Chapter 715
The Light Wind division swordsmen did not stop their advance. With overwhelming martial prowess, they tore through the Water Demons and mountain bandits as they entered the South-North Union headquarters.
"Kill the fleeing bastards too! Don't let a single one escape!"
Martha raised her Titan's Aura at the forefront of the Light Wind Formation. The South-North Union martial artists fell helplessly before her sword strikes imbued with the wind of the Gale Wind Style.
"This is enemy territory. Calm your excitement."
Burren, while showing anger, maintained the center of the Light Wind Formation. He raised a blue gale, slicing the throats of the South-North Union assassins who were stealthily approaching. Runaan, still without uttering a word, focused solely on wielding her sword.
Every time her sword drew its elegant arc, the bodies of the Water Demons froze stark white and were torn apart.
"Argh!"
"M-monsters..."
"To think these are just kids barely of age..."
The South-North Union martial artists could only retreat with screams and groans in the face of the Light Wind division's charge, led by the three squad leaders and Mark Goetun. As the Light Wind division swordsmen began to demolish the South-North Union buildings, elderly martial artists exuding a chilling aura emerged from inside. They were the elders of the South-North Union who had once held import positions in the union.
"You young ones. Don't you know when to stop!"
"Even a day-old pup knows when to hold its piss."
"To think those not even born when I retired would dare..."
The South-North Union elders gritted their teeth, deep wrinkles etched on their foreheads. Though few in number, each possessed formidable martial prowess.
"Push forward."
Despite feeling the elders' fierce aura, Burren did not back down and summoned a gale.
"They're not opponents we can't defeat."
Raon had always shown them how to fight and win against strong opponents. His teachings were deeply ingrained in the minds of the Light Wind division.
"Of course!"
Martha nodded, maximizing her berserk mode. She charged at an elder and swung her sword down ruthlessly.
The South-North Union elder's knees buckled under the Titan's Aura that had swelled to three times its normal size.
"Y-you little brat!"
The elder glared at Martha in disbelief.
"Little brat?"
Martha sneered, pushing up her lips.
"Even this little brat knows it's ugly to ambush after a life-or-death battle, but I guess you thieves don't?"
She roared and pushed the elder back. The South-North Union elder, overwhelmed by Martha's spirit, allowed a hit. A bright red sword wound appeared on his chest, blood spurting out.
"Keh, y-you..."
"You don't even deserve an honorable death."
Martha bit her lip as she slit the elder's throat. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of blood soaking the ground.
'Damn it. Raon Zieghart!'
You promised to find my mother! What am I supposed to do if you die! Martha charged towards the elder standing in the center, biting her trembling lips with her canines. Meanwhile, Runaan thrust her sword towards the elder wearing an eyepatch on his right eye.
"Ugh, how can there be such cold energy..."
The elder with the eyepatch couldn't withstand the frost energy imbued in Runaan's sword and retreated with frostbitten hands.
"..."
Runaan narrowed her eyes as she observed the icy cold energy emanating from her sword.
'I've become stronger.'
It felt like she had broken through a wall and reached an even higher place. Not just her, but the entire Light Wind division had surpassed their limits and reached a new realm. But she felt no joy at all. The most important person with whom she should have shared this sense of achievement was dead.
Runaan extended her sword in a long arc, as if drawing a picture. The frost buds blooming on the snow-white blade scattered into dozens of pieces.
Her unique frost flower, created in imitation of Raon's Fire Spirit, enveloped the battlefield, freezing the elders' arms and legs in a deep blue.
"Huh!"
"W-what is this!"
"Insane..."
The South-North Union elders gasped at their frozen arms and legs. It was a severe cold that couldn't be easily dispelled even with aura. Runaan sliced the throat of the elder with the eyepatch and raised her blood-soaked sword.
"Let's go!"
Her fierce cry ignited a fierce fighting spirit in the eyes of the Light Wind division swordsmen.
"Follow the squad leaders!"
"Let's avenge Raon!"
Thanks to the three squad leaders, the swordsmen erased their fear of the elders and unleashed their full abilities. Sylvia cut down a South-North Union elder trying to release Astral Energy on the right and straightened up. She bit her lip as she watched the young swordsmen advancing like wild bulls.
'Light Wind division...'
Seeing the children of the Light Wind division, which could be considered Raon's everything, calmed the fiery wrath in her heart and brought a cool rationality to the fore. The Light Wind division was proof that Raon had lived in this world.
Not wanting to see those children die, she stopped searching for Beorn and instead circled around, taking down the strong opponents.
A thunderous roar suddenly echoed!
As the Zieghart swordsmen began to dominate the South-North Union headquarters, the door of a three-floor building on the right shattered, and Vice Leader of the South-North Union Helgroom walked out.
"Raon Zieghart! That damned bastard is the problem!"
He gritted his teeth as he tore off the blood-soaked bandages.
"If only the Axe King, Head of the Elder's Council, and Lector whom he killed were here, we wouldn't be overwhelmed like this!"
Helgroom stomped his foot hard, blaming everything on Raon.
"Ugh..."
Sylvia bit her lip, her eyes bloodshot.
"It's all because of you! I'll kill you!"
Burren, uncharacteristically losing his composure, charged towards Helgroom. As he was about to unleash his gale sword, Karoon blocked his path.
"F-Father?"
Burren's lips trembled as he looked into Karoon's calm eyes.
"Even if your heart is filled with rage, keep your head cool. This is a battlefield."
Karoon shook his head, his voice dry.
"No matter how injured he is, that man is not an opponent you can face."
"That's right. He's mine."
Alice nodded as she walked up from behind.
"Sylvia. Leave that old man to me."
She patted the shoulder of the trembling Sylvia and stood before Helgroom.
"You keep running away. Are you really a Transcendent Warrior? Or just a fugitive?"
Alice lightly waved her finger at Helgroom.
"If it weren't for the wounds inflicted by that fanatic Sword Demon, I would have killed the likes of you in one blow!"
Helgroom showed a fierce gaze as he blamed his injuries.
"While you were getting beaten by the old Sword Demon, I was fighting the First Apostle, you know?"
Alice snorted, telling him not to talk nonsense.
"You're just lacking in skill."
"Shut up!"
"You have nowhere left to run. Let's end this."
Alice placed her hand on her sword hilt and thrust her right shoulder forward.
"Fine!"
Helgroom lowered the spear shaft he held with both hands. Blue flames of aura erupted from the spear tip, causing nearby buildings to start crumbling.
"Die!"
The moment he thrust his spear, a blue vortex emerged, enveloping Alice's entire body. Her skin split, and bright red blood spurted out. Despite Helgroom's terrifying spear attack, Alice did not retreat, instead stretching her left foot forward. A colorless dimension opened above the blade as it was drawn from its sheath.
* * *
With a thunderous roar, lightning that could pierce the heavens surged from Glenn's Heavenly Tremor. A stream of lightning swept across the surroundings, more akin to a natural disaster than swordsmanship. Dranos summoned four Water Dragons with his sea spirit spear.
He perfectly harmonized his self-cultivated martial arts with the magic imbued in the sea spirit spear, unleashing a new realm of spearmanship.
As Glenn's sword strike and Dranos's spear thrust competed, a dark line seemed to connect the sky and the river. The massive wave of aura tore apart space itself. However, the evenly matched collision didn't last long. Glenn's lightning emitted an even brighter light, devouring Dranos's Water Dragons.
"Urgh!"
Dranos fell like a bird with torn wings, stumbling backwards on the river's surface. Each time his feet touched the water, it erupted as if exploding. Glenn stepped his left foot into the air. It was the Supreme Harmony Steps at its peak. The moment he thought of moving, he was already in front of Dranos, extending the Heavenly Tremor.
It was a movement that transcended the concept of martial arts. However, Dranos, befitting his role as the master of the South-North Union, possessed martial prowess beyond comprehension. He swiftly twisted his sea spirit spear to block the trajectory of the incoming Heavenly Tremor. As Glenn and Dranos clashed at extreme speeds, red and blue lights spread across the heavens and earth.
The sound eventually followed after the wave of aura. The two Transcendent Warriors were clashing sword and spear in a realm faster than sound. The river rose on its own, summoning a storm, and dark clouds filled the sky, obscuring the sun. It was an eerie scene as if the world's end had come.
Glenn's downward slash from his shoulder sent Dranos reeling back, his knees buckling as he was pushed into the river water.
"Ugh..."
Dranos's hand holding the sea spirit spear trembled as he bit his lip until it bled.
"Do you think this is the end!"
As he swung his sea spirit spear, six Water Dragons burst forth from the extended spear tips, covering the sky and river.
"Even if I die, I'll take you with me!"
"Sword Domain."
Ignoring Dranos's words, Glenn raised the Heavenly Tremor.
"Unblemished Perfection."
His low cry didn't change the world or raise the sun and moon. Only one thing changed: Glenn had transformed into a divine sword that transcended the realm of martial arts. An overwhelming aura emanated from him as if he were the only being in this world.
"That again!"
Dranos exclaimed in dismay as he thrust out his sea spirit spear. The six Water Dragons summoned by the spear tips unleashed a terrifying aura, enveloping Glenn's entire body. Faced with a spear strike that seemed capable of erasing his very existence, Glenn raised the lightning-imbued sword in his hand.
"Thunderbolt."
With Glenn's chilling voice, a red slash advanced. A lightning blade stretching across the horizon split the six Water Dragons without leaving a single piece.
"Ugh, it's not over yet!"
Dranos leaned forward, swinging his spear shaft. An aura imbued with blue radiance absorbed all the surrounding river water and extended towards Glenn. The tremendous pressure made Glenn's body waver like a mirage. It seemed as if the entire river was filled with killing intent aimed at him.
"Earth Severance."
In pressure that would make even a Transcendent Warrior struggle to move a finger, Glenn swung his lightning sword. The blade fell with a grace as if the god of swords had descended, splitting the blue aura tidal wave and the South-North Union headquarters behind it in half.
"This is the end."
He cast a dry gaze downward, as if already certain of his victory.
"Kuhek..."
Dranos coughed up blood, seemingly shocked by the Thunderbolt and Earth Severance. But he didn't fall, instead exploding all his remaining energy. As Dranos pierced the Lable River with his sea spirit spear, a pillar of water connecting the sky and river surged up. He expelled all his remaining energy to create a massive sphere of aura.
"The end? No! This is your end!"
The sphere of aura, containing Dranos's energy and the water energy of the Lable River, advanced with a powerful light. The wave of immense power left scars in the air as if it had been torn apart. Glenn swung down his lightning sword towards Dranos's ultimate technique that threatened to erase him.
"Heavenly Sword."
* * *
The moment Glenn uttered "Heavenly Sword," a corpse on the half-destroyed warship raised its head. On its face was a blue dragon helmet that seemed to devour light. Derus Robert. He had not left this battlefield for even a moment.
He had endlessly circled around Glenn, waiting for that one chance to kill him.
Using the death aura to erase his presence and aura, he endured the waves of the Transcendent Warriors with his bare body. He maintained his focus through extreme pain to seize an opportunity smaller than a needle's eye.
'All for this very moment.'
Derus Robert advanced silently across the river water, his sword raised with the death aura.
'This is the first and last chance.'
Having fought him directly, he knew. Glenn Zieghart was a flawless, perfect martial artist. Especially his Sword Domain Unblemished Perfection was a martial art that could be called invincible.
'However...'
Being too strong was his weakness. When Glenn strikes with the Heavenly Sword, he focuses all his strength and mind on his opponent. In other words, that moment was the only way to kill the Lightning God. Derus slipped behind Glenn's back, hiding his killing intent within the fighting spirit of the battlefield.
Glenn's eyes, focused only on Dranos, turned back. He had only now noticed Derus's presence.
'But...'
It was already too late. Glenn was still unleashing his Heavenly Sword at full power against Dranos.
If he had even 1 second, no, 0.1 seconds, he might have been able to change the direction of his sword strike, but now, not even that fraction of a moment remained.
With a piercing sound, Derus thrust his sword, burning with death aura, towards Glenn's heart. It was a perfect backstab, even better than he had imagined.
'It's over.'
Just as he was about to curl his lips in certainty of Glenn's death, a snow-white blade surged from the river water beneath Glenn's feet. Raon Zieghart. The swordsman who had returned from death once again advanced towards death. Golden flames blazed along the blade of the Heavenly Drive, as if aiming to lead the heavens. It was the Sword Domain - Heaven's Rift!
Like the moment of creation that erased darkness and opened the sky in ancient times, a golden light that overcame death illuminated the Lable River.
A deafening roar echoed!