[Vol. 9] Chapter 83: The Great Battle
The force from the sword strike wasn’t just pure strength. It also carried a strange power that felt like a raging storm, yet cold enough to freeze one’s bones. That fierce, overwhelming energy was so powerful that even [Guardian Edge] couldn’t completely block it. It tore through her inner defense and tried to invade deeper, burning everything it touched. The young girl’s blood surged wildly, and even her soul felt a faint tremor.
“Pfft!”
The brave girl spat out another mouthful of blood, but this time, the moment it left her lips, the blood burst into flames in midair. Without even looking at the strange sight, Hongyan pulled her legs free from the ground, shook off a few sparks that clung to her sword sheath, and before she could even take a breath, the black flames came at her again from all directions like venomous snakes!
Her eyes grew sharp. The long sword in her hand bloomed with brilliant light, and the sword wind howled as it cut down the dark tendrils around her. Yet, every time she sliced through them, the broken pieces turned into countless smaller black flame snakes, rushing toward her endlessly, wave after wave.
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
The air was filled with the sound of blades cutting through it. She fought while retreating, yet it felt as if she were trapped in a burning black swamp. Each swing of her sword drained her energy, and still, the monster made of black flames showed no real damage.
The longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would become. The outcome was almost certain.
Despite the danger, Hongyan didn’t lose her composure. She knew exactly how strong she was. Even though she had grown much stronger, against a monster that defied human understanding, she could only rely on the divine power from her weapon to stand her ground.
But [Guardian Edge]’s power wasn’t endless. Just like the [Void Energy] technique taught to her by Miss Violet, both relied on consuming a rare and precious kind of energy. If she wasted too much of it on defense, she might not have enough left for one final, decisive strike.
Still… it wasn’t the right time yet. The brave girl was waiting for her moment.
Their strength was too far apart. If she wanted to win, she needed to bet everything on one perfect attack.
Just then, a cold and clear female voice echoed through the battlefield.
“[Divine Ice and Snow Seal] — descend.”
A roaring wave of icy air surged forth!
It was a blue tide of frozen power, visible to the naked eye. Like a dam bursting open, it swept across the entire Endless Corridor, freezing everything in its path. The sky, the ground, even the raging sea of black flames, all turned to ice. For a moment, it was as if even space and time themselves had been frozen still.
Crack, crack, crack…
The leaping black flames froze midair, as if the whole inferno had been wrapped in a layer of blue ice. The few prisoners who hadn’t yet been consumed by the black flames, along with the ground beneath their feet and the distant sea, were all frozen solid. Even the monstrous black-flame creature, the same one that had been chasing and attacking the girl, was instantly trapped in thick, steel-hard ice, frozen in place.
The ice spread quickly, reaching nearly to the edge of the Icefang Island, forming a giant, crystal-clear wall of frozen death that surrounded the battlefield. It was as if someone had sealed the area, sending a silent message to the girl at its center—
Now!
Hongyan didn’t waste even a moment wondering who had stepped in to help. Her battle instincts caught that perfect opening at once. Her spirit, body, and soul, all that she had built up, reached their peak at this instant.
Her hand gripped the sword hilt, which had somehow returned to its sheath. Her eyes shone with blinding light as an indescribable, razor-sharp will burst out from her entire being. A will strong enough to cut through all lies, all evil, and all calamity.
“[Absolute Sword: Swallow Reversal]!”
There was no grand, sweeping sword light like before with [Absolute Sword: Swallow Fluttering], which had covered hundreds of meters and filled the sky. This time, the strike was pure and simple, like returning to the true essence of the sword.
All the sharpness was hidden within, leaving only a single line of golden light, refined to the very limit, so sharp that it seemed to split heaven and earth itself.
“Swoosh!”
Like a hot knife cutting through frozen fat, the giant, terrifying monster, formed from black flames and countless trapped souls, along with the solid ice that had frozen it, was instantly sliced cleanly in half by that golden line!
She did it!
But just as that thought flashed across Hongyan’s mind, a strange feeling of wrongness followed. Her eyes snapped open wide, her pupils shrinking sharply.
Something wasn’t right…
Even that attack hadn’t completely cut through?!
She clearly saw it, the moment the golden light passed, the many twisted faces on the monster’s surface vanished like steam being burned away. But then, a single, darker, and far more terrifying face appeared from within its body. A burning orb of black fire that rose to block the sword’s deadly strike!
The sword light sank two-thirds of the way into that fireball, but the last third stopped completely, locked in a dead struggle, unable to move forward even an inch!
[Absolute Sword: Swallow Reversal] was far more powerful than a normal slash. Its force targeted the very essence of its enemy. Once it hit, even a spirit without a physical body would be completely erased. Hongyan knew this very well.
So there was no doubt that concentrated black fire, more intense than any other, was the true core of the monster, and perhaps the real cause of this entire chaos!
Her heart grew serious, but her sword didn’t slow for even a moment. The plain sword that had been slightly drawn slid out another few inches. Wherever its light passed, the black flames making up the monster’s massive body silently vanished. The frozen sea of fire around them cracked apart under the sheer sharpness of her sword energy, breaking into countless glittering shards of ice.
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The sound of shattering ice filled the air like a storm of explosions. A powerful invisible wind swept across the battlefield, clearing away the last traces of the burning sea!
At that moment, Count Barton and the other commanders, who had been anxiously waiting and unable to see what was happening inside, finally saw the scene clearly.
They saw the gray-haired girl holding her sword, and where her blade pointed, the world itself was split in two by golden light. Only deep within the monster’s frozen body, one blazing mass of black fire continued to resist. Crackling, roaring, and radiating a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble, as if it refused to accept defeat.
There was no doubt. This was the final, deciding moment of the battle.
“Count, should we…?”
The adjutant couldn’t help but whisper a question, but Count Barton only shook his head firmly, rejecting the idea without hesitation.
“Don’t act recklessly. That’s already beyond what we can interfere with.”
“…Understood.”
The count glanced at his adjutant, who seemed hesitant to speak further. His expression stayed calm and steady as he gave his next order.
“Send the command, have the Second and Third Legions open the west gate and evacuate the people inside the fortress as fast as possible. The magic corps should retreat too. Take only essential supplies, leave everything else behind. Speed is the top priority.”