I'll Feast on Your Swordsmanship

"Khhh!"

A cry of pure, unfiltered satisfaction burst from the platform of the Fifth Training Ground.

"That's the stuff! That's the stuff! This is what makes life worth living!"

Rimer. Left alone in the Fifth Training Ground, he had spread a drinking feast across the platform and was grinning from ear to ear.

"This cup is for Raon! And the second is for Burren!"

He drained the cups he had lifted toward the moon, one after another.

"Neither of them is dead yet, sir!"

Tias, standing below the platform, shook his head.

"Ah, I don't mean I want them dead. I mean I want them to go out there and do well."

Rimer chuckled and tore into a whole roast pig he had scored from the dining hall.

"Ahhhh! This is paradise itself!"

He stripped the meat clean in an instant, rinsed his mouth with liquor, and patted his belly.

"These days that damn Raon even put me on a diet, so I haven't been able to eat properly. Truly a vicious little brat, I tell you."

Rimer muttered that he needed to recover his strength as fast as possible, then let out a sigh.

"Squad Leader, are you not worried?"

Tias bit his lip, gazing in the direction of the Heavy Martial Palace.

"The Battle Demon Squad is strong. They may not compare to the Palaces, but among the squads, they rank in the top three for martial power."

Even if the Heavy Martial Palace had nothing but the Battle Demon Squad, he could not picture the Light Wind Squad winning. Far from rescuing Burren, they seemed more likely to be the ones who got crushed, and the thought gnawed at him.

"Hah… my heart is pounding so hard I feel as though I might die."

If Raon had not ordered him to remain here, he would already have been sprinting for the Heavy Martial Palace.

"You know how in novels, when you go to save a comrade, some special power flares up?"

Rimer twirled a raised finger in a lazy circle.

"That's not just fiction. You saw our kids' eyes when they headed for the Heavy Martial Palace. They were overflowing with confidence."

"Mm. Those eyes…"

Tias swallowed dryly. The Light Wind Squad's eyes had not been gleaming with confidence. They had glittered with something savage. It looked less like they were going to rescue a comrade and more like they were the ones about to do the kidnapping.

"Anyway, just sit back and wait. The kids will bring Burren back on their own."

"I only hope that's the case…"

If the Light Wind Squad came through unharmed and Burren returned safely, he would ask for nothing more.

"Something else bothering you?"

Rimer turned his head, sprawled across the platform as if it were his own bedroom.

"Gelmier is a swordsman who has reached Mid-rank Master. He is a man of utter coldness. I cannot imagine how they will defeat him…"

More than half of the Battle Demon Squad's strength came from Gelmier's personal martial power. How Raon intended to face him was the thing that truly frightened Tias.

"Ahaha! No need to worry about that monster brat. He'll win. No question."

Rimer declared Raon's victory without a shred of doubt and looked up at the moon hanging in the sky.

"But Gelmier is a Mid-rank Master…"

"He only just reached mid-rank. That's not enough to stop Raon."

He tossed a peanut into his mouth and grinned.

"All we need to wonder is what that monster kid will come back with this time."

Steel screamed.

Raon's blade and Gelmier's crashed together more than ten times in a single instant, spraying sparks through the air like a fountain.

A thrust from Gelmier came shooting through those tiny shards of flame.

Raon stepped half a pace forward and narrowed his eyes. Almost at the level of a true artisan. The speed of the strikes, their precision, and the power packed inside them were so perfectly in harmony they approached completeness. It was flawless swordsmanship, without the slightest opening to be seen.

He extended the Mad Fang Sword and smashed the center of the slender blade Gelmier had driven at him.

Kh… Power fierce enough to wring a groan from him punched through his aura and rang all the way into his bones. The man was ugly enough to kidnap and brainwash his own little brother — but his skill, at least, was the real thing.

"Take this as well."

Gelmier dropped his elbow a fraction and thrust his slender sword. The starting point of the thrust had lowered only slightly, yet the blade trembled and an unreadable trajectory took shape.

"Anytime."

Raon lifted the Heavenly Sky Sword up and to the left. With a Mad Fang strike as sharp as a dragon's claw, he cut down from above before Gelmier's technique could gather its full force.

Even blocking it before the form was complete, his grip shuddered. Penetrating force that punched straight through ganggi. Power worthy of a Master who had trained the thrust to its extreme.

He carved the Refining Sword Technique down in a continuous flow. Sword trajectories resembling a constellation linked together like running water and knocked Gelmier's thrusts aside.

He turned his right foot to the left and spread the blazing heat dwelling in the blade of the Heavenly Sky Sword.

From the buds that sprouted at the sword's tip, countless petals of flame scattered and wrapped the entire sealed chamber.

Each fragment of fire was ganggi in its own right. They became a crimson storm spinning in a spiral and crashed down over Gelmier.

"Hmph."

Gelmier let out a sneer, rolled his shoulder back, and fired his slender sword. The ganggi-wreathed tip multiplied into more than a hundred points and split the storm of flame apart completely.

"Heh."

Raon let out a short, incredulous laugh. This is getting interesting. He had pushed the speed of those thrusts to the extreme, and yet the power had not died, and the trajectories were still precise. It was swordsmanship so refined it made the tongue click in admiration. He's compressing the wind and detonating it.

Like Burren, Gelmier had a high affinity for the wind attribute. At the instant of the thrust, he exploded the compressed wind energy to maximize both power and speed. He had supposedly mastered the top-tier Wind Slash Sword Art, and it lived up to the name without falling short in the slightest.

"Lost in a daze, are you? It's too early for regrets. This is only the beginning!"

Gelmier's voice went cold as he carved into the space between them. From his hand, the same thrust Raon had just seen unfolded once more.

There was no room to dodge. His entire field of vision filled with silver blade-tips.

"Try acting cocky like you did a moment ago!"

Gelmier bared his teeth in a grin, already certain of victory, and drove the slender sword home. Hundreds of ganggi-wreathed edges were about to punch through Raon's whole body when Raon swept the Heavenly Sky Sword upward.

The wall of cold melted away as quickly as spring snow — but behind it, it had not let even a sliver of sword energy through. This is useful too. He had tried forming a wall with the operation method of Glacia, which he had learned through Loengrin's knowledge. Judging by the fact that it had stopped the sword blade aura of a Mid-rank Master, it surpassed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation in defense, at least.

"Cocky? I don't recall ever being that."

Raon curled the corner of his mouth as he watched Gelmier's wavering eyes.

"It's a fact that you kidnapped and brainwashed your own little brother because you were afraid of me."

"Shut up!"

Gelmier forced the panic down and thrust his slender sword. He did not fling ganggi this time. He condensed tremendous force into the entire blade and drove it in himself. The speed and power were incomparably greater than before.

Raon resonated the Ring of Fire to its extreme and sharpened his focus. The principle is the same. Ganggi with its penetrating force ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raised to the maximum, detonated with wind energy — a thrust of extreme speed and extreme power. The force and velocity had grown, but the method of operation had not changed.

A pain like tearing skin flared across flesh the fierce energy radiating from the slender sword had not even touched.

Raon watched Gelmier's thrust through to the very end, then slid into the Supreme Harmony Footwork.

Severed strands of hair scattered over Gelmier's slender sword. A dry laugh escaped him at a thrust that tracked him even after he had used footwork. He's certainly a powerful opponent, but… winning won't be difficult.

Gelmier was clearly far stronger than Tiller. But Raon had already grasped the principles of his swordsmanship. If he drew out his full power and fought, he could win well enough.

However.

I want to learn it.

Setting the man's character aside, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gelmier's thrust was close to perfect. The attributes were different, so he could not copy it identically — but he wanted to make that level of completion his own.

Raon looked into Gelmier's eyes, already certain of victory, and licked his lips. I'll feast well on your swordsmanship.

Gelmier let out a cold laugh as he watched Raon do nothing but retreat.

I made a mistake. There had been no need to fear a guy like this.

A martial artist could tell what was in an opponent's heart, what they were thinking, just by crossing blades.

Right now, Raon Zieghart was terrified of the opening forms of the Wind Slash Sword Art and thinking of nothing but running away.

"Pathetic. You ran your mouth while doing nothing but run away?!"

"Don't you know about taking one step back to take two steps forward? How ignorant."

Raon shrugged with a sly smile.

"Y-you little…"

Far from taking the bait, the brat reversed the provocation and focused solely on dodging the thrusts.

And he was not simply dodging. Watching him study the blade until the last instant before pulling back only made it more irritating. You think I don't know what you're thinking?

The higher the level of the fight, the more important concentration became. Raon was clearly trying to shake his mind and create an opening.

I've fought battles like that more times than I can count.

Gelmier chewed the inside of his cheek. He focused his mind so that he could keep his reason ice-cold, and swung his sword. I will never fall for a scheme like that!

He drew a deep breath and unfolded the opening forms of the Wind Slash Sword Art in succession. Raon's aura shredded apart under thrusts detonated with wind energy.

"It's too late to apologize. I'll kill you and turn this entire situation around!"

"Do it, then talk."

"This bastard, to the very end!"

Even in death, this guy's mouth would float to the surface. Gelmier wanted to rip that endlessly running jaw right off his face.

He ground his molars and unfolded one of the Wind Slash Sword Art's secret techniques — Explosive Needle. A strike with its sharpness and speed maximized shot toward Raon's shoulder.

Raon gave the hand on his sword a slight twist, then thrust forward. It was a thrust that felt similar to Explosive Needle.

Explosive Needle and Raon's strike collided, and a shock vast enough to shake the entire underground space erupted.

The one driven back from that tremendous clash was, of course, Raon.

"You little guppy."

Gelmier twisted his mouth as he looked at Raon, who had retreated five steps.

"Did you actually think the likes of you could copy the Wind Slash Sword Art?"

The Wind Slash Sword Art was a top-tier swordsmanship that required not only vast amounts of aura but the essential operation of wind energy as well.

A snort of laughter escaped him at the sight of a brat who could not even handle wind itself, let alone compress it, trying to imitate the Wind Slash Sword Art.

"We'll know that when we see it through to the end."

Raon settled back into his stance and crooked a finger. The way he put on airs even though he should have taken internal injuries turned Gelmier's stomach.

"Come at me again."

"You little—!"

He might not know a thing about the sword, but when it came to provocation, the brat was so good at it it was almost soul-draining.

"I'll end this in a single breath!"

Gelmier clenched his teeth and unfolded Ten Thousand Winds Whirling, one of the Wind Slash Sword Art's secret techniques. Compressed wind energy exploded from his shoulder in a single burst, aiming for Raon's heart.

The terrifying power and speed looked as though they would split the empty air itself.

As if he meant to copy Ten Thousand Winds Whirling as well, Raon dropped his shoulder a fraction, raised a blaze of crimson aura, and fired it straight ahead.

Blade tangled with blade like climbing rose vines, and a roar like a mountain collapsing filled the chamber.

"Nnh…"

"Kh!"

Gelmier remained standing where he was. Raon let out a faint groan and retreated four steps.

"I told you it wouldn't work!"

Gelmier ground his teeth and drove in toward Raon's left. He raised his sword and smashed it down. Wind Slash Sword Art — Hundred Thunder Rains. An ultra-high-speed barrage that unleashed a hundred thrusts in a single instant.

"Hoo."

Raon showed no intention of retreating. He turned his wrist a fraction and copied the form of Hundred Thunder Rains exactly.

Blade met blade without end, and waves of ganggi surged into the air. Everything around them withered away beneath a crimson tide.

"It's pointless. I'll turn you into a skewer just like th—"

"Huh?"

Gelmier swallowed dryly as he looked at Raon's sword. What is that?

In this very moment, as he continued to unfold Hundred Thunder Rains, Raon's thrust was changing, little by little.

Faster. Stronger. More precise.

From a thrust that had been merely passable to one of high completion.

Like a child following in its mother's footsteps, it was coming to resemble his own swordsmanship. Th-that's impossible.

Raising the proficiency of a thrust in the middle of a fight this intense was absolutely impossible. His jaw trembled. In that case—!

Gelmier stopped Hundred Thunder Rains and spun in midair. He kicked off a collapsed pillar and smashed his sword straight down. It was Iron Wolf Assault, a secret technique of the Wind Slash Sword Art.

A strike that came down like a wolf's fangs closing on prey aimed for Raon's head.

Raon lowered his stance. Just as when unfolding Iron Wolf Assault, he raised his elbow a fraction and thrust his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword into the empty air. This one he absolutely cannot copy!

Iron Wolf Assault was, even among the Wind Slash Sword Art, the form that made the greatest use of wind energy. For Raon, who possessed only heat and cold, copying Iron Wolf Assault was an impossibility. I'll punch through him starting from the head!

Just as he tried to smash Raon's skull with Iron Wolf Assault, the brat's eyes flashed with an ominous light. Wind energy sprouted from the thrusting wrist, and the flames loaded onto the blade's tip surged out as if running wild. W-what is this?!

The trajectory and speed were almost identical to Iron Wolf Assault, and the power was even greater. It was a strike that made no sense.

A colossal pillar of fire surged up, shaking even the ground above, and Raon and Gelmier each retreated two steps.

"Y-you, what the hell are you?!"

Gelmier's pupils rolled like a sailboat struck by a wave.

"How does the likes of you have wind aura?!"

Raon let out a short laugh as he looked at Gelmier, whose eyes had gone even wider than when Raon had first come to rescue Burren. Wind aura, huh… I was surprised too.

He had felt it when he tried to learn Gelmier's thrust. With the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, which held the energy of fire, he could not copy it perfectly.

Just as he was about to content himself with simply raising the proficiency of the thrust, a clear, ringing energy surged from his dantian.

A power that had melted into the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation but was not originally of the fire attribute. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The wind aura Rimer had passed on to him.

The wind energy dissolved into the flames was operated along the Ring of Fire, allowing him to copy the Wind Slash Sword Art exactly. There's a reward for staying faithful to the basics.

The basic swordsmanship he trained every day, the wind aura received from Rimer, and the Ring of Fire that had reached the end of the sixth star — thanks to those, he had been able to achieve this.

"I-impossible! This can't be happening!"

Gelmier screamed and charged. He wrung his aura and his body to their limits and thrust. The speed and power rose, and he even twisted the trajectory.

"Hoo…"

Raon steadied his breath and adjusted his grip on the Heavenly Sky Sword. I can go even further from here. A smile formed at the fact that he could raise the completeness of his swordsmanship even higher.

Through the Ring of Fire he read the flow of the thrust Gelmier had raised, then drove the Heavenly Sky Sword forward along it.

Even though Raon's strike had launched later, it did not yield a single inch to Gelmier's thrust.

Where the two blade-tips met, crimson sparks bloomed and the very air warped.

"Y-you, what the hell even are you?!"

"Raon Zieghart."

"Who asked for your name?! I'm asking how you copied me!"

"Well."

"KRAAAAAH!"

Gelmier, as if he had lost his reason, stained his eyes red and unleashed his strikes. Even in his rage, there was no opening in the thrusts. This is all just studying.

Raon did not miss the opportunity. He drank in every last principle of the thrusts Gelmier put on display.

The movement of wrist and shoulder according to the direction of the thrust. The method of operating aura to pack penetrating force and explosive power into the strike. The keen eye that spotted an opening in an instant and changed the trajectory.

He absorbed the strengths Gelmier had built into his thrusting, and discarded the weaknesses.

"Hoo…"

Raon steadied his breath, then unfolded the Mad Fang Sword with the thrusting principles he had learned in this fight packed into it. The Bloodsoaring Fang of the Mad Fang Sword, now carrying a speed and power utterly different from the beginning, crashed into Gelmier's Wind Slash Sword Art.

Blade-tip collided with blade-tip amid a hair-raising shriek of torn air. After that massive clash of force, the one driven back was Gelmier.

"Ah…"

His jaw trembled, as if he could not believe it.

"W-what…"

"This isn't the end, I assume?"

Raon crooked a finger.

"Come at me for real."

"You son of a bitch!"

Gelmier surged forward, raising a chilling murderous intent. Secret techniques of the Wind Slash Sword Art unfolded in succession from his slender sword, but Raon had already read their flow, so they were not difficult to stop. A little more.

Raon knocked aside every one of Gelmier's strikes and refined the thrust to the very last.

The penetrating force and explosive power in the man's aura made his insides churn and his bones ache, but the joy of growth made it all bearable.

"Ahh…"

Gelmier's sword-hand trembled. I can't lose like this! Only by killing that monster and Burren would a way to survive open up. If he lost here, a life worse than death awaited him. Thrusts won't work anymore.

Judging by everything so far, the Wind Slash Sword Art would not get through to that brat. He had to change his swordsmanship. I'll have to use it as bait.

Only one method remained. Throw out a secret art of the Wind Slash Sword Art as bait, then strike from behind with the newly learned swordsmanship.

"Hoo…"

Gelmier steadied his breath. He drew up enough aura to make his dantian ache, then kicked off the ground.

The last form of the Wind Slash Sword Art picked up the wind coming down from the ceiling and stretched forth. One, and yet a thousand thrusts. A sword wave that even extinguished the opponent's will to fight unfolded without end. This is fake.

There was not much aura packed into the Blue Dragon Wind Path. The real thing had hidden its shape behind that splendor.

"This is…"

Raon was frowning at the spreading waves of ganggi, as if his mind had been stolen by the Blue Dragon Wind Path. Got him!

Gelmier clenched his fist. The Blade of Righteous Demonic Shadow hidden behind the Blue Dragon Wind Path could not be stopped by anyone. Even that monster would have no choice but to offer up his neck. It was a perfect offensive.

Raon's cold voice rang through the air as Gelmier, certain of victory, brought the Blade of Righteous Demonic Shadow down.

Crimson flames, seething and scarlet, spread in all directions and shredded the Blue Dragon Wind Path he had used as a feint into pieces.

What came stretching out from behind those flames was a dragon.

A thunderous roar swallowed the chamber.