Chapter 94
Chapter 94: The Fourth Sword of Illyria?
Kashir frowned.
He was a man who loved to smile more than anyone.
But he hadn’t been able to smile since earlier.
Encountering the Sword Master could be chalked up to a day of bad luck.
But meeting that man on the same day?
Kashir, who had once been a priest of the Church of Illyria, was well aware of Illyria’s swords.
The Church of Illyria had 100 holy knights.
That number was always maintained.
Whenever there was a vacancy, they simply filled it.
Not all of the 100 holy knights had numbers assigned to them.
Only ten were given numbers by the church.
And being assigned a number meant recognition of exceptional ability.
The knights who received numbers were superhumans with immense power.
If the fourth sword was mentioned…
It had to be William, the Storm Sword.
As his title suggested, his swordsmanship was known for its aggressive and destructive power.
“Damn it.”
This was truly a catch-22.
Behind him was the Sword Master, in front of him was the Storm Sword.
If it was just the Storm Sword alone, he wouldn’t have to fight for his life.
But with that overwhelming Sword Master behind him, it was a different story.
“Damn, what should I do?”
Kashir couldn’t easily come up with an answer.
From the look of William’s demeanor, he clearly intended to fight to the death.
Avoiding the battle was not an option.
“Why do you look like you just bit into something rotten, Human Butcher? Are you scared?”
William shouted confidently.
He had never lost his composure when facing even the strongest foes.
His fearlessness and overflowing confidence made it possible.
Even now, facing the formidable Human Butcher, he maintained an overwhelming attitude from the start.
‘Who is he?’
Lee Si-hyun thought, observing William.
He introduced himself as Illyria’s fourth sword, but it was still unclear.
He could only assume he was related to the Church of Illyria.
But judging by his demeanor, he didn’t seem to have a good relationship with the Human Butcher.
He looked ready to wield his weapon at any moment.
From the instant he appeared, the situation had completely changed.
It was clear from Kashir’s troubled expression.
Kashir suddenly had one more enemy.
There’s a saying: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
How could he make use of this situation?
Si-hyun began to brainstorm.
‘…For now, observe.’
It was a given that a fight was about to break out.
It seemed wiser to assess the flow of battle rather than rushing in with a hasty action.
“Is it necessary to spill blood to settle this? If you’re a rational human, shouldn’t dialogue be the first step?”
Kashir spoke.
For those who knew the usual Human Butcher, it was an utterly shocking statement.
The one who had stabbed without warning now suggested resolving matters through conversation.
You could say a chick growing into an eagle could hardly be this ridiculous.
William seemed to feel the same way.
He opened his eyes wide and spoke.
“What’s your deal? Did you eat something wrong? What kind of nonsense is this?”
“I’m saying we should resolve this through conversation.”
“Quit the bullshit and draw your weapon.”
“Let’s talk it out.”
Kashir didn’t pull out the Death Scythe.
He raised both hands to signal he had no intent to fight.
He thought he could count on being the one not attacked first since he was a knight of the gods.
Feeling the tension in the air, a frightened Bayan stumbled away from Kashir to the corner.
Bayan looked significantly shaken after taking a beating from Si-hyun.
When he glanced at Si-hyun, their eyes met, and he screamed, clutching his head, shivering in fright.
“Draw your weapon, now!”
William shouted loudly.
“I said we should talk.”
“Ugh, it can’t be helped.”
“Good, you thought well.”
A smile returned to Kashir’s face.
He took it as a sign that they would negotiate.
But soon his expression twisted again.
“I’ll force you to draw your weapon.”
William charged towards Kashir with his massive frame.
His speed was unexpected for such a bear-like figure.
He raised his enormous greatsword high, intending to cleave Kashir in half.
“Whoa!”
Kashir reacted quickly, moving out of the way.
BAM!
With a loud crash, the greatsword slammed into the ground.
Debris shattered all around.
“What the hell, damn it!”
Curses spilled from Kashir’s lips.
He would have died if he had been just a bit slower.
Who would have thought a holy knight would suddenly attack an unarmed opponent?
“Now you’re acting like a Human Butcher. Draw your weapon immediately.”
William moved again.
“Damn it.”
Kashir hurriedly unsheathed the Death Scythe.
CLANG!
The two weapons clashed in the air.
Kashir wore a look as if he might rot away.
They had finally met blades.
At this point, there was no avoiding the fight.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of fighting.
It was troubling knowing the Sword Master was behind him.
If the Sword Master intervened in the midst of battle, he could easily take his life.
That fact left him feeling uneasy and disturbed.
But he didn’t have any clear solutions.
He was still racking his brain for a plan, but nothing came to mind.
In this situation, everything depended on the Sword Master’s intentions.
“Alright. Now I can move a little more seriously.”
William pushed down hard on his greatsword, pressing Kashir back.
Kashir had no choice but to retreat, trying to regain distance.
“Good, good. This is getting interesting.”
William raised his greatsword high.
He then used his magic to draw forth his strong qi.
It was the highest level technique that only superhumans who’ve mastered their abilities could wield.
The energy he manifested began to envelop the greatsword, far beyond anything comparable to sword energy.
The massive greatsword, already long, now emanated over 2 meters of overwhelming force, as if it could pierce the heavens.
WHOOSH!
He aimed to split the air with his enormous greatsword, thrusting it forcefully downward.
There was no dodging this.
Only a head-on clash awaited.
Kashir also drew forth his own qi to nearly 2 meters as he swung toward William’s formidable sword energy.
KABOOM!
A loud explosion marked their clash of qi.
Kashir used the force from the collision to leap back and distance himself.
‘Ugh, what power…’
Kashir subtly frowned.
Even though it was just one clash, his right hand tingled with pain.
It was astounding power.
He could now comprehend why the title of Storm Sword was fitting.
With such strength, it made sense for him to charge aggressively.
“You’ve got some skills.”
William adjusted his grip on the greatsword.
Experienced fighters could learn a lot about their opponent from just a single clash.
He could feel the considerable pressure when their energies collided.
The Human Butcher was indeed a strong opponent.
“What do you want?” Kashir asked.
“Your life.”
“Cough, revenge, huh?”
Having committed countless murders in that otherworldly realm, it wouldn’t be strange for the members of the Church of Illyria to hold a grudge against him.
“It’s the will of the gods. Punishing the wicked is the command of the divine.”
William replied confidently.
“What is the will of the gods? This is why zealots are so annoying.”
Kashir gritted his teeth.
Then he took the initiative and charged forward.
He unleashed his qi without holding back.
He couldn’t afford to hold back against an opponent like this.
William didn’t back down either; he swung his greatsword.
SMASH!
Another clash of their forces occurred.
◈ ◈ ◈
“….”
Si-hyun was managing to maintain his expression with cold-blooded composure.
This level of fierce battle was something he had never witnessed before.
Even when he saw the sword energy of a B-rank Hunter, he recalled being astounded back then.
But what he was witnessing now was leagues beyond that.
Though he had never seen it up close, the qi was undoubtedly a testament to mastery at the S-rank level.
A weapon with qi could easily destroy any solid object.
So it was said that only qi could match qi.
‘This is insane. Absolutely insane.’
Si-hyun mumbled.
It wasn’t just the qi; even the speed of their exchanges was on another level altogether.
He, still at the intermediate Hunter level, couldn’t properly track their movements.
And unbeknownst to him, even for those at the master level, it was difficult to draw out over one meter of qi.
Yet, these two were wielding theirs at a length of 2 meters.
What’s more, they were exchanging blows using qi that required a massive amount of magic power without any signs of flagging magic reserves.
There was no doubt they were above-average fighters among S-ranks.
‘Who has the upper hand?’
Now was not the time to act.
Getting involved in such a battle was impossible.
Si-hyun hoped that William would come out victorious.
Unlike the insane murderer, he seemed to at least possess a sound mind.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Kugh.”
Kashir grimaced from the powerful pressure flooding his wrist.
His entire arm felt as if it might go numb, trembling and shaking.
He had already realized he was overpowered after their first clash.
So he began to employ various unconventional techniques in hopes of finding a gap.
However, his opponent’s steadfast swordsmanship left no openings at all.
It appeared aggressive yet was as solid as a rock.
He had no choice but to keep clashing weapons.
As these clashes piled up, his arm strained under excessive impact.
He could also feel his magic power slowly dwindling away.
Yet, his opponent still seemed outwardly solid.
“Damn it!”
Kashir, with an extremely irritated expression, swung the Death Scythe with all his might and leapt back.
It infuriated him that he was being outclassed not by the Sword Master but by the Storm Sword.
Kashir took immense pride in his skills.
He had believed he could at least match anyone at a similar level, so the realization that he couldn’t provoked a fierce frustration within him.
“Ugh! Do you really think you can mess with China and get away with it?”
Kashir blurted out, just as he had done to Si-hyun.
Since he couldn’t rely on skill, he sunk to using words.
“China? What’s that? It’s the will of the gods; why should I care?”
William didn’t even bat an eye.
“This fanatic! Don’t you know? Touching me means touching China. I am China!”
Kashir barked angrily.
“Then… I already said I don’t care. Whether it’s China or the US, what difference does it make?”
William approached Kashir, the greatsword resting on his shoulder.
“You dullard, don’t you get it? Highris exists in China! The silent Great Sorceress Highris! Sword Master, you tell him! Inform this ignorant zealot how the world works!”
How cornered must he have felt to ask Si-hyun for help?
“Sword Master?”
William’s eyes widened in surprise as he turned to Si-hyun.
Upon making eye contact, Si-hyun smiled cheerfully.
His grin was refreshing.
Si-hyun’s lips moved lightly.
“Just kill him.”
