Roland gripped his spiked war hammer, staring in stunned silence.
Bloodaxe Grimm opened his mouth wide, looking at the severed head rolling on the ground, then at Napoleon standing frozen in place.
The autumn wind howled, stirring up small clouds of fine ash from the ground.
For a moment, all three men remained silent.
Napoleon was completely unprepared—he had never expected that this swaggering brute couldn't even dodge what was merely a probing strike.
Roland was thoroughly terrified, his legs beginning to tremble.
And Bloodaxe Grimm was utterly shocked that such a clean strike had come from this beardless young whelp.
"Good, good, good!"
He suddenly burst into laughter, though his grin carried a hint of savagery.
"Another one looking for..."
Splurt!
Blade-light flashed—this time targeting Roland.
Napoleon's figure crossed past Roland in an instant, another spray of fresh blood splattering down.
Roland's head was also severed, rolling several times on the ground before coming to rest against a pile of charcoal.
Napoleon flicked the blood from his blade.
A burning sensation of boiling blood-lust stirred deep in his heart.
"This is killing, this is being a swordsman! This is the legendary 'draw blades at the first disagreement'!"
He gripped his longsword tight—this ordinary blade, its edge no longer than a forearm, felt like his most intimate battle companion.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling welled up from Napoleon's depths. He suddenly felt as though he was living out all the adventure novels he had once read.
An indescribable exhilaration burned continuously in his heart's core.
"Come then! Either kill me, or join these two worthless dogs on the ground."
Napoleon savored this feeling. His eyes grew somewhat red as he licked his dry lips, advancing step by step toward Bloodaxe Grimm.
"You bastard!!"
Bloodaxe Grimm's face gradually contorted with fury.
He gripped his thick-backed cleaver with both hands, striding forward to meet Napoleon.
Swoosh!
The silver swallow appeared once more as Napoleon struck with his blade.
Though Zephyr's Blade Dance was only at entry level, under the masterful blade-work foundation of Black Tiger Blade Techniques, its power was quite formidable.
Clang!
But this strike was blocked by Bloodaxe Grimm's raised blade.
"I recognize this move... Swallow Skims Water, from Zephyr's Blade Dance..." he sneered. "Years ago I nearly killed the original master of this technique—what makes you think a green whelp like you can succeed?"
He pushed hard, deflecting Napoleon's longsword.
The cleaver's edge twisted, carrying tremendous force as it swept upward in a diagonal slash.
This move—the Splashing Water style from Whirlwind Blade techniques—was his tried-and-true opening gambit. Whenever he used this move, opponents either had to dodge or were forced into direct confrontation.
Napoleon leaped sideways, evading the cleaver, his longsword employing the full power of Zephyr's Blade Dance as he engaged in fierce combat.
The two men fought intensely in the center of the rear courtyard.
Bloodaxe Grimm's blade-work was heavy and powerful, wielding his great cleaver almost like a war hammer, with tremendous force that left arms numb from the smallest contact.
But Napoleon was faster, with greater endurance, constantly using Zephyr's Blade Dance techniques to strike at his opponent's flanks, deflecting and disrupting the enemy's attacks.
Both men were actually quite fast—far faster than Gareth and Roland had been.
But such speed was merely their normal state.
Napoleon unleashed dozens of Zephyr's Blade Dance techniques in one continuous sequence, yet still couldn't gain an advantage.
Meanwhile, Bloodaxe Grimm remained vigorous as a dragon, his strength frighteningly powerful.
Clang clang!
Their blades collided twice more in succession.
Napoleon carelessly misstepped on a piece of rotten wood, losing his balance.
Bloodaxe Grimm's eyes lit up as he immediately threw his full power into a forward slash.
"Die!!"
He intended to split this hateful whelp clean in two! The boy had dared kill Gareth and Roland right before his eyes.
If he didn't avenge this insult, who would dare serve under their brotherhood in the future?
The great cleaver carried a strange vibration as it swept down mercilessly toward Napoleon's skull.
The core principle of Whirlwind Blade techniques lay in special force-application methods that greatly amplified the power of each strike.
This made Bloodaxe Grimm, already possessing frightening strength, even more terrifying with his blade.
The great cleaver descended toward Napoleon's head.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Napoleon's body straightened, instantly regaining his footing. The longsword in his hands vibrated rapidly, suddenly emitting a low, rumbling howl.
ROAR!!!
It was a tiger's roar!!
Napoleon's eyes blazed red as he unleashed Tiger's Fury from the Black Tiger Blade Techniques.
His blade, carrying tremendous vibration and explosive force, swept viciously toward Bloodaxe Grimm's weapon-gripping arms. This strike came faster and more vicious than the descending cleaver!
"You dare!!" Suddenly an angry roar echoed from outside the courtyard entrance.
In an instant, a black shadow shot forward, striking hard against the side of Napoleon's blade.
Clang!
It was a chunk of gray-white stone.
A second burly man wielding a thick-backed cleaver leaped into the courtyard.
This warrior bore two intersecting scars from forehead to chin, giving him an exceptionally fierce appearance.
"Elder Brother!!"
Bloodaxe Grimm had been momentarily stunned by the tiger's roar induced by Black Tiger Blade techniques, his reactions slowed by half a beat—he had nearly lost both arms to Napoleon's strike.
He seized this opportunity to withdraw his blade, large beads of cold sweat breaking out across his face. He was clearly thoroughly shaken.
"This whelp uses Black Tiger Blade techniques—he's not easy to handle! People are coming—attack together and finish him!"
Grimskull Magnus glanced at the two corpses on the ground and spoke harshly.
"Right!"
The two brothers split apart, charging at Napoleon from both sides.
Napoleon showed no fear, unleashing Tiger's Majesty from Black Tiger Blade techniques—a move far heavier and more substantial than Zephyr's Blade Dance.
The perfected Black Tiger Blade techniques wielded terrifying power. With each strike, he moved a step ahead of his opponents, slashing toward vital points they couldn't afford to ignore.
In just moments, he had used Tiger's Majesty seventeen consecutive times!
Slash slash slash slash!
The entire courtyard rang with shouts and battle cries. The two brothers fighting together could barely manage a stalemate with Napoleon.
Their blade techniques had no opportunity for direct confrontation—each time they tried to execute a move, they were forced back into desperate defense.
After such intense combat for half an incense stick's duration, Grimskull Magnus could endure no longer. He retreated a step, and while his brother temporarily held Napoleon at bay, reached into his coat and pulled out a paper packet, hurling it directly at Napoleon's head.
"Die!!"
Poof!
The packet was slashed apart by Napoleon's blade, releasing a large cloud of lime powder.
He was startled, immediately holding his breath and closing his eyes.
With no time to think, he unleashed his final technique—Tiger's Roar—in a frenzied assault.
ROAR!!
Another tiger's roar rang out.
Clang clang!!
This time Napoleon's longsword couldn't avoid contact, colliding head-on with both great cleavers.
Crack! The longsword shattered completely, its broken pieces spinning away to embed in the ground.
But Tiger's Roar, as the strongest technique in Black Tiger Blade methods, possessed tremendous power and speed.
The cleavers in the hands of both brothers were also jarred loose by the tremendous impact.
"Let's see what you use to block this! Die!! Hahahaha!"
Grimskull Magnus laughed triumphantly. A bladeless swordsman was nothing but a lamb for slaughter—the difference in capability was enormous.
He was about to grip his weapon tightly to finish Napoleon.
Thud thud!!
At that moment, two heavy palm strikes rang out.
Grimskull Magnus's eyes widened as he watched Napoleon suddenly close the distance, his palms striking like thunder, landing consecutive blows on his brother Bloodaxe Grimm's chest.
Bloodaxe Grimm's great cleaver clanged to the ground.
He stumbled backward two steps in disbelief, clutching his chest, unable to speak.
"Elder... Elder Brother... run... quickly!"
Splurt!
Bloodaxe Grimm coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed backward.
Napoleon had now entered a strange state of boiling blood-lust.
After killing Bloodaxe Grimm, he flashed forward again, using the footwork of Heartbreaker Combat Art to charge the nearby Grimskull Magnus.
Grimskull Magnus snapped back to awareness, roaring as he tried to use his blade to block.
But it was too late.
His brother's death had left him stunned and confused—this moment's hesitation was enough for Napoleon to close the distance.
Thud thud thud!!
Three consecutive palm strikes! Napoleon's hands moved like lightning, striking three blows to Grimskull Magnus's chest and abdomen.
The unique force of Heartbreaker Combat Art penetrated skin and muscle, reaching directly to the internal organs.
Grimskull Magnus's face flushed deep red as he staggered backward several steps before dropping to his knees with a thud.
He stared fixedly at Napoleon, his mouth opening as if to speak, but the blood continuously gushing from his mouth prevented any sound.
Splurt!
Grimskull Magnus pitched forward stiffly, falling silent forever.
Napoleon chuckled twice.
"Two experts of the unified force level... should be the Grimskull and Bloodaxe that Captain Garrett pursued in his youth. Who would have thought they'd die by my hand today."
He gazed at the four corpses on the ground, his heart surging with emotion, blood and qi flowing powerfully through his body.
"Could this be what Captain Garrett called the mental coordination level of martial artists? The unity of heart and intention that Master Magnus had pointed out to me?"
If unified force was the realm of commanding most of one's physical strength.
Then mental coordination was the integration of eyesight, mental focus, vocal techniques, and other methods to attack opponents from multiple angles simultaneously.
At the same time, in the mental coordination realm, one's mastery over personal strength exceeded that of unified force.
The human body's muscles were not so easily brought under complete control.
Napoleon still remembered research from Earth claiming that if a person could direct all their muscular power toward a single point, even an ordinary adult could generate several tons of terrifying force.
This was the theoretical limit.
But human joints and bones couldn't withstand such power.
So it remained mere theory.
Mental coordination should allow one to approach this degree of muscular development far more closely.
Napoleon stood in the courtyard and moved forward to search through the Grimskull brothers' belt pouches and clothing.
From their pouches he found a stack of bank notes—all large denomination hundred-tael notes. Without counting them carefully, he quickly stuffed them into his own belt pouch.
He also obtained a torn black booklet of unknown leather construction. This booklet had been kept close to Grimskull Magnus's body, obviously quite important.
The rest of the miscellaneous items Napoleon left untouched. He simply stood in the courtyard resting quietly, waiting for the Bonaparte estate's people to arrive.
The earlier battle with two unified force-level opponents had actually left him injured.
Both Grimskull Magnus and Bloodaxe Grimm possessed natural divine strength, and combined with Whirlwind Blade techniques that enhanced their power, their blade-work carried tremendous weight.
In that final head-on collision.
The muscles in Napoleon's right arm had been jarred and injured, his back heel ached faintly—likely the high-intensity exertion had damaged his foot tendons as well.
His shoulders also sent waves of pain from the short-term consecutive explosive attacks, full-power blade work, and final violent collision. He wasn't sure if the bones had been injured.