Chapter 18: Sonic Boom Attack
Richard Tennar was lifted by the spear and slammed heavily onto the ground, then bounced into the air. Asker’s spear flashed, a point of cold light striking again.
Cloud Piercer!
The first Cloud Piercer grazed his shoulder—the old Sword Saint, with no leverage in mid-air, twisted his torso, managing a slight shift to avoid a vital point.
Then, he parried the second Cloud Piercer with his sword, using the force to propel himself backward.
Asker calmly retracted his spear.
From the initial exchange, Asker had sensed that the old man was holding back, limiting his physical strength to around level 6. Otherwise, his demigod-level speed alone would have been enough to render Asker defenseless.
However, Asker’s opening move, Azure Dragon Rapid Assault, had forced the Sword Saint to unleash more of his power, his suppressed physical strength surging.
After all, he was a physical demigod, even the current magic tide suppression couldn’t completely restrict him.
“More impressive than I anticipated,” Richard Tennar said, pressing his left hand against a wound on his lower back. The bleeding stopped almost instantly, not due to any Flesh Sequence ability, but simply the potent regeneration of a demigod’s physique.
Asker was speechless. The difference in their levels and attributes was too vast. What was the point of fighting? Should he just surrender?
“You deserve a stronger opponent. Again.” Richard Tennar growled, raising his sword once more.
He vanished. Asker’s vision blurred. He instinctively parried with his sword and knife, feeling an immense force surge through his weapons, sending him flying backward.
The Sword Saint’s physical strength seemed to have surpassed level 20, his speed far exceeding what Asker’s eyes could follow. He could only rely on his rich tactical experience to anticipate the attack and block it preemptively.
Strictly speaking, he couldn’t even block it completely, only managing to leap into the air at the moment of impact, using displacement to dissipate the force. If his feet had been on the ground, his bones would likely have been broken.
As he flew backward through the air, Asker saw a flash below him – though he couldn’t see clearly what it was, he knew who it was and instantly spun, thrusting his sword.
The sword struck seemingly empty air, then met resistance. Richard Tennar materialized, his sword blocking Asker’s thrust, the tip pressed against his chest.
“Interesting,” Richard Tennar chuckled.
At his current speed, this young man shouldn’t have been able to see him.
Yet, his initial Half Moon Slash had been parried.
After sending the young man flying, he had rushed below, intending a rising slash, only to be met by a mid-air thrust, forcing him to change his move to block.
This young man, unable to see his movements, had reacted perfectly twice in a row. This could only mean his combat awareness was far beyond that of an ordinary swordsman.
Swordsmanship skills: passable. Tactical awareness: excellent. Then… how about your resilience under pressure?
…
Nuremberg and Hans walked through the fog, swords on their backs.
“Where did Master go?” Hans sighed. “Nuremberg, if you hadn’t charged so far ahead to kill that monster, Master wouldn’t have disappeared.”
“Hans, weren’t you also fighting beside me when I killed that monster?” Nuremberg retorted. “You know Master’s mental state. Since I was fighting on the front lines, why didn’t you keep an eye on him?”
“Let’s get this straight,” Hans shook his head. “First, I was the one who charged out…I thought you would watch Master.”
“By the time you charged out, I was already engaged with another monster,” Nuremberg said.
The two swordsmen continued arguing as they walked. Nuremberg suddenly stopped.
“Wait! I sense Master’s sword intent.”
“Come on.” Hans scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’ve also been infected by Master’s madness, talking about swords having souls…”
His expression suddenly changed. A loud boom echoed from ahead…a sonic boom!
The two swordsmen rushed forward and saw Asker flying out of the fog, a shield in his hand.
Another sonic boom. Asker, expressionless, raised his shield as if struck by an invisible force, and was sent flying again…
The two swordsmen watched him, dumbfounded, as he was propelled further and further away.
“It’s Master!” Nuremberg almost cried out in joy. “Master! We’re here!”
“How do you know it’s Master?” Hans asked skeptically. “I didn’t see anything.”
“Nonsense! Who else besides Master can break the sound barrier with just physical speed?” Nuremberg said disdainfully.
“A sonic boom doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Master,” Hans argued.
“Then show me your sonic boom movement,” Nuremberg challenged.
“Just because I can’t do it, doesn’t mean no one else besides Master can. How do you know a sonic boom movement definitely means it’s Master?” Hans retorted.
“Because there are only a few physical demigods on this continent…” Nuremberg trailed off, suddenly realizing something, and stared at Hans in shock.
Hans’ eyes also widened. The two looked at each other for a moment, then turned their incredulous gazes towards the distance.
If the sonic boom was truly created by their Master, then the young man who could withstand such an attack in mid-air…
Who was he?
Was he even human?
Probably not.
Wait, could he be the mastermind behind this anomaly?
The two swordsmen hurriedly chased after him, unable to see clearly in the fog, relying only on the sound of the sonic booms to judge the direction.
However, the sonic booms shifted from left to right, front to back, changing every second, making it impossible to pinpoint the location.
“Listening to the rhythmic sonic booms, Master is still holding back.” Nuremberg analyzed. “If Master were fighting with his full strength, the sonic booms would be continuous, not one per second like now. Not to mention that the impact force of the sonic boom alone is enough to turn a normal person into mush with a single blow.”
“Someone who can withstand attacks like that once per second is not human,” Hans commented. “Can you withstand Master’s attacks like that?”
“I can’t even withstand one sonic boom.” Nuremberg said honestly. “What I mean is, if it were the mastermind, Master wouldn’t be holding back at all.”
“In other words, the other party is just an ordinary person,” he continued after a moment of thought. “Master is holding back, just trying to test the opponent’s strength.”
“Do you have some misunderstanding about the definition of ‘ordinary person’?” Hans asked. “I’ll say it again, someone who can withstand sonic boom attacks is an ordinary person?”
“Hans, why do you always care about these irrelevant details?” Nuremberg said impatiently. “Regardless of whether the other party is an ordinary person or not, since Master has no hostility towards him, he is not our enemy.”
“So?” Hans asked. “What are you trying to say?”
“We should stop their fight,” Nuremberg said seriously. “Master may have no malice, but it’s not the first time he has gone crazy during a fight. What if he accidentally kills the other party?”
“You’re right,” Hans said. “Then I’ll leave this arduous task to you.”
“Seriously?” Nuremberg smiled wryly. “I can’t stop Master’s sonic boom attacks alone.”
“You still realize Master is using sonic boom attacks?” Hans scoffed. “Let alone the two of us, even if all the swordsmen of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group were here, we couldn’t stop Master in this state.”
“Hmm…” Nuremberg hesitated.
“How about this, as Master’s favorite disciple, you let me put my sword to your neck, pretend I’m going to kill you, maybe Master will stop attacking and come to stop me,” Hans suggested.
“What if Master doesn’t stop?” Nuremberg asked.
“Then you’ll die.” Hans said. “I will inherit your position and strive to be the best of the Richard Tennar Swordsman Group.”
Nuremberg: …
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