Chapter715 — The Light That Severs Death
The Light Wind Division did not halt their advance. With overwhelming martial prowess, they tore through the Water Demons and mountain bandits as they stormed into the South–North Union headquarters.
"Kill the fleeing bastards too! Don't let a single one escape!"
At the forefront, Martha raised her Titan's Aura. Her blade, infused with the ferocity of the Gale Wind Style, crushed everything in her path. The South–North Union martial artists collapsed helplessly before her strikes.
"This is enemy territory. Calm your excitement."
Though anger burned in his chest, Burren maintained composure at the center of the formation. He summoned a sharp blue gale, severing the throats of assassins who crept in from the shadows.
Runaan, as always, spoke no words. She simply wielded her sword with an icy grace. Each time the blade swept its arc, the Water Demons froze stark white before shattering into lifeless fragments.
"Argh!"
"Monsters…!"
"They're just kids—barely of age…"
The Union's martial artists retreated in fear, their screams echoing as the Light Wind pressed on. With the three squad leaders and Mark Goetun at the front, the division tore into the enemy's heart, demolishing buildings as they advanced.
From within, elderly figures emerged. Wrinkled faces, hunched backs—but with chilling auras that made the air itself heavy. They were the retired elders of the South–North Union, once the most formidable guardians of its halls.
"You young ones… don't you know when to stop?"
"Even a pup knows when to hold its piss."
"To think brats not even born when I retired would dare…"
Though few in number, their presence was suffocating. Each was a warrior whose martial prowess had once shaken the continent.
"Push forward."
Burren did not flinch, even as the oppressive aura pressed down. A gale roared from his sword.
"They are not opponents we cannot defeat."
Raon had taught them how to face overwhelming enemies. His lessons were carved into their very bones.
"Of course!"
Martha bared her teeth and unleashed her berserk strength. Her Titan's Aura swelled to three times its usual size as she cleaved down at one of the elders.
"Kneel, old man."
The elder staggered under her crushing aura.
"You little brat!"
"Little brat?" Martha sneered. "Even this brat knows it's ugly to ambush someone after a life-and-death battle. But I suppose thieves like you wouldn't care."
She pressed forward, her sword tearing through the elder's guard. A red gash burst across his chest, spraying blood.
"Y-you…"
"You don't even deserve an honorable death."
Her blade slit his throat. Yet, as blood soaked the ground, Martha's lips trembled.
Raon Zieghart… You promised to find my mother. What am I supposed to do if you die?
With a roar, she charged the next elder.
Runaan, meanwhile, faced a one-eyed elder. Frost spread from her blade as she struck.
"Ugh… what kind of cold energy is this…?"
The man staggered back, his hands frostbitten and trembling.
Runaan narrowed her eyes, observing the icy brilliance radiating from her sword.
I've grown stronger.
It was as though she had shattered a wall, stepping into a higher realm. And yet—there was no joy. The one person she wanted to share it with was gone.
Her sword painted an elegant arc, scattering frost buds across the battlefield. The snow-white blossoms froze the elders' arms and legs in deep blue ice.
"What is this…?!"
"Insane…"
They gasped in horror as their limbs grew numb. Runaan's blade slipped cleanly across the eyepatched elder's throat, blood staining her frosted steel.
"Let's go!"
Her fierce cry ignited the Light Wind swordsmen.
"Follow the squad leaders!"
"Let's avenge Raon!"
Their fear of the elders melted away. Fueled by rage and grief, they unleashed their full power.
On the flank, Sylvia cut down an elder preparing Astral Energy, then paused, breathing heavily.
The Light Wind Division…
They were Raon's everything, his legacy. The sight of those children, surging forward like wild beasts, cooled her fury and steadied her resolve. She stopped searching for Beorn, choosing instead to protect Raon's children from the shadows.
Then, a thunderous roar shook the battlefield.
The door of a nearby building shattered, and out strode Vice Leader Helgroom, his body wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
"Raon Zieghart!" His voice was a snarl. "That damned bastard is the problem! If not for him killing the Axe King, the Elder's Council Head, and Lector, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
He slammed his foot into the ground, veins bulging with rage.
Sylvia's eyes turned bloodshot. "You…!"
"I'll kill you!"
Burren, abandoning composure, charged straight at Helgroom. But before he could strike, a figure blocked him.
"F-Father?"
Karoon Zieghart stood tall, his eyes calm.
"Even if your heart burns with rage, keep your head cool. This is a battlefield." His tone was cold, measured. "No matter how injured he is, that man is not your opponent to face."
"That's right. He's mine."
Aries stepped forward, brushing past Sylvia. "Leave this old man to me."
She looked at Helgroom with disdain. "Still running? Are you really a Transcendent Warrior… or just a coward?"
Helgroom's eyes flared with hatred. "If not for the wounds inflicted by that cursed Sword Demon, I'd have killed you in a single blow!"
Aries smirked. "While you were getting beaten by an old man, I was fighting the First Apostle. Don't talk nonsense. You're just lacking in skill."
"Shut up!" Helgroom roared, lowering his spear. Blue flames of aura erupted from its tip, collapsing buildings around them.
"Die!"
His spear thrust tore open the air like a vortex.
But Aries did not step back. Blood spilled from her skin, yet her stance only deepened. Her blade drew from the sheath—silent, but infinite.
Lightning split the heavens. Glenn's Heavenly Tremor fell with the force of a natural disaster. Dranos countered, summoning four Water Dragons with his sea spirit spear.
Sword and spear clashed, tearing open the river and sky. Red lightning and blue waves collided, space itself fracturing under their power.
Glenn's strike surged, devouring the Water Dragons.
"Urgh!"
Dranos stumbled back, feet crashing into the river like detonations. Glenn stepped forward, Supreme Harmony Steps carrying him across the sky. In an instant, Heavenly Tremor fell again.
Dranos twisted his spear, summoning six new Water Dragons. "Even if I die, I'll take you with me!"
"—Sword Domain."
Glenn's voice was calm, his blade raised.
"Unblemished Perfection."
The world did not change. No sun or moon moved. Only Glenn—becoming a divine sword that transcended all martial arts.
"Again?!" Dranos cried, fear cracking his voice.
The six Water Dragons rushed to consume him, but Glenn's lightning blade split them apart.
Desperate, Dranos poured all his strength into one final strike, the river itself surging skyward. A tidal wave of blue aura roared toward Glenn, threatening to erase everything.
"Earth Severance."
The god of swords descended. Glenn's lightning blade cut through river, aura, and sky alike.
"This is the end."
Dranos coughed blood, but still he did not fall. With a final roar, he fused his body, aura, and the river into a massive sphere of destruction.
"This is your end!"
The orb swallowed the battlefield.
"Heavenly Sword."
Glenn's voice carried the weight of fate.
At that moment, a corpse rose from the wreckage of a warship. A blue dragon helmet obscured his face.
Derus Robert.
He had not left. He had waited in silence, cloaked in death aura, enduring pain for this one chance.
All for this moment.
Glenn was perfect—invincible. But perfection itself had a flaw. When Glenn unleashed the Heavenly Sword, he poured everything into his strike. In that instant, his back was bare.
Derus struck, his sword piercing the air toward Glenn's heart.
It's over.
But just as victory curled his lips, a snow-white blade rose from beneath the river.
Raon Zieghart.
The swordsman who had defied death once more advanced toward it, golden flames burning along his Heavenly Drive.
It was the Sword Domain—Heaven's Rift.
Like the dawn of creation tearing through the void, a golden light brighter than death itself split the heavens.
The Lable River blazed with radiance.
And a deafening roar swallowed the world.