"That sword..."
Rohm muttered with astonishment.
He stared at the sword that suddenly appeared in Riezel's hand, feeling a faint yet scorching heat radiating from it, and immediately became alert.
All along, Riezel had been using swords created casually by the Structure System Magic—disposable weapons that suggested he didn't have a trusty weapon at hand.
However, the sword he took out now was definitely not some disposable, ordinary weapon, but a bona fide magic weapon.
'So, that's his true weapon?'
Clearly, Riezel didn't lack a trusty weapon; he simply hadn't encountered an opponent worthy of making him use it until now.
What did this mean?
'Could he have been hiding his true strength all along?'
Rohm found it hard to believe, yet it seemed to be the truth.
Why?
It was simply because when Riezel gripped the sword, held it by his side, and assumed a familiar stance, the threat emanating from him this time triggered his sense of danger.
Soon, lightning bolts erupted from Riezel's body, forming thick strands of electricity that flickered and gradually expanded.
'Danger!'
At this moment, Rohm very clearly felt an extraordinary sense of danger emanating from Riezel.
Since the swordsmanship Rohm practiced could be summarized as highly advanced assassination swordsmanship, its practitioners excelled not only in stealth but also in shadow manipulation.
By mastering this swordsmanship, he could hide himself within shadows, completely concealing his appearance so that others could only see a flickering silhouette. He could also blend into the surrounding environment with the shadows, avoiding detection by most detection magic and infiltrating any place.
It was the Special Swordsmanship in which he excelled, called the Shadow Strike Sword Style.
In truth, the royal family's assassination unit, Shadow, used a simplified version of the Shadow Strike Sword Style, called the Hazy Strike Sword Style.
While this simplified version was only Advanced Swordsmanship, the original version, the Shadow Strike Sword Style, was considered rare and precious even among other Special Swordsmanships.
Although the Shadow Strike Sword Style wasn't as widely known as the War King Sword Style, within the royal family, it was regarded as the second most valuable swordsmanship, granted only to the king's most loyal followers.
Rohm was the only one who had mastered this swordsmanship to its pinnacle, reaching the realm of Sword Saint. Consequently, his use of this swordsmanship had attained a level nearly unattainable by others.
For example, he could not only hide himself in shadows but also conceal his weapons, making them completely disappear in front of his enemies, allowing him to execute a silent kill.
Additionally, he could manipulate the shadow of his weapon, indirectly controlling the weapon itself, enabling it to slash at his enemies even when it wasn't in his hand.
He could also accelerate the movement of shadows, dramatically increasing the speed of both himself and the weapons he controlled.
Just like when facing Riezel's lightning slash, which had terrifying speed and explosive power, he could swiftly dodge as long as he reacted in time.
Likewise, the reason his shadow sword seemed to appear and disappear unpredictably, almost like teleporting, was the same.
It would suddenly vanish and reappear, darting around without any obstacles, clearly because it was hidden within the shadows and accelerated to a speed that mimicked teleportation.
When hidden in the shadows, he could even avoid most attacks this way, and ordinary physical attacks couldn't really hurt him, since he had turned into a shadow. Because of this, he dared to control his shadow sword to slash at his own position earlier, knowing he wouldn't get hurt.
Since his shadow sword was a magic weapon that converted magical energy directly into destructive power, relying purely on physical force, as long as he hid in the shadows and dodged in time, he wouldn't be injured.
Nonetheless, the ever-growing lightning surrounding Riezel this time gave him a sense of imminent danger.
Thanks to this sense of danger, he instinctively understood that Riezel's next strike would definitely cut through his shadow, and its power would far surpass any of Riezel's previous strikes.
'No!'
A cold gleam erupted from Rohm's pupils, which had shrunk to the size of a pinhead.
'I can't just stay still and wait to die!'
As this thought crossed his mind, Rohm quickly moved.
*Whoosh!*
Along with a sharp, sky-splitting sound, Rohm completely merged with the shadow of his shadow sword, propelling himself and the sword toward Riezel.
At this moment, not only was the power of his shadow sword pushed to its limit, making the black light on its blade shine exceptionally bright and its power surge, but he also exerted all his strength, accelerating the shadow of his shadow sword to an alarming speed, which enhanced its speed to a terrifying level.
Apparently, this was Rohm's killing move, with a name as simple and brutal as 'One-Hit Kill'.
When executing this move, his shadow sword seemed to transform into a beam of black light, piercing through space and time, as if it could instantly leave this world and enter the realm of light speed.
Seeing the beam of black light shoot toward him, Riezel moved as well.
"Thunder Breathing - First Form…"
*Bzzz—!!!*
"Thunderclap and Flash - Godspeed!"
*BOOM!*
In the next second, the lightning surrounding Riezel's body surged, turning him into a ray of lightning, accompanied by the sound of thunder as he leaped through space.
At this moment, the ultimate and fastest technique of Thunderclap and Flash finally appeared in this world.
Riezel's speed and explosive power instantly reached a level normally unattainable, and in this fleeting moment, the slash he was about to unleash could even match the full-force strikes of both his attack modes combined.
Even though it lasted only a moment—a flash, a single slash—it was more than enough.
Soon, the roaring ray of lightning and the rushing beam of black light clashed fiercely above the desolate wilderness.
*BOOOOOM—!!!*
In an instant, a world-shaking sound resounded, sending shockwaves that created a terrifying impact, spreading outward in a semicircle and crushing everything around it like a nuclear explosion.
The earth shattered.
The wilderness collapsed.
*Rumble—!*
Amid the explosion, thick lightning and pitch-black light burst from the shockwave, smashing rocks, breaking boulders, plowing through the ground, and shattering debris, making the area seem as though it had faced a natural disaster.
At the center of the shockwave, where the ray of lightning and the beam of black light collided violently, the scales of victory began to tip toward one side.
Eventually, the ray of lightning gradually overpowered the beam of black light, splitting it apart as if tearing heaven and earth apart.
*Pu-chi!*
With a tearing sound, the ray of lightning cut through the beam of black light, ejecting Rohm, who had merged with his shadow sword, from within.
In the next instant, the ray of lightning swallowed everything, surging out from the explosive shockwave, cutting through the devastated wilderness, and heading toward the other side.
===
Time passed, minute by minute.
It was unclear how long it had been, but the disaster-like explosion that had ravaged the wilderness finally subsided.
The lightning vanished.
The black light disappeared.
The shockwaves also seemed to vanish as if they had never been, like a breeze that had occasionally swept through this place, leaving no trace.
All that remained was a wasteland, a scene of desolation and ruin.
*Cough!* *Cough!*
On the other side of the wasteland, a figure pushed away the rubble that had buried him, clutching his bleeding chest, coughing, and struggling to get out.
It was none other than Rohm.
At this moment, he was no longer in the form of a flickering shadow, revealing his true figure.
He appeared to be around forty years old, with an ordinary look and a medium build, and aside from his somewhat unusual black attire, everything else seemed completely normal.
If he were dressed differently and thrown into a crowd, no one would recognize him as the renowned Shadow Sword Saint of Jinas and would instead see him as an inconspicuous passerby.
Currently, he not only had blood seeping from his chest but also had traces of it at the corners of his mouth, indicating he was clearly injured.
Fortunately, the injuries were not severe.
Why?
It was simple.
"I purposely missed your vital points, so it shouldn't be enough to keep you from standing, right?"
Riezel, his body surrounded by crackling lightning, stood before Rohm.
In his hand was a sword emitting intense heat, its blade marked with cracks and a red pattern forming a divine spirit design near the hilt, showcasing an incredible sense of power.
*Schwing—Click!*
As Riezel sheathed the sword, its temperature was high enough to distort the air.
Seeing this, Rohm remained silent for a long time before finally speaking in a hoarse voice.
"A flash of lightning means defeat... I thought that was just an exaggeration, but is it really like that?"
"What those people saw was just a disguise... they have no idea there's an even deadlier lightning above it."
"So, that's your real killing move?"
Rohm's question was met with Riezel's indifferent reply.
"No, there's another move beyond this one, but I haven't finished developing it."
"..."
Rohm fell completely silent.
"Just think of this fight as settling the score between us..."
Riezel continued, his eyes squinting slightly as he gazed at Rohm.
"Your underlings attacked me twice, even sneaking into the Frenzel residence to assassinate me. Even if it wasn't your order, you're still their leader, so you must've known about it and chosen to turn a blind eye."
"In other words, you're an accomplice, and this is your fate."
"As for Princess Lizbeth, I can accept her as my attendant, but it depends on the royal family's decision."
"I'm not someone who likes restraints, so it's up to you whether you want to take it seriously."
With that, Riezel turned and, in a flash of lightning, disappeared, leaving the place behind.
Only Rohm remained, staring blankly at the lightning as it faded.
After a while, Rohm sighed in exhaustion.
"Looks like this matter needs to be quickly decided by His Majesty..."