Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Part 2, Chapter 3: Ambush (3)
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Jamie and Jin locked swords, glaring at each other in silence.
Jin furrowed his brow first and shoved Jamie back.
He'd assumed the lean build wouldn't pack much power, but as a Sword Master all the same, Jamie's form was sent flying backward.
Jamie landed on the ground and swept his scimitar to the side.
"So. Up for talking?"
"Hmph!"
Jin kicked off the muddy ground.
He'd turned it to mud to hinder movement, but as expected, it was useless against a Sword Master.
Jamie retreated while extending his hand toward the rapidly approaching Jin.
Magic spells unfolded without incantation and rained down over his head.
"Magic won't work on me."
With Moonlight Resonance, Jin appeared above his head and unleashed an aura wrapped in moonlight.
Moonlight Resonance
Aura cloaked in moonlight slices through the night.
The silver sword energy cloaking the blade cleaved straight through the darkness of night.
But the scimitar sliced only empty air—Jamie was no longer there.
He spread mana rapidly to sense any presence, but Jamie's aura was nowhere to be felt.
It was in that instant.
Clang—!!
Jin parried the sword thrusting from his left with astonishing reaction speed.
"Sword Master, huh?"
Beyond Avalon
Hidden in the inverted world, returns to reality.
Jamie, who had hidden in the inverted world via Beyond Avalon, grinned as he reemerged into reality.
Jin landed in an awkward stance.
And Jamie immediately assumed a charging posture.
Baekhae
Stamps the ground, controlling mana flow.
Leaning forward, he fueled his charge with a burst spell for acceleration.
Covering the short distance at tremendous speed, it almost looked like teleportation.
But unlike teleportation, he retained his momentum.
Jin tried to evade with his power, but the moonlight was entirely shrouded in shadow.
"Single Stroke Sword."
The Welton family's secret swordsmanship.
Infusing it with the Welton Style's Ten Forms.
Mana hummed sharply as the flows surged like an explosion.
Jin felt his body stiffen and grimaced.
The distance between them was barely two steps.
The Welton sword, laden with the essence of Single Stroke Sword, flew straight for his throat from the start.
A near-perfect strike.
Any ordinary warrior would have failed to block it.
But.
"Near-perfect means it won't land."
Jin's expression darkened beneath the white mask.
Kiririk—!!
The bizarrely curved scimitar rose to block the path. Despite a posture that shouldn't allow any power, it refused to yield.
Moreover, the moonlight aura coiled around it effortlessly blocked even the spatial severing force of Single Stroke Sword.
"A Sword Master is perfect."
Moonlight Resonance
Seals moonlight areas with shadow via afterimage.
Moonlight Slash
Sharp blades rain over Baekhae mana flows.
Sharp blades fell over the mana flows sustained by Baekhae.
Invisible blades mercilessly slashed all mana flows.
Not just the flows.
They poured down on Jamie's head, shoulders, solar plexus, legs—everything.
Moonlight Resonance was the power to weaponize light from the moon. With the moon in the sky, it was nigh invincible.
"You're better with the sword than I imagined, but if you haven't reached mastery with it, the fight's decided."
Jamie acknowledged those words.
He was still lacking.
Thinking back, he hadn't even landed a proper strike on his father, Count Welton.
The sword had a long way to go.
"Yeah. I admit the sword alone isn't enough yet."
Still, it wasn't as far off as he'd feared.
He sheathed his scimitar.
Jamie's eyes changed.
"Time to get back to my main gig."
"What does that mean?"
Jin tilted his head in confusion.
It was then.
Flash Boom
Pre-planted lights around Jin flash rapidly.
Several small lights flickered around Jin.
His eyes widened.
He hadn't sensed a thing.
If magic had deployed nearby, he'd have felt even a speck.
But of course he hadn't.
Planted in Beyond Avalon's inverted world during their clash.
Summoned to reality now, no Sword Master could react in time.
The flickering lights glowed faster and faster.
Jin wrapped himself in moonlight.
―――――――――――――――――――――――!!
A massive explosion erupted.
It engulfed all nearby buildings in a colossal blast.
Jin emerged from the smoke, grimacing.
He'd blocked with moonlight, but the explosion's force had shaken his internals.
Before he could recover,
Triple Fusion Magic
Wind + Lightning + Rotation via Convergence.
Erasure Vortex Thunder (8th Class)
Thunderstorm crashes down with a roar.
Jamie appeared.
No Sword Master could emerge unscathed from an 8th-class spell at point-blank range.
Kwararararang!!
Jin plummeted to the ground amid the perfected 8th-class lightning storm.
Dozens of black lances manifested around Jamie.
Pursuit of the Black Night (7th Class)
Dozens of black lances converge.
Maintaining even one was a challenge, yet dozens hurtled toward Jin's crash site.
But the lances couldn't advance further.
"...Not bad."
All the lances were bisected.
At the same time, Jin swung his scimitar from behind, leaping into the air.
Beyond Avalon: Inverted World
Scimitar cleaves empty air once more.
The scimitar sliced through empty air again.
Jamie, evading the attack and returning to reality, thrust his arm toward Jin's face.
Moonlight Resonance: Moon Radiance
Moonlight erupts from Jin's body in piercing rays.
Moonlight burst from Jin's body.
All of it carried the "penetration" property.
Jamie retreated into the inverted world again.
The moonlight spread in a spherical form, erasing everything it touched.
As the light faded, night returned.
Jin landed on the ground, breathing raggedly.
Moon Radiance stored moonlight as points within the body and sprayed them omnidirectionally—a mana-intensive finisher for strong foes.
Yet it had failed.
His expression hardened as he watched Jamie casually step from the inverted world into reality.
'Have I ever struggled this much against a sorcerer?'
He'd clashed with 8th-class mages before—not often, but life-or-death bouts.
Tough opponents. But not overwhelmingly so.
Manageable foes, nothing more or less.
Jamie Welton was different.
'Feels like he's constantly tying me up.'
Like losing a battle of attrition?
Not a pleasant sensation.
Jamie spoke.
"This fight's dragging on longer than expected."
His voice carried a degree of leisure.
Not that he held the advantage.
Neither could overpower the other in their current states.
'Plenty of ways to break him, though.'
But he wasn't ready to reveal them yet.
Jamie addressed Jin again.
"How about we talk now? If we keep trying to kill each other, it'll drag out, and Harmonia's forces will swarm us soon enough."
Come to think of it, the kingdom's troops hadn't arrived.
This much commotion should have drawn them ages ago.
"You pulled some strings."
As he'd said, Jamie had arranged it beforehand on his way here.
No one to approach, no matter the noise.
Jamie smirked.
"So. Shall we chat?"
Jin clicked his tongue.
No other options.
He sheathed his scimitar and asked.
Hidden by the white mask, but he sounded thoroughly irritated.
"What exactly do you want to talk about?"
He'd come to aid Harmonia, and this endless talk irked him.
"Just curious why you're helping the liberation army."
"No obligation to tell you."
"Depending on the reason, things could change."
"...You saying you'll help us?"
"Depending on the reason."
Jin's eyes narrowed.
He pondered briefly before speaking cautiously.
"To make this land free."
"Free?"
"...To keep religion from setting foot here."
Jamie's eyes widened slightly.
An unexpected answer.
The continent was effectively dominated by the 12 Orders.
A land without religion was unimaginable.
Sure, places like the Welton family's Hays territory rejected them, but they were rare exceptions.
Especially at the national level—multiple faiths coexisting in one country was commonplace.
Harmonia was no different.
"As long as the 12 Orders take even a single root here, humans can't be free."
"Why?"
"They end up rotting the world."
"..."
"You won't get it. Head back to Selldam. This isn't a fight for one man."
"Can't do that."
Jamie brushed off the warning with a laugh.
A bluish moonlight shimmered over the mask—a sign of his anger.
"Then you're saying you'll save this rotten kingdom?"
His scimitar half-drawn.
Ready to resume battle depending on the reply.
"Hear me out."
"What more do you have to say?"
"I've been granted considerable authority. Including..."
Jamie stepped closer.
"The option to destroy this country."
"Destroy it? Meaning you'll side with the liberation army?"
"That's right."
"Your intentions are obvious!"
Jin bellowed.
His aura shook the space.
"In the end, you've come to devour this land!"
Jamie felt his skin prickle as he replied.
"'Devour' is a bit harsh. More like taking a stake. Not a bad deal for you either."
"Tch!! Selldam is ruled by religion too, isn't it? And you want to ally? You haven't listened to a word I've said. Draw your weapon."
Jin fully drew his scimitar and entered combat stance again.
"Severing the king's head is only a matter of time. No room for your meddling."
Jin wrapped his blade in moonlight aura to move.
Just before negotiations collapsed.
"The Driann Church has started supporting this land."
"...What?"
"I've seen their priests with my own eyes—the followers of Driann, god of violence and plunder."
Jamie recalled the group he'd spotted en route here.
Clad in black priestly robes, grotesque faces.
A church that hadn't rooted here before, now appearing.
Intelligence Selldam hadn't obtained.
"If they're helping, even the frontier will drag the war out."
"How do you..."
It was then.
From the royal castle's direction, black light surged into the sky.
Black light infused with sanctity, unlike the black mana of sorcerers.
The divine power of Driann, god of violence and plunder.