Chapter 73

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Master's Family (73)

While Leonard and Conrad were sharing their private conversation, the grand hall of Bermuda was literally in chaos.

Who would have thought that a newly registered adventurer at the Second Rank of External Force would dominate Conrad, who was said to be unbeatable except by a Master? The storm he summoned and the way he cut through all kinds of magic with his sword were impressive, but the skill of the boy wielding it was absurd.

Since most of the spectators were adventurers, there were a few among them who had the discernment to analyze the two people's battle.

―...Can someone really master the sword to this extent at his age? I've dedicated my life to the sword, yet I'm still far from his level.

―Even watching Conrad's swordsmanship, I can't understand what's going on, but I can't even fathom Leonard's. It looks like something I could do easily, but if I tried to imitate it, I wouldn't be able to.

―I've heard that mana cultivation isn't everything, but to see the gap closed by swordsmanship alone!

Those who had devoted themselves to the sword and its practice all looked at Leonard, regardless of who they were.

The difference in age and level was unimportant.

There was a back view that every swordsman should chase.

―Conrad will definitely win! You scammers! You all conspired, didn't you?!

―Cancel it! Cancel it! Bermuda! Give me my money back! Return it all!

―Please... please... please...! Oh God, I even bet my shop's deed and house documents...! Please...!

Those who had bet money on the duel based solely on Conrad's reputation and the guild's ranking were in a state of despair.

One was having a fit, claiming it was all a scam.

Another was demanding his money back, saying it would be a draw.

One was looking for God in an age where faith had withered.

Unable to accept that the safe bet had exploded, those who tried to cause a ruckus at Bermuda were all subdued by the adventurers and dragged away helplessly.

―Councilor Pablo.

However, there was no place with a worse atmosphere than where the secret observers of the duel, some of the councilors of the Union Council, were seated.

Gordon Hayward said coldly.

―It seems your information network is dead. Not only did you not know about the unknown newcomer, but now you're watching the praised Conrad being utterly destroyed.

―Not yet.

Pablo replied.

―Conrad hasn't even used my elixir yet. The boy's swordsmanship is indeed miraculous, but when it comes to an overwhelming power gap, technique becomes meaningless.

* * *

In fact, the outcome of the duel could be said to have been decided.

The only way to immediately adapt to the loss of an eye was to reach the level of Heart Eye, where one could perceive their surroundings without relying on sight.

“Guh!”

Once again evading Leonard's sword strike, Conrad rolled on the ground to save his life.

If he had stood his ground and fought, his head would have been severed long ago.

Conrad was certain of this.

‘Why is this happening? Why? Why is there a monster like this in a crumbling guild like Aquamarine?!”

The magic sword, which seemed to be a top-tier artifact, was powerful, but the true nature of this monster was his swordsmanship.

He had always thought he could defeat anyone.

In close combat, he could always find a way to win, and even in dangerous moments, he could create a trajectory to evade or counter.

But now.

That genius had become silent.

‘Nothing works against this guy...! If this continues, I'll really die.’

If it weren't for the rule of no surrender and life-or-death, he would have raised his hands in defeat immediately.

He had dug his own grave.

Conrad, feeling the taste of blood from his bitten lip, had to turn his eyes to the 'elixir' that was ominously stirring inside him.

He had not used it even when cornered because Leonard's swordsmanship gave him a dangerous feeling.

“...Damn.”

Conrad, unable to choose a side or give up, looked ahead with his remaining vision.

With a leisurely gait, the Grim Reaper was approaching.

Leonard, meeting Conrad's single eye, thought.

‘A talent-only guy. To recreate distance in just a few minutes, it's a waste of the time he spent idly.’

Still, the conclusion of this fight remained unchanged.

The guy will die.

He will be killed, crushed by the karma he invoked through his evil deeds.

Clang!

Leonard's diagonal slash, delivered off-beat, forced Conrad to barely parry, causing him to step back half a step.

With the swords locked, it was a situation where a strength contest could easily occur, but after being pinned to the ground once, Conrad had no intention of trying again. So, he switched his two-handed grip to a one-handed grip and clenched his left hand, shouting.

His genius shone even in combat. A punch thrown from a sloppy stance still tore through the air, making a sharp sound.

“Your fist can't even catch a fly.”

But Leonard looked at Conrad with a disdainful expression. Mixing hand and foot techniques during a sword duel was something that could be seen in martial arts competitions.

A swordsman was not just someone who used a sword, but someone who used only a sword.

“Guh?!”

When Leonard's palm met Conrad's punch, it twisted half a turn, causing his entire left arm to contort, feeling as if it would break from his wrist to his elbow.

Panicked, Conrad tried to shake off his arm, but Leonard was not about to let him retreat.

He stepped forward and struck four times with his right fist.

Bang! Thud! Bang! Bang!

It was the Four Strikes of the Five Elements Linked Fist.

Like a spear thrusting four times, it pierced and withdrew.

It broke ribs and sent shockwaves through the body, tearing internal organs.

As soon as he returned to his position, blood spurted from Conrad's mouth and nose.

“Kuh! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!”

A fatal wound.

Leonard, thinking to end the pain, raised his sword, but then leaped back a great distance.

‘What is this?’

Suddenly, the threat level of the guy had multiplied.

Before he could identify the source of this danger, Conrad began to laugh maniacally, his blood-stained mouth wide open.

“Hah, hah, hahaha, hahahahaha!”

With his single eye covered in bloodshot veins, Conrad glared at Leonard and shouted.

“It's broken! Your punches! You broke it!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hahaha! What am I talking about? Of course—.”

With a crack, something inside Conrad's body ruptured. It was not a sound that could be made by normal bodily functions. Sensing the ominousness, Leonard straightened his sword.

The instinct to kill Conrad now and the instinct that doing so would cause more trouble clashed in his mind.

Right at that moment.

“Gaaaaah—!!”

Conrad's battered body began to regenerate rapidly, emitting a dark red vapor.

It was a mass of evil and sinister energy, almost like poison.

Broken ribs reconnected, necrotic organs regained function, and even the eye that had been gouged out was recreated.

It was an abnormal situation, no matter who saw it.

‘A technique to unleash latent power? No, I don't sense any innate energy. Did he hide a drug inside his body?’

When the Four Strikes of the Five Elements Linked Fist struck, Leonard's punch must have triggered the drug, causing it to take effect.

Leonard's eyes turned cold as he witnessed Conrad's transformation.

He knew of a drug with a similar effect.

‘A technique that extracts the lifeblood of the living to condense into a pill, transforming the user into a temporary immortal when their life force is depleted. A regenerative ability similar to the Blood Sect's Life-Stealing Asura Squad.’

Once it takes effect, it's impossible to escape its consequences. Even though he was already planning to kill him, now he couldn't let him live.

The sword qi on Leonard's blade became even more distinct.

And then.

“—Gah.”

Conrad, having absorbed the power of the elixir, turned to him with dark red eyes.

The only thing in those eyes was pure malice.

Not just hatred or enmity, but a pure malevolence.

A desire to harm others regardless of gain or loss. Whatever he had consumed was certainly not normal.

‘He's coming.’

Leonard, foreseeing the next second, raised his sword.

Bang!

He was forcefully pushed back by Conrad's swift strike.

“Ugh!”

Even Leonard, who was closer to the Transcendent Realm in physical ability, felt his whole body ache.

An ordinary External Force practitioner might have been crushed in one hit. Seeing that his blood wasn't flowing backward, he hadn't suffered internal injuries. In mid-air, he changed direction and landed on his feet before Conrad could pursue.

At that moment.

Sssssssss—!

It was a noise that made the ears tingle.

The energy emitted from Conrad's sword, intertwining and forming a blade shape, completed an Aura Blade, contaminating the surrounding air with its dark red energy.

Though its completion was poor, it was a sword aura maintained by a massive consumption of energy. Even if imperfect, it was a powerful manifestation of energy, difficult to counter with sword qi.

‘This is getting troublesome.’

Of course, if Leonard were to draw his own sword aura, he could end it quickly, but he didn't want to reveal his bottom line in front of so many spectators.

If possible, he would endure with the Five Elements Sword Qi, wait for the guy to exhaust his energy, and then strike to kill.

In Leonard's field of vision, dozens of magic circles were forming around Conrad.

‘...No magic above the Fourth Rank. Is his judgment impaired?’

A deluge of low-rank magic, overwhelming in quantity.

Leonard, increasing the density of his protective qi, charged forward.

Five Elements Style

Black Tortoise Seven Techniques

Turtle Shell Ice Heaven Wall

Without slowing his momentum, the circles he drew with his blade created a black sword barrier.

A protective shield that enveloped him like a turtle's shell.

It was impervious to magic below the Third Rank.

Absolute defense against a quantity-focused attack.

“Gaaaaah!”

Thus, he could not block Conrad's incomplete sword aura. The sound of the Turtle Shell Ice Heaven Wall shattering was heard next to Leonard, who had dodged a moment earlier.

Defense was impossible without protective qi or a qi barrier.

He had to focus on evasion and repeatedly strike and retreat to maximize the consumption of the guy's regenerative ability.

Five Elements Six Body Techniques

Leonard's feet moved in a dazzling pattern on the ground.

Azure Dragon King

Flash Step

The step of the Azure Dragon, a secret technique that allowed for instant acceleration, propelled his body. Even Conrad, whose physical abilities and mana had been amplified several times, momentarily lost sight of him.

He closed the distance in one step and thrust his sword technique.

Five Elements Style

Azure Dragon Eighteen Techniques

Thunder Meets Lightning

In an instant, dozens of thrusts pierced through the gaps, stabbing and tearing Conrad's body, drawing streams of blood.

But the guy regenerated even these deep wounds within seconds, stopping the bleeding and striking at Leonard's afterimage. The Aura Blade that struck the empty ground shattered a few meters in diameter.

Its destructive power had already reached the Transcendent Realm. Even an unhit sword strike pressed down on the space, creating pressure.

Five Elements Style

Attacks that left small wounds, like thrusts and slashes, were inefficient in depleting regenerative ability.

Leonard, making this judgment, switched to the White Tiger technique.

Approaching again with the Flash Step, he struck the guy's side.

White Tiger Five Techniques

Heavenly Steel Wave

The sensation of something breaking was transmitted through his hand.

It was a more difficult-to-regenerate impact than a direct strike.

Fortunately, he couldn't use protective qi, perhaps because he hadn't fully mastered it. Otherwise, Leonard would have been in a situation where he couldn't strike without using qi.

But.

Blood!

As he retreated with the Flash Step, Leonard noticed a stream of blood flowing down his forehead along with his bangs.

A sword aura that had extended a few meters had grazed him.

“...Indeed. With his reason clouded, his talent shines.”

Conrad's talent, distorted by obsession and desire, was only now showing its true value, with his self submerged.

He had caught up to Leonard's Flash Step with a single instinct.

One graze was one thing, but if it happened two or three times, it could be fatal.

For some reason, he felt a strange sense of enjoyment.

The guy, who was just a fool, was more like a true martial artist now that he was driven mad by the drug. How absurd.

“I'll have to get serious.”

If the audience sees his true strength? Then he'll make sure they don't.

The Five Elements True Dragon Wheel inside him began to circle, covering the entire arena with its influence and stopping Conrad's magic.

And Leonard whispered in a very small voice.

“[Dust Cloud].”

A Fourth Rank earth magic, a large-scale sandstorm filled the arena.