Chapter 179

Chapter 180. Sephira’s Big Shot (5)

Compared to the endless offensive techniques utilizing Aura, there is only one defensive technique used.

It’s the ‘Aura Armor.’

The method of use is extremely simple. Eject and harden the Aura, and that becomes the Aura Armor.

The defensive power varies drastically depending on the quantity and quality of the Aura and the user’s proficiency, but it’s not an efficient defense method. Using 10 units of Aura only blocks 2 units.

Despite its lack of practicality, knights adopt Aura Armor as their sole defensive technique for one reason—they believe that ‘the best defense is a good offense.’

-Defense is just a foolish act that gives the opponent continuous opportunities to attack.

-Confronting attack with attack is the most effective.

The philosophy of swordsmanship in this era is not about balancing offense and defense but is entirely offense-oriented. Not just the Lilian Kingdom, but all nations learn swordsmanship with this belief.

Therefore, it’s common not to train in defensive techniques. Instead of spending time learning and mastering defensive techniques, they learn and refine one more offensive technique.

However, Keter doesn’t care about the world’s trends.

If he wants to learn something, he learns it. He doesn’t change his mind just because others say it’s useless or the wrong path.

The result of that is being realized right before his eyes.

Torrential Wave.

Falling Petal Single Point.

Severing Life Iron Slash.

Extreme Light Gale Sword.

Not just one, but four secret techniques meant to surely end the opponent’s life. If it were the usual Keter, he would have crushed them with more powerful force.

But this time was different.

Swish.

He raises both arms to cover his face.

That’s it.

A simple defensive move that even Rajis, watching from behind, was shocked by.

‘Is he insane?’

From Rajis’s perspective, the four secret techniques Norman used couldn’t be blocked even by a Master’s Aura Armor, let alone with additional Amantium Armor.

But look.

Is Keter wearing Amantium Armor?

No. He’s wearing loose cloth clothes. Fluttering in the wind, they might be comfortable and convenient, but they offer no protection at all.

This is all true. The clothes Keter is wearing are ordinary. There’s no trick here.

Yet, why did Keter only raise his arms to cover his face?

‘Because he can take the hit.’

Keter doesn’t need to wear armor.

There are layers of Aura membranes outside and inside his skin, between his muscles and skin, and Aura flows throughout his body along with his blood.

Aura is a double-edged sword. Even the user can be injured by their own Aura.

But Keter can circulate Aura within his body without issue. For the past few months, he has repeatedly destroyed and regenerated his body with his own Aura.

His body has adapted to Aura. His resistance to Aura has strengthened. Not only that, but another force flowing within him, Mana, is entwined with every cell in his body.

Above all, after undergoing a metamorphosis, Keter’s physical structure itself has changed. The overall strength and flexibility of his body have greatly increased, and joints that humans don’t originally have have appeared, increasing his range of motion.

His muscles have also become more compressed and tougher. To the point where they aren’t easily cut by Aura.

Unaware of these facts, Rajis was disheartened. He couldn’t save Keter. It was too late to intervene.

Boom!

The four secret techniques collided head-on with Keter. Behind him, Rajis’s hair was mercilessly blown by the wind pressure.

The overwhelming power of the sword aura swept over Rajis’s entire body. The wind pressure left scratches on Rajis’s armor and skin.

“Incredible power…….”

Rajis muttered.

The secret techniques Norman used weren’t superficial. They had power befitting a Master. But why…….

“How can he still be alive……?”

Keter’s body wasn’t torn apart. All his limbs are intact. His neck is still attached.

Although his clothes are a bit torn and blood is flowing from various parts of his body, it’s clear even without looking that the wounds aren’t deep.

Keter, lowering his arms, taunted Norman.

“Surely, this isn’t all you’ve got?”

“Keterrrr……!”

Norman, recognizing Keter, roared his name. Simultaneously, Norman’s clones changed their target. To Keter.

Keter smirked.

‘As planned.’

By showing the performance of blocking secret techniques with his body upon appearing, Norman took the bait. It was a reaction born from the misconception that Keter would be weakened after taking four secret techniques.

Even if Norman had judged coldly without misconception, he would have thought he needed to go all out since Keter withstood the secret techniques with his bare body.

Either way, Norman had no choice but to focus all his power on Keter, and this was exactly Keter’s aim.

“Rajis.”

Keter called Rajis without turning back. Rajis nodded slightly in response.

“You handle the Undead.”

It was a one-sided command, but Rajis wasn’t displeased.

How could he be displeased? It meant Keter would handle Norman alone.

Of course, the Undead were troublesome, but thanks to the priests of the Sun Church Keter brought, dealing with them wasn’t impossible.

“Good luck.”

Rajis lowered the sword he had raised. Then, the Undead rushing towards Keter were shattered from head to toe.

Keter, entrusting his back to Rajis, summoned the Demon Bow Amaranth and said to Norman,

“Don’t die in one hit, Norman.”

* * *

Matches and battles are distinctly different.

Matches are closer to play. You have to be especially careful not to break the toys.

On the other hand, battles are real. You use all your strength to subdue or kill the opponent.

Of course, if subduing is the goal, you need to control your strength, but if killing is the goal…….

‘There’s no reason to drag it out while testing the waters.’

Whoosh!

He releases Aura and Mana. He pours out everything he can do now.

Whoooosh!

Celestial Infinity Technique No. 1, Arrow Wing.

He creates 24 Aura Arrow Wings to the left and right. These aren’t just ordinary Aura Arrows.

Celestial Infinity Technique No. 2, Milky Way.

All 24 arrows are Aura Arrows with maximized explosive power, Milky Way. Additionally, the arrowheads of the Milky Way are coated with Mana Arrows.

This isn’t the end.

Celestial Infinity Technique No. 3, Heaven Explosion Fire Rain.

He also loads one arrow onto Amaranth. The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain that bombarded the deserted island.

Of course, he also uses Mana Arrows here.

He concentrates the remaining 6 arrows onto the arrowheads. He uses all 30 Mana Arrows accumulated one per day, right here and now.

Even after using all his Aura, it’s still not the end.

There’s still Mana left.

Celestial Infinity Technique No. 5, Kaleidoscope.

He briefly introduced it to Catherine as Demon Archery, but that was just a fragment of this Kaleidoscope.

Acceleration Gateway.

Dimensional Tunnel.

Refraction Panel.

These three were originally one. Named Kaleidoscope.

There are stages to the Kaleidoscope. In his past life, he used ‘Asangi,’ scattering thousands to envelop a city, but now, thousands are out of reach.

However, there’s enough Mana to envelop this arena.

Kaleidoscope? Ganges Sands.

Thin circular mirrors scatter in all directions and settle. At a glance, it seems indiscriminate, but at least two are designed to face each other.

Arrows passing through the Kaleidoscope accelerate and have two patterns. They either move to another Kaleidoscope or refract and change direction.

Now it’s over. This is all of me now, my full strength.

“…….”

“…….”

Norman suddenly stops moving. Seeing the expression on his face, it seems like he has a sad premonition that it will end in one hit.

Tick.

He shoots the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain at Norman. Simultaneously, the 24 Milky Ways are also scattered.

Norman has created a total of 24 clones. He gifts one arrow to each of them.

Whoooosh!

The fired Heaven Explosion Fire Rain and Milky Ways pierce through the air and darkness. Norman’s clones, in human form, abandon defense and attempt to evade.

Norman, who has become a mass of tentacles instead of a human body, naturally chooses to take it head-on instead of evading like a human.

Norman, you must have made countless mistakes in your life. It’s because of those mistakes that you are who you are now. But I can assure you…….

‘The choice you made now is the biggest mistake of your life.’

Because you’re a slime, you’ve lived carelessly, thinking you can revive as long as your core is safe.

Of course, you do have regenerative powers comparable to the Undead in the darkness.

But the corruption contained in my arrows and Mana Arrows far surpasses your regenerative powers.

“Grooooooar!”

Norman pulls out more blade tentacles from his body and wields swordsmanship. It’s utterly disappointing.

After all, a monster is a monster. Stupid. If you had at least absorbed Pasian, you should have used Muryeong.

“I gave you a hint during the Battle Royal. Swordsmanship can’t beat archery.”

Ting ting ting!

The Milky Ways that the clones thought they had dodged collide with the scattered Kaleidoscopes, repeating acceleration and refraction.

It’s like light dancing.

Once or twice? No. At least three times or more, accelerating, bouncing, and moving in this irregularity, can a guy like you understand and predict it?

“You can’t.”

Trying to dodge the Milky Ways accelerated to the limit, he twists his body, turning his head and eyes madly, but-

‘My arrows are faster than your thinking ability, dude.’

Whoooosh!

Screaaam!

A magnificent explosion and the death throes of the monster roam the darkness of the arena.

Norman’s clones hit by the Milky Ways with Mana Arrows on the arrowheads cannot regenerate. They cannot revive. The power of corruption kills every cell, and eventually, the core is destroyed.

The same goes for Norman’s main body. The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain, compressed with the power of six Mana Arrows, engulfs Norman.

The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain used on the deserted island exploded in the sky, becoming tens of thousands of fragments, greatly reducing its power, but now, the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain doesn’t explode.

It pushes its full power into a single living being.

“Grooooooar!”

Norman screams. It’s not confidence in victory. It’s a desperate scream begging to live.

Thud thud thud thud!

The Orichalcon floor distorts as Norman’s body is pushed back by the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain. Norman tries to inflate his body to prevent annihilation.

To him, I give a round of applause.

“Wow, he’s holding up. But what about this?”

Then, leisurely, I nock an Aura Arrow on the bowstring and pull it.

“There’s still one left.”

Ting.

A lightly shot Aura Arrow pierces what is presumed to be Norman’s solar plexus.

It didn’t hit the core. It just slightly disrupted his body’s balance.

That’s enough. With his balance disrupted, Norman couldn’t withstand the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain and was soon swallowed.

“Guh, guaaaaaaah! I, I…….”

In his final moments, Norman screams a human-like scream. He leaves behind a line typical of a villain’s end, but it never gets old. Always fresh.

“I, who was to become the ruler of the world……!”

A white stream of energy erupts from Norman’s body like a volcano. It was the surge of life force from the humans Norman had absorbed so far. The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain that completely swallowed Norman explodes as if not giving even a shred of hope.

Boom!

The blue flames of Aura spread throughout the arena, brightening it like midday, and the power of the Mana Arrows manifests as red lightning, swirling.

Without needing to check, Norman has cleanly vanished from this world.

“Whew.”

My body trembles. Through the survival technique I’ve mastered, ‘Survival of the Fittest,’ my Aura and Mana increase.

“Only a tiny bit. Just two years, huh?”

Norman was a worthy opponent to go all out against, but expecting much reward from an opponent who dies in one hit was greedy.

Norman, you certainly left a strong impression on me.

“Dreaming big, huh.”

To think you could become the ruler of the world with just that level.

“If you’re reborn, become a village chief.”

I’ll give you that much.

* * *

Norman’s annihilation could be observed by others. After all, the presence of Keter’s single technique was too grand and massive.

Even in the darkness, the 24 Milky Ways and Heaven Explosion Fire Rain Keter shot were more dazzling and overwhelming than the sunlight emitted by the priests of the Sun Church.

Not only did they annihilate Norman and his clones in a single strike, but they also swept away hundreds of surrounding Undead.

“Keter. Have you already transcended humanity…….”

Rajis, who witnessed Keter’s full-powered strike, was slightly out of his mind, uncharacteristically.

If it were me, could I block it?

No need to ponder. Absolutely impossible. The Orichalcon arena couldn’t withstand it and distorted.

Moreover, it’s not just powerful. It’s fast and irregular. Defense, evasion, counter—nothing could even be attempted.

The Undead, having no emotions, don’t stop fighting, but if they had even a shred of emotion, they would have been equally stunned upon seeing Keter’s divine power.

Thanks to Keter taking care of Norman, the Undead began to be cleared more quickly. The Sephira archers also played a part.

The Lunar Knight Order, which had evacuated civilians to safety, joined the battle in earnest, greatly increasing stability. Mail coordinated the troops, significantly improving efficiency. Of course, it wasn’t perfect command, but it was a hundred times better than no one doing it.

Thud!

Eslow’s battle also seemed to be nearing its end.

The head of the last Fallen Angel rises into the sky. Ayrus expected the Fallen Angels to last seven minutes, but in reality, five minutes were enough.

Seeing this, Taragon muttered to himself without realizing.

“He’s a god… Lord is practically a god.”

The mere aura naturally emanating from the Fallen Angel makes Taragon’s breath catch, and just watching makes his legs go numb.

Yet, Eslow casually deals with them. Not just one, but four Fallen Angels in a combined attack.

“Making a fuss over just that.”

“Keter!”

Keter, who had appeared beside Taragon at some point, also watched Eslow and the Fallen Angels’ battle with a bored expression.

“Probably used about 10 percent. More like playing than fighting. Out of curiosity for a new opponent.”

“Th-that makes sense?”

“He’s a monster, after all, the Lord.”

Having achieved the Prime realm in his past life, Keter could roughly gauge Eslow’s combat power just by watching him fight the Fallen Angels.

‘He’s either on par with Dayal, the Lord of the East, or even stronger.’

For Keter, who ultimately needs to defeat all four Great Lords to kill the Queen of Lilian, this is invaluable information.

But Keter was nonchalant.

‘If you’re called a Lord and end up weak, I’d rather not.’

The harder the goal, the greater the sense of achievement.

‘Good show. To see Eslow’s battle.’

While Keter was burning with fighting spirit watching Eslow, the public was paradoxically looking at Keter, not the Lord.

At least visually, the performance Keter showed was overwhelmingly more impressive than the Lord’s.

‘Not Sephira’s delinquent, but Sephira’s treasure, isn’t he?’

‘That such a monster remained unknown to the world until now…. The Basil family head is no ordinary man.’

‘I knew he was strong, but that’s completely beyond common sense.’

‘The southern political landscape will change.’

Through the nobles participating in the tournament, the perception of the weakest prestigious family, Sephira, completely changed.

The Sephira Triad also performed beyond expectations, leaving a deep impression on the nobles, but none as much as Keter.

Even Lord Eslow, upon seeing Keter defeat Norman, was made to rethink archery.

‘An archery I don’t know of. Where on earth did you learn such archery?’

Eslow, bearing the title of Weapon Master, has mastered all weapon techniques over hundreds of years, including archery, of course.

But his weapon collection doesn’t include a bow. Shooting arrows is meaningless at the Prime realm.

If you can shoot swords like arrows, why bother with archery?

But the archery Keter showed earlier seemed limitless. It was archery that shattered existing common sense.

‘Did I underestimate archery?’

Eslow seriously decided to rethink archery.

Keter, who had always received hot attention, was never like this before. Even nobles who used to say ‘take it or leave it’ opened the firmly shut doors of prejudice and set aside their stubbornness upon seeing Keter’s divine power that obliterated Norman in one hit.

But Keter, who dominated the emotions of countless nobles, was looking at the space where Norman had been with a regretful expression.

“I thought we’d have a proper fight, but it’s a shame. Should I hit Eslow from behind?”

Keter casually uttered words that would make others gasp in shock, thinking he’s insane.