This was the first time Noah was using a Sword Domain attack against an opponent. He had only used this attack in practice before.
He knew that his opponent was a 5 Star Warrior but that didn't affect him much.
Noah had a rather strong spiritual sense. He noticed Gilbert's presence as soon as he appeared over this battlefield.
He understood that this was due to that whistle earlier. The whistle must have sent a special signal to Gilbert. It probably held an echo array or something similar.
Noah expected Gilbert to attack him after arriving on the battlefield. However, he never expected that this warrior would target the other members of the Heretical Paladins. Moreover, he actually launched an attack on Aria!
At that moment, Noah realized that holding back any more would be nothing more than foolishness! He couldn't be selfish any longer and used his Sword Domain immediately.
Roman was caught off-guard at the sudden activation of the Sword Domain and was unable to form proper defense around himself.
As he was thrown aside while bleeding profusely, he noticed that Gilbert had arrived. A frown appeared on his face as he wondered 'What is Gilbert doing over there? He should have come and helped me immediately.'
However, he noticed a rather beautiful woman plastered to the ground near Gilbert.
Roman was instantly speechless as he thought 'This guy is actually focusing on a woman in the middle of a battlefield?! Fuck! So, this is why the headmaster never allowed him to lead an army even though he possessed such strong martial strength?!'
This opened Roman's eyes and he understood that he had to rethink his plans a bit. He couldn't count on such a fickle individual who didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.
This battle was quite important to the Sinyalian Kingdom! They couldn't afford to lose here!
Meanwhile, Noah launched a rather quick attack at Gilbert. This was the Crouching Tiger Thrust. His starting acceleration was very great, and his speed increased exponentially along with time.
Gilbert saw that attack coming at him in slow motion. He hadn't reached 5 Star Rank through medicinal pellets alone. Well, medicinal pellets played a significant role in his breakthrough to the 5 Star Rank, but he had fought his share of battles.
And there had been many times when his life hanged on the balance between life and death.
Thus, his senses were unusually sharp, and he had a massive experience under his belt. He could see multiple flaws within Noah's attack.
Gilbert side-stepped the thrust and enveloped his leg with Wind Ardor and kicked Noah's stomach.
But then something unexpected happened. Noah leaped at the last possible moment, turning his body at a right angle. He whirled to face Gilbert, a calm expression on his face as if everything was under his control.
Noah intercepted Gilbert's kick with the hilt of his sword. As those two attacks collided, a massive shockwave occurred, and it blew everyone in the area away.
This was the clash between the Sword Domain and a 5 Star Warrior.
Noah could feel the massive pressure from a 5 Star Warrior. However, his Sword Domain didn't let up! It continued to release its sharp yet terrifying force at Gilbert and managed to slice his skin by a bit.
Gilbert was absolutely shocked as he felt Noah's attack piercing his skin!
This indicated that Noah's attack empowered by his Sword Domain had managed to cover the gap between the 4 Star Rank and 5 Star Rank. At the least, this attack was stronger than Gilbert's 5 Star Ardor!
Gilbert instantly realized that it was a bad idea to have underestimated this kid. He should have listened to Roman and not underestimated Noah and his sword domain.
However, this was not where Noah's attack ended. Instead, it had begun only now!
The sword domain around Noah suddenly disappeared. Gilbert frowned a bit in confusion.
'What is this kid doing? By putting down the Sword Domain, he can't fight me. Or does he think he can bring me down even without his Sword Domain?! He is overestimating his ability! I will make him pay for looking down on me!'
Gilbert was ready to launch multiple wind rings and a dense wind blade at Noah. However, he stopped these attacks and jumped back very suddenly.
The pressure he generated on all the warriors and soldiers in the vicinity instantly disappeared. They were shocked to see that Noah had actually made Gilbert retreat!
The Heretical Paladins knew Noah was strong, but they never expected that his strength had reached such a high level!
However, Noah didn't grow arrogant despite this amazing feat. He knew that Gilbert's Ardor had been stretched thin as he used it to suppress these warriors and soldiers.
The Ardor he could muster for his defense was minuscule in comparison. This battle was far from over! Gilbert was bound to fight seriously now!
And this was the truth. Gilbert had a furious look on his face as he stared at the small wound on his leg.
Noah had infused the entire power of his Sword Domain into that little wound! Noah's Sword Domain had penetrated his bone and chiseled away a piece of it.
Fortunately, Gilbert had realized before it was too late, or Noah would have sliced his right leg!
Gilbert could heal the wound, but it would cost him a fortune. Besides, he couldn't afford to be seriously injured for the evil scheme he had in mind.
It would greatly affect his escape plan!
Now that Gilbert had recalled his entire Ardor, the warriors and soldiers in the vicinity were standing up. However, none of them were fighting. Instead, their gazes were fixated on Noah and Gilbert.
They knew that the one who won this battle would have won it all.
Meanwhile, Noah had a serious expression on his face. He knew that charging once again wouldn't work.
Gilbert was extremely alert and there were no openings that Noah could take advantage of.
'I need to look for an opportunity when he attacks me. He is bound to make some mistakes,' Noah thought seriously.
Gilbert soon moved from his spot. However, he wasn't moving towards Noah.
Instead, he was moving around Noah in a circular path. He covered this circular path rather quickly and his speed increased over time.
Noah's eyes couldn't follow Gilbert's body and a small frown appeared on his face.
Suddenly, he turned his head and blocked a Wind Blade heading in his direction. Noah was using the force of his entire Sword Domain to block a single Wind Blade.
However, even as his positioning and posture were perfect, this Wind Blade made him skid back by a couple of feet. This told Noah volumes about Gilbert's power.
Noah's grip over his Sword tightened as understood that fighting head-on against Gilbert would be pure foolishness. He had to do something smarter!
Gilbert attacked Noah once again. This time, there were multiple wind blades heading towards Noah.
Instinctively, Noah responded by whispering, "Sword Domain: Hundred Swords!"
The Sword Domain stretched itself around Noah's body, encompassing a few feet.
As soon as those Wind Blades entered the range of his Sword Domain, Noah struck them with his sword. This was an extremely quick swing that even Gilbert couldn't see.
In the blink of an eye, there were dozens of such swings and all those Wind Blades were deflected in different directions.
And surprisingly, Gilbert narrowly dodged his own Wind Blades. He realized that Noah wanted to harm him by his own attack.
This was the first time someone had countered his attack in this manner. It made Gilbert understand that Noah was a combat genius.
'…I need to return to the good old method!'