SWNOVELXO Chapter 329
Chapter 330. It Was Winter (6)
Why was the demon sword Apophis, which should have been with Keter, in Wid’s hands?
Of course, it was because Keter had given it to Wid. The night before, Keter, who had arrived secretly, called Wid aside and said:
“Do you want to help Henya?”
“Yes. Even if it costs me my life.”
“Then I can give you about half of your lifespan.”
When offering sacrifices to Nipur, the Observer of All Things, Keter did not hand over Apophis. He had considered the versatility of Apophis.
Apophis is a relatively reasonable demon sword. It does not corrupt its user and honestly grants power in exchange for lifespan.
Of course, even a single use significantly reduces one’s lifespan, but it’s better than dying.
Keter’s plan hit the mark. Eslow fell into a double trap. Keter’s arrow was the bait. The real attack was Apophis’s strike.
Keter was hundreds of meters away, but thanks to Sephira’s eyes, he could grasp the situation.
‘As expected, a liberated demon sword works against a lord.’
A normal demon sword, no matter how exceptional, would not work against a lord close to 8 stars.
But Apophis was in a liberated state. Its performance had skyrocketed. Faster than Eslow, who had mastered all weapon techniques, it struck with an unavoidable blow, leaving a long wound on his chest.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a critical injury. But it wasn’t a light wound either.
Sssss!
Purple smoke rose from the wound inflicted by Apophis. It was the effect of the poison gas inherently embedded in demon swords.
Boom!
From the front, Apophis pressed Eslow, while from behind, Keter’s arrows flew relentlessly.
“Ugh!”
Eslow, who hadn’t even flinched against the Titan clad in the Green Tower’s altar magic, let out a grunt. That’s how deadly the combined attack of Apophis and Keter was.
Watching this, Henya’s body tensed up involuntarily.
‘It’s barely visible even to my eyes…’
She knew Eslow was serious, but was he holding back this much?
His movements were completely invisible. Only lines and afterimages followed, and the sound came late.
What was even more impressive was Keter, who was pushing Eslow.
The arrows flying from somewhere had to have traveled at least 300 meters, yet their speed and destructive power were immense.
Celestial Infinity Technique No. 6, Tusk – Resonance.
The arrow, Tusk, with extreme penetrating power, resonated upon hitting Eslow.
At first, it had no effect on Eslow. But as the resonance stacked, Eslow’s reflexes began to slow.
It was only a fraction of a second, but Apophis exploited that brief moment.
However, Eslow deflected Apophis with his foot and spun his body like a top, creating a whirlwind of divine swords.
The stacked resonance of Tusk disappeared, but Keter’s attack was just beginning.
Whoooosh!
A massive sphere of light fell from above Eslow.
Celestial Infinity Technique No. 3, Heaven Explosion Fire Rain – Annihilation.
It wasn’t just a sphere of energy. Its density was even higher than the Terraria used by the Green Tower’s mages.
The sphere, possessing both energy and overwhelming physical force, fell at an incredible speed.
Eslow tried to dodge rather than confront it. Though fast, it wasn’t as fast as Keter’s arrows he had been blocking. He could easily dodge it.
But Apophis stubbornly clung to Eslow’s ankle.
That wasn’t Apophis’s will. It was Wid’s. Even if it meant his death, Wid’s determination to deal a fatal blow to Eslow was conveyed through Apophis.
Wid’s resolve was evident on his face, and Eslow was furious.
“You insect!”
Eslow reached out his hand. Then, a great sword was pulled out of thin air.
Crash!
Just by gripping the great sword and stepping forward, the ground flipped, and shockwaves spread out in a chain reaction.
Apophis protected Wid with its blade, but Wid felt like his wrist holding the sword was being torn apart. It wasn’t just a feeling. The skin on his wrist was visibly tearing.
It wasn’t just his wrist. Blood flowed from his eyes and nose. Only ringing filled his ears, and his head swayed, making it hard to distinguish between the ground and the sky. Just standing was a miracle.
Even with Apophis’s protection, Wid was just an ordinary human. He couldn’t withstand the battle of transcendent beings with just willpower.
Wid also felt it. His limit.
This was his limit. The path beyond was unknown. And at its end, there was surely death.
But-
“Uwaaaaah!”
Wid willingly stepped into that unknown territory.
Even as the waves emitted by Eslow tore his skin, even as the pain of his cells being shattered burned, he overcame it all.
“You…!”
Eslow, bleeding profusely from his entire body, was taken aback as Wid approached step by step.
Wid wasn’t strong. He wasn’t even at the level of a 1-star knight. Yet, he could stand against Eslow thanks to the demon sword.
Even if he managed to get close, the demon sword might endure, but Wid wouldn’t. If he swung the sword once, the flame of his life would be extinguished.
‘Doesn’t he know that? Fools are brave, they say.’
Eslow thought Wid was just being foolish. And because of that, the situation had become quite troublesome.
The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain falling from the sky, Keter’s arrow, contained power that couldn’t be taken head-on.
In the end, Eslow chose to defend against the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain first.
Swoosh!
The great sword smoothly cut through the sky. The Heaven Explosion Fire Rain in its path was split like water.
While he turned his attention to the Heaven Explosion Fire Rain, Wid, covered in blood, thrust his sword.
Eslow wasn’t worried. He had already figured out Wid’s, or rather Apophis’s, pattern.
But this time, it was different.
This time, it wasn’t Apophis swinging the sword. It was Wid’s will that swung it. The power felt from the sword sent a chill down Eslow’s spine.
Sky Sword Technique Secret Art – Sky Cleaver.
The swordsmanship of Dayal, the Lord of the East, was recreated through Wid’s hands. The lack of strength and speed was compensated by Apophis.
Sssss!
The Sky Cleaver didn’t just cut through space; it cut through the world.
Wid’s sword, passing through Eslow’s shoulder.
The great sword Eslow tried to deflect was split in two as if pierced.
Crash!
Eslow struck Wid with the half-great sword. Apophis blocked it, but Wid, unable to withstand the recoil, flew through the sky.
He no longer looked human. It was as if a lump of flesh was flying.
*
“Ugh.”
A line of blood flowed from Eslow’s mouth. The chest wound from the demon sword Apophis was wide open, blood unstoppable, and his shoulder was cut even deeper.
‘How did that insect perform Dayal’s Sky Cleaver…?’
It was crude, but it was undoubtedly the Sky Cleaver. The injury was more fatal than the one from the demon sword.
‘Dayal. Did you set me up?’
Eslow had no time to think about Dayal. Keter’s arrows were flying in succession.
Even in perfect condition, these arrows wouldn’t be easy to deflect. And now, he had two serious injuries.
Moreover, Eslow’s favorite weapons, his strongest armaments, were all under Henya’s control, so he couldn’t summon them.
In that tense situation, Eslow laughed.
‘Indeed, Henya, you’ve prepared quite the trap.’
The intervals between the arrows shortened. This didn’t mean Keter was shooting more arrows; it meant the distance itself was closing.
But for some reason, Eslow began to deflect and block the arrows more perfectly than before he was injured.
“I’ll show you a bit of my true power.”
As Eslow’s words ended, a rain of weapons fell from the sky.
Swords, spears, axes, whips, scythes, fragments, clubs… Thousands of weapons, unfamiliar even to mercenaries, were embedded in the ground.
Regardless, Keter’s attack tempo increased. By the time Wid left the battle, even the Milky Way had flown in.
Boom! Crash!
Explosions, unbelievable to be from arrows, erupted near Eslow.
But Eslow, wielding a scythe in each hand, danced as he cut through the Milky Way, then threw the scythes.
Swish! Crash!
The scythes, flying like boomerangs, mowed down the entire forest. It was the direction the arrows had come from.
But Keter wasn’t there. By blowing away the forest where he could hide, the arrows now came from elsewhere.
“Quite the trickster.”
Eslow, picking up a whip, extended his arm. The whip stretched endlessly, coiling through the air like a snake.
The whip didn’t just coil through the air. It caught the invisible Keter by the neck.
Crunch!
With a flick of the whip, Keter’s head fell.
Henya was momentarily shocked, but it was a fake. An elaborate fake made of earth and magic. The real Keter appeared above Eslow’s head.
“An archer closing the distance himself? Foolish.”
“A common last word.”
Erowwing, Drone.
Keter, who had seemed to dive down to strike Eslow, soared using arrows as wings. Eslow’s whip grazed Keter’s feet.
“Arrows aren’t just for you to shoot.”
Eslow, picking up a bow, began shooting arrows, his speed surpassing Keter’s.
Keter pointed at Eslow with his finger. Then, the 200 Erow Wings that were his wings intercepted Eslow’s arrows.
“You can’t shoot better than me.”
Boom! Crash!
Eslow on the ground, Keter in the air, began shooting arrows like mad, as if competing to see who could shoot more and faster.
The result was disappointing. Keter was being overwhelmed. The injured Eslow was overwhelmingly faster.
Ssss.
The moment Eslow smiled with pride-
Thud.
An arrow pierced his back.
It was an arrow Keter had set aside before the archery duel.
This wasn’t because Eslow was complacent in victory. Keter’s archery was unconventional.
‘I can also manipulate weapons with mental power, but not as unpredictably as this arrow.’
Swordsmen call it sword control, where the sword seems to move on its own.
But this is inefficient, as it relies on the swordsman’s mental power.
Not using hands might seem to offer more freedom, but that excessive freedom actually makes it more mentally taxing.
‘Yet Keter did it. He manipulated an arrow so precisely that it could attack my back.’
As if to show it wasn’t just one arrow, arrows began flying from all directions around Eslow.
At first, he was caught off guard, but Eslow wasn’t one to fall for the same trick twice. He immediately changed direction, scattering arrows in all directions.
Moreover, he used mental power like Keter to perform bow control.
Hundreds of arrows swam through the air, intertwining. Their speed was so fast that afterimages trailed long, making it hard for spectators to see where the two were.
Meanwhile, Henya, fully healed by the power of the Elixir and the Neck Guard, confirmed Wid’s safety and gripped her weapon again.
But Henya stood like a statue, unmoving. No, she couldn’t move.
‘There’s no room for me to intervene between the two. If I clumsily step in, I’ll only be a burden to Keter.’
Other martial artists seemed to think the same, holding their weapons but unable to get close.
They wanted to help, but there was no room to intervene in Keter and Eslow’s fight! Intervening would mean instant death or just being a hindrance to Keter.
Crack.
Henya gripped her weapon so tightly that blood flowed from her hands. She was frustrated and angry at her own incompetence.
‘No, calm down. I’ve already helped enough. I’ve made Eslow unable to use his five weapons.’
Just by firmly holding the control of the five weapons, she was helping Keter.
But Henya couldn’t be satisfied with just that.
‘Wid. You’ve suffered.’
Wid, an ordinary commoner, had shown courage. Even when injured beyond recognition.
‘Surely, there’s something I can do… Ah!’
Finally, Henya remembered. A secret plan only she could execute, one that would deal a significant blow to Eslow.