It had long been said that, generally speaking, it was rare for anyone to practice two kinds of Special Swordsmanship at the same time.
Because each Special Swordsmanship usually required its own unique training conditions, it was already considered remarkable for a swordsman to meet the conditions of even one. To fulfill the requirements for two simultaneously was without question a matter of extremely low probability.
As a result, most swordsmen typically trained in only one Special Swordsmanship, while those who managed to practice two were exceedingly few.
In reality, most people could not even practice a single one, leaving them with no path to promote themselves to a higher realm.
Even among Sword Saints, those who trained in two kinds of Special Swordsmanship were rare. Unless one happened to discover a swordsmanship stronger than the one already practiced and also met its conditions, a Sword Saint would almost always wield only one.
All the Sword Saints Riezel had encountered thus far belonged to this type—practicing only a single Special Swordsmanship.
Shadow Sword Saint Rohm, who wielded the Shadow Strike Sword Style, Guardian Sword Saint Raven, who wielded the Dark Abyss Sword Style, and Sigmund, who also possessed only one Special Swordsmanship.
Riezel, however, was an exception.
As a newly ascended Sword Saint, he had actually trained in a second kind of Special Swordsmanship. What was even more ridiculous was that, judging from the force of its display, it was nothing ordinary.
Sigmund's heart sank, and his expression grew heavy.
He did not know whether the swordsmanship Riezel used now was stronger than the lightning swordsmanship he had once been known for. What he did know was that, as he watched Riezel's crescent moon blade deflect every magic arrow, the warning signs in his heart blared.
What did that mean?
It meant that this overly young Sword Saint... was capable of threatening him!
Such an undeniable fact made murderous intent surge uncontrollably within Sigmund's chest.
He could not accept it.
Although Riezel was also a Sword Saint, he was so young, barely having stepped into this level. By all logic, he should have been the weakest among Sword Saints, so how could he possibly threaten someone like Sigmund, who had spent more than a decade honing himself in this realm?
In fact, the very truth that Sigmund had reached the realm of Sword Saint despite being born in a small country was already proof of his extraordinary nature.
He was older than Raven, younger than Rohm, and yet more talented than both. Raven had been a Sword Saint for ten years, while Sigmund had already attained that realm twenty years earlier.
In other words, Sigmund was a far more senior and far stronger Sword Saint than either Raven or Rohm.
Raven had once refused to believe he could lose to Riezel because of the latter's youth. Sigmund was the same, recognizing Riezel as an equal in name only, yet never believing he could truly threaten him.
Earlier, when Riezel had sent him flying with a kick and left him in a humiliating state, Sigmund could find two excuses for why it happened.
One, he had been careless and failed to take Riezel seriously.
Two, Riezel had used magic.
Riezel was, after all, not only a swordsman but also a magician—one who had already reached tactical-class. For a Sword Saint to wield magic against another Sword Saint was undeniably a great advantage.
Sigmund had taken this seriously, ordering the deployment of multiple interference barriers to weaken Riezel's magic. Yet he had not expected that beyond magic, Riezel had trained in a second Special Swordsmanship.
'What kind of bullshit talent is this?'
Sigmund could not accept it.
'Seventeen years old and already a Sword Saint—that achievement alone is unmatched.'
'And now, at the same time, he's a Tactical-Class Magician, and he's even trained in a second Special Swordsmanship?'
'Can a human truly possess such potential?'
Such potential, such talent, perhaps even surpassing that of the 'young woman' who had once secretly infiltrated his chambers.
Remembering that woman—equally young, and yet already standing on the same level as himself—Sigmund felt his jealousy threatening to overflow.
And so, driven by impulse, Sigmund gave a command.
"Throw the magic shells!"
Hearing the command, the knights who had been readying their bows quickly reached into their packs, pulling out magic shells and hurling them toward Riezel.
"Again with this crap?"
Riezel raised a brow and finally drew his sword.
"Moon Breathing - Fourteenth Form - Catastrophe, Tenman Crescent Moon!"
With the sweep of his black blade, countless massive crescent moon blades erupted forth.
Like a raging storm flattening everything in its path, they surged outward, carrying innumerable blades that slashed in every direction.
*BOOOM!*
With a thunderous roar, the sweeping crescent moon blades blasted aside countless magic shells, bursting them in midair into waves of fiery storm.
Right after, the storm tore toward the surrounding Oasis Knights, their eyes widening in panic as they scrambled to dodge.
However, before the Moon Breathing, famed for its unmatched attack speed and wide range, where could they possibly escape?
In no time, the stormlike crescent moon blades swept toward the Oasis Knights, about to engulf them.
At the very last instant, Sigmund moved.
"HAAAAAHHH!!!"
Sigmund, looking ferocious, suddenly leapt high into the air with a roar—the jewels embedded in his amber blade lit up one by one, releasing an immense surge of magical energy.
In the next instant, that magical energy poured into Sigmund's body and detonated within him, causing his aura and presence to climb rapidly, surging severalfold at once.
"What?"
Witnessing this, Riezel was taken aback.
No choice.
Through the Transparent World, Riezel clearly saw it.
As the jewels of the amber blade released vast magical energy into Sigmund's body, every muscle, organ, vein, and even each cell came alive, greedily absorbing it all—and the moment the energy was taken in, every cell in his body pulsed violently, growing stronger and fiercer before his strength skyrocketed.
In Riezel's perception, Sigmund's aura had already surpassed Raven's, even exceeding the bounds of Level 7.
In the next moment, Sigmund brought his sword down without warning—his amber blade flared with blinding light, unleashing a massive slash that collided with the sweeping crescent-moon blades.
*BOOOM!*
In that instant, the two forces exploded together in a thunderous clash.
Like a furious gale, the shockwave caused by the clash surged outward—dust turned into a sandstorm, the ground split apart and hurled skyward like debris, gardens were shredded and crushed, and even the surrounding buildings shook violently as if struck by a typhoon, their roofs nearly torn away.
"Interesting."
Riezel's eyes lit up with interest.
"Moon Breathing - Sixth Form - Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon, Incessant!"
Riezel unleashed a barrage of slashes at the airborne Sigmund without hesitation, crossing and interweaving into a storm of crescent moon blades that tore toward him.
However, Sigmund showed no fear as he raised his sword and swung it straight into an oncoming crescent moon blade.
*BOOM!*
As the crescent moon blade clashed against the amber blade, it shattered.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
Sigmund swung again and again, shattering one crescent moon blade after another, while sword light wove a barrier before him, stopping every slash in its path.
It could be said that his strikes were neither refined nor elegant, but crude—broad, heavy swings that looked less like swordsmanship and more like a club being wielded.
Regardless, his strength was undeniably overwhelming, as not a single crescent moon blade broke through.
*BANG!*
After repelling every crescent moon blade, Sigmund dropped back to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and rubble before charging forward like a storm of steel, sonic booms erupting in his wake as he rushed straight at Riezel.
In the next instant, a black blade and an amber blade collided—one raised high in defense, the other cleaving downward.
*DING—!!!*
Metal clashed with a deafening ring, shockwaves splitting the earth beneath their feet.
In this struggle, Sigmund held the upper hand.
After a moment of deadlock, Riezel was forced back, his heels digging furrows into the ground as he slid away.
"Hmph!"
Refusing to let Riezel retreat, Sigmund gave a cold snort, then stomped the ground and surged forward again like a murderous storm incarnate.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Black blade and amber blade struck again and again, the metallic sound of the two Sword Saints clashing in full fury rang endlessly as the ground shattered beneath each blow.
One, his eyes glowing with translucent light, coolly analyzed every movement as he swung the black blade to deflect the heavy strikes, while the other, wielding the amber blade, brought it crashing down over and over against the black steel, sparks flying, shockwaves ravaging the City Hall.
Under this storm of battle, the knights holding magic shells could no longer follow Riezel's movements, much less dare to throw them. Even the Oasis Knights could barely track the fleeting afterimages streaking through the sky, colliding like meteors, appearing and vanishing within craters, utterly unable to intervene.
"Is... Is this a battle between Sword Saints?"
One of the knights, who had never before witnessed such a clash, trembled in awe.
Only now did they truly understand what it meant to be a Sword Saint.
Only now did they understand what it meant to be the highest rank of swordsman.
At such a level, their battle was not one outsiders could interfere with.
Not even those expert Sword Masters, who stood a single step away from the realm of Sword Saints.
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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