The Indomitable Martial King

Repenhardt, having strengthened his arms with aura, calmly deflected the incoming sword blades. He then started to deliver short punches while stepping forward.

There was no need for grand motions. Short and powerful, aiming for precise points, he hammered away at the golden armor. With each hit, a shockwave penetrated the body, delivering accurate damage. A full swing with all his might could even dent pure gold Eldril, but there was no need for that. Even with short jabs, Repenhardt was capable of penetrating the armor and hitting the opponent’s body.

‘What is this?’

Eusus was taken aback. The opponent’s movements had changed. No longer were there large motions or the powerful display of aura scattering about. It was an efficient movement, precisely targeting only the opponent.

Pain intensified on Eusus’s face. With each exchange, his body sustained more damage. Although he seemed unharmed on the outside, his insides felt as if they had been turned over a couple of times, causing his whole body to ache.

“Ah, agh!”

Repenhardt’s assault became even more fierce. Punches and kicks from all directions relentlessly pummeled Eusus. As Eusus was being overwhelmingly pushed back, his eyes suddenly flared with determination.

‘I cannot just be pushed back like this…!’

Suddenly, Eusus raised his sword high. His abdomen openly exposed a weakness. Naturally, Repenhardt took the opportunity to strike. A shockwave penetrated, and ribs shattered.

“Ugh!”

However, this time Eusus did not back down. Despite the severe pain, he maintained his stance and immediately counterattacked. He was fully prepared to be hit, throwing his body forward to seize an opportunity for a counter.

It was not about exchanging flesh for bones but giving bones to target the opponent’s life, truly a resolve of desperation!

“Cry out! Eldran!”

Activating the magic engraved in his demon sword, Eusus thrust forward. His form dashed forward like a flash of lightning.

“Haah!”

Sliding swiftly to close the distance, the golden blade, filled with a ferocious aura, aimed at Repenhardt’s shoulder. Prepared, Repenhardt quickly twisted his body to dodge the attack and extended his left palm. The aura rippled, and a spear of shockwave covered Eusus at that moment.

“I am one reflected upon the waters, whose form shall ripple!”

Eusus’s figure blurred and then split into five. It was a mirror image, an illusionary duplication magic. It ws not just a simple deception, all five Eususes radiated a clear presence. Repenhardt inwardly admired the tactic.

‘This friend, he truly knows how to deal with aura users. He’s skilled in a mage’s tactics, isn’t he?’

It wasn’t merely about creating illusions with light; the Mirror Image magic, which also replicated the presence of the caster’s body, was indiscernible to the senses of aura users. Repenhardt, having had his fair share of fun using this magic against aura users in his heyday, was well aware of its effectiveness.

‘Surely, an aura user wouldn’t be able to identify the real body immediately.’

However, this didn’t apply to all aura users. No matter how palpable the presence felt, an illusion was still not a tangible substance. In the case of the Sword Saint Cyrus, he was unique in reading the flow of the air cut by the only real body, thereby identifying Repenhardt’s true form immediately. But with Repenhardt’s current skills, mimicking such an extraordinary feat was outright impossible.

‘This time, I can surely defeat him!’

Eusus, convinced, unleashed his strongest move.

“Awaken, Eldran! Scatter the light of destruction!”

Five Eususes shouted simultaneously, charging from five directions. A palpable presence was felt from every direction. The power embedded in the plunging blade, Material Destroy, a high-level 8th circle spell, would inflict a fatal wound on Repenhardt, even if he managed to pull up his aura, upon impact.

‘But you see…’

Repenhardt didn’t hesitate for a moment and charged at one of them. Dodging the blade, he plunged into Eusus’s embrace. A look of horror flashed across Eusus’s face. The remaining four blades pierced through Repenhardt’s body, but all in vain. Repenhardt had unmistakably singled out the real Eusus without any doubt.

Thump!

Repenhardt’s fist struck Eusus’s shoulder. Spewing blood, Eusus spun in the air. Then, Repenhardt launched a long kick. The aura-imbued spinning kick whipped through the air, striking precisely at Eusus’s nape.

“Argh!”

With a clanging sound of crashing, Eusus tumbled to the ground. Blood welled up from his mouth.

“Cough, cough! How did you identify the real body?”

‘It might be difficult with just aura perception, but how could I not when the magic patterns are completely different?’

Watching Eusus struggle to his feet using his sword as a crutch, Repenhardt scratched his cheek in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

Mirror Image was, after all, a spell used by mages to counter warriors. It was virtually useless against another mage or anyone who could read magical energies.

‘It does feel a bit like cheating, though….’

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Eusus von Tenes’s eyes widened.

“I don’t know what trick you used, but…”

His face, always stern, contorted like a demon’s.

“The sword of Tenes never loses!”

Eusus swung Eldran, chanting spells in succession. If not with the sword, then with magic!

“Scorching heat, coalesce and strike the foe!”

Dozens of fireballs flew, radiating heat. Repenhardt, growing tired of delaying and finding it tedious to fend off each one individually, raised his aura. Emitting a golden aura, he spun around! A giant vortex of light enveloped Repenhardt’s massive form.

“Spiral Guard!”

All the fireballs were deflected in every direction. Eusus, taken aback, prepared his next spell immediately.

“Mist of Cold Winter, shroud the earth!”

A dense mist of cold air enveloped Repenhardt from all sides. Indeed, it seemed impossible to dispel the mist with punches or kicks. However, Repenhardt’s response was the same.

“Spiral Guard!”

The whirl of aura completely dispersed the cold mist. Eusus’s expression turned desperate.

“Wind, become arrows! King of Winter, cover the world! Breath of Corrosion, flow through the void!”

“Spiral Gu…”

Eventually, Eusus exploded in frustration.

“No, what is that technique that bounces off everything regardless of its type!”

Meanwhile, Repenhardt was also marveling at his own body.

‘This is quite something, almost anything can be dealt with Spiral Guard.’

A technique that ignores both the attributes and implementation methods of magic? Thinking about it now, Teslon too had charged through the magic thrown at him, dealing with almost everything with his body.

‘How could such a cheat-like technique exist?’

It was astonishing to think about the viciousness of Gym Unbreakable, who developed such a technique. Fortunately, the only aura users who could use this Spiral Guard were the disciples of Gym Unbreakable.

‘If all aura users could use this technique, the magicians would have had to lay down their staffs.’

Spiral Guard was not feasible for other aura users to implement. Not because of the difficulty of the technique, but because it was so brute force.

Other aura users could also overlay their aura to increase their defense. However, adding rotation to it was impossible. If they did, they would be torn apart by the force. Hence, there were quite a few who increased the power of their blade aura by rotating it but applying it to their body was out of the question for other aura users.

Only Gym Unbreakable, whose bodies were ‘as strong as’ weapons, could withstand using it.

‘Well, as effective as it is, the consumption of aura is no joke either.’

Indeed, after maintaining it for a while, he began to feel a slight fatigue. It seemed that everything in the world has its pros and cons.

As no more magic was coming his way, Repenhardt slowly retracted Spiral Guard. It was time to end this fight. He clenched his fists.

‘I need to quickly defeat this guy and join the kids.’

Hummm!

Repenhardt’s fists glowed incandescently, vibrating with each motion and shaking the atmosphere to emit a grand sound. A powerful aura burst forth from his entire body, watched with despair by Eusus, who suddenly shouted in frustration.

“Who are you?”

“Huh?”

Could it be that even upon seeing this golden aura, he’s now asking for his identity? Repenhardt momentarily tilted his head in confusion. Eusus shouted again.

“I mean, who is behind you?”

Who? Who has orchestrated this, to have such a powerful adversary target the Tenes County? Eusus cried out in anguish, as if coughing up blood. To Repenhardt, it was nothing but a nonsensical noise.

He carelessly looked behind him to see Sir Lot struggling on the ground. Turning back, he absentmindedly replied.

“Your lieutenant is there, isn’t he?”

“Are you mocking me!”

“No, I’m the one feeling mocked right now…”

He couldn’t understand what was being said, but it seemed there was no time to clarify. Eusus, driven by extreme rage, launched himself into the air with his last strength.

“Aaaaah!”

He gathered all the remaining magic in Eldrad, aiming for a final blow.

“Awaken, Eldrad! Arise, Eldran! Grant me the power to shatter all!”

Eusus disappeared, and in his place, a golden moon rose. Terrifying magical power converged towards Eldran. Repenhardt’s expression turned serious.

‘That’s it!’

The unique magic of Eldrad, the ultimate strike that had once turned his rigorously trained body to tatters.

With a resonant cry, a beam of moonlight shot from the golden moon.

“The light of Eldril!”

A swirling golden aurora filled the view. This technique was not to be underestimated. It was safer to respond with his strongest card!

Repenhardt slightly bent his knees.

He pulled his right fist back, concentrating his aura at its tip.

He channeled all his strength into his legs and kicked off the ground.

Boom!

Instantly, his massive body shot up like a cannonball, tearing through space and dragging four aura waves behind it, becoming a lance of destruction aimed at the destructive moonlight!

“Calamity Horn!”

A massive golden horn pierced through the light of destruction. The light split in all directions, tearing the ground apart. Then, golden waves converged into one point. The aura wave pierced through the light of destruction, leading Repenhardt towards its end, straight to Eusus, where he precisely thrust his fist.

“Thaaaat!”

The fourth aura wave, the last strike of the horn of destruction, hit Eusus’s torso accurately. With a loud metallic noise, golden shards exploded in all directions.

* * *

Lot, with a face lost to shock, stared at the scene before him.

“How… How is this possible…”

The other Tenes knights felt the same.

“Lord Eusus is…”

“Eldrad has…”

Golden fragments were falling. The remnants of Eldrad, the strongest existing magical artifact, an armor made from the true gold, Eldril, which was believed to be invulnerable to human strength, were now shattered and scattered around.

And among them lay their leader, believed to be unbreakable, their dream and idol, now in tatters, bleeding and rolling on the ground in a pitiable state. His eyes were rolled back, exposing the whites, a truly miserable sight to behold. He seemed to be completely unconscious.

It was a nightmare.

The sword of Tenes had been broken!