Chapter 74

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Clan (74)

Leonard and Conrad were already making a loud racket, creating an environment where it was easy to respond to magic.

Dust clouds, thick enough to fill the protective barrier surrounding the arena, swirled in all directions. In a situation where one couldn't see a step ahead, it didn't matter to Leonard.

He had long ago reached the realm of the Inner Eye.

'[Dust Cloud] activated larger than expected, but the duration of its effect isn't very long.'

Even if the dust cloud was magically formed, its essence wasn't much different. The shockwaves from the collision of sword energies would soon scatter the dust.

Thus, Leonard estimated the effective duration of [Dust Cloud] to be no more than a minute.

If measured in seconds, it was 60 seconds.

'Sufficient.'

In the realm of Transcendence, it was an infinitely long and sufficient amount of time.

Five Elements Sword Qi

Gather (輯) Formed Qi (成罡)

From within the dust cloud, which couldn't be seen from the grand hall, a brilliant blade of light emerged.

It was the black sword energy characteristic of the Black Tortoise Qi.

The White Tiger Qi could have dispersed the dust cloud with wind, and the Vermilion Bird Qi or Azure Dragon Qi could have ignited the dust, potentially causing an explosion.

The selected Nullifying Technique, >Ming Gang (冥罡)>, vibrated calmly.

Step.

Leonard took a step forward, cutting through the dust cloud where he couldn't see anything.

Then.

“Hahahaha!!”

Conrad, laughing like a madman, emerged from the dust cloud.

'With all five senses activated to their limits, he wouldn't miss me just because he can't see.'

Leonard raised his sword with a calm face.

At the same time, Conrad's crimson Aura Blade struck down.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

Transcending the 10th level of External Force and stepping into the realm of Transcendence, the attack fell.

It was crude but strong and heavy.

>Mad Sword (狂劍)>.

Facing such a sword technique, Leonard calmly thrust his blade forward.

Black Tortoise First Form (玄武一式)

Gui Jia Fan Hun Jing (龜甲反魂鏡)

Dark red and pitch black.

The two colors of sword energy collided, tearing into each other.

Crack.

Absorbing the full impact and channeling it into the ground, cracks spread out from Leonard's feet like a spider web.

Since the rebound would only regenerate the internal injuries, Leonard aimed to perfectly deflect the attack and counter.

Reversing the initiative, Leonard extended his sword.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

Black Tortoise Nineteenth Form (玄武十九式)

The sword techniques of the Black Tortoise 36 Forms generally focus on counterattacks and defense, but some can be used for offense.

This move was one of those.

Tail Dragon Slice (尾龍削)

Like the snake head attached to the Black Tortoise's tail, the sword slipped in silently and stabbed Conrad.

Surprisingly, he didn't notice the wound.

At the moment the Black Tortoise Qi penetrated, the nerves around the wound were completely frozen.

“Huh?”

Unaware, Conrad took a step forward, then fell to his knees, tilting his head in confusion.

It was a wound that couldn't be healed by regenerative abilities.

Leonard knew this well.

'The Immortal Demon King was the same. Whether cut by a sword, punched, or burned, the wounds would soon heal, and the flesh would regenerate.'

However, martial arts that primarily used Yin Qi unexpectedly had no effect. Unlike the reanimated corpses of the Jiangshi, the monsters of the Blood Sect overflowed with too much life force.

They were more akin to Over Yang (過陽) rather than Extreme Yang (極陽).

Thus, when faced with the Black Tortoise Qi, which could suppress Yang Qi and halt the body's life activities, they stiffened like wooden puppets.

Tail Dragon Slice froze the opponent's insides with its Yin energy, subduing or ending them without pain. It was a fitting technique name for the Black Tortoise, who controlled cold and poison.

“Now, struggle until your last breath.”

Leonard repeated Conrad's own words to the Conrad staggering in front of him.

Even in a state of unclear consciousness, Conrad seemed to understand the provocation, and his eyes burned with murderous intent.

“Haaaaa!”

“Hmm.”

Explosively increased physical abilities, inner strength surpassing five levels, and a sword energy over two meters long, his sword skills had advanced two to three levels beyond their previous state.

Leonard, reassessing his skills, dismissed it with a single phrase.

“A ten-move opponent.”

As if to protest, Conrad, standing on one leg, fiercely kicked the ground and charged forward.

Despite being unable to use one leg, his sword technique was quite dangerous.

His talent for using imbalance to accelerate and decelerate, creating feints, was remarkable. It was as if his limbs had just been torn off.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

But Leonard, while praising his talent, deflected the sword filled with murderous intent.

Black Tortoise Ninth Form (玄武九式)

Tai Yue Fan Yin Jing (太月反陰鏡)

In less than half a breath, the number of attacks Conrad attempted was so intense that the dust cloud was completely dispersed by the crimson Aura Blade.

Despite this, Leonard's protective crescent moon remained unbroken, and the sword techniques were deflected, embedding themselves in the ground.

The dust that had been swept away by the continuous attacks now rose again.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

In exchange for using his explosive physical abilities to their limit, Conrad's body temporarily froze. It was a fraction of a second, but in the battle of superhumans, it was a significant opening.

Azure Dragon First Form (靑龍一式)

Jin Lei (震雷)

A pitch-black lightning bolt extended from Leonard's grip, slicing through Conrad's clavicle to his heart and continuing to his side.

The wound itself froze and sealed automatically, but the body, cut by >Ming Gang>, couldn't regenerate. At the moment his heart, the core of his life force, stopped, he was half-dead.

Yet he could still move.

“Gah! Kaaah! Kaaaaah!”

With his heart and one lung frozen, his body swung the sword like a madman.

The crimson Aura Blade, distorted in rhythm and trajectory, wildly swept in all directions. The protective barrier set up by >Bermuda> flickered unstably, hit several times.

Even 8th Tier magic would break if it continuously collided with sword energy.

People in the stands, unaware of what was happening, became restless at the sudden threat.

“Up to here, nine seconds.”

Leonard aimed his sword, ready to end it with the next attack.

Responding to the murderous intent, Conrad, with his battered body, raised his sword. It was the first time he had taken a tangible stance since activating the drug.

Leonard, seeing a glimmer of rationality amidst the madness, smiled in satisfaction.

“Better to end as a martial artist than a beast.”

Conrad didn't respond.

The murderous intent of the two swordsmen flowed like the wind, mixing in the middle and slowly seeping into each other.

That was the signal.

Christopher Sword Style (Christopher 戰劍流)

The crimson Aura Blade swept.

Even a man who had never learned a formal sword technique and lived by talent alone had an ideal of 'strength' in his heart.

A predator, beautiful and powerful, etched in childhood memories.

‘...Sea Wolf (海狼)?’

A sleek, massive predator, known as a killer whale, with a mouth full of large, sharp teeth.

It was a fresh and powerful display of Qi. Leonard had faced wolves, tigers, dragons, and bears before.

So Leonard decided to give it his best.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

Azure Dragon Thirty-Sixth Form (靑龍三十六式)

The sword energy, transformed into >Lei Gang (雷罡)>, emitted blue lightning and returned to its original form.

The divine beast that guards the eastern direction, the embodiment of the Wood element and the controller of favorable winds and rain.

The Qi technique that directly manifested the Azure Dragon.

Dragon King Emerges (龍王出頭)

The >Lei Gang> detached from Leonard's sword formed the shape of a divine dragon, and the sword shattered under the strain.

Roar——!!

The dragon, with its body made of blue lightning, shook majestically and charged at the killer whale, which arrogantly growled in front of it.

Even the killer whale, revered as the apex predator of the sea, couldn't compete with the divine beast from legend. The Five Elements Qi that formed the Azure Dragon was overwhelmingly powerful compared to Conrad's incomplete and muddied Qi.

The Azure Dragon, which shredded the killer whale in seconds, plunged into Conrad, swallowing him.

——!!

A massive shockwave erupted, and the protective barrier surrounding the arena finally shattered.

It was the final blow that declared the end of the duel.

* * *

“This is invalid!”

Karmen, an executive at >Bermuda> responsible for A-rank adventure teams, raised her voice in the Aiolos Hall.

It couldn't be helped.

Her achievement, 'Santa Maria,' not only lost its leader, Conrad, but also its 5th Sea Exploration Permit, which was equivalent to an A-rank qualification?

Most importantly, the opponent was the 'Aquamarine' adventure team, which she had treated with contempt, thinking they were already obsolete.

‘If that troublesome woman returns, my position will be shaken...!’

People who didn't know might think Francis was a pitiful and delicate lady, but in reality, it was the opposite.

It was absurd for Aquamarine, with a huge ship, to remain in a B-rank adventure team with only one escort. She received exploration requests every day and found the target with a high probability by analyzing the sea routes in detail.

Francis Ler von Oceano was a genius.

Those who knew this were desperately trying to invalidate the duel.

“Aquamarine's Leonard used a top-tier artifact!”

Karmen continued, her voice excited.

“He activated more than three 5th Tier spells and neutralized Conrad's Aura Blade! In the end, he even summoned a dragon made of aura, despite using up his endurance! I don't see any difference from inviting a Sword Master to a Grandmaster!”

Some nodded in agreement, but others sighed, dismissing it as nonsense.

There were no restrictions on weapons in the duel. Only the use of high-tier magic scrolls and explosives was prohibited, and there was no mention of the level of artifacts.

The only priority rules were the outcome of life or death and the surrender fee.

Despite knowing this, Karmen was still making unreasonable demands, and the executives of >Bermuda>, faced with the hassle, were considering whether to go along with it.

‘If Aquamarine returns, some senators of the >Federation Council> won't be happy...’

‘If we take the blame, it will be a bit tough for us too.’

Encouraged by their silence, Karmen continued.

“The elf, Vivian, set up as the stake in the duel, is also a problem! To dare discuss contract fraud with >Bermuda>? It's an act that insults our fairness and justice!”

The person who had dirtied that fairness and justice shouldn't have been talking, but no one seemed to point it out in this situation.

<Bermuda>, established to protect the rights of adventurers, had few people left who remembered its original purpose. Those who remained were not in leadership positions.

However.

“—A very interesting story.”

At the sound of someone's voice, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look.

They knew who the owner of this lazy-sounding voice was and why he was here.

“Invalid? The contract, with me, Jack Russell, as the notary, reduced to a scrap of paper? How amusing.”

The Chief Elder of the Atlantis Magic Tower.

A 7th Tier Grand Mage, Jack Russell, looked around the frozen atmosphere of the meeting room.

“Do any of you agree with that scum's words?”

Karmen's face turned pale at the insults she heard in person.