SWNOVELXO Chapter 346
Chapter 347. River of Blood, Mountain of Screams (10)
Authority.
It is a power that allows one person to rival the might of a million-strong army, a force comparable to that of a god.
And now, four such authorities are being used simultaneously. All directed at a single person—Keter.
Dust’s authority, “Wind Demon Unity,” transforms a gentle breeze into a storm—while Jerpy Ruvan’s authority, “Wind Flow Cloud Dispersion,” causes his body to drift along with the wind.
While the Ruvan family’s authorities are supportive in nature, the Garcia family’s authorities are aggressive.
The captain of the Garcia family’s knight order, Magon, releases his sword. In an instant, his sword splits into over a thousand blades, enveloping Keter.
Authority, “Above Ten Thousand.”
Sword Dragon Rajis refrains from using his authority, fearing that the three authorities already in play would cancel out his own.
‘This pressure is overwhelming.’
Rajis takes a step back to assess the situation. If he had faced three authorities at once, he would have fled without hesitation.
But Keter does not flee. Instead, he waits calmly, as if intrigued, almost as if urging them to attack faster.
It is precisely this calmness that terrifies everyone. It inspires awe.
Animals flee when they are afraid, but humans do not. They attack to ignore their fear.
Kwaaaaaaah!
Dust’s “Wind Demon Unity” storm engulfs Keter’s entire body. While it restricts his movement, 328 of Magon’s thousand swords are launched at Keter.
These are not random strikes. Each one carries the Garcia family’s swordsmanship, the “Thousand Unsealed Blades” technique.
To put it simply, it’s as if hundreds of master-level knights are simultaneously unleashing their swordsmanship on Keter.
Moreover, the storm only affects Keter, leaving Magon’s swords untouched. In fact, it pushes them from behind, increasing their speed.
A perfect coordinated attack. There’s no room to dodge. Keter must either defend or evade, but doing so would only invite an endless barrage.
How will Keter block such a coordinated assault? As everyone watches nervously—
“Just a few hundred swords?”
Keter’s voice rings out clearly even amidst the storm, and wings sprout from his back.
It is clearly Keter’s first display of the “Celestial Infinity Technique,” Arrow Wing, but something is distinctly different.
Celestial Infinity Technique, First Form.
Arrow Wing ? Angel.
Until now, Arrow Wing had only a single pair of wings, but this time, eight pairs of wings emerge. His appearance is almost angelic.
Moreover, each wing is composed of 1,000 arrows. That means a total of 16,000 arrows have been created.
Of course, these are not just ordinary arrows. Each one is an “Ain.”
If they were mere arrows made of aura or mana, they would have been swept away by the storm. They wouldn’t have maintained their form.
But Ain is different. It possesses the toughness of aura and the flexibility of mana. Even in the midst of a storm, it maintains its form.
“……!”
Everyone is left speechless, staring in shock at Keter, who now bears the wings of an angel with a devilish smile.
But there’s no time to just stand in awe. Keter didn’t show off his angelic wings just to boast.
“Fire.”
As if daring them to try and block it, Keter’s single command sends all 16,000 arrows raining down in unison.
Magon’s 328 swords are nothing but dust compared to the 16,000 arrows.
As expected, beyond the 328 swords, the thousand blades he had created are all destroyed by the arrows.
A technique that surpasses authority.
Its overwhelming power doesn’t even allow time for despair.
“Kuhuk!”
Magon clutches his chest and spits blood. His authority shattered, he is swept up in the aftermath.
“Huwaaaaah!”
Dust, who had summoned the typhoon, now hurls a sword wrapped in the storm toward Keter.
The wind speed is enough to tear apart even steel. Such power is concentrated in the sword. It cannot be easily blocked.
But Dust’s firm belief is shattered by a single word from Keter.
“Too slow.”
Celestial Infinity Technique, Eighth Form.
Tachyon.
Speed beyond speed.
Though the weakest of Keter’s techniques in terms of power, its speed far surpasses human perception. Like a beam of light, the arrow pierces through the storm and lodges itself in Dust’s hand.
The trajectory of the storm sword is thrown off. Even though it veers off course, its range is so wide that it still affects Keter, but that alone is not enough to harm him.
Thud!
Before Dust can even regain his stance, Keter kicks him away.
The fact that he, an archer, had been kicked, caused him more emotional pain than physical.
As Keter performs the kicking motion, Jerpy appears behind him.
Hidden within the wind, he is the former Southern Sword, a swordsman who has survived countless life-and-death battles in the borderlands of the Demon Realm.
His authority is not just about hiding within the wind. He can completely erase his presence, leaving no sound or trace.
‘It’s over!’
Keter doesn’t notice Jerpy. So he doesn’t even turn around.
Jerpy swings his sword. An Aura Sword imbued with the power of the wind. Its power is enough to split even Orichalcon.
Sssshhk!
‘Sssshhk?’
Jerpy doubts his ears, then his eyes. His sword had clearly struck Keter’s back.
But all it left was a small scratch. A wound that barely drew blood.
“Huh?”
“Ah, that tickles.”
Keter’s reaction to Jerpy’s full-powered strike ends there.
Keter’s body is abnormally resilient. The effects of survival of the fittest have increased his resistance to sword strikes, and on top of that, he has absorbed a dragon’s heart. Moreover, Keter had already sensed Jerpy’s ambush.
He was just curious. How much had his physical durability improved? So he let it hit him.
Jerpy’s will to continue the attack completely vanishes. He quickly hides himself back in the wind.
Thus, the three Primes used their authorities, but none worked. Keter easily countered them all on the spot.
Keter then turns his gaze to Rajis.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Provoked by Keter, Rajis adjusts his stance and takes a deep breath. Many thoughts run through his mind. His head is a mess.
But what rises to the surface now is anger. Anger that Keter had killed a woman close to him.
Rajis decides not to hide his instincts.
“Prepare yourself.”
*
Unlike before, Rajis doesn’t shout about justice. He immediately joins the other Primes in a coordinated attack on Keter.
Four against one. And all four are Primes.
Even though they lost the first battle, these Primes are not the type to end with just one defeat.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang! Ka-ka-ka-ka-kak! Uru-ru-ru-rung!
The battle between five humans turns the earth and sky upside down. A radius of 100 meters becomes a land of death. But the outcome remains uncertain.
However, Keter seems to have the upper hand.
After the third clash. The Primes of the family alliance exchange glances.
‘Let’s go this time.’
‘Agreed.’
Top-tier fighters always have a hidden trump card. Of course, they had theirs too.
“Uwoooooooh!”
Magon raises his hand to the sky and activates his authority.
His authority allows him to replicate and control swords. The first time he showed it to Keter, it was 1,102 swords, but now he summons a staggering 5,700 swords.
Of course, that’s still fewer than the “Ether Wing ? Angel” Keter displayed, but that wasn’t the end.
“Try breaking this with your arrows!”
The 5,700 swords merge, growing in size until they form an enormous sword.
The Mountain Sword, formed from thousands of swords, reveals its majesty.
Keter looks at the Mountain Sword and says with amusement.
“Alright, I’ll block it. Give it a try.”
“I’ll admit, your confidence is second to none!”
Magon doesn’t refuse Keter’s offer. He immediately brings the Mountain Sword down on Keter.
The destructive power of the Mountain Sword is so great that even those hundreds of meters away feel the shockwave, unable to keep their footing.
But Keter’s counterattack is utterly unexpected. Instead of arrows, he raises his hand above his head.
“What does that mean?”
“Is he going to block it with his hand?”
They had already learned from previous battles that Keter’s body is abnormally tough.
But that doesn’t make him invincible. Blocking the Mountain Sword with his bare hands would not only cut him but crush him. So why? Is Keter really planning to block it with sheer strength?
Maron is confident. He had once split a mountain with a test swing of the Mountain Sword.
As everyone watches nervously, Keter does nothing until the last moment, facing the Mountain Sword with his bare hands—
Crunch.
The moment it touches Keter’s fingers, the Mountain Sword crumbles into sand.
“……?!”
“W-what?!”
“What just happened?”
It’s not just the onlookers who are shocked. Even Magon, the one who summoned the sword, can’t comprehend it.
Too curious, he outright asks Keter.
“What trick did you pull? Prince Keter, is that your authority?”
Of course, Keter isn’t about to kindly explain.
“I’ll tell you if you bark like a dog and crawl between my legs.”
“Grrrr.”
This, of course, is not Keter’s authority. His authorities are “Unchain” and “Reverse.” Neither of them has the ability to nullify an opponent’s authority.
The secret lies in the hand Keter extended.
Eslow’s Prosthetic Arm.
It was the power of Eslow’s Prosthetic Arm that nullified Magon’s Mountain Sword.
Eslow’s Weaponization isn’t just about turning living beings into weapons. If the existence is powerful enough, it can grant special abilities.
Eslow’s Prosthetic Arm naturally possesses such a power. The power to nullify authorities.
‘It’s a shame it’s a one-time use, but the advantage is that the opponent doesn’t know.’
It can only nullify the “authority” it touches, and once nullified, it cannot be nullified again—but the mere ability to nullify an authority even once is a tremendous advantage.
As proof, the Primes of the family alliance suddenly become hesitant in their attacks. For now, their authorities were nullified from a distance, so there’s no immediate effect, but what if their authorities were nullified at close range?
‘It could lead to a fatal wound.’
For now, all the Primes are cautious, sustaining only minor injuries, which they heal with Elixir, so they only lose stamina.
‘But time is not on our side.’
Initially, the Primes of the family alliance thought they could win by wearing down Keter’s stamina through a war of attrition.
But as time passed, they realized. Keter isn’t just strong—his stamina is monstrous.
In fact, it’s the four Primes who are tiring. After Keter demonstrated his ability to “nullify” authorities, the four Primes exchange glances.
Seeing this, Keter shouts.
“Stop talking with your eyes and just discuss it openly. Either keep fighting and die, or retreat. I’ll wait.”
As if he really means to wait, Keter crosses his arms and descends to the ground.
Seeing this, Jerpy Ruvan asks with a suspicious look.
“Will you really wait?”
“You’re Jerpy Ruvan, right? The former Southern Sword. I’m the current Southern Palace. As a junior, I promise my senior. Ten minutes! I’ll wait.”
“Hmm, thank you, junior.”
Despite being enemies, Keter’s respect for his senior moves Jerpy slightly.
Seeing this, Dust gets angry.
“What are you doing? You’re not actually believing Keter, are you? It’s obvious he’s trying to catch us off guard.”
“I trust my junior’s word.”
“This is madness…”
“If you’re worried, one of us can keep an eye on Keter. The other three can discuss what to do.”
“Fine, I’ll watch Keter. I don’t trust him.”
Dust glares at Keter with a stern expression.
Meanwhile, Keter doesn’t even look at him, instead pulling something out from his pocket.
“W-what is that?”
What Keter pulls out is dried meat and whiskey.
Munch munch.
Glug glug.
Keter casually chews on the dried meat and drinks the whiskey straight from the bottle. He looks like someone on a picnic.
“…….”
Rajis, Magon, Jerpy. The three secretly plan their next move, while Dust keeps his eyes on Keter.
Suddenly, Keter starts walking toward Dust.
‘Here it comes.’
Dust tightens his grip on his sword, thinking Keter is about to attack.
But Keter shatters his expectations. He offers the whiskey and speaks in a friendly tone.
“You’ve been working hard. Have a drink.”