Chapter 276 Liam, The Summoner of the Millennia! Part-5.

The mantis king hissed in pain, but Liam didn't let it falter.

He immediately put his hand on Barduk's back and used his own mana to extinguish the after-effects of Rio's sword intent.

Beads of sweat appeared on Liam's forehead.

'Even with Ellie's help, it's still really difficult to counter this guy's speed-'

[Elemental Sword Art: Fire Type: Horizontal Shift!]

Rio didn't give Liam the time to think properly, and he arrived right beside him in the very next second.

This time, he aimed his sword at Liam.

'Sh*t, I will get hit!'

[Barduk: Perfect Counter!]

*Clang!*

Rio earlier severed one of the mantis king's pair of sickle-like hands, but even with just one hand, the mantis king easily countered Rio's technique without suffering any injuries.

Even Rio was surprised by how easily his technique was countered.

[Gamel: Fire breath!]

The wyvern flying in the air immediately fired a massive fire breath attack at Rio, but Rio didn't even budge.

[Elemental Sword Art: Water Type: Inverted Waterfall!]

Rio swung his sword upward, and the water elements that condensed around his sword quickly split the whole fire breath in two!

Rio's sword swing created air pressure that pushed back even the wyvern.

But all of that was enough for Liam to make some distance from Rio with Barduk.

Liam got down from Barduk's back and placed his hand on the ground.

[Summon: Demonic Chimera!]

Rio immediately came rushing towards Liam, but Barduk defended Liam during the summoning process.

"How many of them can you counter?"

[Elemental Sword Art: Thunder Type: Thousand Thunder Flow!]

In the span of three seconds, Rio hit Barduk with a thousand attacks that were enhanced by a little bit of 'Sword intent.

Furthermore, Rio was already using 'concentration' and other skills to improve himself.

Therefore, the damage he inflicted with each strike was incredible.

Even the air pressure created by each swing of his sword made Liam feel tense as he summoned.

In response to Rio's attack, Liam also gave the order.

[Barduk: Max output: perfect counter!]

But even with the maximum output, the mantis lord simply couldn't match Rio's speed.

Despite perfectly countering all of the thousand attacks, the final one still struck Barduk's stomach.

Even that single attack was strong enough to nearly split Barduk's body into two!

If not for the fact that Liam had put a binding on his summons that they would automatically get de-summoned when heavily injured, Rio's attack would have killed Barduk right there!

Upon witnessing the de-summoning of the mantis lord, Rio gently rubbed his cheek and spoke.

"I see... I understand it now... That mantis had a skill that could counter any close combat weapon 'technique' but..."

"When I infused my technique with 50 percent sword intent's power, then he couldn't counter it at all... Thanks a lot, Liam. I have learned something new from you today..."

Using only 'sword intent' is like swinging a sword in a simple manner; there's no technique behind it, and it becomes easier to dodge.

Until now, Rio wasn't able to perfectly balance his sword intent with his technique's power, as he didn't have a proper dummy to test it all.

But Liam's summoned beast, Barduk, was the perfect test subject for Rio, and with Rio's amazing battle IQ, he easily figured out how to defeat that mantis lord.

Rio figured out the perfect sword intent infusion method mid-attack when he was carrying out those thousand swings.

But Rio has too many tricks up his sleeve, and even Lia doesn't know about them all.

[Sword Intent]

This time, Rio didn't use any technique; he imbued his sword with pure sword intent and swung it downward!

*Kraaaggghhhhh!!*

The wyvern cried in pain as Rio's sword instantly hit its neck and injured it heavily.

Rio's sudden, unpredictable move shocked Liam, delaying him by a few seconds. As a result, he couldn't deliver his order on time, which led to the wyvern's injury.

But Liam wasn't going to stand there and watch the show.

He took advantage of the wyvern's sacrifice and stomped the ground to summon his other beast.

[Summon: Titan Mammoth!]

Then he raised his hand and cast magic himself.

[Advanced Fire Magic: Ray of Ascending Fire!]

Above Liam's head, a massive magic circle materialized and shot a massive beam of condensed fire towards Rio.

Rio stopped looking at Gamel, who was getting de-

summoned, and he swung his sword in a downward arc to counter Liam's spell.

[Elemental Sword Art: Water Type: Flow of peaceful rivers!]

Rio's sword shot out a massive arc of condensed water, directly countering Liam's magic.

If not for the fact that Kazto was protecting Liam with the spatial loop, that water arc would have broken the magic circle in two and hit Liam directly in the face!

After countering Liam's attack, Rio landed on the ground, and before he could relax, Liam ordered Markom to attack him.

[Markom: Max output: Instant rush!]

The giant mammoth stomped the ground and rushed towards Rio at an astonishing speed.

Rio had just landed on the ground, and he was unable to dodge that attack.

[Handling!]

Rio swung his sword and forcefully changed the trajectory of the giant mammoth, causing it to go in a different direction.

That move even surprised Liam.

He didn't expect that Rio had so much strength that he could forcefully change the mammoth's trajectory at its maximum output level!

'Concentration' had increased Rio's base stats by twice, so he was much stronger.

However, a person's strength depends more on their techniques, skills, and other factors.

Rio's base stat might be high when compared to Link after using 'conentration', but Link isn't a skill-less person either!

He has mana-based skills and techniques that improve his base stats.

This is actually normal for all awakeners.

Only their base stats determine their physical fitness, but their skills, techniques, and talents truly set them apart!

Link's talents make him much stronger than Rio, even after using 'concentration.'

...

...

Author's Notes.

I have finally fixed this plot hole after receiving numerous complaints. People have been asking, "Why is Rio not stronger than Link after using 'concentration'?"

The answer is simple:

Those are just base stats; they get enhanced by skills during battle, and they don't show everything.

Never judge an awakener by their base stats alone; talents and other things are equally important.

By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.