Chapter 274: 274 Swordsman in the Mist (Requesting Monthly Tickets! Requesting Subscriptions!)
——— "Mist".
One could tell from listening that it wasn’t his real name.
The fact was indeed so.
The only one capable of using the Mist Breath from the Demon Slayer World, controlling numerous battle puppets named Model One, was naturally Reiger.
Reiger had come to the location provided by Saint Charia, to Solok’s arsenal hideout, where he not only encountered relatives of the original owner from his memories but also blocked Solok who had sneaked out of the palace on his own initiative.
Of course, Reiger wasn’t surprised.
That Solok would come here was foreseeable.
This mad dog had gone to great lengths to capture Baron Kafeld and the Brilliant Family and bring them to the capital Yalef, he certainly wouldn’t sit idly by.
Thus, Reiger had guessed, this mad dog prince would surely come here personally, to take charge of the people he had captured and make some arrangements.
That’s why he was here as well.
After all, Reiger didn’t merely intend to annihilate this mad dog’s private military stronghold so elaborately.
This point could be seen from his immediate lethal moves, showing no regard for the fact that the person before him was a royal offspring.
Naturally, Solok could see this too.
He could see that this black-clad swordsman wanted to kill him, to strike him down with his blade.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t faced danger before.
Being of royal descent, and with such a brutal temperament, Solok had indeed encountered a number of assaults throughout his life.
But that had just been the closest he had ever been to death, and the most dangerous moment he had ever felt.
Therefore, although burning with anger and desiring to tear and devour the flesh of the person before him, based on the recent skirmish, Solok had understood that he might not be a match for the person before him.
So...
"Who sent you?"
Suppressing the raging fury within, Solok asked between clenched teeth.
"Was it the Codelion Family? A noble sent by the Duke? Or high-ranking officials from a foreign land?"
These were the possibilities Solok could think of.
As for Reiger, Solok didn’t suspect him.
Having thoroughly investigated all available information on Reiger, Solok knew that Reiger had always been alone, without cultivating any significant forces under him. If it wasn’t for Liz’s appearance, he wouldn’t even have an attendant by now.
The Franzer family didn’t have such powerful swordsmen. Although the three attendants serving under Yuri were all proper swordsmen, none possessed the threat to Solok, including Marilyn.
Not to mention the numerous puppets present here, with their performance and capabilities, they were obviously made by a magician very proficient in structural Magic, perhaps even using tactical-level structural magic; this was completely beyond the capabilities of the Franzer family.
Yuri specialized in control systems, while based on the initial tests of the Spreuler Academy, Reiger was confirmed to be a Level Five interference-type magic suitable holder; neither was qualified to use tactical-level structural magic, thus incapable of creating so many high-performance puppets.
Buying or acquiring them from elsewhere was even more unrealistic. Transporting such a large number of puppets to the capital Yalef was a massive project in itself, impossible to hide from royal surveillance. Even if summoning magic was used to bring them from other places to the capital, the magic power consumed and the disturbance caused during the summoning process couldn’t possibly be hidden from others.
The Franzer family was among the most watched among many nobles. It had always been under secret scrutiny, and now more so because of Reiger’s arrival and his setting up of challenges; major powers’ spies were hovering there daily. Had such a major commotion occurred, it would definitely have drawn attention from various forces.
Based on these considerations, Solok did not suspect Reiger for the moment.
He didn’t even think the swordsman before him was Reiger.
Quite simply, the sword skills the man used were clearly different from Reiger’s.
The Thunder Light Sword Saint’s sword skill, now also world-renowned, everyone knew he wielded a power similar to thunder, focusing on speed and explosive force, possessing a very strong instant-kill capability.
However, the swordsman before him, whose earlier slash had indeed been spectacular, was clearly a technique geared towards assassination.
The trajectory of the slash was elusive, the figure ethereal as the mist, hard to pin down, obviously a capability only a professional assassin would possess.
Moreover, Solok didn’t feel any presence or magic power on the man, this ability to stay hidden was also something only a professional assassin would possess.
This led Solok to turn away from the most correct answer, a classic example of being too clever for his own good.
Seeing that his opponent was successfully misled by his sword technique, Reiger faintly smiled.
"Guess?"
Speaking, Reiger slowly walked toward Solok.
Around him, mist began to spread, and glimmers of dawn light emerged.
If Tokitou Muichirou were here and saw this scene, he would definitely be surprised, wouldn’t he?
Mere walking induced the emergence of mist and dawn light like breath, this usage, this phenomenon, had already far surpassed what he used and understood about the Mist Breath.
This was only natural.
At this moment, Reiger wasn’t just using the Mist Breath, but had integrated some insights he gained from his recent duel with Rom into this breathing style.
The Shadow Strike Sword Skill used by the Shadow Sword Saint had unsurpassable abilities in concealment; not only could it hide all presence and traces, but it also allowed hiding within shadows, manipulating shadows to avoid almost all methods of detection and surveillance.
If it weren’t for the fact that Reiger had mastered the Through-the-World technique that coincidentally countered Rom’s Shadow Strike Sword Skill, he would never have been able to defeat that elusive Shadow Sword Saint just using the Thunder Breath.
It was because of the clear world that Reiger had clearly grasped the state of Rom when using the Shadow Strike Sword Skill.
Whether it was the direction and degree of muscle movement, the method and rhythm of breathing used for the sword skill, or the active condition and flow state of Magic Power when using the sword skill, all these were observed through the clear world.
Moreover, with Reiger’s extraordinary memory and rapid growth rate, after deliberately pondering over the past few days, he had successfully mastered some essence of the Shadow Strike Sword Skill and integrated it into the more compatible Mist Breath.
This enabled the Mist Breath, although not transforming and evolving like the Day Breath, to also possess some characteristics of the Shadow Strike Sword Skill.
As the Shadow Strike Sword Skill could manipulate shadows at will, Reiger’s Mist Breath could also control the mist and the light of mist at will.
The users of the Shadow Strike Sword Skill could hide within shadows, avoiding all detection, and Reiger’s Mist Breath could do the same, hiding in the mist, immune to any spying.
Whether slashing or moving, Reiger could do it silently and instantaneously, playing with his enemy in his palm.
Now, Solok was experiencing this treatment.
"————"
During the haze of mist, Reiger’s figure suddenly disappeared.
"......!"
Seeing this, Solok immediately tensed and, without thinking, turned around and ran.
However, his speed was nowhere near fast enough to surpass Reiger.
"Mist Breath·First Form·Sky-reaching Distant Dawn."
Within the surrounding mist, a figure suddenly shimmered like a mirage and lunged forward, striking with a cut as fast as a beam of light.
"Pff!"
Solok’s side was instantly pierced by the light-like thrust, spraying a large amount of fresh blood.
"Aaaah...!"
Solok screamed in pain, but suddenly turned around, slashing with the speed of a whirlwind at the figure at his side.
"Boom!"
With a sound explosive like a burst, this slash heavily hit the ground, directly smashing the floor.
The figure that had been hit by this slash still shimmered like a mirage, like a remnant shadow, a phantom, trembling as it disappeared.
"Mist Breath·Second Form·Eightfold Mist."
The next second, eight swift slashes passed through the mist, turning into eight beams of light, striking Solok’s body.
"Pff!" "Pff!" "Pff!" "Pff!" "Pff!"...
The sound of blades slicing through flesh echoed continuously, eight times in a row, each slash letting blood gush from Solok’s shoulders, thighs, abdomen, waist, back, back of the neck, and arms, with one more cutting across Solok’s cheek, leaving a fierce wound on his face.
"Aaaah...!"
Solok screamed again, his body subjected to a torment as if being flayed, so much pain that he nearly knelt down.
If it hadn’t been for the burst of potential from this outstanding royal descendant amidst a life-or-death situation, enabling him to continuously dodge the most fatal areas, he might have already been dead.
In this regard, even Reiger had to admit that the Prince was indeed excellent.
Being able to burst forth with such ability at the brink of death was enough to prove that no matter how brutal his disposition, poor his character, his strength and potential were undoubtedly unquestionable.
Unfortunately...
"Shall we end it here?"
The flickering figure materialized in the mist, appearing behind Solok.
"Then let me grant you the mercy of dissipating like mist with the wind."
Behind Solok, the flickering figure raised the blade and, mercilessly, swung it towards his neck.
Suddenly—
"Get lost!"
Solok suddenly raised his head, veins bulging as he roared in anger.
"Boom!"
The air suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar, unleashing a staggering invisible force from Solok’s body, striking the surroundings.
That was Spiritual Power.
The heritage sword technique of the Ginsburg Kingdom’s royalty, the War King Sword Skill’s power.
Finally, Solok employed this power, blowing the surrounding mist apart and making the figure of Reiger, about to deliver a killing cut, stagger fiercely, pausing momentarily in that spot.
The heavy sensation in the body that he had once felt in Liz’s presence, now appeared again on Reiger’s body.
"Die!"
Only then did Solok surge into action, his fierce face swinging a sword toward Reiger’s head.