Chapter 51
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Divine Bow's Intervention
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With her resolve hardened, azure mana surged from Alize's greatsword.
Whoosh.
The mana, drawn forth at full power by a warrior teetering on the brink of Sword Master, blazed fiercely.
Thud!
The moment the azure mana banished the night, Alize kicked off the ground with all her might and charged at her mortal enemy.
"Die!"
It was a swift and reckless assault.
Whoosh.
The greatsword cleaved through the air, hurtling toward Cage's neck.
A devastating strike that had felled countless Black Lion Knights until now.
But this time was different.
Clang.
Her mighty greatsword couldn't even scratch a mere dagger before bouncing off.
'Damn it! This easily...'
Alize could scarcely believe the outcome.
Cage hadn't even unleashed his aura blade at full strength.
His aura merely flickered faintly along the blade, yet it was more than enough to repel her.
An overwhelming gap!
Cage was a powerhouse beyond anything Alize could have imagined.
"You've grown quite a bit."
Cage sneered mockingly as he drove his foot into Alize's abdomen.
Thump.
It wasn't a mere kick. In that split second, aura coalesced around his foot, flashing brilliantly.
"Guh!"
Alize clamped her mouth shut with all her strength, but she couldn't stifle the cry of agony.
Her organs ruptured, and blood welled up in her throat.
The excruciating pain nearly numbed her senses.
Was this the end, just like that!
Her twenty years of pent-up grudge crumbled in the face of a single kick.
'No, this can't be!'
Snapping back to consciousness after briefly blacking out from the impact, Alize realized she was tumbling out of the clock tower.
'No!'
She desperately reached out, barely grasping the clock tower's railing.
Whoosh.
Her greatsword slipped uselessly from her grip, spinning end over end as it plummeted below.
Alize could only watch helplessly.
'Is this really how it ends?'
It was maddeningly unjust.
Far from repaying her parents' debt, she was crumbling pathetically to her enemy's blade.
Rage boiled within her, tears stinging her eyes.
Alize lifted her head, her eyes rimmed red, and glared upward.
Fwoosh.
The menacingly blazing aura blade was already descending toward her forehead.
"What a fine day. Today, I'll finally uproot the last remnants of the Ephas Kingdom."
No greater humiliation existed.
In the end, Alize squeezed her eyes shut.
'Why! Why now of all times!'
She needed more time.
Just a bit more training, and she could reach Sword Master.
Then, she would hunt them down herself.
'If this is fate...'
Alize bit her lip until it bled.
She refused to grant them the peace of knowing they had personally quelled the Ephas Kingdom's wrath.
'In that case, I'll end it with my own hands!'
The strength in Alize's grip on the railing slowly ebbed away.
She had chosen death herself.
"Smile pretty for me. It's the head I'll present to the imperial palace."
Unaware of Alize's thoughts, Cage raised his dagger mockingly to the end.
A final moment that might etch itself into history.
Swish.
The merciless blade fell.
"See you in hell, you bastard!"
At the same instant, Alize let go.
Would the aura blade claim her neck first? Or would her fall reach the ground first?
Alize figured it would be one or the other.
But she was wrong.
Swoosh.
A streak of light sliced through the night sky.
Clang!
It collided with Cage's dagger, veering sharply downward.
The beam of light pierced perfectly into Alize's armpit.
Crunch.
The beam—no, the arrow—bit into her clothing and embedded itself into the clock tower.
'What is...'
Suddenly left dangling from the clock tower, Alize's eyes flew wide open as she looked up.
Step.
A set of footsteps emerged confidently from the darkness, filling her vision.
'Ruyan!'
A man holding a bow in one hand and a liquor bottle in the other let out a light sigh.
"Liquor always runs out just when the fun's about to start."
Ruyan shrugged and shook the empty bottle, looking just as he always did.
'An arrow?'
Cage stared down at his dagger impassively.
The aura still flickered along the blade, making it look incredibly menacing at a glance.
Yet it had been blocked by a single arrow.
Unbelievable.
'An arrow infused with aura.'
That would make the shooter a Sword Master.
But he'd never heard of a Sword Master who wielded a bow.
'Someone who can handle a bow to this degree. There's only one in the world.'
His eyes flashed as he lifted his head, and suddenly, Cage burst into laughter.
"Kuhahaha! What incredible luck!"
A young man was stepping out from the edge of the clock tower, tearing through the darkness.
"You've grown a lot too, Ruyan."
Cage recognized him at a glance.
He'd carried his sketch in his breast pocket every day.
Five years had passed, and he was now a full-fledged adult, but traces of his childhood face remained.
"So it was you, the leader of those hunting me."
Ruyan recognized him too.
An immense, unprecedented energy rippled from Cage's dagger.
Proof of tremendous power.
'A transcendent expert who's crossed at least one more wall beyond the peak.'
In the Central Plains, he'd be a warrior capable of leading his own sect.
"Yeah. I've been searching for you nonstop. Never dreamed we'd meet like this."
Cage's body burned with excitement.
How could he not be thrilled?
The greatsword that tormented the Black Lions!
The remnants of the fallen Ephas Kingdom!
The damned prophesied child of prophecy!
All the empire's pests were gathered here.
A golden opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
"Finally, I can sleep soundly tonight. Bound to have sweet dreams."
Cage's eyes blazed as he raised his dagger again.
Ruyan watched impassively before lightly gripping his bow.
"You gonna keep yapping? I was on my way to buy more booze."
Neither could let the other live.
No more words were needed between them.
'Arrogant brat!'
Cage snorted and kicked off the ground with full force, charging ahead.
Thud.
The distance between them vanished in an instant, as if sliced by a knife.
The moment Cage decided to strike, his dagger was already descending.
Swoosh.
A fierce sword aura surged a full meter high, cleaving toward Ruyan's crown.
But Ruyan was no longer there.
He vanished like a phantom.
Boom!
The sword aura shattered the clock tower, embedding itself brutally.
'Quick one, as expected.'
Ruyan reappeared behind Cage.
Whoosh.
At the same time, Ruyan's fist rocketed toward the back of his head.
Cage didn't panic. He stomped hard, launching himself into the air.
Thud.
Ruyan's fist sliced through empty air, exposing his flank.
"Die!"
Cage swung his dagger downward from midair with all his might.
Crackle.
Sword energy erupted from the dagger, scattering like lightning in all directions.
'This is dangerous!'
Ruyan instinctively sensed the peril of that sword energy.
Utterly destructive force!
At his current level, clashing head-on was impossible.
'Pull back for now.'
Ruyan enveloped his arms in protective aura and swiftly retreated.
Simultaneously, the lightning-like sword energy barrage hammered down.
Boom boom boom!
Terrifying power, as expected.
Ruyan deflected the energy with his protective aura and leaped back, widening the gap.
Clatter clatter.
The deflected energy scattered, demolishing more of the clock tower in a rumbling collapse.
Rumble.
'This won't be easy.'
Even as the clock tower shook violently, Ruyan calmly eyed Cage.
Despite his thick protective aura deflection, his arms throbbed.
'A realm where he can shape sword energy into lightning. Truly beyond the wall.'
Cage was the first true martial artist Ruyan had faced since arriving on the Sobles Continent.
As the distance grew slightly, Cage lowered into a stance, glaring sharply at Ruyan.
'How did he achieve such prowess at that age?'
Intelligence said Ruyan was barely twenty. Becoming a Sword Master at that age was miracle enough.
Yet he wasn't even entry-level. Withdrawing unscathed from his strike proved it.
'Worst case, he might be on my level.'
How was irrelevant.
What mattered was that Cage could die here.
Plop plop.
Chunks of stone broke from the clock tower, plummeting dizzily.
Less than five meters of footing remained for Ruyan and Cage.
After cautiously probing each other, they moved simultaneously, as if by agreement.
This time, Ruyan's bow was a fraction faster.
Twang.
In an instant, Ruyan nocked and drew the string without aiming, loosing the arrow.
Ping.
The bowstring vibrated thunderously.
But the arrow flew silently, invisible and soundless.
Silent Arrow
Faster than sound, invisible flight
The arrow faster than sound targeted Cage's forehead precisely.
But the result was failure.
Cage watched it until the last moment, then casually tilted his head aside.
Had anyone ever dodged the Divine Bow's arrow so easily!
A seasoned Sword Master was on a whole different league from anyone Ruyan had faced.
'His speed's no joke either.'
But Ruyan didn't falter at this. He'd anticipated it fully.
He kept nocking and firing without pause.
Ping, ping.
The Divine Bow's rapid fire!
In just one second, seven arrows flew.
Silent Arrow (Rapid Fire)
7 arrows infused with azure sword energy, surpassing sound
Each arrow brimming with azure sword energy outpaced sound itself.
The lethal arrow storm engulfed Cage in an instant.
"As if!"
In that moment, ferocity exploded in Cage's eyes.
The second master of the shadows!
He wasn't some brute Sword Master relying on raw power.
He was a shadow of death, melting into darkness, untouchable by any hand.
Shimmer.
Cage's form blurred momentarily, and the arrow storm passed harmlessly through him.
"I'll end these empire-eating ghosts right here!"
The empire's hidden final dagger.
The vice-captain of the Black Lions stood unyielding even before the Divine Bow, revealing his astonishing presence.
'Impressive footwork.'
It rivaled Return Divine Step.
This was why Cage had risen to vice-captain.
Dodging even the Divine Bow's arrows meant no one could catch him.
Having evaded all seven, Cage bellowed arrogantly.
"The founding emperor's prophecy! Is this all it amounts to!"
His mana-infused voice rode the darkness, rattling Ruyan's ears.
'His momentum's shifted.'
Ruyan gripped his bow tighter, resisting the prickling mana invading his body.
The probing was over.
Now began the true battle of transcendent realms.
"Don't disappoint me!"
Boom.
Vast mana exploded behind Cage's back.
Without moving his legs, he floated forward eerily, as if gliding through the air.
Swoosh.
Overwhelming movement.
At least twice as fast as before.
A speed even Ruyan couldn't underestimate.
Swoosh.
In a flash, the azure dagger thrust toward his solar plexus.
'Too late to dodge.'
Vicious in speed.
Ruyan furrowed his brow and swiftly reversed his grip on the bow.
He seized both ends like a club and swung.
Thud.
The bow and dagger—no, two masses of sword energy—clashed violently.
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