Chapter 68
Chapter 68 – Sword Saint and Princess Knight
Everytime Liliana waved the holy sword Alflex, many soldiers are blown away by the wave of magic .
There are several famous swords in the continent . Those that aren’t part of the [Seven Heavenly Swords] are called [Holy Swords] . Only three have been classified under this category . The holy swords are widely regarded as the ultimate swords for carrying the power of the goddess and naturally, they carry an immense amount of magic power .
One of such swords is the Alflex Liliana is currently waving around .
However, these holy swords have one major drawback . It chooses its wielder . In that respect, Alflex had chosen Liliana as its wielder and thus, an irreplaceable companion to her . A sword destined for her, so to speak .
[I am Liliana! The first princess of Redgear Kingdom! Is there anyone in Arcadia who dare cross swords with me!?]
Liliana rode through the battlefield while shouting that challenge . Faced with such an overwhelming power, naturally no one among the soldiers dared to accept her challenge .
[The Arcadia army, said to be blessed by the heavens is unexpectedly sloppy . Is there no real man amongst you lot?]
Liliana snorted as she decimated the fleeing soldiers . At that time, suddenly, she sensed a huge pressure approaching . She involuntarily looked toward the direction from where the pressure came .
[Something is approaching me… what in the world is it?]
As she looked closer, she found a young looking knight on a white horse riding calmly towards her .
[Oh, is it that woman? Is she Princess Liliana?]
[O Master, that fellow brings along with her a strong capability . Better take this seriously… or you might find yourself in peril . ]
[…are you worried about me?]
[I’m just worried that you’ll lose . ]
He was riding in such a slow pace as though he’s not in the middle of a battlefield . But Liliana realized that this young man is a strong opponent . Also…
[He’s riding a talking horse? A magic beast?]
Liliana was whispering to herself . But it still reached Saint’s acute hearing .
[That girl! How dare she compare me to those lowly magic beasts!]
[Well, I bet anyone seeing a talking horse will be as surprised as she is . ]
Ares urged Saint to approach Liliana still .
[This will be our first meeting . I am the son of Holy Arcadia Empire’s Archduke, Ares Schwarzer . One of the generals of Arcadia forces . Might you be Redgear’s Princess Liliana?]
Liliana quietly grasped Alflex, pointing it toward Ares without giving any reply .
[I do not know what are your intentions, but you are in my way . Are you prepared to bear the consequence?]
[…good grief, you don’t even let me explain myself . Why are you so hot headed?]
[Well, it’s only normal to have those kind of expressions in the midst of battlefield…what are you expecting?]
[…Saint should just keep quiet…]
Ares also drew out Divine Sword Oldeus from the [Seven Heavenly Swords] hanging around his chest . Oldeus emitted blue glow when charged with magic . Liliana eyed the sword with suspicion .
[Is it a holy sword or a magic sword… either way it’s just a sword . ]
[Indeed…it’s a sword that I couldn’t say the name even if you force me to . It’s that kind of sword . ]
Hearing that reply, Liliana laughed .
[Interesting! I suppose I’ll have to correct myself there! Perhaps I’ll enjoy this exchange!]
Ares also responded in kind .
[Now that we are here… allow me to gauge how good you truly are . ]
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Everyone around could only bear witness to the duel in silence . There was no other sound but the whistling wind . The battlefield was unbelievably quiet .
It was Liliana who made the first move . She galloped toward Ares to attack .
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[Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!]
Following that roar, Alflex exploded in blue brilliant light that threatened to engulf Ares .
[Too slow!]
Ares received the blow with Oldeus, letting his own magic power to surge out .
The magic power of Oldeus and Alflex clashed, creating a shockwave .
Liliana laughed joyously .
[You actually managed to receive my first attack . I think I’ve finally found an opponent where I can go all out for once!]
That said, without waiting for Ares’ reply, Liliana released Alflex’s power once again .
It is said that holy swords and magic swords have their own special characteristics .
The special trait of Oldeus is its [Invisible Slash] . As for Alflex…
[『Body Strengthening』…what a troublesome ability . ]
[Show me what you are made of!]
With the Body Strengthening improving her power exponentially, Liliana lunged towards Ares with a lightning fast thrust .
[Kuh!]
Ares involuntarily retreated a few steps .
[This is it!]
Liliana was convinced that victory is already within her grasp . She could slay high ranking demons, said to be the natural enemy of humankind, with this attack . She had this confidence .
The opponent seemed to be slow in reacting and apparently, had been caught off guard . The thrust was certain to hit .
Liliana had her sword pierced Ares’ neck…or so it seemed .
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At that point, it took her a moment before realizing that she had been blown away .
[… . ku…what is going on? Why am I the one being blown away…?]
[Because what you pierced was just my afterimage . ]
The voice came from behind which made Liliana to turn around in a sudden reaction . What she saw there was the smiling face of Ares .
Liliana had merely pierced Ares’ afterimage . His movement was so fast that probably no one here had noticed . He had moved so quickly to avoid Liliana’s attack .
[There is still more!]
But Liliana’s attack did not stop there . She immediately attacked right after turning around . Due to Body Strengthening, the speed of her sword slashes were much faster than usual . In fact, the slashes were nearly invisible to normal eyes . Even so, Ares calmly watched the storm-like slashes .
Alflex’s special characteristic is that its [Body Strengthening] not only greatly improves speed but also strength to the point that one can cut down a golem made of stone in ease .
Ares did not cower before that kind of power . He looked at it calmly, seemingly working on something .
At this point, Liliana also began to understand the level of her opponent . At the same time, she started to feel humbled .
[Why! Why it won’t hit!?]
[You have a lot of useless movement . I could tell that much . ]
[W-what!?]
Ares jumped backward to disengage from Liliana . He then raised three fingers .
[Three exchanges . We’ll decide this duel in 3 sword exchanges . ]
Feeling underestimated, Liliana was visibly upset .
[You…you gotta be kidding meeeeeeeeeee!!]
Liliana jumped at Ares once more .
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Looking at the incoming attack quietly, Ares poured magic power into Oldeus . Responding to him, Oldeus started glowing in a dazzling bluish white light .
[One!]
An invisible slash attacked Liliana as Ares swung Oldeus .
[Kuh!]
Liliana did not stand idle as she willed Alflex to meet that attack but was still knocked back in the aftermath of their clash .
[Kuh! What in the world is this?!]
Meanwhile, Ares had already snuck in when Liliana regained herself .
[Two!]
Ares swung Oldeus in a vertical arc from below .
Liliana still managed to block this attack as well, but couldn’t accept it properly, resulting in her letting go of Alflex as her body being flung into the air .
[Dammit!]
[And the finishing strike!]
A voice came from above Liliana who was still floating in the air . Looking up, Liliana saw Ares swinging Oldeus down .
[I’ll be careful not to kill you, but pardon me for it’ll hurt a little… three!]
Ares smacked at Liliana’s silver haired head with the flat of his sword .
She was slammed to the ground as a result .
(The world is wide… I really can’t afford to take it easy…)
Liliana thought inwardly…as her consciousness faded .