章節 58: CHAPTER 217
He didn't know what the hell Jin did, but it was dangerous.
Joshua's instincts flared. For the first time in his life, his eyes were filled with rage. The aura on his sword burned even brighter.
"You and your stupid gimmicks!"
Slash!
The aura materialized into a blade crescent. The sheer barrage of crescents covered Jin's sight of Joshua.
But it was already too late.
"I'm sure I already said so. You should've killed me back then, because you'll no longer have the opportunity."
Just like a rock falling down a cliff, the crescents disappeared into the darkness.
Joshua tried again, but his attacks were just sucked into the vacuum of darkness. Within two seconds, dozens of blade crescents disappeared into Jin's spirit energy.
Joshua didn't dare to step forward. He had a sense of what 'Shadowblade' was, but he'd never seen this specific attack.
Joshua gripped Sran a little harder and shook his head.
"I guess I made a mistake. Yeah, it seems I was too merciful…"
The rip in space created by Bradamante, the spirit energy that swallowed Joshua's attacks.
It was a 'gate'.
A portal to another dimension.
Jin didn't choose to fight Joshua because he couldn't contain his rage. He just wanted to know the gap in skill between them.
'Just as I expected, he's preparing to steal my contract. And his skill, pretty impressive.'
He never thought of Joshua as weak. Though, he initially thought that he'd be absurdly strong due to the 'prospective successor' title, but thankfully, that wasn't the case.
'If it weren't for Sister Luna, I wouldn't have survived this long.'
Woooooom…
The spirit energy dispersed into the air.
A gate to Lafrarosa opened.
'Since I can't summon Brethren Vahn, I wish one of the Fighting Legends would show up…'
He couldn't relax just yet.
He had no idea who would appear from the portal.
If a normal warrior appeared instead of a Fighting Legend, he had to delay things.
"Long time no see, Brethren Jin!"
Jin grinned. He couldn't ruin his impression.
The Eighth Legend, Garmund. Thank goodness it was him.
'A summon… Shit, how can I predict such a thing?'
Joshua was shocked as soon as Garmund appeared.
Aside from summoning with his sword, the power that this guy possessed…
He could tell even without clashing swords.
'He's strong… I probably have to go all out. I should've ended it then and there…'
But there was no point in regretting it. He played into Jin's hands.
"I'm sorry, but can you tell me the specifics later, Brethren Jin? What shall I do?"
"Kill."
"It looks like your brother who tried to curse you, but is that fine? You might have some questions."
After one fist bump, Garmund's glare changed.
"I am the Eighth Fighting Legend of the Illustrious Legends. I came upon the call of my brethren, so I must kill you now. If you have anything left to say, you have ten seconds."
A bold voice boomed.
Just from his words, the soil shook and rocks rumbled.
"Nothing?"
"A failed and extinct tribe from five thousand years ago. I don't know what my little brother did, but just shut up and draw your sword. I'll have to kill you and give Jin a punishment."
Garmund laughed.
"You act and speak like a warrior when you aren't."
"You act like my brother is your blood brother."
A blue light glowed from Garmund's palm.
A lightning-fast drawing of his sword. A lightning strike pinned onto Joshua's forehead.
A bolt much sharper and brighter than what Julien could cast. The attack landed simultaneously with his wind-up.
PACHANG!
Joshua bisected the lightning bolt. The fact that he immediately began a counterattack was very impressive.
Garmund didn't even dodge the blade crescents.
Just like a tree facing the wind, he stood completely still. Tanking all the attacks, Garmund didn't even budge. Goosebumps rose across Joshua's body.
But not because of his attacks being treated as air. For some reason, Joshua saw Garmund as Luna.
They had clashed swords countless times, but they were always a monster that he couldn't even scratch a single time.
He was also a little puzzled, wondering what had gone wrong with his attack. He'd never felt so inferior ever since Luna left.
Garmund had never met Luna. He smiled, though, as if he saw right through Joshua.
"Did I not say so? You are no warrior. Pretty impressive for a human, but it's clear that your achievements came from playing it safe."
"Keep talking, dog. You won't protect Jin."
PZZZT!
Garmund channeled his lightning into his sword. His Heart of Light glimmered brightly.
Joshua gathered all of his aura as well. He created a barrier around the island.
With the island being such a small battlefield, a fight between a 9-star and a Fighting Legend would destroy it completely.
So he made sure to create a shell to keep everything in.
An artificial battlefield.
Jin would've never thought of it with his dwindling aura. He already knew that this battle was beyond his level.
Normally, he'd study the movements of both forces to develop his instincts.
But he had no time to analyze and just enjoyed the sight of his nemesis facing a shameful defeat.
'But I don't understand… Why would he even come without guards in the first place? I'm sure he came knowing that something strong was on this island.'
He couldn't understand at all.
Not even Dark Knights or Executioner Knights.
Jin constantly felt a bit strange over him coming alone.
'Either way, he dies today. If he has something up his sleeve, then I'll just get rid of it. After today, Joshua's name will be erased from the Garden of Swords.'
It wasn't a complete stomp for Garmund, but he maintained dominance throughout the fight.
If Joshua made one mistake, his head would fly off.
On the other hand, Garmund constantly hammered down on Joshua. Even Jin felt like he was suffocating as a spectator.
Sran was beaten down by the standard form of Illustrious Bladeworks, Suppression. Although it wasn't as durable as Kainer, it still lived up to its name as one of the strongest swords.
But before three hundred blows, Sran began to crack.
When Jin fought Garmund, there hadn't been such a big difference since they wielded the same weapon. However, in a real battle, the quality of the weapon could become a deciding factor.
Obviously, no one knew about Garmund's weapon. The Fifth Fighting Legend, Boras, constructed and smithed it in Lafrarosa.
The skill difference didn't really matter, but it definitely existed. Basically, Joshua's loss was already determined from the beginning.
'I guess he took a loss for not bringing Kainer.'
But it wasn't over.
Joshua made some distance and sheathed his sword.
Garmund stopped for a second and caught his breath.
He stopped because, for the first time, he felt a bit of danger. They both knew what was next.
'Runcandel's Decisive Killing Move.'
Joshua's last resort.
Facing an opponent stronger than him with a weapon on the verge of breaking, he had to take the gamble.
'But it's too late. I would've used it as soon as I realized I was going to lose.'
As a prospective flag-bearer, he didn't know any Decisive Killing Move, but he knew the transcending power.
'Maybe he could've done something before the brink of shattering. I'm sure Joshua knew this, but maybe he's afraid of failure?'
As Jin was thinking, Sran began to gather aura.
"Your aura is amazing. Kind of a shame a pesky brat like you possesses such power."
Garmund scoffed.
But Sran's blade began to grow, and Jin's jaw dropped.
'Why that one? Wait, does he already think he lost?'
Joshua's last resort. Runcandel's Seventh Decisive Killing Move, Volcano.
"Brethren Garmund, we must leave! That's Runcandel's…!"
"If I die, then who will protect you? I'm fine, so go. As far as possible."
Volcano was Runcandel's most famous self destructive attack.
Jin was more shocked that Joshua made such a choice. Joshua was never the type to do something like that.
Right before Sran exploded.
Garmund channeled all his energy to cast a barrier around him, and Shurry held Julien in her mouth. Jin took Murakan on his back and hopped on Shurry.
'He— He definitely has something…!'
A thought shot through Jin's head. However, he had to follow Garmund's commands.
章節 59: CHAPTER 218
"Brethren Garmund, this guy can definitely make a cunning escape. So let's…"
Garmund shook his head.
"No, then you'll either get injured or die. His aura's pretty tough for me, too, so the impact will be felt across the horizon."
"Heh, I didn't think he'd self-destruct."
"Go on, Brethren. Don't you know? I'll be fine. Just tell my story for generations to come."
Jin gritted his teeth.
"…I understand."
"We brethren do not dwell on returning favors. Hurry up and go, but don't go anywhere where you won't see my back."
Jin sighed and hopped on Shurry, who immediately bolted off.
And as Garmund said, if he didn't fend off Volcano, Jin wouldn't survive.
A kamikaze attack.
A sword created in consideration of the worst of the worst scenarios. Volcano would evaporate the island. In fact, it would probably evaporate the neighboring ones as well.
With a 7-8 star pureblood Runcandel using it, there was no stopping it.
Joshua let out a roar as his body began to glow red.
His veins protruded from his body due to the sheer amount of aura filling his body. At this point, nothing could pierce him. Then, the inflated silver blade began to melt.
The radiating heat from Joshua had begun to melt the steel.
"That bastard, how dare he… What a shame as a successor of Temar."
Garmund could not approach Joshua. Even he couldn't attack through the accumulated aura.
However, he did not back off. His sword glowed blue and began to gather its signature blue lightning.
The aura around Joshua died down, and the lightning in Garmund's blade intensified. It appeared that both of their preparations were similar in level.
However, Joshua faced death's doorstep to prepare this kind of power while Garmund readied himself for just another swing of his sword.
"Die….!"
Joshua's final words echoed throughout the island. With the aura damaging his vocal chords, it sounded more like a screech than a shout.
A sphere of aura expanded from Joshua's chest. In an instant, the aura condensed into the tip of his sword.
This was the signal for the beginning of the attack.
Ting…!
The sound of hitting an empty kettle. A ringing noise.
It was followed by loud booms that warped the surrounding air. As the aura released in every direction, explosions scattered about.
A blinding light.
In the middle of it, nothing was left of Joshua. Every ounce of his physical strength got converted into pure aura to fuel the secret technique, Volcano.
He had died.
And the eruption of aura mimicked that of a volcano.
Thus, the secret technique's name.
The aura began to rain down, slowly melting away the island.
And from the impact, the earth shook and churned the waters. Crevices streaked across the ground and violent waves stormed the shore.
The only place that could still be considered 'land' was where Garmund stood, as well as the sand behind him. Shurry continued to sprint across the sand.
"Gyaaaaaa!"
His chant and lightning fought the incoming impact of Volcano. Blue lightning wrapped his body, but Garmund never planned to sacrifice his body.
The lightning formed a net-like pattern that contained Joshua's exploding power.
Unlike the chaotic rampage of aura, Garmund calmly and swiftly whipped his sword around in the air. Essentially, he split apart the wave of aura that swept toward him.
Splitting the tsunami of energy, he kept both himself and Jin safe. His vision began to return as the explosions had grown a bit weaker.
However, he knew this wasn't the end.
Even a dormant volcano would erupt again. Garmund's goal was merely to buy time for Jin to escape.
And he chose to dispose of his opportunity to escape.
Thankfully, he couldn't see Jin behind him.
"Alrighty then, give me your worst…!"
Garmund readjusted his stance and his eyes began to spark.
* * *
The erupting Volcano continued for ten minutes.
The island was gone. Only a small island of obsidian remained, probably only five meters in diameter.
And Garmund successfully blocked every attack headed Jin's way.
Thanks to that, Jin stood on the miniscule island without a scratch.
For five minutes, he waited for the explosions to stop. Now, rather than lightning or aura, it was the sun's light that warmed up his face.
He had to find Garmund.
"Brethren!"
He sifted through the rubble while riding on Shurry's back. He constantly shouted while scrambling through the rocks and trees floating in the water.
"Man, my ears hurt…"
"Brethren!"
As soon as he saw Garmund, he gritted his teeth.
On a tiny block of obsidian, he was kneeling with both his arms gone. Boras's sword was broken, and the light was fading from his eyes.
Jin brought him up on Shurry's back.
"Don't look at me like that. You know I'm fine, so why are you so sad?"
Garmund glanced at both of his shoulders and laughed.
Rather than blooding flowing from his wounds, it was a black mist that leaked out. It was spiritual energy.
"Still, it was painful…"
"A little pain for you is nothing."
Although 'Black Light Call' was classified as a summoning spell…
Rather than summoning, it was projecting. A door to Lafarosa was opened, and one of them would be projected out as a spiritual energy image.
Tantel and Jin discussed it before he left.
—On that note, if it's alright, I'd like you to investigate it.
—Isn't there a way for you to escape? Tantel, you came to get me in the first place.
—That's only when the apprentice arrives at the rendezvous point near the desert. Beyond that, there's only one other way to exit, but it's pointless.
—Why?
—The Battle Goddess will tell you.
And that was what Vahn passed down to Jin.
With his current spiritual energy level, he could only cast it once every year or two.
The summoned entity was not the Illustrious Legend, but their soul. With the soul and spiritual energy, a Lafrarosian could experience the overworld.
These images also retained their appearance and strength, but that was it.
Basically, Garmund wouldn't remember this period of time, hence why he reminded Jin to tell his story.
"Whew, Temar's swords are pretty insane. How did that bastard manage to take two arms from this guy?"
Jin felt a little sorry for Garmund. If Joshua hadn't been so foolish, there wouldn't have been any need for another person to suffer.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? I'm gonna forget anyway."
"No, it's just that… Please think about it. Although you aren't really injured, my family looks like this, right in front of me. Would you not be shocked?"
"Uhm… Well, that makes some sense."
Garmund smirked and raised his foot.
He patted Jin on the head. He couldn't use his hands at the moment, so he improvised with his other set of paws.
"Is everyone else doing fine?"
"Of course! We didn't have anything to do since you left, so we just talked about the great things you'd do."
Garmund chuckled.
"Anyway, that was Joshua, yeah? You've finally killed your archnemesis?"
"That's true, but I feel it's a bit incomplete. He'd never choose to commit suicide like that."
"What the heck, then he's some sort of ghost? Or maybe a fake?"
"I don't think so. That had to be Joshua."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. I watched him die with my own eyes. Well, unfortunately, you couldn't get the satisfaction of killing him yourself."
Jin nodded.
"Indeed… It's a little anticlimactic. I thought it would occur after I returned from my trials."
"I guess I'm happy that I could be of some help. I also really like how you chose me with your first casting. Damn, I guess it's time to leave."
Garmund began to fade into a black mist. Soon, the soul would return to Lafrarosa.
"Please let them know that I miss them dearly, and also tell them that I'm doing well. And…"
In response, Garmund just smiled silently. He didn't remind Jin again.
"Alrighty, I'll make sure to do that. I hope to see you back in Lafrarosa."
Garmund disappeared in Jin's arms. The black mist twirled around Jin and then dissipated into the air.
Jin glanced around to look for Kuzan and Beris, but he didn't think they'd survived.
"Let's go back, Shurry."
Meow!
During the time he headed back to the base…
Jin checked the presses at each city he stopped by, but nobody was even covering Joshua's absence, let alone his death.
Jin only heard news of him when he returned to Tikan.
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