Chapter 85

Kojirou, once again holding his long sword in an upper guard position, approached Louis at super speed and swung his sword down.

Attacks came from all directions.

Louis dodged, blocked, and deflected them, evading everything.

"…Amazing."

Sharo, who saw this, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Even she could barely follow the movement of the swords with her eyes, yet Louis was reacting accurately.

Such a feat was something she couldn't do right now.

Sharo felt frustrated by her own powerlessness.

But turning away wouldn't make her stronger.

Suppressing her frustration, Sharo watched the superior battle.

On the other hand, Louis.

He was skillfully evading Kojirou's attacks, but couldn't find an opportunity to counterattack.

The opponent's sword was a long blade as tall as a person, and the speed of the sword was also faster on Kojirou's side.

Unable to match in reach and speed, Louis couldn't take the offensive.

To begin with, the opponent was of a higher rank. The fact that he could even hold his ground was abnormal.

Without the sword training with Sakura, he wouldn't have been able to hold his own this far.

(Somehow, I have to find an opening…)

Louis desperately dodged the slashes while searching for a breakthrough.

However, the techniques Kojirou unleashed had no openings at all.

"Heaven Rock Style, Pecking Body."

A super high-speed thrust technique, like a bird pecking at a bug.

The technique hit Louis's right shoulder, tearing the flesh.

"Ugh…!"

Louis grimaced in sudden pain and fell to one knee.

Ironically, it was Louis who showed an opening.

"Farewell, strong boy."

Kojirou, holding his sword in an upper guard position, swung his sword down at Louis, who was on one knee, as if performing an execution.

It was a life-or-death situation, but Louis's face didn't show despair.

"Qi Gong Technique, Defensive Form Seven… Mirage!!"

The moment Louis activated the Qi Gong technique, his outline began to blur.

The sword aimed at his neck passed through him and stabbed into the ground.

"What!?"

Even Kojirou, who was usually calm, panicked at the sudden turn of events.

Defensive Form Seven, Mirage.

This technique creates a high concentration of qi around the user, causing the opponent to misjudge their position.

When this technique is activated, the user's existence becomes blurred, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact location.

Louis stood up while Kojirou was misjudging his position and readied the Dragon King Sword.

Kojirou was in the process of completely swinging down his sword. If he tried to raise it now, he wouldn't be able to defend in time. It was a perfect opportunity.

"Roar!! Dimensional Slash!!"

The technique Louis chose was the highest-powered slash, "Dimensional Slash."

It was a high-powered technique that couldn't be defended against.

The slash approached Kojirou.

However, for some reason, Kojirou was calmly observing the Dimensional Slash without panicking.

"Heaven Rock Style Secret Sword, Swallow Return Death."

Kojirou whispered these words.

In the next instant, the sword that was supposed to be embedded in the ground shot up at super speed, as if it had exploded, and deeply slashed Louis's abdomen as he was about to swing down his sword.

Licking the blood from Louis's wound off his lips, Kojirou said,

"Remember this, boy. Adults are dirtier than you think."

Kojirou, confident of his victory, became complacent.

--- Meanwhile, a strange change was happening in Louis's body.

Next time, it's the awakening episode!