Chapter 111

Chapter 111“Oh? You... don’t seem surprised to see me. Does that mean you were determined to fight even though you knew I might come?” Herman’s eyes held a rare glimmer of interest.

The boy’s presence was as light as the clouds drifting high in the sky, yet he held so much weight. The mere fact that he was able to emit his intent made him unnatural. The breeze died down, and the air went tense and silent, as sharp as a knife.

There was no bloodlust or hostility.

They had simply, quietly unfolded their domains.

They were the greatest technique in martial arts, in which martial artists competed not with their weapons but with control over space.

Leonard read Herman’s range and his body tensed.

His domain has an area of around sixty meters in the shape of an oval.

The Taiji Swordsman’s had only extended to that size when he began the battle to death with Yeon Mu-Hyuk, yet Herman had expanded his domain without taking a single step.

If he uses everything he has, he might even be able to extend it to ninety meters. He’s strong.

Though the size of a domain was not an exact measure of one’s power, there was still a correlation. The Sword Emperor’s domain had been around 120 meters, so that meant there wasn’t that big of a difference between them.

Herman was powerful enough that he and Leonard could have a fierce battle that lasted over a thousand exchanges. In his current state, there were some parts about Leonard that were superior to the Sword Emperor, but he had no insignificant number of shortcomings either. In other words, he couldn’t guarantee a victory against Herman.

“You’ve already evaluated my power? You know, a lot of people called me a genius too back in the day, but seeing you makes me lose my confidence. I can’t believe a little teenage kid has already caught up to me,” the man grumbled.

“What does that matter?” Leonard asked.

“Huh?”

Indeed, Yeon Mu-Hyuk had experienced the same feelings himself in his past life, but after letting them go and looking back, he realized there was nothing more foolish.

The boy lifted his two swords. “A blade won’t hesitate to cut you just because it’s newly forged. Nor will it shy away from battle just because it’s old. No one has control over their luck or timing. Just because someone is ahead of others or simply proceeds faster, one cannot say whether they will ultimately go farther.”

“...Are you sure you’re a kid? You talk like an old man twice my age.”

“And you’ve never considered that you don’t act your own age?”

“Ha!” Herman burst into laughter. He still chuckled when he spoke. “Ah, shit. I don’t want to kill someone I like so much. Dammit, it’s been a while since that bastard’s sent me to do something I don’t want to do.”

In any case, it didn’t seem as if he was on great terms with Pablo. In fact, Herman sitting out on nearly all of Moby Dick’s activities despite being the second-in-command could have been out of his own will.

Despite seeing through him, Leonard still raised his swords. “Such is life. Things don’t always turn out as you wish them to. You have to do things you don’t want to, and so on and so forth.”

At some point, Herman’s own hands had also settled on the hilts of his weapons. He unsheathed two curved swords in unison.

The cutlasses were about twenty-four centimeters shorter than the average saber, and their curved shape was very peculiar. These weapons were typically used in close-quarters combat, but in the hands of a Swordmaster, there was little difference between a dagger and a longsword.

Their thrusting power was weaker than a straight-bladed sword’s, but their slashes were sharper. Outside of the Central Plains, martial artists didn’t differentiate between swords and sabers.

Two swordsmen raised their two swords against each other, as if they were staring into their mirror reflection.

“Now, let’s play.”

Herman made the first move, his feet moving so gracefully that it was almost as if he were using a movement art. With one step, he lunged tens of meters.

Clang!

Sparks flew as his cutlass hit Leonard’s sword.

He’s fast, the boy observed, eyes narrowing. I think he only kicked off the ground a single time. Did he cover that much distance without ever touching the ground? It’s like he was sliding on ice.

His technique relied more on the manipulation of energy than physical ability. It seemed more like something one would see in murim than something one would see in this world.

But it was a move that required more skill than a simplistic application of mana. Herman wasn’t like the other Transcendence Tier martial artists Leonard had encountered so far; Fabian and the Fifth Shadow of the Kurdish Kingdom had seemed more concerned with using augmented energy techniques.

The two of them weren’t fighting seriously yet. If they were, they would be using augmented energy instead of sword energy. They were clashing swords out of interest and curiosity for the other.

So, Leonard made the first move.

Five Elements Style: Two Swords Style

White Tiger First Form: Mountain Crusher

Leonard crashed his swords together with great force, making the shape of a cross.

Clang!

It created a shockwave, throwing Herman and his cutlasses back.

The force of the blast was enough to knock the breath out of him and make his hands tremble, but only for a moment. Far from being injured, He stretched his lips into a smile and lunged forward again with a single step.

“Hahahaha! I love it!”

After reaching the Transcendence Tier, his life had become dull. There was no one crazy enough to casually pick a fight with a Swordsmaster, but he couldn’t challenge explorers on his level either, because there was the problem of being tied to Pablo.

After spending years like this, he’d resigned himself to rotting away, but Leonard’s swords shattered his boredom.

“Don’t die too quick, okay? Or else you’ll ruin my fun!”

The life returned to his body after being dormant for years, setting his blood on fire and making his sharp swords even deadlier.

They moved like he was performing a wild dance. His cutlasses naturally moved more smoothly than straight-bladed swords, and they swung unpredictably.

Not even Leonard, whose visual processing speed was up to par with a Transcendence Tier martial artist’s, could keep track of the flurry of blades. Dozens of attacks would fly in from all around him in less than the time it took to blink.

Leonard sensed that if he kept blocking as clumsily as he was, Herman would break right through his defenses. He used both swords to create a shield.

Five Elements Style: Two Swords Style

Black Tortoise Seventh Form: Ice Shell Barrier

If Herman’s movements were dizzying, Leonard’s were clean. His blades lit up with black sword energy, creating out of mana a round shield resembling a turtle shell. Every time Herman’s cutlasses came flying in, the shield was there to meet them.

Dozens of blows rained down on the shield like hail, but there wasn’t a single scratch on its surface when the barrage stopped. The Ice Shell Barrier’s durability was the worst enemy for attacks that focused on quantity.

Now it’s my turn. Leonard dispelled the shield. The man looked confused, but his face was still filled with ecstasy. As Leonard’s eyes locked onto his, the boy found a smile creeping up his own face.

It was a feeling that only martial artists could understand.

Because Herman’s cutlasses were fluid and swift, his movements were dynamic and unpredictable, giving him the advantage of always being ahead of his opponents. For the same reason, if his opponent gained an edge even a single time, it was three times worse. If he wasn’t constantly one step ahead, he would only keep falling into a deeper disadvantage.

Five Elements Style: Two Swords Style

Azure Dragon First Form: Thundershock

After Leonard made vertical and diagonal swings while focusing only on speed and precision, Leonard’s swords transformed into two bolts of lightning. He was so fast that not even a Tenth Degree External Force Tier martial artist would be able to dodge a fatal blow from his distance.

However, as Herman was in the Transcendence Tier, the attack was too slow.

A moment after Leonard cast Thundershock, his opponent knocked both bolts from the side, throwing them off trajectory.

Leonard immediately made a follow-up attack, as if he’d expected this.

Five Elements Style: Two Swords Style

Azure Dragon Sixteenth Form: Wind, Waves, Thunder & Lightning

After throwing Herman off, Leonard’s swords readied themselves again.

The fierce wind.

And the roaring thunder.

Two long flashes of light intertwined, ready to tear apart everything in their path.

And of course, Herman made his own move to meet Leonard’s.

Blade Dancing

His feet moved before his swords.

Book of Storms

Herman propelled himself forward, hovering ever so slightly off the ground. His feet spun, and he and his swords followed as he shot forward at an unbelievable speed.

Just a moment ago, his cutlasses had seemed to falter as if they were about to be swallowed by Wind, Waves, Thunder & Lightning, but now they were fierce.

His timing itself was a little late, so he couldn’t overwhelm his opponent, but Herman was still able to regain the lead he had lost. Four swords clashed before the two of them created distance between them again.

They let out small, matching sounds of laughter.

“Ha.”

“Heh.”

A swordsman who didn’t know the joy of a fight with both sides’ lives teetering on their blades couldn’t go far—a fight where one could show off their exquisitely trained techniques and were forced to aim for openings rather than overpowering their opponent with immense force.

If only one of them had been experiencing this delight, it would not have been so great. However, the shared elation made it even more exhilarating.

“This should be enough to get a sense of our skill, don’t you think?” Herman asked.

“Yes.”

They spoke to each other comfortably, as if they were old friends. Though this would be unfathomable to the bystanders watching the two, their exchanges thus far had been like a greeting. They hadn’t used any augmented energy, of course, but they also hadn’t used any attacks that could even remotely be fatal.

It’s starting.

The tension rose at the onset of a real fight.

A match between a Transcendence Tier fighter and an External Force Tier fighter shouldn’t even be a competition, but after clashing swords, Herman didn’t let his guard down in the slightest. Their exchange made him keenly aware of Leonard’s power, and he knew better than anyone else that the boy was capable of cutting off his head.

Herman suddenly lowered his swords. He seemed to spot something. “Hm?”

Leonard let go of the tension in his own arms too. He turned to the direction where his opponent was looking. There, a member of Moby Dick was frantically making hand signs to communicate something. Leonard didn’t know what they meant, but Herman did.

The man clicked his tongue. “Damn that bastard. First you send me to fight, and now you want me to retreat? I was just about to have a real fight for the first time in forever.”

“I suppose it’s over.”

The two swordsmen casually sheathed their weapons as if they hadn’t just been about to have a fight to the death.

“Yeah, so it is. Sorry. We’ll pick up where we left off next time.”

Leonard jutted out his chin. “Answer my question before you go. You don’t seem to be a good fit for Pablo with your personality. So why do you follow him?”

“It’s stupid. I lost to him in a fight, and he said he’d give me a rematch. But it was under the condition that I do some light work for him until then.”

“Then were you involved in the incident eight years ago?”

“Eight years ago...? Ah.” Herman seemed to remember and shook his head. “No, I stayed out of it. Ganging up on people in such a dirty way goes against my creed in multiple ways. Though, I will say that I wanted to try fighting Njord, Dentuso, Ahab, and some of the others...”

“I see.” Leonard nodded. He didn’t need to hear anything more and coolly turned around. Even Herman seemed surprised by his immediate understanding.

“You believe me?”

“Yes.”

More precisely, Leonard had come to understand Herman by what he expressed through his blade, not through his words. For those who lived by the sword, there was nothing more important than their own principles. It was likely that Herman would not have faltered even if Pablo threatened to kill him. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Of course, Herman had no idea Leonard thought that, and he only felt dejected when the boy he’d just met showed him more faith than any of his allies.

“Goddammit. First I feel good, then bad, and now I feel like absolute shit.”

Without another word, Herman disappeared into the darkness of the city with the remaining members of Moby Dick.

And so, Leonard’s first encounter with the Moby Dick Expedition Team came to an end.

* * *

Back in Atlantis City, three people were holding a secret meeting at a location that didn’t officially exist.

One of them was the second most powerful person on the Council, the Class 8 Archmage Gordon Haywood.

And the one sitting across from him was the captain of Aquamarine, a symbol of ancient legend, Frances von Ler Okeanos.

Considering the difference in their martial power and influence, Frances should not dare to stand before Gordon, but if she had something that he wanted, well, it was a different story.

“...Interesting. Very interesting.” Gordon was the first to speak. His demeanor made him look like a middle-aged man to some and an elderly man to others. He narrowed his eyes like a snake’s and studied the girl before him.

She was Njord’s daughter. Nothing more. And yet this young girl had tempted him with something so big that it brought him to the negotiating table.

“Please elaborate, Captain Frances,” he said. “You said you have evidence that can prove how the incident eight years ago was planned and carried out?”