With the present as the "cause," Lucius attempted to achieve the "result."
But his ability to skip processes failed to activate.
Breaking through Salvatore Doni's Incarnation of Steel with his sword was, for the current Lucius, an impossibility.
He'd suspected as much, and this confirmed it.
Still, that didn't mean he was out of options.
"Hey, stop dodging! Let me land a hit!" Salvatore Doni laughed boisterously, swinging his Authority-infused sword.
Though Doni knew Lucius harbored intent to kill, he didn't care.
To him, a fight demanded the resolve to kill until a victor emerged.
That was the nature of a Campione.
"So…" Lucius sighed helplessly. "Whether it's dim-witted fools or self-proclaimed geniuses, I can't stand them."
With a slight shift, he dodged Doni's magic sword by a hair's breadth once more.
While he felt powerless against Doni's turtle-like defense, the Sword King was equally helpless against him.
Though his process-skipping ability required a cooldown, the time was negligible for minor actions.
Doni's attacks were all swordplay. Even empowered by an Authority, they remained sword strikes.
Dodging them required only slight movements.
Using process-skipping for evasion made the cooldown virtually nonexistent.
Thus, no matter how powerful Doni's [Ripping Arm of Silver] was, it was useless if it couldn't hit Lucius.
Not just Doni's sword—unless an attack was area-wide or too rapid for reaction, it posed no threat to Lucius.
In hindsight, planning an escape route was pointless.
"Kin, your Authority isn't just about speed, is it?" Doni asked, his initial excitement waning after failing to even graze Lucius's clothes despite numerous swings.
"You think I'd just spill the secrets of my ability?" Lucius raised an eyebrow, speaking leisurely.
"Ha, even if you don't, I've got a guess." Doni grinned confidently. "It's hard to see a connection to Mars, whom you slew, but your Authority has something to do with space, right?"
"Every time I'm about to hit you, you move just enough to dodge my sword. It's infuriating, like trying to catch an eel."
"You're right," Lucius said, his face expressionless. "My Authority is called Crimson King."
"Crimson King, huh? Odd name, but whatever." Doni laughed brightly, rubbing his hair. "The point is, you can't use it continuously, right? There's a short gap between uses!"
"So, if my sword is faster than your cooldown, or if I have more swords—"
"You'd be helpless, right?"
With that, Doni swung again.
This time, Lucius felt a surge of danger, as if an unseen blade would slice him apart in the next moment.
"Helpless? You've misunderstood something," Lucius said, his expression darkening.
The ground around him flashed with cold light as countless magic swords, glowing with Authority, stabbed toward him.
Yet Lucius remained unruffled, speaking softly.
"I think I've found a way to counter your [Ripping Arm of Silver]."
"What?" Doni froze, startled.
In an instant, Lucius appeared beside him, seizing the wrist holding the magic sword and twisting it sharply.
The blade, said to cut anything in heaven or earth, pierced Doni's abdomen, shimmering with runic steel protection!
The Incarnation of Steel, with its extraordinary physical defense, was as fragile as paper before the all-cutting sword, instantly breached!
Yet—
"Useless! Useless!" Doni, only briefly surprised by the breach, burst into laughter.
As he withdrew the sword, his wound closed like molten metal solidifying, not a drop of blood spilled.
"Hahaha! Is that your counter to my [Ripping Arm of Silver]? Using my own Incarnation of Steel to block it?" Doni shouted, gripping his sword and slashing at Lucius's head.
"Your Authority has a cooldown, so I'll make my attacks faster than it!"
"And the farther you move, the longer the cooldown, right?"
"With enough swords, fast enough, I'll defeat you!"
"Don't get too full of yourself," Lucius said, head lowered, a cold smirk on his lips.
"That was just one way to break your Incarnation of Steel—using your own weapon against your shield."
Having used process-skipping to reach Doni and turn his wrist, the ability was still on cooldown.
He couldn't dodge Doni's attack.
But he wasn't panicked.
The source of [Ripping Arm of Silver] surfaced in his mind.
Nuada, king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, lost his right arm in battle while invading Ireland, forcing him to relinquish his throne. The god of medicine crafted a silver arm for him.
But.
Lucius told himself silently.
In mythology, this story doesn't exist!
"Silver-Armed Nuada—"
Lucius raised his arm, slapping at Doni's incoming magic sword.
"This is apocrypha!"
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL