Chapter 273: Kukan Ken: Rokkon Shojo Zan!
Later move, yet first to arrive!
It was clearly Luke who had launched the attack, but Edelweiss's sword struck Starfall Sword one step faster.
The instant Luke's Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki was drawn, the platinum sword had already blocked the trajectory of that strike.
There was no time to pay attention to the trees and ground that had been blown away around them.
The instant his attack was blocked, Luke did not hesitate in the slightest and directly retreated backward.
In the next moment, Edelweiss proved with her actions that his judgment had been correct.
Whoosh—!
A slash swept through the place where he had just been standing like a raging gust of wind.
It was a sword strike similar to Luke's previous attack.
However, what Edelweiss swung was not one sword, but countless swords!
Sharp and swift, invisible sword strikes that even surpassed Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki were casually produced by her.
A sword technique worthy of being called a secret technique.
A sword technique that, as long as one mastered it, would allow them to look down on the masses.
Yet the world's strongest swordsman, Edelweiss, had released identical, or even stronger, sword strikes simply by casually swinging her twin swords.
The platinum twin swords sliced through the air and attacked the retreating Luke.
Even Luke could only barely capture the airflow cut apart by the blades at an absurd speed.
As for the sword strikes themselves… he could not see them at all!
Clang—!
Clang, clang, clang, clang—!
Nine clear sounds rang out almost at the same time.
Fully focused, Luke held his breath. The Starfall Sword in his hand suddenly transformed into nine meteors, intercepting Edelweiss's slashes one by one.
Invisible sword strikes crossed each other, scattering sparks through the night.
The tenth sword, the eleventh sword, the twelfth sword…
In one short instant, the two exchanged countless blows.
By relying on Edelweiss's body movements and the movement of her gaze, Luke combined them with the barely captured changes in the airflow and blocked one sword after another.
Edelweiss's Device, "Testament," was a pair of platinum longswords.
Since she used twin swords, each of her strikes was made with one hand. Although her attack frequency and speed would increase, her power should have relatively decreased.
…Theoretically, that should have been the case.
However, the facts were precisely the opposite.
Edelweiss's sword strikes were not only fast, they were also extremely heavy.
The force of each of her attacks was in no way inferior to Luke's.
One had to know that compared to Edelweiss, Luke not only had the enhancement of Prana, but also had an overwhelming advantage in physical ability.
And under these circumstances, Edelweiss had forcibly matched the force of his two-handed sword swings with one-handed attacks.
This fact shocked him greatly, but immediately afterward, he discovered the reason.
Clang—!
Edelweiss's pursuit came straight at him, while Luke swung Starfall Sword, which flickered with blue starlight, and blocked it.
Amid the sound of metal clashing and sparks scattering, Luke understood Edelweiss's swordsmanship.
Each of her movements did not produce any "sound" at all!
Whether it was her footwork or her slashes, every action of this pure-white swordswoman was silent and soundless.
Sound was a wave created by the impact produced when air vibrated.
In other words, the existence of "sound" was equivalent to power being dispersed.
What would happen if one could completely control the energy produced during their own movements, so that not even the slightest bit was wasted in any action?
Judging by the result, if taken to the extreme, every action would become as quiet and soundless as Edelweiss's current movements.
In that way, one would be able to display speed and power infinitely close to one hundred percent.
Luke did indeed know Edelweiss, but before this, he had not understood her abilities.
Unlike Ikki and Stella, this world's strongest swordsman, who had not appeared in the anime, was someone he only knew by name and distinguishing features.
However, after Luke understood Edelweiss's swordsmanship, he understood why she was called the peak of the world.
Her swordsmanship had undoubtedly surpassed the realm of humans.
To wield inhuman swordsmanship with a human body—this miraculous person who turned the impossible into the possible was indeed worthy of being called the world's strongest!
Each of her steps, each of her sword strikes, all represented an inhuman realm beyond the limits of humanity.
For the first time in history, Luke was being suppressed in the swordsmanship and speed he was most skilled in.
But!
"This is exactly what makes it interesting!"
The instant he understood Edelweiss's strength, Luke resolutely abandoned defense.
"Eh?!"
Even Edelweiss could not help crying out in surprise at this sudden decision of his.
She had no intention of killing the boy. It could even be said that Luke could not die here.
Putting aside the fact that Edelweiss herself could not bear to kill him, Luke's current background in the world also did not allow him to die here.
The consequences of angering the powerful nation behind him were not something Edelweiss wished to see.
If her actions caused war to break out and plunged living beings into misery, then even Edelweiss, as the world's strongest, would feel guilty.
Moreover, according to Rebellion's plan, Luke Ashburn, who was qualified to become a representative contestant for the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, could die, but absolutely not now.
However, Edelweiss could no longer pull back this sword.
It was not only Luke who felt excited because he was challenging the world's strongest swordsman.
Without realizing it, Edelweiss had also slightly immersed herself in this clash between swordsmen.
Luke's violent, awe-inspiring, and extremely pure sword intent was something even Edelweiss had seen for the first time.
Becoming the world's strongest was not something to be happy about.
Long ago, Edelweiss had fallen into confusion.
It was not that her strength had stopped growing, but that she did not know what her sword should exist for.
Of course, with Edelweiss's state of mind, this bit of confusion would not affect her at all.
But inevitably, when she encountered a pure swordsman like Luke, who was completely opposite from herself, Edelweiss still felt somewhat emotional.
As their twin swords crossed, Edelweiss gradually gained some understanding of the boy.
She had never imagined that Luke would actually make a "suicidal move" like abandoning defense.
A platinum sword light flashed. The longsword in Edelweiss's hand instantly cut through Luke's body!
Whoosh—!
Along with the motion of the sword strike slicing through the air, Edelweiss was surprised to discover that Luke, who had been split in two by her, turned into an illusion and disappeared from where he stood.
Inhuman swordsmanship should naturally be opposed with inhuman swordsmanship.
The instant the illusion vanished, a total of six Lukes appeared around Edelweiss at the same time.
The six Lukes attacked Edelweiss from six different directions in an instant with unbelievable speed!
Kukan Ken: Rokkon Shojo Zan!
Every slash coming from the six directions was even faster than the previous Amakakeru-Ryū-no-Hirameki.
Not only that, at the same time Edelweiss was surprised by Luke's disappearance and then had her attention split by the attacks from six directions—
There was also another figure that silently appeared directly above her head!
For a moment, the sword formation became a deadly attack!