Ardena turned to glare at Myria, but the latter was already pushing her battered body off the ground and charging. Her water whips sliced through the air, forcing Ardena to block, parry and evade, and then the elvish Sword Saint darted through the deadly arcs of water to close in on Myria.
Myria pulled back her water whips to form an almost spherical veil of water around her, but Ardena cut through them almost effortlessly, her blade slashing through the screen of swirling water to reach her target. Myria parried the first blow before countering with a riposte that Ardena agilely leaped over, before the latter twisted around in midair to thrust her sword at the former's back.
Despite being taken aback by her opponent's superior speed, Myria was able to spin around and deflect the golden blade before it could punch through her spine. More water raged around her, turning into a ferocious whirlpool that snaked around Ardena and almost devoured her.
But there was a burst of light and Ardena obliterated the whirlpool with a single swing of her Dainsleif. She crashed onto the ground, skidding some distance away before righting her stance and turning to confront Myria, but the Atlantean princess was already ready for her.
With a yank of her Abyss, she sliced several trees in the surroundings and pulled them altogether to trap Ardena within the thick, solid trunks. There was a crunch as the heavy trunks crushed Ardena in the center, splintering from the impact but no less massive.
"Do you think this is enough to stop me?"
She blew the trees up with a colossal burst of mana, the divine light reaching up to the heavens and even dissipating a few clouds. Freed from her restraints, she lowered her sword and resumed searching for her opponent.
But Myria was already ready for her.
A torrent of water crashed down on Ardena, almost crushing her under the immense pressure.
"Abyssal Waterfall!"
Myria was aware that a waterfall wouldn't be able to incapacitate Ardena, though, and she was already preparing her next spell, even as golden light erupted from within the curtain of water and evaporated it. Ardena lunged out, only to be trapped by a veil of water…a bubble that encased her and lifted her above the ground.
At first, Ardena struggled to find her footing because she was essentially floating in water. She swam about, turning sluggishly, until she finally found her balance. Gritting her teeth, bubbles escaping her mouth, she swung and slashed with her sword, but cutting water with a blade was a futile effort. Recognizing that, she conserved her strength and looked around grimly for a few seconds.
"You can't cut water with a sword," Myria said wearily. "But I know you will be able to escape eventually. Even so, this will buy us the time we need…"
She hadn't finished her sentence when mana exploded from Dainsleif. Realizing that physical attacks wouldn't work, Ardena had resorted to more esoteric means. The sheer heat from the emanating mana boiled away the watery bubble, sending wisps of steam hissing into the air. A few seconds later, Ardena landed, not even wet because her mana had caused all the water that soaked her clothing and hair to evaporate.
"You've got to be kidding me," Myria muttered. Ardena replied with a blast of divine mana that the blue-haired swordswoman was forced to evade, jumping over the colossal tide and landing a few meters away. Even though she was relatively safe, she still felt the heat scorch her skin and she flinched, retreating a few steps.
Ardena then pounced on her while she was still unsteady, resolved to bring a decisive end to the battle. Myria barely managed to block the strike before she was hurled back. Ardena continued her pursuit, getting ready to deliver the killing blow while Myria was down.
She suddenly swerved about and swung her sword down, only for fireballs to detonate against her blade. Xiao Huo leaped into the clearing with vulpine grace, her six tails blazing. She opened her mouth and unleashed a torrent of fire, the flamethrower attack incinerating grass as it washed toward a stunned Ardena.
The elvish Sword Saint swiftly slashed the flamethrower to dissipate the raging fire, but she found herself pushed back by the sheer impact of the fiery blast. Digging her shoes into the ground, she then lunged at Xiao Huo, whose tails were pointed at the enemy and already generating six fireballs. Ardena spun around and weaved through the comet like projectiles, closing in on my six-tailed Fire Fox. Xiao Huo reared up and avoided the first strike, and then jumped over the second while retaliating with her flaming tails. Ardena brought Dainsleif up to fend off three lethal tail strikes, each jabbing and lancing forward like a spear.
And then Xiao Huo was away, bounding to a relatively safe distance and out of reach of Ardena's sword. Nonetheless, Ardena was not limited to swordsmanship. Dainsleif glowed once more as she readied to unleash another strike.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Huh?"
Ardena spun around when someone placed a hand on her arm and forced her sword aside, Dainsleif's burst going wide and into the skies. She whirled around with a desperate hack, but the newcomer dodged her attack with ease.
"Long Wang?" Myria cried out as she picked herself back up to regroup with Xiao Huo, recognizing the slim silhouette and long, black hair. Oh, and dragon-like antlers protruding from his temples. My dragon butler waved before he ducked under Ardena's next slash and responded with a stab from his claws that she deflected with ease.
"Who are you?" Ardena snarled. Her gaze flickered to Xiao Huo, who was supporting Long Wang with fireballs, forcing her to split her attention and occasionally break away to cleave the flames apart before returning to deflect a deadly strike from the lightning class. Damn, but her reflexes were top class. "You all just keep appearing out of the woodwork!"
"Automated summoning defense system," Long Wang replied with a shrug. "Well, given that Lady Myria was here to save my lord, I guess it didn't actually activate, but still, I decided to come here because of the circumstances."
"Circumstances?"
Long Wang didn't reply, but I could feel his intention through our telepathic link. In fact, he contacted me through spiritual means so that our conversation went unheard by the enemy. This wasn't some cliché manga or anime where the characters reveal all their plans to the opponent so that they could come up with a counter. Remember Otoribashi Rojuro? Why the hell did he tell Mask about his Bankai, Kinshara Butoudan, ability being sound, just so the Quincy Steinritter nullified it by bursting his own eardrums?
Don't get me wrong. I love Bleach and it was one of my favorite manga and anime series ever – probably because I grew up on it – but c'mon. Some of the character decisions were baffling. Speaking of which, they animated the final manga arc, the Thousand Year War! The first season had already aired in the Fall of 2022, and they were planning to continue the second cour in Summer 2023! Look forward to it!
"Um, my lord, I don't think this is the time to get distracted and start advertising anime."
"Sorry. What's up?"
"I know what you're trying to do. I can sense it." Long Wang nodded surreptitiously while slashing at Ardena. Myria struck from an opposite direction, and Ardena was forced to retreat while simultaneously dodging a fiery barrage from Xiao Huo. "You're trying to comprehend the enemy's sword technique and incorporate into your enlightenment…to achieve Man and Sword as One."
"Yeah."
"Please leave the enemy to us and focus on attaining Man and Sword as One. If you succeed, you'll make a breakthrough. And that will be our best chance to obtain victory. Comprehending Man and Sword as One is the first step to reaching Earth rank…and there is a huge difference between peak Mystic rank and beginner Earth rank. It will definitely be the decisive factor in this fight."
"Understood." I felt my lips curl to a grin. "Though that's not the only reason why you want me to comprehend Man and Sword as One and breakthrough to Earth rank, right? If I reach Earth rank, you will too as well."
"I won't deny that." I could feel Long Wang grinning back through our telepathic link. "You already know my feelings regarding this troublesome seal. The sooner I regain my full strength, the better. Though I'm happy to recover my power one step at a time. But if both you and I possess Earth rank strength, we will certainly prevail over this enemy."
"Yeah. I won't disappoint you then."
Closing my eyes, I relied on the essence that I had seen through the Eye of Odin. Even now, while Myria, Xiao Huo and Long Wang fought against Ardena, I could see the flow of qi…of mana that surrounded her. The way she moved her sword, the way she channeled her mana into both her weapon and attacks, and how she manipulated her energies for defense. The threads of mana that linked her to Dainsleif and made them a singular entity, incorporating the treasure weapon into her spiritual self and turning it into an extension of the wielder as opposed to two separate existences. All of that was being deciphered by the Eye of Odin.
Strictly speaking, the Eye of Odin wasn't some cheating Mythic Item or golden finger or "Wai Gua (cheat)" that conveniently allowed me to replicate every technique or skill or spell that I had seen. Reality wasn't that easy. People still had to work hard, and there was no such thing as instant success. Rather, what the Eye of Odin did was grant me "wisdom." In other words, I would obtain the knowledge of the technique and understand its mechanics, but actually executing that technique successfully was another story altogether.
It was like…reading a textbook on engineering and knowing its contents, as opposed to actually being able to engineer a car or whatever. Theoretical knowledge, as opposed to practical skills. Also, knowledge didn't equal comprehension. It was like rote learning – I could regurgitate an entire passage out of a technical manual, but that didn't mean I actually understood what it was talking about.
That was why I was trying to comprehend the knowledge of Man and Sword as One right now. I had the knowledge, but I lacked the understanding. Without understanding, I couldn't successfully replicate and execute it.
Fortunately, what worked in my favor was that I was already at the peak of Mystic rank, and I had already accumulated tons of experience in swordsmanship. I wasn't talented at all, and I had cultivated my sword techniques through hard work alone. Unlike 99.999% of cultivation protagonists, I didn't have any monstrous talent or cheats or convenient "miraculous encounters" that would turn me into some super swordsman who could defeat every opponent in a single blow or whatever. I had to rely solely on hard work.
I was just lacking that…one bit, perhaps akin to a jigsaw puzzle that was almost complete but missing the last few pieces. And right now, Ardena was demonstrating what I was lacking to finish the puzzle. I just needed to concentrate and…learn.
Almost there…I wasn't just sitting and meditating. I was also practicing, moving my sword through the air and executing the techniques. Trying to emulate Ardena. Without much success, for Man and Sword as One wasn't a "technique" that I could copy. She had her own sword path, and I had my own.
No…what I needed wasn't to emulate Ardena, but comprehend how to unite my sword with me. How to become one with my swords.
Sword Intent, unwavering and firm.
Become the Sword, and not just the Sword becomes me.
In one's hand, anything can become a blade.
What matters is one's will that is sharp enough to cut anything.
"Ugh!"
"Damn it!"
Myria, Xiao Huo and Long Wang were knocked back when Ardena unleashed yet another eruption of explosive mana, turning the place into a crater. She was tiring, yeah, but it wasn't enough. Her body continued to brim with plenty of mana, whereas Myria was exhausted, Xiao Huo was hurt and Long Wang was pretty much struggling to cover for the both of them.
Myria tried to block a sword, but she was sent hurtling back by the sheer force, crashing into a tree and slumping. Ardena looked to finish her off, but she suddenly whirled around to slash at Long Wang, who thought to stab her from behind. At the same time, she raised a hand and smacked Xiao Huo away before my six tailed Fire Fox could bite her. She meant to grab Xiao Huo's throat, but Long Wang kicked her wrist, knocking her fingers away from the retreating spirit beast.
"Both of you, back off!" He snapped, raising his lightning claws and catching Ardena's blade. She infused Dainsleif with mana and was about to release a less powerful but still devastating blast at pointblank range, almost causing Long Wang to panic, but she suddenly pulled away.
My Azure Frost sliced through the space she occupied, and I twisted around to follow up with a strike from Azure Dragon, forcing her to parry it.
"Sorry for the wait," I apologized, landing between a frustrated Ardena and a relieved Long Wang. Qi began flaring around my silhouette, causing the surroundings to freeze. "But I'm finally done."