Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Heavenly Sword of Solitary Supremacy
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Arkandor commanded the battlefield, endlessly summoning an immortal legion of undead.
His anti-army prowess was utterly terrifying, forcing the captains of the Lichtenauer Martial Clan to once again unite their strength with the mages of the Magic Tower to press him hard.
Even amid his death match with the captains and elders...
Arkandor never took his eyes off Ian for a second.
He already knew that human's level of martial prowess all too well.
The direct combat power that young human could display on the battlefield was negligible.
But having lived for over five hundred years, Arkandor could sense it—not through instinct, but through cold reason.
That young human, gifted enough to overturn the flow of battle... no, even the tide of history itself... was undoubtedly plotting something once more.
And Arkandor's prediction did not miss the mark.
Ian began inching toward the Earth Dragon, little by little.
He knew it.
With that human's paltry skills, he couldn't even scratch the Earth Dragon's supreme form.
But if it were truly impossible to inflict even a blemish...
From what he'd observed so far, that human wasn't the type to foolishly approach the Earth Dragon.
And sure enough.
As Ian reached within striking distance of the Earth Dragon, a colossal surge of energy suddenly erupted from his body.
As if he had become an entirely different person.
Last winter.
Ian had simultaneously reached the pinnacle of Sword Expert and succeeded in shattering the fifth chain of the Solar Meridian Blockage.
Naturally, his mastery of the Blood Demon Iron Chain Art deepened even further.
And so.
Ian could now unleash power rivaling a Master—for a fleeting moment.
Through.
The ultimate secret art of the Blood Demon Iron Chain Art: the Blood Gate.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
First Gate: Muladhara.
Second Gate: Svadhisthana.
Third Gate: Manipura.
Back when he felled Attila, the Black Rock King and lord of the birch forest, merely opening the third gate—Manipura—had allowed Ian to dance between life and death.
But his refined Blood Demon Iron Chain Art enabled far more.
...Pop!
Surpassing the navel, reaching the center of his chest: the Fourth Gate.
Anahata.
The gate opened.
...Drip, drip, drip!
Vibrant, crimson blood began trickling from the corner of Ian's mouth.
The Blood Demon True Qi, rampaging wildly after the fourth gate's opening, was ravaging his organs.
"...Ha, damn it. I never dreamed I'd be pulling this reckless stunt again so soon."
It felt like just yesterday he'd struggled for ages after opening three gates to take down Attila in the birch forest.
Even with his improved strength now, he hadn't imagined he'd push himself this far again.
"Well... no helping it. I incorporated the Blood Gate as its ultimate art precisely to shine in situations like this!!"
This was all his fault for not growing strong enough to resolve the crisis without overexertion.
Reassuring himself like that, Ian began channeling the rampaging Blood Demon True Qi.
Vwooom!!
The Blood Gate was a forbidden technique with massive side effects—but guaranteed results.
And in that instant.
Ian far surpassed the clan's so-called "little stars," its successor heirs.
No—even now, he might land a fatal blow on the captains themselves.
After all, he possessed the asset of "experience" from clashing with more foes in life-or-death battles than anyone in Agena.
Shriiing!!
As he wielded the rampaging Blood Demon True Qi, the black and white serpents followed his hands, while the silver chains of his Silver Moon Armor—imbued with the moon's glow—also lashed toward the Earth Dragon in midair.
The Silver Moon Armor devoured aura like mad, but at this moment, Ian wielded it without restraint.
That sight... evoked the Hegemon in his prime.
'First, that annoying regeneration.'
Toward the Earth Dragon's wings hovering in the sky, Ian unleashed a long cascade of his flexible whips.
Blood Demon Iron Chain Art, First Form. Blood Night.
Shwaaaa!
Though Ian had opened the Blood Gate and approached the captains' level of power...
Compared to the Earth Dragon, he was but an ant.
No matter how he rampaged his Blood Demon True Qi, unless it was the Hegemon's prime prowess, his skills wouldn't touch the Earth Dragon in its normal state.
Naturally, the attack should have been in vain.
Yes.
If the Earth Dragon had been at full strength.
But.
The Earth Dragon Karaktus was already nursing a severe wound on its neck from the Sea King's tsunami-like barrage, atop the wing gash torn open by Golden Eye's golden wolf rampage.
In that chaotic frenzy, Ian's ambush—utterly undetected—struck as far more lethal than expected.
It was inevitable.
Had Ian possessed captain-level power from the start, perhaps not.
But the energy he'd abruptly surged via the Blood Gate at point-blank range was nearly impossible for even an Earth Dragon to detect instantly.
Slaaaash!
Ian's whips, cloaked in Blood Demon True Qi, shredded the Earth Dragon Karaktus's regenerating wing.
-Kraaaaaargh!!
The outer membrane around the hole hadn't fully healed, leaving the delicate wing vulnerable. The sudden agony tore a scream even from Karaktus.
-Y-You lowly human scum!!
For trash like this human, no spell was needed.
It would crush him bones and all.
And that... was the Earth Dragon's second mistake.
"Stretch out your arm like that... and you're way too easy to handle."
You underestimate me too much.
Shriing!
The white serpent in his right hand, plus the silver chains bursting from his shoulder and shin, coiled straight around the Earth Dragon's forelimb.
Krunch!
Then, like a massive tropical serpent constricting its prey, they mercilessly squeezed the limb, burrowing between the scales.
-...You!!
Not Golden Eye or the Sea King, but some green human whelp subjecting it to this humiliation.
Irritated, the Earth Dragon swung its bound arm wildly.
Whoosh!
Unable to withstand the Earth Dragon's power, Ian was flung and slammed into the ground.
Boom!!
"...Kuhuk!"
Blood mixed with organ fragments gushed from Ian's mouth as his bones shattered across his body.
"Damn... it. As expected... too much..."
It was only natural.
The Earth Dragon was a monster no one—not even Lucas Alexei in his prime—could claim to handle.
Facing such a beast with Ian's current frail realm was the real anomaly; buying this much time already exceeded his role.
"The rest... is up to you..."
So... this was enough.
"You did splendidly, Ian."
Rooooar!!
-!!!
The Earth Dragon, poised to crush Ian into the dirt, whirled around in alarm.
"Allow me to show you."
In the direction of the Earth Dragon's gaze, Paon's Heavenly Wall gleamed blindingly.
"That your gambit was far from wasted."
Flash!
"The end of the path I, Paon Lichtenauer, pursue!!"
Rumble!!
Master.
The term for those who had transcended human limits, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts.
They didn't stop at wielding aura; they infused it with the enlightenments piled up on their path to mastery.
Golden Eye imbued his weapon and aura with his soul, creating the strongest spirit ally to fight alongside him.
The Sea King, wrestling vast seas and skies from his ship, forged a devastating strike that shattered space itself by channeling the terrifying momentum of ever-changing heavens and tsunamis into his blade.
Both, among Agena's top powerhouses... their enlightenments were profoundly regal, befitting kings who dreamed of the highest thrones.
Then.
What path did Paon Lichtenauer—the peerless warrior who bore such enlightenment, yet could not surpass those two monsters—pursue?
It was the path of self-existence.
'I am most complete as myself.'
Thus, the more that complete self ascended to higher realms...
The more it transformed into an absolute being no one could rival, transcending all external interference or influence.
Defining the world solely through its own will and existence, rejecting all else from without.
An enlightenment of utter arrogance.
Yet because the one who attained it was none other than Paon... his realization stood on a plane apart from others'.
'Nothing beyond myself can presume to define or restrict me.'
Vooooom!!
The broken ambitions and shattered dreams of every powerhouse Paon had faced... settled upon the Heavenly Wall.
Slowly, very slowly.
The Heavenly Wall rose above Paon's head.
And soon.
...Whoosh!
It plummeted toward the ground.
But the aftermath differed vastly from any sword strike Paon had shown until now.
No tiniest ripple stirred the descending Heavenly Wall.
Instead.
...Rumble!!
With thunderous roar, clouds swirled, and the heavens... parted.
And then.
A single blade, filling the sky, began its slow descent upon the world.
At that overwhelming spectacle, the brutal battlefield—where lives snuffed out by the second—halted as if by lie.
It had to.
No one present had imagined a human could manifest such an out-of-spec phenomenon.
"Th-This is... the Patriarch's true power...!!"
Even the Lichtenauer Martial Clan warriors loyal to Paon could only gape in awe; words were superfluous.
"Try blocking this, o dragon of the earth."
Steadying his slightly faltering resolve, Paon smirked arrogantly once more.
"My strongest strike, forged from the 'certainty' that I am a perfect existence unto myself."
Rumble...!!
The tip of the blade hovering in the heavens slowly aimed at Karaktus.
"It won't be easy, I wager."
Defining his own world, permitting no external meddling—the path of utmost arrogance that was Paon's enlightenment, the Path of Solitary Supremacy.
That blade, tempered by unshakeable conviction, began plummeting toward Karaktus's head.
-...A fine toy. But.
Vooooom...!!
Black flames flickered at the corners of Karaktus's maw.
-Do you think such a trinket can stop me!!
BOOM!!
Toward the descending blade—as if some mere human dared punish it—Karaktus's black flames lanced out in a diagonal slash.
Emitting heat enough to warp the surroundings, they clashed with Paon's Heavenly Sword.
Vwooom!!
-......!!
Karaktus's eyes widened at the clash of black flames and Heavenly Sword.
Paon's realization-infused blade cleanly bisected the flames, descending undeterred as if mere fire meant nothing.
"Heh heh heh! It won't work."
Nedyr, a Lichtenauer mage checking Drakelas's spells from afar, murmured calmly.
That sword in the sky was the quintessence of the martial arts Paon Lichtenauer had built in his mental realm over a lifetime.
No shallow feat derived from magic rather than martial arts could block it.
"A-As expected of the Patriarch!!"
"That damned flame's splitting in half!!"
"Long live the Lichtenauer Martial Clan!!"
Unlike the cheering Lichtenauer warriors witnessing Paon's strike cleave Karaktus's black flames, Nedyr's expression remained stern.
"If it had been completed properly... that is."
Sword, blade, spear, bow, axe, mace, shield...
That sword literally embodied the concept of "King of Arms."
But a king of arms must subjugate all weapons to reign.
Having aided Paon's training in the mental realm all this time, Nedyr knew better than anyone the incompleteness of Paon's Heavenly Sword.
Paon's Heavenly Sword remained unfinished... yet to claim total victory over the "chains'" master.
Thus, that blade harbored a flaw—a definite gap.
It had not truly reached the realm of solitary perfection.
Would that timeless monster fail to notice...?
Nedyr's gaze, laden with concern, lingered unwavering on the battlefield.