragons Under Heaven was the best technique he could currently deploy. The technique itself was a subordinate version of Radiant Dragon’s Reign, after all.
Regardless, he had handled it perfectly, leaving behind not a single scrap of flesh or bone. Even those suspicious, bizarre sword fragments were completely obliterated.
As Patrick returned to the group after his victory, Matthew and the others stared at him with exhausted expressions.
“Now that bastard is even hunting demons.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Impressive. Truly impressive. Yes, it’s great, but…”
Matthew, Isabella, and even Riman… they all looked at Patrick with lukewarm expressions.
It had been centuries since a human had defeated a demon. Having achieved such a feat, Patrick was more than worthy of being called a hero. However…
A hero?
Him?
No. That’s logically inconsistent.
No matter how they thought about it, it felt wrong. Hero Patrick Schneider? Hmm, no. That was highly inappropriate. But since the achievement was right before their eyes, they couldn't say anything…
Amidst the group’s awkward silence, Matthew spoke up.
“Come to think of it, it makes sense.”
“What does?”
“How could a low-level demon like that win against a Great Arch-Demon who climbed up from the depths of hell?”
Isabella chimed in. “You’re right.”
The intellect of the Tower of Truth also agreed. “That is a logically sound interpretation.”
Isabella and Riman fiercely agreed with Matthew’s hypothesis. Rather than a heroic tale of a great hero defeating an evil demon, the narrative of a Greater Evil crushing a Lesser Evil felt much more relatable.
However…
“Ah… Sir Patrick.”
Even if the whole world turned its back on Patrick, there was one being who would blindly praise him. Her name was…
“April. You should take those rose-tinted glasses off for a—huh?”
Matthew was about to tell her to tone it down when he stopped. A voice came from behind him.
“I’m right here, though?”
It was April. Then who was that?
The person standing there with hands clasped, looking at the approaching Patrick with a dreamy expression and radiating unparalleled love was…
“Miss Elione?”
“What’s wrong with her now?”
“She looks completely gone to me.”
“But why?”
Isabella shouted, sounding utterly annoyed. Regardless, Elione was gazing at Patrick with more love than anyone else in the world.
Well, she had always been like that. Ever since Patrick made the branch of the World Tree she carried burst into bloom, she had shown a strong obsession and affection for him. But her current state went beyond that…
“Sir Patrick.”
She ran over in a single bound and tried to throw her arms around—
“Whoa there. Where do you think you’re going?”
Patrick stopped her by placing his palm against her forehead. He then added, “How dare you? Men and women should not sit together once they reach the age of seven, as they say.”
His curmudgeonly streak had definitely increased. But it wasn't just his preachiness that had gone up.
“Sir Patrick.”
“What? First, get back—”
“You’ve become the World Tree, haven't you? Right?”
Patrick flinched at Elione’s words. Everyone else nearby was also shocked.
“Wait, what?”
“I misheard that, right? I definitely misheard.”
“Sister, what did you just say?”
In response to the storm of questions, Elione gave a radiant smile. She then shouted to her kin.
“Everyone, look closely. Touch him. Feel him. You can clearly feel the existence of the World Tree within this person.”
The elves hurriedly rushed to Patrick to examine him.
“Let go! Get away! Ow! Don’t pinch me!”
After Patrick endured the elves’ touch for a moment…
“How can this be?”
“How is this possible?”
“Oh… Great World Tree.”
It was true. The elves could clearly feel the presence of the World Tree from Patrick. It was as if Patrick himself had truly become the World Tree.
Patrick scratched his head as he looked at his slack-jawed companions.
“Well, that’s how it turned out.”
The youngest 7-star swordsman on the continent.
The winner of Arcana.
A candidate for the Prince Consort of the Atronia Kingdom.
A gambler who overwhelmed multiple 7-star knights from other nations.
A madman who waged a full-scale war against the Caesar Kingdom.
And now, he was even the World Tree.
“That crazy bastard…”
There was no logical way to refute Riman’s muttered words.