Chapter 243: 243 ’Quick Attack
"Clang!"
In the crisp clashing of blades, a sword and an unsheathed knife collided heavily, creating a spray of sparks that burst forth like fireworks.
One of the Lees brothers had swung his sword at Reiger, who was engulfed in flashes of lightning, but it struck Reiger’s steady knife scabbard instead, missing him.
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
Just then, the other two Lees brothers attacked from the left and right sides, moving swiftly to Reiger’s flanks. With a faint whooshing of air, they slashed their swords—one aiming for Reiger’s left side and the other for his right side, each angle almost perfectly mirroring the other and casting symmetrical lines of cold light.
Reiger didn’t hesitate. His figure flashed, darting backward like a true bolt of lightning, evading the two symmetrical strikes that came at him.
Yet the Lees brother who had initially swung at Reiger also moved. He leapt into the air and once again aimed a downward slash at Reiger.
The three identical-looking swordsmen enclosed Reiger from the front, relentlessly continuing their fierce onslaught.
In the face of this intense and unending barrage, Reiger kept retreating, temporarily appearing to lose the power to resist.
"Boom!"
Finally, the three brothers struck down their swords in unison at the spot where Reiger had been just a second before, shattering the ground beneath them.
A dust storm erupted in the blast of wind, causing the nearby spectators to cry out in alarm and scramble chaotically, extremely discomforted by the encroaching dust storm.
"Move back!"
"Quick, move back!"
Ai En and Ian, seeing the dire situation, immediately began to evacuate the crowd with the knights of the Franzerel family, pushing them like a tide away from the center of the fighting.
"Mistis, sister!"
"Get down, quick!"
Isu and Mistis, unfortunately close to the center of the fight, were caught in the dust storm, one crying out in panic while the other swiftly held him down, ducking behind a wall to shield from the fight’s aftereffects.
Reiger and the Lees brothers, four in total, began to battle fiercely where the dust had risen. One side flickered back and forth like thunder, while the other pursued relentlessly like shooting stars, causing the sounds of clashing and booming to burst forth incessantly from within the dust, transforming it gradually into a dust storm.
"Is this how the top swordsmen fight?"
"It’s terrifying!"
Humbled civilians witnessing the storm of dust and debris bore expressions of sheer shock, reflecting the great impact the sight had on them.
Those swordsmen, after retreating a distance, stared fixedly at the arena, trying to discern the details of the battle inside.
Especially those spies sent by various factions, whose eyes now gleamed with intense brightness.
"Finally, it’s no longer an instant-kill, huh?"
"The Lees brothers really have some tricks up their sleeves."
"Now we can really see Reiger Brillhaut’s strength."
"Quick! Record it with the Magic Power crystals used for recording images!"
These individuals, hidden within the crowd, were secretly thrilled.
Previously, Reiger had ended his two challenges with instant kills, frustrating those sent to gather intelligence, leaving them unsure of how to complete their missions.
Now, they could finally observe Reiger’s performance, to see what sort of strength the youngest Sword Saint in history could demonstrate.
However, to many swordsmen, it seemed that in the onslaught of the Lees brothers, Reiger was at a disadvantage, engaged in one-sided evasion.
This delighted them immensely.
"So arrogant, but now you’ve met your match, haven’t you?"
"Go, Lees brothers!"
"Blast this so-called youngest Sword Saint apart!"
"Charge!"
Those swordsmen who had previously scorned Reiger and were jealous, filled with negative emotions, suddenly became as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline at the sight of Reiger being suppressed.
Their expressions were as if they were letting the Lees brothers vent their own frustrations, completely different from the bowing heads like a covey of quails from before.
Of course, some people watched the battle with serious expressions.
From a bystander’s perspective, the watchability of this battle was extremely high.
On one side of the battle was the newly minted Sword Saint; on the other were swordsmen capable of barely contending with a Sword Saint using their combined sword techniques—akin to having two Sword Saints clashing in battle.
A fight of such caliber was not commonly seen, and with this opportunity at hand, they certainly wouldn’t miss it.
In such circumstances, the combatants in the arena collided once again.
Somehow, the three Lees brothers leapt high, descended from the same altitude, and with identical angles and force, they swung their sharp swords at Reiger simultaneously, creating a piercing blast of sound.
"Clang!"
Reiger still held his knife scabbard for defense, blocking the three swords that came at him simultaneously. The collision rang out like a bell, sending waves of sound that scattered the surrounding dust.
"Thud!"
Soon after, with a muffled sound, Reiger, who had been parrying with his knife scabbard, was knocked back.
The combined attack of the Lees brothers multiplied their strength, transforming it into a fearsome force that knocked Reiger back quite a distance.
Feeling the force of the rebound, Reiger sighed softly.
"So this is the combined sword technique? It does have some depth to it!"
Originally, the combined force of 1+1+1 equaled 3, yet under the influence of the combined attack sword technique, it was far more than doubled, and this was indeed worthy of Reiger’s marvel.
However, the Lees brothers, three as they were, remained indifferent to Reiger’s marveling. They had become like cold, emotionless killing weapons at the very moment battle commenced, entering into a mystical state.
That state was somewhat akin to resonance among the three brothers, their very souls seemingly merging into one, allowing them to know each other’s thoughts in battle without any need to communicate.
Therefore, while Reiger marveled, the triplet swordsmen attacked again, and this time both their speed and offensive power had increased from before.
In an instant, streams of sword light wove into an impenetrable net, enveloping Reiger.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—"
Reiger was once again forced on the defensive, retreating explosively amidst flashes of lightning while continuously swinging his sword’s scabbard to deflect each incoming sword light.
At first glance, it appeared Reiger was at a disadvantage, being unilaterally suppressed by the Lees brothers.
Yet in reality, Reiger’s expression remained perfectly composed throughout, even occasionally revealing a relaxed demeanor, suggesting he was completely in control.
He pushed his clairvoyant power to the limit, his eyes now shining with translucent light as he observed the triplet swordsmen’s every move, capturing all their physical motions.
Whether it was the direction and manner of their muscle movements, the rhythm of their breathing, or even the flow of their magic power and blood, Reiger’s transparent vision laid it all bare, transforming the information into intelligence for his mind to process.
Thus, Reiger easily penetrated all the movements of the triplet swordsmen.
The strength and angle of their strikes.
The trajectory and speed of their movement.
The frequency and change in their footsteps.
The shifting and tumbling of their forms.
All of this was revealed before Reiger.
Thanks to this, the Lees brothers’ attacks were fierce and robust, yet not one of them could reach Reiger, and the edge of their swords was always deflected or dodged.
"How easy,"
Reiger couldn’t help but feel this way.
He knew this was due to the "Acceleration" ability he had developed.
Ever since acquiring the "Acceleration" ability, Reiger’s neural reflexes were boosted, allowing him to respond with ease to attacks that, to others, seemed blindingly fast, effortlessly evading and defending against them.
Compared to mere increases in attack speed, such enhanced responsiveness and reflexes proved even more valuable in battle.
"It seems the potential of ’Acceleration’ is greater than I imagined. Using it merely to speed up attacks would indeed be wasteful."
Reiger still had the leisure to think and weigh these considerations in the midst of battle.
In fact, the boost "Acceleration" gave to attack speed was also extremely useful.
The reason Reiger could so effortlessly dispatch one senior swordsman after another under the "Thunder Breathing Technique," besides the sheer speed and force of the "Lightning Flash" move, was in part due to the enhancement from the "Acceleration" ability.
With that in mind, Reiger sidestepped an oncoming slash, then leaped like he had eyes on the back of his head to avoid a cut from behind, and finally, as if anticipating it, he swung his always sheathed sword to deflect an unseen blade that had crept close to him.
"Bzzt!"
The sound of electricity crackling surged around Reiger’s body, making him look like the incarnation of the thunder god.
"Haaaahhhhh!"
Finally, the Lees brothers roared out, unleashing a formidable aura and slashing at Reiger again with their swords.
"Boom!"
Three beams of sword light burst forth simultaneously, plowing into the ground and leaving three massive furrows in their wake.
Reiger was enveloped by these three beams of sword light.
But he remained calm.
"Not bad,"
Just before the sword lights struck him, Reiger said so.
"Now, it’s my turn to counterattack."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a thunderous rumble erupted.
The lightning that had been twining around Reiger suddenly increased tenfold, making each bolt exceptionally thick and robust.
The lightning burst from Reiger’s body, transforming into countless thunder serpents that shot in all directions.
"Boom!"
When the thunder serpents collided with the sword lights, they caused a loud explosion and neutralized each other.
"What...!?"
The faces of the Lees brothers changed suddenly.
"Thunder Breathing Technique, First Form—"
Reiger’s voice rose perfectly timed with the thunderous roar, resonating throughout the battlefield.
"Lightning Flash!"
Once again, the ultimate lightning strike flashed forth, cutting through the skies.
"Pffft!"
One of the Lees brothers was struck by the lightning, spraying blood across the sky as he was flung backward.