Chapter 541

541.

Leo pushed off the ground.

With an incredible speed, he closed the distance between himself and Berkiya.

His motion surpassed the mere concept of being fast.

clang!

In that moment, Leo’s sword met an obstruction.

Leo’s eyes narrowed.

Before she knew it, Berkiya’s hand gripped a sword.

kacha-!

Sparks flew between the two blades.

At that instant, Leo’s pupils dilated.

‘Extrasensory Perception.’

In the blink of an eye, Leo entered the realm of extrasensory perception.

Simultaneously, he activated the aura enveloping his entire body.

kachakachakachaka STRONG-!

In a fleeting moment, ten sparks surged as Leo’s and Berkiya’s swords simultaneously deflected each other.

Leo narrowed his eyes.

In that short span, they exchanged ten strikes.

thud!

As soon as Leo stepped with his foot, he immediately charged toward Berkiya.

With his sword aimed, Leo launched a thrust.

Without even looking at Leo, Berkiya used her planted foot as an axis and swiftly spun counterclockwise.

The blade aimed directly for Leo’s neck.

thud!

In that moment, Leo pressed his palm against Berkiya’s sword, exerting force.

The sword didn’t budge, as if pressing down on a colossal rock.

But Leo showed no signs of panic.

It wasn’t a move to twist the blade’s path in the first place.

WHOOSH-!

Leo’s body shot upward rapidly.

Using the force in Berkiya’s sword, he propelled his body to evade.

clang!

Berkiya twisted her wrist, aiming to slice Leo’s palm.

As Leo pushed her sword away, he created some distance between them.

HOI-!

Berkiya wasted no time, immediately closing the distance.

shiiING-!

The sound of the blade cutting through the air.

‘I don’t feel anything.’

Nothing could be sensed from her swinging sword.

No passion, no anger.

Not even a trace of murderous intent.

It was natural.

Berkiya’s reason had already collapsed.

All that remained was the instinct of the undead to turn the living into her likeness.

Of course, it was only natural that no murderous intent could be felt.

Leo gripped the handle of his sword, pulling it inward.

Close enough for his finger and thumb to touch the blade.

He extended the remaining grip.

thud!

As Berkiya approached within striking distance, Leo charged straight toward her.

Ting! Ting!

The swords crossed endlessly, ringing out sharp sounds.

TSEEEEEEK-!

The sharp sound of metal grinding against metal.

The sword energy splintering into the void.

The fragments reduced the surrounding area to ruin.

Plik- Plik-

The fragments of sword energy slashed across Leo’s body.

bl**d seeped from various parts of his body, but Leo paid it no heed.

In that instant,

Leo loosened the grip of his hand.

The sword slid slightly in his palm.

Leo’s attack interval grew a little.

Just a little bit longer.

It was an perilous move.

In the relentless exchange, a single mistake could have meant losing his sword to Berkiya’s attack, but Leo remained calm.

The briefly extended attack interval confused Berkiya’s sense of distance.

The concept was simple,

But it allowed no room for error.

It was an unconventional technique that, if failed, could result in fatal wounds, but its effectiveness was assured.

SCHERRK-!

Leo’s sword slashed through the wrist of Berkiya’s sword-holding hand.

Under normal circumstances, that would have determined the winner.

But Berkiya didn’t hesitate and closed the distance even further.

BOOM-!

Using her remaining hand, she struck the back of Leo’s sword-wielding hand.

Using his armor, Leo deflected the blow.

However, his left hand, which held the sword, felt as if it were shattered.

To an ordinary swordsman, it would be a fatal wound.

But without flinching, Leo drove his fist into Berkiya’s abdomen that had intruded close to him.

Puueek-!

With an unusual sound, Berkiya was launched backward.

In the midst of this, Berkiya caught her severed hand floating in the air and kicked Leo’s arm.

clang!

The bones in Leo’s right arm snapped, hanging limply.

KwaKwaKwaSTRONG-!

Berkiya flew through the air, collapsing several buildings in succession.

Eiran and Chen Sia stared wide-eyed at the intense exchange before them.

“Their levels are different.”

Lunia murmured tremulously.

She wasn’t a knight,

But she could tell how absurd the level of the exchange before her eyes was.

The battle that Lunia witnessed was of a completely different tier.

“Their levels aren’t just different.”

Eiran swallowed dryly.

“This is an entirely different dimension of skill.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Chen Sia continued Eiran’s statement, clenching her fists tightly.

“They live in different worlds.”

‘This is the battle of those who lived in that era.’

Chen Sia understood why Leo left that remark.

She was aware that their experiences were different.

It couldn’t be any other way.

‘Because they lived in different eras. The number of times they’ve faced life-and-d*ath situations on the battlefield is different too.’

There are plenty of strong individuals in this world.

But the battlefield, a place with endless variables, exists.

In a certain sense, it’s like a living being that endlessly consumes human lives while changing.

Being strong doesn’t guarantee survival on the battlefield.

Conversely, being weak doesn’t mean you’re destined to d*e.

But those who have surpassed the battlefield are strong.

‘This is an absolute and unchanging truth.’

That’s why Chen Sia thought that one day she would be able to catch up to Leo.

He seemed distant, almost unreachable.

But…

‘This is a wall.’

Chen Sia bit her lips.

Just experiencing the battlefield and risking one’s life wasn’t enough to bridge this gap.

She realized that she needed to leap over this wall to truly approach him.

Although Chen Sia and Eiran had seen Leo swing his sword several times before,

They were always amazed by his skill.

Even when it seemed like a simple swing, it concealed a profound depth.

But today, upon witnessing Leo’s swordsmanship, they realized this was not the end.

‘It’s because the opponent is Lady Berkiya.’

It was different from the trial against Aron.

Back then, neither Leo nor Aron aimed to take each other’s lives.

But now, it’s different.

Leo’s earnest intent was poured into his blade.

It was the blade of those who lived in that era, seeking to take each other’s lives.

‘This isn’t about variables and unconventional tricks… this goes beyond that.’

They said that Aron could foresee the future through extrasensory perception during battles.

To Eiran and Chen Sia, Leo seemed the same.

Through variables and unconventional tricks, he manipulated the opponent to act the way he wished.

It’s no different from knowing what lies ahead in that split-second moment.

If there is a difference, while Aron’s foresight was an innate ability honed through extreme training,

Leo merely mimicked it without such a natural talent.

‘Now I understand why Lord Leo said he could never defeat Lord Aron.’

If Aron can foresee the future and dodge, he can avoid what happens in front of him.

Leo’s ability would be powerless against the original precognition of Aron.

But so what?

This made Eiran and Chen Sia even more awe-inspired by Leo’s abilities, honed through sheer effort.

And another person,

Even Berkiya has stepped into the same tier as Leo.

“But is this possible?”

“…We abandoned common sense a long time ago.”

“What do you mean?”

In response to Lunia’s question, Chen Sia said,

“At this point, Lady Berkiya has lost her sense of self.”

“I get it.”

“That means only the instincts of the undead remain.”

“Yes, she has run amok.”

“Yes, that’s true. But even in this runaway state, she’s fighting with swordsmanship comparable to Lord Leo.”

That was right.

An out-of-control undead would wildly destroy its surroundings.

If a wizard, they would obliterate the area with mana blasts that don’t even resemble magic.

As a hero of Berkiya’s caliber, she could erase several countries from the map on her own.

Yet Berkiya was currently wielding precise swordsmanship as though she still had her will, and was even going toe-to-toe with Leo.

It was the first time Lunia saw anything like this.

Leo had bested those stronger in mana with “skill and experience.”

And here, an irrational Berkiya was demonstrating swordsmanship on par with Leo.

This meant that Berkiya’s instinctive way of fighting is this very style.

“Is this… even possible?”

“If it wasn’t possible, she wouldn’t be fighting this way.”

Chen Sia clenched her fists tightly.

There was no gauging how much she’d need to sharpen herself to reach this level.

It was an almost divine level of skill.

‘I thought I was catching up a little…’

The thought made her laugh at herself.

But…

‘I won’t give up.’

With her eyes wide open, Chen Sia stared at the back of Leo.

Chen Sia wasn’t alone.

Lunia and Eiran also watched the battle of the two heroes who lived through the Era of Catastrophe.

Someday, they hoped they could support that steadfast and lonely back.

“What’s the current situation like?”

“…If Lady Berkiya weren’t undead, Lord Leo might have had the upper hand in their exchange. But at this moment…”

“Ugh…!”

Lunia bit her lips tightly.

“Can’t we do something to help?”

“Right now….”

At Eiran’s frustrated expression,

“There’s trouble. It seems there are meddlers approaching,” said Chen Sia.

“What?”

When Chen Sia spoke, Lunia and Eiran widened their eyes,

And looked in the direction Chen Sia was looking at.

It was the sky.

Knights in heavy armor and mages were descending from the sky.

Lunia’s face contorted when she saw them.

“The Templars of Eldon.”

Not only Lunia, but disgust also naturally surfaced on the faces of Eiran and Chen Sia.

When Chen Sia stared coldly at the sky, there was another sound.

HUH-huh-!

Once again, the dagger that Chen Sia carried in her bosom resonated.

Chen Sia took the dagger with a slightly surprised expression.

Then,

-sensei… Berkiya…

A voice that rode along with the sword made Chen Sia’s face perplexed.

‘Could this voice be…’

“Ancestor?”

-Do not call me ancestor.

The voice replied heavily.

-I do not have the right to be called that.

*

Leo tightened his fist on the sword.

An overwhelming pain surged.

‘It’s definitely fractured.’

While looking down at his sword-holding hand, Leo looked at the other arm.

A comparable pain was felt on the back of his left hand.

His right arm swung limply like a broken branch.

‘This one is definitely broken as well.’

Leo called forth his aura.

Crunch! Crunch! Crunch-!

The muscles strengthened by the aura forcibly held onto the broken bones.

Without a proper healing spell, it was difficult to mend the bones, but given a bit more time, he could set them adequately.

But Leo didn’t do that.

In the moment he used magic, Berkiya would close in.

Moreover, the foreign sensation of the bone-knitting process would disrupt fighting.

Of course, using aura to forcibly fix broken bones was also accompanied by immense pain.

But pain was not a factor that hindered Leo’s focus.

Rather, it was something he was very familiar with.

The path Leo had walked was too perilous for pain to interfere with his movement.

Rather, wounds were like old friends.

A smile leaked out amidst all of this.

It wasn’t because the pain was welcome.

This sharp fight, which didn’t permit even a moment’s pause, made Leo’s heart shake.

“Amazing.”

This admiration doesn’t suit the situation,

But seeing this disciple’s growth filled him with joy.

‘The others would probably think I’m a lunatic.’

But it didn’t matter.

If he hadn’t gone mad, he wouldn’t have been able to overcome that era.

“I wanted to stand on the same battlefield as the tougher you, Berkiya.”

In the middle of the present moment, he spoke words that were out of reach.

“I also wanted to stand on the same battlefield, not as a shadow but as a hero, with both Bihar as well.”

Handing down this now unattainable wish, Leo aimed his sword.

“This isn’t the end.”

A powerful roar filled the air!

Echoing Leo’s words, the aura and mana surged from Berkiya’s body as she reattached her severed wrist.

While watching it, Leo spoke.

“I’ll receive it all.”

Just as Leo tried to call forth the mana,

“Tsk tsk.”

A sighing voice carried over.

“How lamentable that a grand elf has become a filthy undead.”

Leo turned his head.

There, walking over in the garb of a scholar, was a young elf.

“A tragic sight it is.”

The elf, Urein, who bore a rueful expression and didn’t even glance at Berkiya, spoke to Leo.

“I’ve wanted to meet you, Leo Flove. My name is Urein. I am the mayor of this city….”

clang!

In an instant, Leo’s sword flew toward Urein’s head.

Penetrating any barriers, Leo’s thrown sword stopped right in front of Urein’s nose.

Leo, who threw the sword, spoke expressionlessly.

“Speak. Who’s the filthy one?”

Urein offered an awkward smile, pointing at Berkiya.

“I said she is filthy.”

A cold murderous intent settled in Leo’s eyes.