As Seong spoke to the elf elder, he quickly charged at him.
Wham—! Slash—!
With a swift push off the ground, Seong’s speed was so fast that even with the same stats, no one else could match it.
It was a technique made possible by using all the strength of his body.
However, the elf elder didn’t show any surprise. Instead, he welcomed Seong with the attitude that this was to be expected.
"Good."
It seemed as though the elf was watching with interest to see what kind of swordsmanship Seong would use.
At the same time Seong charged, he thought of the elf elder’s swordsmanship.
The sword resembling a dragon ascending into the sky.
It was sharp and difficult to avoid, and Seong identified it as a type of swordsmanship.
‘It’s a path-based swordsmanship.’
It was a different kind of path-based swordsmanship compared to Leonic’s.
It was a sharp, powerful sword style aimed at suppressing and breaking down the opponent.
Seong swung his sword gracefully and rushed at the elf elder.
As he saw the elegant and smooth swordplay, the elf elder adopted a defensive stance with interest.
The soft can defeat the hard.
But if the hard is more steadfast, that’s a different story.
No matter how soft the wrapping, it could not fully hold a sharp, strong sword.
The elf elder’s sword was firm, and it aimed to slice through Seong’s smooth sword.
But at that moment, the calm waves of the sea suddenly became a violent tide, sweeping through the elf elder’s sword.
Kaaaaaaang———!
The powerful wave-like sword swung fiercely, and with the force of the blow, the elf elder was pushed back.
It was a powerful strike.
If Seong hadn’t been careful, his sword could have broken, or he could have been injured.
If the elf elder’s power had been slightly lacking?
‘The shoulder would have been cleaved.’
A rough, tidal strike like a raging ocean.
But within it, there was certainly the softness of the sea.
Seong couldn’t quite understand the swordsmanship.
It was swift and smooth, yet blended with ferocity.
It was an unusual sword style he had never seen before.
He understood that it was a remarkable form of swordsmanship.
Perhaps the elf had wielded a sword for much longer than he had.
The elf elder gave up thinking further.
There was no way to comprehend a sword style he had never seen before just by thinking.
He had always believed in fighting through direct confrontation, even if his sword were to break.
The elf elder rushed at Seong with that mindset.
The elf wasn’t the only one surprised.
‘He blocked that?’
If Seong thought about it, could any of the elf knights he had faced so far have fully blocked the strike Seong had just made?
No, none of them could have.
Yet, the elf elder, charging at him, had blocked it.
Not only had he blocked the swordplay that combined three different styles, but he had also effortlessly deflected it.
Could there be such an opponent?
‘There shouldn’t be.’
Seong thought as he put everything into his next strike.
Their stats were similar.
Perhaps it was the system’s arrangement.
If the stats were equal, Seong was confident he would win.
With this thought, Seong swung his sword, and the elf elder did the same with his sword.
The angry waves clashed with the dragon’s form as the two swords collided.
But the waves soon settled, and the storm picked up speed, with dark clouds covering the surroundings and absorbing the light.
Although Seong couldn’t use any skills, the effects of his swordsmanship, infused with Helena’s powerful techniques, darkened the sword strike.
The dark sword, embodying the essence of shadows, swung from Seong’s fingertips, quickly disappearing into the air.
The elf elder’s eyes lit up as he watched it.
The sword strike, faster than the sound, flew toward the elf elder, and for a moment, he raised his sword to meet it, only to be pushed back as the sword slid away.
Kwarrr—!
Like the thunder following lightning, the sound of the blade slicing through the air was sharp and overwhelming, enveloping the elf elder.
The immense sound was deafening.
But the elf elder didn’t cover his ears. Instead, he charged directly at Seong with a dragon-like form.
As the dragon-shaped figure shot toward Seong, trying to swallow him whole, Seong, seeing this, once again swung his sword with lightning speed.
A little faster than the sound.
The sword, dark and ominous, whipped through the air like a lightning strike.
As the sinister blade cleaved through the dragon’s head, the elf elder’s sword was knocked away.
Ching——!
Unable to withstand the force, the elf elder’s arm was lifted along with his sword as he was thrown backward.
‘Hah.’
To think he was using yet another type of swordsmanship.
Fast and stealthy.
Along with an overwhelming power at the tip of the blade.
How many different attributes could one person handle?
Seong was about to give up on his thoughts, but they kept coming back.
The elf elder focused again and, this time, lifted his sword with both hands, spinning it in a circular motion.
Just before Seong’s sword was retrieved, the elf elder took advantage of the opening and swung his sword toward Seong.
The sword attack, swiftly spinning in the air, resembled a dragon coiling in the sky, aiming directly for Seong.
‘Ho?’
Seong, seeing this, couldn’t help but be surprised.
The speed was definitely his advantage.
But now, taking advantage of the brief opening from his previous attack, the elf elder was launching a counterstrike.
The shape of the dragon twisting through the air was enough to make Seong raise his sword and counter with a new form of swordplay.
This time, the sword seemed to rise like mist from the sea, scattering blade strikes everywhere.
The attacks spread around him, engulfing the space.
Kakang! Kagakang! Kagakakang—!
A bizarre, all-encompassing sword technique.
Despite covering the space, it was anything but light.
Once again, a new sword style.
This time, there was no commonality to it.
"Hah!"
The depth of the swordplay was impossible to measure.
Even in the midst of the battle, the elf elder couldn’t help but admire it.
Though he was a dark mage, to wield swordsmanship like this...
Seong and the elf elder looked at each other and smiled with satisfaction.
They both swung their swords once again.
The shapes of their strikes resembled the natural flow of the ocean, and yet they were striving to break through, like a dragon ascending to the heavens.
The angry sea and the dragon bared their sharp fangs toward each other.
4.
Thunderous roar—!
The sword, resembling a dragon, swung toward Seong, attempting to tear him apart, but the raging waves tore the dragon in half. As the dragon reformed and turned toward Seong, a bolt of lightning struck, severing the dragon's head.
It was truly an astounding sight.
The fact that such forms could appear with just a single sword made it impossible to compare the two’s swordsmanship.
“Is the Lord losing?”
Seong had several small wounds on his body, but the elf elder didn’t seem to have many visible injuries.
So, he asked the question.
However, Leonic shook his head firmly.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like the elf elder was winning, so why did Noctrynnium say Seong was winning?
Noctrynnium frowned slightly at Leonic’s somewhat arrogant attitude, but he was curious enough to stay silent.
Then Leonic slowly began to explain.
“Ah!?”
When he thought about it, all the wounds on the elf elder were from Seong’s attacks landing exactly where he wanted them, while the elf’s attacks were either blocked or grazed.
This alone showed a huge difference.
And Leonic continued.
Even Leonic was one of the top sword fighters in Helena’s legions.
Especially in swordsmanship.
So hearing that Seong was even better than Leonic was hard to believe...
While Noctrynnium had already heard Leonic’s praises of Seong, he couldn’t help but be truly impressed now that Leonic himself was acknowledging it.
Soon after, Leonic spoke again.
Crash—!!!
The elf elder’s sword broke.
Noctrynnium, observing the scene, couldn’t help but admire Seong.
Perhaps this new Lord might fulfill the hopes that Helena could not.
Noctrynnium thought to himself.
5.
It seemed that Seong had overexerted himself, as he was gasping for breath.
His breath was short, and his vision had started to blur.
He could hardly distinguish anything right in front of him, yet there was one thing that was clear.
The sword, like a raging sea, had severed the dragon’s lifeblood.
Crash—!!!
The battle that had stretched over hundreds, even thousands of exchanges, had finally come to an end.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
The pieces of the elf elder’s sword flew through the air.
In that moment, as the elf elder’s sword was cut, the edges of his garments tore open, and blood began to spill out from the gash.
Rustle—!
“Gulp!”
It was a perfect victory for Seong.
However, there was no sense of defeat, fear, or even resentment or jealousy in the elf elder’s eyes.
Only the pure joy of the moment filled his gaze.
It was a perfect defeat.
Because of that, there was no regret whatsoever.
The fact that he had fought with such a swordsman was honor enough.
With that, he spoke.
“Do not feel guilty. After all, the moment you arrived, I was destined to be freed and pass on.”
“I see.”
Seong had already suspected something like this.
No matter how much of an elf he was, after being trapped in this place for so long, it wouldn’t have been surprising if his lifespan had come to an end.
So Seong accepted it calmly.
Seeing Seong’s calm demeanor, the elf elder, satisfied, reached into his tunic and pulled something out, handing it to Seong.
“Take this.”
“This...?”
A small, faintly glowing dagger.
As Seong was about to ask about it, the elf elder spoke.
“It seems our fates part here. Farewell.”
With that, the elf elder’s body disappeared.
Having endured for so long, it seemed that no trace remained, not even dust.
Seong wanted to ask about the dagger, but before he could, the elf elder was gone.
Feeling a sense of loss, Seong stood up, but as he did, something emerged from the spot where the elf elder’s body had disappeared.
A faint, turquoise glow appeared.
If this was going to happen, should he have said his goodbyes more dramatically?