Chapter 99
Chapter 99
With Ratun’s scream, his sword slashed through the air.
“Kwaaaagh!!!!!”
It was a roar that sounded as if he had lost his reason. The cold rationality vanished from his amber eyes. In its place were madness and rage. The noble prince of the imperial family was no more. Only a swordsman starving for victory remained.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
A continuous barrage of sword strikes poured toward Lux Winterbell. The refined Imperial Ultimate One Sword from before had completely disappeared, and in its place a violent storm raged. The trajectory Ratun’s sword drew was no longer art, but killing intent itself. There was no trace now of imperial dignity or elegance in his blade.
“Block it! Go on, block more of them!”
Ratun’s sword moved like mad. His breathing grew rough, and veins bulged on his forehead. He gripped the sword so hard that the joints of his fingers turned white. His perfect posture had collapsed, and his graceful footwork was gone.
Chaang! Chaang! Chaang!
The speed at which sword clashed against sword became even faster. There was no longer any rhythm or pattern in Ratun’s attacks now. Only raw rage rode within them. At times he aimed for the head, then the neck, then the chest. The air of the training ground was torn apart by his maddened swordsmanship.
“Uaaaaaagh! Block more! I said block more of them!”
Ratun’s sword moved even more fiercely. His blade now resembled a rampaging beast. The breathing in the spectators’ stands stopped. Everyone seemed shocked by the maddened swordsmanship displayed by the Emperor’s son. Some turned their faces away, while others covered their mouths with both hands.
“……He’s just like a beast.”
“……Th-that’s the Third Prince?”
“He doesn’t look calm at all like he usually does. That may be the Third Prince’s true nature.”
But even amid all this, Lux Winterbell’s expression remained calm. Rather, the smile at the corners of his mouth seemed to deepen even more. He naturally blocked every one of Ratun’s attacks as though he were dancing. Each and every one of his movements produced the greatest effect with the smallest motion.
“……So you’re entrusting your body to emotion.”
“Shut up! What would you know, spouting such nonsense!”
That very only drove Ratun’s reason even farther away. He was now completely engulfed by rage. The speed at which he swung his sword became even faster, and his attacks grew even more violent.
As if to prove he had not been idling around all this time, he continuously unleashed sword strikes based on monstrous physical strength.
He overwhelmed the surroundings through wind pressure alone.
Each time his sword, without any mana infused into it, split the air, the sword wind it created left scars on the far side of the training ground.
The entire training ground filled with his roar.
“Kkeuaaaagh!!!”
With Lux’s cold voice, his sword moved.
“I will no longer indulge you.”
He no longer remained only on the defensive. His sword precisely drove toward Ratun’s vital points. Every movement was flawless and perfect.
Chaang! Shiiik!
In an instant, the sword that brushed past Ratun’s shoulder split open his armor. First blood had been drawn.
“Kgh, how dare you.”
Ratun’s eyes became even redder and more bloodshot. It seemed the final thread of reason had completely snapped. His sword split the air.
The floor of the training ground was gouged out, and the air was torn apart.
It was tremendous physical strength.
“This time, I will definitely take your head!”
With Ratun’s roar, sword strikes poured down. It looked as though he was now ready to stake even his own life on it.
Each time he swung his sword, killing intent exploded. There was not an inch of hesitation, not a single moment of wavering. There was only the single-minded determination to cut down Lux Winterbell.
Chaang! Shiiik! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Sparks flew every time the two swords crossed. Lux’s precise swordsmanship collided with Ratun’s maddened swordsmanship.
Madness dwelled in Ratun’s sword, while cold composure dwelled in Lux’s.
“Anger only dulls the sword, Your Highness.”
Lux’s quiet words burrowed into Ratun’s ears. But Ratun was already no longer in any state to listen.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up and die!”
Ratun Caesar’s sword grew even faster. However, his attacks became more and more disordered. Swordsmanship engulfed in madness was deadly, but its openings were just as great.
Lux Winterbell coldly watched Ratun and moved his sword. Every one of his steps was calculated, and the angle at which he swung his blade was perfect. His swordsmanship, which produced the greatest effect with the smallest movement, neutralized all of Ratun’s attacks.
Ratun Caesar felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness before Lux Winterbell, who read every path of his sword. Wasn’t he seeing ahead as if he were looking into the future?
“This can’t be……. This can’t be!”
Ratun’s scream rang out.
“Why, why can’t I reach you!!!”
His sword moved even more madly. But that only hastened his own defeat.
“Is this all you have to show? You seem even worse than before. Right now, Your Highness, you are no different from someone swinging a blind sword.”
With Lux’s cold declaration, his sword moved. It was a speed completely different from before. The trajectory his sword drew did not waver by even an inch.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chwiiiiik!
A continuous barrage of sword strikes poured toward Ratun. Lux Winterbell’s sword moved like a living creature. It precisely aimed for every vital point of Ratun Caesar.
“Kgh!”
Ratun Caesar desperately blocked, but his defense gradually crumbled. Lux Winterbell’s attacks continued without pause like a waterfall.
“Your Highness. I clearly told you that anger only dulls the sword. Does your sword seem sharp to you now?”
Along with Lux Winterbell’s words, his sword pierced through Ratun Caesar’s defense. A new wound appeared on Ratun Caesar’s left arm.
“Shut up! You bastard, a bastard like you……! What could you possibly know to spout off so carelessly!”
“Your physical strength may have grown, but your sword path is obvious.”
Ratun Caesar tried to counterattack, but his attacks became even more messy. Lux casually evaded them. Now, no matter who looked, the outcome of the match was obvious.
“It’s not… it’s not over yet! This isn’t my true strength! Do you know how much time I spent in order to defeat you!”
The light of reason completely vanished from Ratun Caesar’s eyes. His muscles swelled explosively, and his veins bulged as though they were about to burst. The power flowing in the noble bloodline of the imperial family coursed through his entire body. Even in a state where mana was sealed, his body was surpassing its limits.
The Bloodline Authority had been activated.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Whenever their swords collided, the air tore apart, and fierce sounds of rupturing air filled the entire training ground.
Ratun Caesar’s sword shone with a chilling light. A speed incomparable to before.
The trajectory Ratun’s sword drew became even more savage, and each and every attack carried thick killing intent. The sword wind spreading in all directions headed toward the spectator stands.
“Kyaaaaak!!!!”
“Watch out!!!”
Fortunately, because a barrier had been set up, no one suffered direct harm, but the people in the stands shrank back in fear.
“Is running wild like a beast all you can do.”
“Shut up! Shut up! I said shut up!!!”
Lux Winterbell’s cold voice rang out. He looked as though he were predicting every single movement Ratun Caesar made. He took one step back to evade Ratun Caesar’s attack, then one step forward to aim for an opening.
“How in the world can I not reach you!! Why!!”
Not a handful of waste could be found in any of his flowing movements, smooth as running water.
Kwaang!
Ratun’s savage swordsmanship collided with Lux’s refined swordsmanship. Sparks flew every time the two swords clashed.
The veins all over Ratun’s body stood out even more clearly. His muscles were now surpassing their limits. Between the convulsing muscles, his veins writhed like snakes.
“Uaaaaaagh!”
With Ratun’s roar, his sword became even faster. His body had already gone beyond its limit. It was movement at such an extreme that his muscles seemed about to tear and his bones about to bend. His breathing was ragged, and sweat poured down like a waterfall.
But he did not stop.
Meanwhile, Lux’s movements remained elegant. His sword moved as naturally as flowing water.
The refined swordsmanship with which he read every one of Ratun’s attacks and dug into the openings truly was wolf-like. His face was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth curved upward.
“I can see all of Your Highness’s movements clearly.”
Just as Lux Winterbell said, he had seen through every movement Ratun Caesar made. No matter how fast or powerful swordsmanship engulfed in madness was, patterns were bound to appear.
Lux was calculating all of it.
Huuuuung!
Lux Winterbell’s sword passed by in a grazing motion and cut Ratun’s shoulder.
Blood splattered.
But Ratun seemed unable to feel even pain.
He merely swung his sword even more madly. His eyes were bloodshot, and foam spilled from his mouth.
Lux Winterbell murmured in a low voice, as though he found it regrettable.
“Raging fury has come to dominate your body.”
Ratun Caesar’s sword was now so fast that an ordinary person’s eyes could no longer follow it.
Sword marks were carved all over the training ground, and the floor was gouged away by his maddened footsteps.
It was savage swordsmanship that seemed intent on destroying everything.
“Die! Die! Die! Lux Winterbeeell!!”
Lux Winterbell let out a sigh and said,
“…I’ve seen enough.”
With Lux’s cold remark, his sword moved. It carried a completely different presence from before. There was no longer even the slightest hesitation in his movement.
Chaang!
He swung his sword from below to above. At that, Ratun’s sword was sent flying away with absurd ease. It was a light movement, as though he were handling a toy.
“……!?”
What followed was Lux Winterbell’s swordsmanship, continuing like a flash of light.
Puk! Puk! Puk! Puk!
It happened in the blink of an eye. No one could follow the trajectory Lux’s sword drew. It looked like a single movement, but in that brief instant, Lux’s sword pierced Ratun’s shoulder, arm, and leg all at once.
A groan burst from Ratun’s mouth.
“Kheok!!”
Only then did the pain come crashing in.
Ratun Caesar’s body staggered. It felt like the shock of having several vital points struck simultaneously in a single moment.
“H-how in the world…”
A look of incomprehension flickered in Ratun’s eyes. What he had seen was only a single movement.
But his body collapsed as though it had suffered dozens of attacks. Only afterward did blood pour down from Ratun Caesar’s entire body.
Ratun belatedly realized that the tendons in his wrists and ankles had been severed, and he collapsed futilely like a marionette with its strings cut. Lux Winterbell still wore the exact same expression. Not a single drop of blood stained his sword.
From far away, Arkan Winterbell’s voice could be heard.
“The winner of the second match is Lux Winterbell.”