Chapter 454: 420 The outcome is decided? It’s you who lost!
"Clang——!"
Accompanied by a resounding clang of steel, the slashing strike transformed into lightning once again landed on Revin’s body. Although blocked by the armor he wore, the impact of the cut still sent Revin flying backward.
Revin’s body shot backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground, shattering it beneath him.
Fortunately, Revin managed to adjust his posture just a second before hitting the ground, landing on his feet. Otherwise, he might have embarrassingly smashed into the earth, his body embedded into the ground.
"Tsk...!"
Realizing he was falling behind, Revin clicked his tongue, his expression turning extremely serious, devoid of his earlier dominance and arrogance.
He stared intently at the figure in mid-air, watching as Reiger, shrouded in flashes of lightning, slowly descended opposite him. Revin’s eyes began to flicker uncertainly.
"He’s that strong?"
Revin had to admit he was shocked and astonished.
A 17-year-old Sword Saint was already an unbelievable existence. And now, this being was demonstrating strength even greater than Revin’s, who had been a Sword Saint for ten years. It was truly shocking for Revin.
But the reality was right before his eyes, and no matter how shocked Revin felt inside, it couldn’t change the current situation.
"You’ve lasted longer than I expected, worthy of a Sword Saint who has defended this border land for many years," Reiger said, holding the divine blade and smiling lightly at Revin.
"At least, compared to the Shadow Sword Saint, you are indeed much stronger."
Reiger’s words revealed a piece of information to Revin.
"...You’ve crossed swords with the Shadow Sword Saint too?" Revin asked in a grave voice.
"Sort of," Reiger said nonchalantly. "Like you, he thought he could handle me because I’m just a newly promoted Sword Saint, only 17 years old. Compared to veteran Sword Saints like yourselves, I must seem like a novice, a mere kid who has just left his apprenticeship. Even though I’m a Sword Saint, in terms of strength, experience, and knowledge, I’m supposed to be nowhere near your level."
"Unfortunately, it turns out that this was just resting on old laurels."
"He’s not in a position to show seniority in front of me."
Reiger looked straight at Revin. His gaze first swept over the great sword and armor in Revin’s hands, then moved to his face, saying with a smirk.
"Now it seems, Marquis, you are more entitled to rest on your laurels than the Shadow Sword Saint, although it is thanks to that armor."
Upon hearing these words, Revin’s face darkened as if it could drip water, looking a bit ugly, but he was unable to refute.
In terms of strength, Revin was indeed much stronger than the Shadow Sword Saint, Rom.
If the Shadow Sword Saint was roughly equivalent to the upper tier of Lv.7, then Revin was probably at the very top of Lv.7.
Translating into power levels of the Earth Mistake World, Revin the Border Guardian Sword Saint at Lv.7, even if he had not trained all his basic abilities other than "Magic Power" to S rank like Ota, still had at least one or two reaching S rank, and the rest were all at A rank. He was very close to the limit of Lv.7.
However, Reiger’s power surpassed Revin’s.
In the beginning, when Reiger had just reached Lv.5, he could defeat Ais at the peak of Lv.5, and upon promoting to Lv.6, he overcame Albert at the limit of Lv.6, earning the reputation of being invincible within his level.
While others reached the top of an ability tier with all attributes at S rank, Reiger’s ceiling was at SSS rank for all abilities. Such power levels accumulated with each level-up as potential strength for Reiger, resulting in a deeper well of power the higher his level, incomparable to ordinary people.
Moreover, with each level-up, Reiger acquired new developmental abilities, almost all combat-related, which were enhanced by the "Bottomless" trait. Even freshly acquired abilities had substantial levels, granting significant boosts. This made Reiger immediately one of the strongest at his level upon leveling up, if not the strongest.
Now, having reached Lv.7, Reiger was stronger than the limit of Lv.7 even in his normal state.
Therefore, when Reiger used his breathing technique to amplify his power, even without breaking through Lv.7, he could be invincible within that level. Even if someone else at Lv.7 surpassed their limits achieving SSS rank in all abilities, they would not be a match for Reiger.
In this case, Revin was naturally no match for Reiger. If not for the Monis Armor with its astounding defensive power which had been consistently defending him, blocking all of Reiger’s attacks, Revin would probably have fallen by now.
"Crack..."
Just as Revin brooded with a heavy heart, unsure how to counter Reiger’s words, a subtle noise emerged.
It was the sound of Reiger sheathing his Sun Wheel Blade, a noise made as he slowly secured his weapon.
With Reiger’s sheathing of his blade, the atmosphere, including Revin and everyone present, didn’t become relaxed. On the contrary, their expressions changed dramatically.
Because, as Reiger sheathed his weapon, the aura around him and the phenomenon of lightning flashes suddenly surged, becoming even more terrifying and dreadful than before.
Such a Reiger slowly lowered his body, his hand on the blade at his waist, poised to draw the weapon.
Seeing this, a thought flashed through the minds of everyone present, including Revin.
"A flash of lightning heralds defeat."
As the thought crossed their minds, not only Revin, who was face to face with Reiger, but even Kazi and the others couldn’t help but their faces dramatically change.
They then recalled that what earned this outrageously young man the title of Thunder Light Sword Saint was not an aura that could dominate anyone, nor the ability to break into the Meipros family’s main residence, but rather a lightning-fast strike that could kill in an instant.
"Breath of Thunder, First Form..."
Violent electricity erupted from Reiger’s body.
"Flash of Piercing Lightning..."
The raging electricity converged on the blade at Reiger’s waist, as if being sucked into it, streaming into the sheath.
"Godspeed!"
Lightning burst forth, transforming into an electric bolt that transcended space, time, and the heavens, shattering the earth.
In that moment, Reiger’s figure suddenly disappeared, replaced by that bolt of lightning which, with an unrivaled momentum, plowed through the earth while furiously shooting towards Revin.
"————!"
Revin’s pupils had shrunk to the size of needle tips, and he even instinctively shouted something, but, tragically, in the face of what seemed like lightning capable of piercing through the heavens and earth, all these reactions were too slow.
The godspeed slash, in one thousandth of a second, cut through the atmosphere and struck the Border Guardian Sword Saint.
"Boom——!"
Whether it was thunder or an explosion, the loud noise blasted as Reiger, charged with violent lightning, appeared where Revin had been standing, his blade already drawn and striking forward, its power shattering the ground beneath Reiger’s feet, causing it to collapse in layers.
As for Revin, he had been cleaved and sent flying by that ultimate slash, his whole body like a kite with its string cut, flying backward with a piercing howl and crashing into the practice arena’s wall.
"Bang——!"
The entire practice arena trembled instantaneously, and a corner of the wall crumbled to pieces in an instant, blasting up clouds of dust and chunks of stone like an explosion.
Under this brutal force, the arena’s barrier automatically emerged, absorbing the majority of the force on Revin’s body, preventing the Border Guardian Sword Saint from crashing through the arena and flying into the Bethsarae city district.
"Father!"
"Father!"
Seeing Revin being blasted away by the lightning bolt and smashing into the barrier-activated wall, Kazi, Axel, and Diego all cried out in shock.
"This......"
Nipede also widened his eyes, staring at the earth-shattering, lightning-encased figure of Reiger, overwhelmed with shock.
"Master!"
Liz, on the other hand, was overjoyed.
"Ka..."
Only now did Reiger sheathe his blade once again, slowly drawing The Fool back into its scabbard, causing the sound of the blade rubbing against the scabbard to gently echo.
"How was it?"
Reiger’s calm voice, unchanged in tone, once again emanated from him.
"Even with that suit of armor, the taste of this slash must not have been pleasant, right?"
His words fell into the ears of the onlookers, leaving them speechless.
"Cough cough..."
Only from the direction of the shattered wall came a coughing response.
Revin struggled to pull himself out of the wall, brushing off the rubble from his body and waving away the clouds of dust, coughing all the while as he walked out.
"Father!"
Seeing Revin like this, Kazi and the others were both relieved and horrified.
The relief was because Revin was alive.
The horror was because Revin was not entirely unharmed.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes and nose also bled, appearing at first glance as if he were bleeding from all orifices, a sight horrifying to behold.
Clearly, Reiger’s "Thunderclap Flash: Godspeed" had not defeated Revin, but it had indeed wounded him.
Upon closer inspection, Revin’s suit of armor, especially at the chest area, had developed a crack.
Indeed.
This armor, touted as having the strongest defensive power in the Kingdom of Ginas, had been cracked by Reiger’s "Thunderclap Flash: Godspeed."
At last, Revin was injured, his steps no longer as steady as before. As he came out of the wall, he collapsed to one knee on the spot.
"————"
Silence.
A silence as still as death.
Everyone watched as Revin, kneeling on one knee, his armor cracked at the chest, blood trailing from the corners of his mouth, his eyes, and his nose, seemingly quite injured, fell into a deathly hush.
Only Reiger spared such a Revin a glance and spoke out.
"The outcome is clear, you’ve lost, Revin Meipros."
Leaving these words behind, Reiger turned around, no longer looking at Revin.
Just as Reiger was about to consider the matter resolved, Revin’s roar suddenly echoed throughout.
"No! I have not lost yet!"
In the moment that the roar resounded, a blinding black light burst forth from Revin’s body, plunging the entire practice arena into darkness.