Chapter 303: Jude Bayer (2)
Chapter 303: Jude Bayer (2)
The empire had twelve Sword Masters, of which three of them were elves.
Elio Lombardi.
A person believed to be close to a Grand Sword Master.
Like an elf, he spent a long time in training than ordinary Sword Masters. Even the imperial Sword Masters were inferior to him in terms of training time.
Moreover, he was a High Elf.
He had physical abilities that was incomparable to ordinary humans or elves.
And one more thing.
Jude looked into Elio’s eyes. The moment he looked into those eyes filled with desire, anger, and impatience, he realized that it was impossible to convince Elio who had been blinded by the demon followers.
He had to fight.
No matter how many elves were present, it was impossible for them to catch up to Jude.
Only a few elves were gathered here in this place, and he could open the path if he defeated Elio here.
“You’re strong.”
Elio said.
Having lived for nearly 300 years, he finally couldn’t bear it and joined hands with the Chancellor, but that didn’t mean he did not have the eyes to see.
Two high-ranking demonic humans were defeated.
Apart from the stories he had already heard from the Chancellor, he could tell just by looking at Jude now.
Strong.
So he must also do his best.
Elio took a deep breath.
He jumped off his Elven Steed and drew his sword at the same time. He shouted as he stopped the attack of Jude who had come rushing at him like a raging wave.
“Spirit Fusion!”
The only one who could use this skill among the playable characters was Red Wind.
The earth spirits responded the moment Elio shouted. Spirits sprang up from the earth and inhabited Elio’s body, granting him new powers.
Claclaclaclaclaclang!
Elio’s sword attacks became faster. Jude also responded with quick sword attacks with his sword-like hands, and the clash between the two exceeded twenty attacks in just an instant.
“Ugh.”
Jude groaned.
The appearance of Elio changed because he had become a half-spirit due to the Spirit Fusion. Having accepted the power of the wild, he was no longer a slender elf.
The muscles in his entire body swelled up. Long fangs protruded and his eyes turned red. Deer antlers grew out of his head.
“AWOOOOOO!”
When Elio roared like a beast, a truly majestic aura filled his sword.
The earth on his feet gave Elio endless power.
“Jude!”
He heard Cordelia’s voice.
Elio’s attacks poured out.
The attacks were fast and accurate. Moreover, his properly used his sword despite the fact that he accepted the power of the wild.
His sword that he had trained in for more than 200 years had a sharpness and mysteriousness that was absurd.
[My successor, focus.]
Valencia didn’t say much. She only aided Jude as the sword spirit of Sword Origin. She tried to bring out a bit more of Jude’s power.
However, she could tell as she was a swordswoman who was called a legend in itself.
The more he crossed swords with Elio, the less likely he would win.
The reason was simple.
Elio’s swordsmanship surpassed that of Jude.
Jude was certainly a genius.
As Sir Jay had realized, Jude’s swordsmanship was already on the level of ordinary Sword Masters.
But the Sword Master in front of Jude was not ordinary.
Except for the other elf Sword Masters, Elio had been walking on the path of the sword for so long that no other Sword Master could compare to the time he trained.
Jude was able to overwhelm all the swordmasters he faced in the past because of his physical abilities and powerful energy rather than his swordsmanship.
Even a swordmaster with better swordsmanship than Jude could not match his power and speed that were beyond common sense, nor endure the Power of the Sun, which could only be described as a terrifying force. Because these things filled in the gaps of his swordsmanship.
However, Elio was different.
His physical abilities after Spirit Fusion was somewhat inferior to that of Jude, but he surpassed ordinary swordmasters, and the power that gushed out endlessly from the earth was enough for him to stand up against the energy of the black sun released by Jude.
He was ahead in swordsmanship. He was not behind in physical abilities and energy.
In short, the present Elio was superior to Jude.
Claclaclaclaclaclang!
Their sword attacks continued.
Jude clenched his teeth as Elio’s fighting power was stronger than he expected.
Valenica was frustrated.
As she thought, he needed enlightenment.
Only when he attained enlightenment and opened the seventh door could Jude’s sword become better.
[My successor, my successor.]
Valencia was so frustrated that she couldn’t speak properly.
Because it was impossible to attain enlightenment though his current swift attacks.
One could expect to get that lifelong realization in a life-and-death battle.
But it was not something one should expect in the first place. Valencia herself had previously told Jude that ten lives would not be enough if he relied on such a thing.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their swords crossed.
Elio’s sword attacks grew faster.
His attacks became more intense.
It was truly terrifying to see the immense power exploding with each sword strike.
Therefore, Valencia roughly breathed. She clenched her fists over her chest in her frustration and distress.
And she blinked her eyes at some point.
Because she noticed something strange.
[My successor?]
Elio’s sword was getting faster.
It was definitely turning stronger.
But Jude was blocking all those attacks.
Elio’s attacks were getting quicker and stronger because he couldn’t push Jude if he did not do so.
Jude faced Elio’s sword attacks.
The inferior Jude was somehow moving along with Elio’s attacks.
How?
How is he doing it?
Is he really trying to attain enlightenment while fighting?
Valencia focused on Jude. She tried to figure out what was going on in him who had an eccentric body type.
And she realized.
What Jude was doing now and what he was trying to accomplish.
[F*ck.]
She cursed like Landius did.
But it was not out of anger. It was more of an exclamation like what Cordelia always insisted.
[Seriously, f*ck.]
Can he do it?
Is it really possible?
The sword spirit who had only cursed a handful of times since she was born had a pleasant smile. She focused her consciousness once more to add even a little more help to the changes that were happening inside Jude.
***
The moment he crossed swords with Elio, Jude understood it.
He couldn’t win.
His opponent had the upper hand.
It was impossible to beat his opponent unless he opened the seventh door.
But attaining enlightenment was difficult.
From the time he left the kingdom up to this day, he thought about it whenever he had a chance, but in the end, he couldn’t even step on the shadow of enlightenment.
Enlightenment.
An abstract concept.
Jude experienced numerous battles in his past life.
Therefore, he was well aware that a difference in mindset could lead to a huge difference in combat power.
But this kind of realization was so unfamiliar.
Furthermore, it was not possible to rely on such uncertainty in the midst of an actual battle, in which not only Jude’s life was at stake but also Cordelia’s.
Elio was stronger than in the game.
He didn’t know if it was the butterfly effect or if it was some power gained from the demon followers, but he was sure of one thing, and that was he needed to open the seventh door to defeat Elio.
So Jude began to calculate.
Instead of betting on an uncertain realization, he believed in himself again.
He betted on the way he had fought so far.
‘From the first door to the present.’
Jude thought as he blocked Elio’s attack.
He recalled it with his terrifyingly accurate memory and felt it once again.
The moment he opened the first door.
The process needed to open the first door. And the changes that occurred in his own body and soul at that time.
He examined the second door.
He remembered the third door.
He found a certain pattern and matched his self at that time with his current self as much as he could.
Claclaclang!
Swords crossed.
It was very hard to block Elio’s sword. He was always in a hurry to do so.
But little by little, he was able to properly move his sword. It wasn’t by just relying on luck.
He brought his sword-like arm to the correct position.
It was not a sudden improvement in swordsmanship.
His senses were getting sensitive.
The closer he got to opening the door, the sharper his senses became. No, it felt like the so-called sixth sense was opening up.
Fourth door.
Fifth door.
He controlled the flow of energy despite being in combat. He harmonized his breathing and perfectly recreated the moment when he finally opened the sixth door.
The Black Sun roared.
Right after he slashed at Elio’s sword, he did a sharp roundhouse kick. He made Elio step back as he kicked the ground with his feet and powered up his body with both Yin and Yang energies. He forcibly detonated the Black Sun.
Boooom!
It was reckless.
Even though Jude had a Yin-Yang Body, this kind of explosion was dangerous. It was almost impossible to completely control such a reckless explosion.
But Jude did it.
His computational ability from his previous life that he retained when he reincarnated made it possible.
His Cheonmujiche showed again why it was called the incarnation of martial arts from the heavens.
Valencia suppressed the raging explosion by even a little.
And one more added to those.
He hadn’t seen her since he opened the fifth door.
“Indeed, you are Jude himself.”
She said.
In that all black world, she smiled with a clear and pure voice, stretching out her hand to Jude.
The mysterious woman.
She was vaguely called a female sage, but no one knew who she was.
Was she the ancient sage who defeated the overlord of Hell by making full use of the Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors in the past, as Landius had guessed?
And her words.
She said that he was indeed Jude himself.
Words that weren’t insignificant.
Words that were heavy.
Words filled with a meaning.
The female sage looked at Jude. She stretched out her hand again, and Jude grabbed it. He followed her guidance and moved forward.
He took a step.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His energy exploded in succession.
The energy of the black dragon shook from Jude’s entire body and covered the surrounding area.
A power so enormous that it couldn’t even be compared to the past. It was truly like the power of a sun that descended on earth.
Ninth Heaven’s Nine Doors – Seventh Door.
That was why Jude could see it.
Far beyond that horizon.
The long road leading to that horizon.
And a person standing in front of him.
That person turned.
That person looked at Jude and smiled.
That person whispered and held out their hand.
“For the sake of-…”
Light covered his eyes at that time when he faintly heard it.
Instead of the horizon and the road, he saw reality.
He saw the bewildered Elio shouting and rushing towards him.
Elio Lombardi.
A Sword Master close to a Grand Sword Master.
Jude saw Elio’s sword.
He could see Elio’s sword.
He could understand it.
His understanding of the sword had risen.
And one more.
The wind blew.
A gust of wind blew.
It was something that Jude had never seen before, something he did not understand.
Elio approached.
And unleased a sword attack.
So Jude also performed a sword dance.
He added one thing to the Twelve Snowflake Sword Art.
The Sword of Wind.
Another path that led to the horizon, something that was handed down by Count Bayer who had reached the sword horizon in the past.
It unfolded at Jude’s fingertips.
Made up of wind and lightning, it rose once more and let out a roar that shook the world.
Wind and Lightning Flurry Strikes.
The Sword of Wind and Lightning.
Elio’s sword turned into a mess.
It couldn’t beat Jude anymore.