No. 1 shivered. He felt a strange chill he couldn't identify and observed Leonard's sword. It was simply a stubby plank of wood, but it seemed to flash sharply like a real sword.
But that couldn't be true.
That really, couldn't possibly be true.
I have to avoid close-quarters combat, he thought. The direct descendants of the Cardenas family had senses so sharp that they almost had a sixth sense. Even though No. 1 didn't know why, he was certain that he couldn't let Leonard's sword get within striking distance.
At that moment, the air around him rippled as he created tens of psychic projectiles. This was a technique that he'd never shown anyone. As a member of a family of swordsmen, he'd never thought he'd have to use anything other than his blade. It was also his first time using this technique.
Boom!
As soon as Leonard sidestepped, a projectile hit the ground with as much force as a thrown boulder. If it had hit Leonard straight-on, it would have bruised his entire body and forced him to limit his movements, even with his sturdy physique. Additionally, even if he could keep fighting after one attack, if he was hit by multiple projectiles, he would be seriously wounded.
"Well, this is new," Leonard remarked. He had never seen this in his original world. He was impressed by the creative attack and tried comparing it to the mind arts he knew about.
Even though this mind art was clumsy and inefficient, it opened up new possibilities for martial arts techniques. Though he'd never seen it himself and only heard about it in stories, there had been rumors about an amputee swordsman who had regenerated his arm with mind arts and taken his opponent by surprise.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
No. 1's projectiles became faster and more numerous, to the point that Leonard could no longer block and dodge them from where he stood. If the boy was more well-versed and utilized trajectories that were less straightforward, his projectiles would be several times more troublesome.
Leonard automatically thought of the time he'd faced a similar assassination technique from the Sichuan Tang clan.
If No. 1 used hundreds of needle-like projectiles like they did, not even I would be able to dodge them all.
Though these types of techniques had the disadvantage of being less destructive in close-quarters combat, they cut off all avenues of escape. The other advantage was their ability to slaughter less experienced martial artists in a wide field. Those who couldn't use protective qi had no means to survive the barrage.
"You're good at dodging. Then how about this?" No. 1 realized it wouldn't be enough to simply keep throwing projectiles, so he created a psychic whip, which hung from his body like a tail.
Leonard could tell with one glance that the whip was more hefty and powerful than the projectiles.
A whip.
Such niche weapons were famous for being difficult to use and difficult to face in battle because they were so rare. Whips, in particular, were fast and unpredictable, and those who were considered whip masters in the world of martial arts had had their names written down in history.
Pwoosh!
The whip cut off several strands of Leonard's hair and created a crater where it hit the ground. It had enough power to tear through his flesh down to the bone!
"Tsk." Leonard clicked his tongue and smoothly avoided the whip's path. He had clicked his tongue because No. 1 now had three whips instead of one. Even though No. 1 was using them crudely, the three whips were limiting his movements more and were difficult to dodge. As Leonard faced psychic projectiles in addition to the whips, he needed to move as precisely as a needle.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After pushing his way through the barrage of projectiles, Leonard dashed and rolled to avoid the whips coming in from different directions. As he moved around like an acrobat, the other children finally started to understand No. 1's power.
"Is No. 1 using some kind of invisible force?!"
"That's cheating!"
"But our leader is dodging and blocking them all too. We can't tell who's gonna win yet."
No. 2 finally caught wind of the ability her "eyes" couldn't see, and No. 4 realized why No. 1's left arm was unscathed. Earlier, it had appeared to be injured, but No. 1 had protected his arm with his power. They might have succeeded if they had caught him off guard, but since he'd created an opening on purpose, it made sense that he had been able to defeat them.
Also watching the fight, No. 3 realized that she wouldn't be able to win against either No. 1 or No. 25. She burned with determination, and the other indirect descendants were so enchanted by Leonard's might that they forgot to blink.
"The distance between them is closing," Bruno said. He was the first one to notice this. "I can't believe that a trainee who has yet to activate an aura is not only blocking and dodging all these attacks but even counterattacking."
"Yes, sir. It's a shame that they aren't here to witness this."
It was hard to believe that this was a fight between two trainees. The two boys hadn't even ascended to knighthood yet, but they were incomparable to some of the actual knights. Their technique was on a different level.
Though No. 1 wasn't up to par with No. 25's elegant movements, he made up for it with his outstanding special ability. The force behind each strike would make it so that one hit would decide the outcome of the battle, but his opponent was so nimble that not a single one landed. And thus the battle continued.
Bom! Pwoosh!
Leonard knocked aside the whip. When No. 1 aimed for his shin, Leonard deftly lifted his left foot to dodge the attack.
One more.
A hail of attacks came down upon Leonard as if No. 1 was aiming to attack him when Leonard was unstable. Actually, it was obvious that had been No. 1's plan.
However, rather than barraging him, No. 1 was pushing him back. The space between them had started to shrink ever so slightly. But No. 1 was so solely focused on creating distance again that he missed his chance to make stronger, faster attacks. After all, whips were most dangerous when used as mid-range weapons to maximize centrifugal force.
His third attack was slightly slower than the previous two, and Leonard didn't miss the slight opening.
You blundered, No. 1.
Standing on one leg, Leonard tilted his body to one side to avoid the incoming whip. He tilted so much that it seemed that he was about to collapse.
The suspense made the children raise their voices—
Pwoosh!
Leonard's other foot threw a thick cloud of dust into the air.
"So fast!" someone couldn't help but cry out. Anyone would have been shocked by the sheer level of balance and bodily awareness that allowed Leonard to avoid danger and narrowly stop himself from hitting the ground.
The ten meters between Leonard and No. 1 quickly shrank.
Two steps. If Leonard merely took two steps, he would be able to knock No. 1 down with his sword. Everyone thought that it would happen.
Including No. 1.
"I've caught you, No. 25." Though No. 1's powers were certainly formidable, No. 1 wasn't too used to attacking from such a distance, so it wouldn't take long for them to lock into close combat. He knew without a doubt that No. 25 was a dangerous force he would have to contend with eventually. So, he suppressed his instincts and invited No. 25 forward.
"You're not the only one who's stronger at a shorter distance, No. 25!" No. 1 roared like a beast.
Three more whips shot out from him, bringing the total to six. If he flung them all at once, they would be inescapable, with one aiming for the head, two aiming for the shoulders, two aiming for the sides, and one aiming even for the legs—it was a barrage of six whips manifested by the mind.
Leonard steadied his breath as he thought to himself, There's no way I can deal with this by only using my basic skills.
Fwoosh! Leonard sprinted forward and used the momentum to dive toward the ground like a bird. He stooped so low that the whip meant for his knees merely grazed his hair, and he moved so fast that it was hard to fathom how he fell with such speed.
In an instant, the ten meters between them had shrunk to two.
No. 1 was within the range of his sword.
"So you've come." Surprisingly enough, No. 1 didn't seem shaken that Leonard had reached him. In fact, he didn't even flinch—because he'd anticipated this.
Though No. 1 hadn't known what kind of means Leonard would use, he was sure that Leonard would reach him eventually. After all, No. 25 always surpassed his expectations.
I knew he'd close the distance! No. 1 thought.
His six whips had been a feint. They were mere illusions; if they had touched Leonard, they would have dissipated without a trace. No. 1 had left himself open on purpose to bring Leonard forward. It was the same trick he'd used when fighting No. 2 and No. 4.
It was time for the final blow. There was a crackling sound as No. 1 turned all his resolve into mental power and poured it into his sword. His mental power was so intense that it created a rippling effect around the blade. The wooden sword now had the appearance and destructive power of sword energy, and he pointed his sword toward his enemy.
Leonard was low to the ground, and he wouldn't be able to block or dodge this attack.
"If you can take this too, it's your victory!"
The wooden sword swung down in a vertical line, sending a shock through the air.
Leonard could die. Knowing this, the instructors prepared themselves to spring forward at any time.
No. 1's sheer level of concentration made time seem too slow. His eyes flashed as he thought to himself, Don't die, No. 25.
This is my most powerful attack, but it's also a last resort. Leonard watched the sword fall toward his head, glad to see No. 1 facing him head-on. Ever since he'd assumed the name of the Sword Emperor, and perhaps even before then, no one had ever tried to have a swordfight with him.
Some were scared. Some bowed to him. Some ran away. Not even the Heavenly Demon would have fought him if it weren't for Yeon Mu-Hyuk's crazy stubbornness.
I like it. Even though No. 1 was a child who knew nothing about the world, Leonard looked right into his eyes and came at him with all his might.
It had been a long time since Leonard had felt this: the divine moment when two swords met uninhibited. He was now the Sword Emperor, not Leonard. His eyes grew unnaturally translucent.
He became one with the sword.
He perceived the world as a blade, not as a human. Then, he activated the technique. He'd created it while fighting a nameless assassin. When he had been about to meet death, he'd received inspiration from his opponent's techniques.
A sword that pierced from the ground to the sky, defying the gods, like a dragon soaring from the ground and breaking into the heavens.
Leonard nimbly rolled over, and a bolt of lightning flashed in his palm. It was so sharp that the instructors momentarily thought he was holding an actual sword.
"Wow," Bruno muttered as he watched the fight come to an end, impressed.
"..."
The top part of No. 1's sword dropped to the ground, cut in half. No. 1 looked down at the splintered wood, blood spilling from his neck where the tip of Leonard's sword pressed against him.
Can a wooden sword really cut me like this?
Though Leonard had stopped right before injuring him, No. 1 knew that Leonard could have instead cut through his flesh. He pictured his head falling from his shoulders.
He swallowed, dropping the remains of his sword. At his level, he couldn't understand what Leonard had done, save for the fact that the flash of light at the end had broken his sword.
Though this was his first time losing to someone his age, what he felt wasn't inferiority or jealousy. It was a feeling of release.
"It's my loss, No. 25," he said, his usual arrogance and haughtiness nowhere to be found. His belief that it was meaningless to be anything but the best, his father's extreme teaching methods—everything seemed to fall away at this sense of relief.
A new No. 1 had been chosen.
"Wooooooh!"
The trainees surrounded the two boys in a large circle, and even all the instructors clapped.
Thus, the field mission came to an end.