*Clang!*
After countless heavy clashes, the two Sword Saints in fierce combat finally separated, pulling apart some distance.
Sigmund still held the upper hand, retreating only about a dozen meters.
Riezel, however, was sent flying tens of meters away before his feet managed to touch the ground.
Yet, despite being the one at an advantage, Sigmund's expression was grim, while Riezel's face remained calm.
"Tch!"
Looking at Riezel's composed expression, Sigmund clicked his tongue with a dark scowl.
He couldn't help it.
He truly had not expected Riezel to be this troublesome.
'He already can't use his magic, and yet he can still hold on against my blade until now? Is this brat really only seventeen, just stepping into the realm of Sword Saint?'
In Sigmund's eyes, the strength Riezel displayed showed no trace of the immaturity a newly advanced Sword Saint should have, but clearly revealed the kind of power that only a veteran Sword Saint who had struggled for ten or twenty years could possess.
Sigmund had already used his amber blade, yet he still could not bring down his opponent, not even press him for long.
Was this kind of strength really something a seventeen-year-old boy could have?
It should not be possible!
As Sigmund thought this unwillingly, his expression suddenly shifted.
*Zing—*
On the amber blade in Sigmund's hand, among the twelve jewels that had been shining with dazzling light, one abruptly dimmed.
At the same time, the magical energy flowing from the amber blade into Sigmund's body sharply decreased, and the aura and presence he radiated also dropped significantly.
"Hm?"
Such a sudden change made Riezel's translucent eyes widen in brief surprise before a look of realization appeared on his face.
"Ah... so that's how it is..."
Riezel's calm expression twisted into a faint smile.
"What the hell are you smiling at?!"
Seeing Riezel's smile, Sigmund roared in anger.
However, the more furious Sigmund became, the wider Riezel's smile grew.
*Swish!*
In the very next instant, without warning, Riezel darted forward like an arrow, body tearing through the air as he appeared before Sigmund in the blink of an eye.
"Moon Breathing - First Form - Dark Moon, Evening Palace!"
A crescent moon blade gleamed—so fast the sword itself could not be seen—as it burst from Riezel's hand, cutting through the air and cleaving toward Sigmund.
"!!!"
Sigmund's pupils shrank.
He wanted to retreat, but then remembered all his subordinates were watching.
If they saw him retreating before a new Sword Saint, a seventeen-year-old boy, would not the invincible image he had built up over the years collapse?
Sigmund had long cultivated his image of invincibility, subtly shaping the minds of Sinielle's people, making them instinctively fear and revere him like a god. If that image broke, whether or not the knights of the City Hall continued to respect him, the criminals in the underworld would surely rise, daring to challenge the City Lord's authority.
With that in mind, Sigmund gritted his teeth, and in the end, he chose to hold his ground, not dodging Riezel's strike. Or perhaps, even if he wanted to dodge, against a slash so fast that even he could barely follow, he had no chance to evade.
As a result, in that fleeting instant, Sigmund did not retreat but instead charged forward.
Not only did Sigmund not dodge, he did not even defend—he attacked head-on.
*DING!*
Riezel's black blade and Sigmund's amber blade clashed once more, unleashing a violent shockwave—the ground beneath them shattered as they were knocked back.
However, they retreated almost the same distance this time—Sigmund no longer held the upper hand.
Realizing this, Sigmund's face darkened even further, while Riezel's smile grew brighter.
"As I thought, your current strength is only temporary, huh..."
Riezel casually exposed Sigmund's secret.
Indeed, the power Sigmund wielded now was not his own—it was temporary.
"Your true strength should only be slightly stronger than Jinas's Guardian Sword Saint, Raven Mavros, and not by much."
"Yet the power you showed just now far exceeded the usual level of a Sword Saint."
"From your display, even compared to the strongest Jinas's Sword Saint, the Old Sword Saint, you wouldn't fall behind."
"However, that's not your real strength—it's only a short-lived burst."
Riezel laid bare the truth behind Sigmund's power.
Sigmund was indeed strong, stronger than Raven and Rohm, two veteran Sword Saints.
Among all Sword Saints on the Akasha Continent, Sigmund ranked near the very top, second only to the Old Sword Saint who stayed near Jinas's royal treasury.
Sigmund's strength was about the limit of Level 7, and in terms of status, he was much like Ottar—having trained all basic abilities except MAG to S, which already placed half a foot into Level 8.
Among the Level 7 Sword Saints, Sigmund was undeniably a veteran of veterans, a leading powerhouse, yet the strength he showed just now was beyond Level 7.
Proof of that was how Sigmund had been able to gain the advantage over Riezel in battle.
Currently, Riezel's status alone was already at the peak of Level 7. Combined with his many combat-type development abilities and the latent basic abilities proficiency he had accumulated across multiple levels, his normal state was already faintly beyond Level 7, close to possessing Level 8 combat power.
Given that, even without entering Strong Attack Mode or Fast Attack Mode, it made no sense for Riezel to fall behind against a mere Sword Saint at the limit of Level 7.
It was thanks to that amber blade that Sigmund forcibly raised his power to the equivalent of Level 8, explosively boosting his strength, which enabled him to slightly press Riezel in their clash.
"If I'm not mistaken, the swordsmanship you practice should be a Special Swordsmanship with a burst ability, right?"
Riezel's voice carried calmly.
"When you use it, the more magical energy you consume, the stronger the burst of power you unleash."
"On the other hand, if you use less magical energy, the burst weakens."
"In other words, by burning through your magical energy, you can force out power far beyond your usual."
"Of course, such a style is powerful but also drains heavily, crippling the swordsman's stamina and limiting sustained combat."
Riezel then glanced at the amber blade in Sigmund's hand.
"To compensate for that weakness, you chose that blade as your weapon."
"If I'm right, each jewel on that blade can absorb magical energy from the atmosphere and store it. In battle, the user can draw from those jewels—either to fuel swordsmanship, to cast magic, or to reinforce the weapon itself."
"You chose the first method—drawing the stored energy to fuel your swordsmanship, combining it with your burst ability to maximize your strength."
"That's why you could display power far beyond your normal level."
Once, Rohm had chosen that shadow sword, capable of converting magical energy into destructive force, to compensate for the lack of lethality in his Shadow Strike Sword Style.
Sigmund had clearly done the same.
To cover the extreme drain of his burst swordsmanship, Sigmund chose that amber blade as his main weapon, capable of absorbing and storing magical energy, allowing him to fight much longer and extend his bursts significantly.
Because of that, Sigmund could unleash strength comparable to Level 8.
Unfortunately, even that method had limits.
Bursting beyond one's level required massive magical energy consumption. Even with twelve jewels' worth of stored magical energy, if used recklessly, depletion was inevitable. Each time a jewel dimmed, the magical energy Sigmund could draw shrank, and so did the power he could burst out.
As a result, in the last clash, Sigmund no longer held the upper hand but fought Riezel evenly.
In the next moment...
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous crack, lightning surged violently from Riezel's body.
Now, Riezel's breathing had shifted—from Moon Breathing to Thunder Breathing.
"What?!"
Sigmund's face twisted in shock.
Seeing the lightning raging around Riezel instantly reminded him of the rumor that had shaken the entire Akasha Continent.
'A flash of lightning means defeat.'
As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, Sigmund abandoned all pride and retreated instinctively.
*Bzzz!*
Riezel's lightning suddenly exploded, shooting toward Sigmund at incredible speed.
As Sigmund retreated, a slash burst from the lightning, smashing into his hastily raised amber blade.
*Clang!*
Sparks flew, steel shrieked, and Sigmund's body reeled as though struck by lightning, sent flying upward.
*BOOM!*
Thunder roared as bolts of lightning twisted upward, encircling Sigmund in the sky.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Countless lightning slashes erupted from the bolts, striking Sigmund again and again. Each bolt that streaked past his body carried a slash, each slash crashing against him with sharp, metallic shrieks.
Suspended above the City Hall, Sigmund was bombarded from all sides, overwhelmed by the endless storm of lightning strikes.
*Pu-chi!*
At last, the sound of tearing flesh rang out.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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