[Vol. 9] Chapter 79: The Visitor from the Sea
The kingdom did have a large army, but before they could understand where those black flames came from or how to deal with them, sending more soldiers would only lead to more deaths, and might even help those strange things spread further.
So, the best choice now was to defend the strong Gore Fortress at all costs.
If the fortress fell, all the prisoners from the island would flood straight into the heart of the kingdom.
Those men were already dangerous criminals. After years of fighting and killing each other on the island, they had become ruthless and lawless madmen. Even without the black flames, their escape would bring great chaos not only to Preston but also to nearby countries.
When that happened, the Holy Temple and the Snow Empire would both demand answers, and His Majesty the King would need someone to take responsibility.
The first person to be blamed would, of course, be Count Barton, the man guarding Gore Fortress.
So, whether he thought about the situation as a whole or his own survival, Barton’s best option was to hold the fortress no matter what it cost. If he lost Gore Fortress, he would almost certainly be hanged.
Either way, he was doomed, so he might as well fight to the end and die with honor, leaving behind the name of a man who “died bravely in battle.”
But the problem was… They couldn’t hold out much longer.
Everything had happened too suddenly. There was no time for proper preparation. And earlier, two elite divisions had been sent deep into the frozen sea to search for the missing Candidate Holy Maiden of the [Eternal Winter Temple], leaving the fortress with less than half its normal manpower. That was why they were now in such a desperate situation.
Thinking of this, the young aide gritted his teeth and turned back to his commander.
“My lord… if there’s no other choice… let’s use that.”
The battlefield thundered with noise so loud it shook the air. Barton stood with his back to the aide, silent, as if he hadn’t heard the difficult suggestion.
The young man knew his commander was hesitating. He was about to speak again when a shout came from nearby soldiers.
“Lord Count, look! There! On the frozen sea! Someone’s there!”
Barton and the others froze. They quickly looked toward the voice, and saw a figure calmly walking toward them from the raging, wave-filled sea near the causeway!
It was a woman.
Her gray hair was tied simply, her clothes plain and unadorned.
A sword hung at her waist. Its scabbard looked old and ordinary, yet somehow it gave off a deep, steady feeling, like vast power quietly resting inside it.
She stepped across the rolling ice and crashing waves. Her pace was not fast, but each step was calm and steady, as if she were walking on solid ground.
In just a few light steps, she crossed the distance from the open sea to the shore, like shrinking the land beneath her feet.
The cold sea wind whipped at her hair and sleeves, yet it could not disturb the quiet, natural power flowing around her. It was as if she was perfectly in tune with heaven and earth.
She was clearly there before them, yet at the same time seemed almost unreal, as if she carried the weight of the entire frozen sea and all its storms upon her shoulders.
Even the faint golden barrier high above the sky, said to be created by divine power to separate the two realms, began to glow softly at that moment, forming endless halos of light behind the girl. She looked ethereal, almost holy.
“This is… the state of unity between human and nature, a martial artist’s highest realm?!”
Sensing something extraordinary, Count Barton’s face instantly showed disbelief and shock.
Though he was now one of the highest-ranking officers in the Preston Kingdom, in his early years he had not been favored at all.
He had no right to inherit his family’s title and had even been sent on a dangerous diplomatic mission, following the Snow Empire’s envoys to visit the Austre Empire.
In that vast southern land, Barton had seen many things he had never imagined before. By coincidence, he once met a young swordsman who looked carefree and easygoing, but whose strength was deep and unfathomable.
By chance, that man gave Barton a book, his own handwritten notes about swordsmanship, and then quietly left, disappearing without a trace as if he had vanished from the world.
Later, after Barton carefully read through the entire book and felt the incredible depth of the sword techniques written within, he began to suspect something shocking.
After asking around and piecing together what he could, he finally came to a frightening conclusion in his heart.
That young swordsman might have been none other than the legendary Sword Saint, the strongest person in the Austre Empire, the founder of the Swift Wind Sword Sect, and the only living swordsman said to rival the divine, Bevis Bernard, the Swift Wind Sword Saint!
This had always been Barton’s deepest secret. It was thanks to the teachings in that book that his swordsmanship improved rapidly, allowing him to defeat his family’s rivals and earn his noble title.
Because of that, he always felt grateful, even calling himself half a disciple of the Sword Saint, and had studied swordsmanship deeply ever since.
And now, the gray-haired girl before him was showing the same state of oneness between man and nature. The highest martial realm he had only ever sensed once before, from that mysterious young swordsman!
Although Barton couldn’t be completely sure that man back then was truly the Sword Saint himself, there was no doubt that Lord Bevis was a man.
So how could a woman suddenly appear now, showing the exact same level of mastery, as if she were a female Sword Saint?
Not only Barton, everyone on the fortress wall held their breath at that moment. They were shocked by how the girl walked across the sea so lightly and were deeply shaken by the powerful aura that surrounded her.
At the same time, they couldn’t help wondering who she was and why she had come here.
Judging by her direction, she had come from across the frozen sea, so she probably wasn’t on the same side as the crazed prisoners. But no one could be completely sure.
Gore Fortress was already on the edge of collapse. If this mysterious, powerful stranger turned out to be an enemy, there would be no hope left at all.
However, the gray-haired girl quickly showed everyone her true purpose. Not with words, but with action.
With one light leap, she landed gracefully on the narrow Endless Corridor like a swift swallow.
The prisoners that filled the bridge instantly surrounded her, waves of black flames raging and twisting wildly, as if they wanted to swallow that one calm figure whole.
From atop the fortress wall, Barton saw the girl facing the strange black fire, fire that could burn through anything, as if she felt no fear at all.
His heart tightened, and without even thinking, he shouted using his inner energy to warn her.
“Be careful! Don’t let your body touch those flames!!”
It seemed the girl heard his warning. She turned her head slightly to look at Barton. Her calm, steady eyes showed no surprise, no fear, and none of the panic one might expect in such a terrifying scene.
They were as clear and deep as a quiet pond. Transparent, yet impossible to see the true depths beneath the surface.
Their eyes met across hundreds of meters, but Barton instantly understood something from her gaze, and his whole body trembled slightly.
That look…
It was too familiar!
The girl’s understanding of the way of the sword, its very essence, had clearly reached the same extraordinary level as that of the young swordsman he once met.
At the very least, she was at a Transcendent level!
Just who… was this girl?