Regressor of the Fallen Family Chapter 156
“Kill Him at Any Cost”
It was no longer about holding out.
Victory.
He had to kill the superhuman before him, the second strongest Aura user in the kingdom.
During the brief moment suspended in midair, Logan had conjured numerous plans in his head.
As someone who had heard a lot and visualized duels countless times in his imagination, he could estimate quickly, though almost all the outcomes were negative.
Focusing on the few scenarios with a somewhat positive probability, Logan landed firmly on the ground with a stern expression.
Only about 10 meters away from the Duke of Yordan.
‘At least he hasn’t called his men.’
Satisfied to have avoided the worst-case scenario for now, Logan surreptitiously checked the location of another important ‘target’.
Then…
“What senseless destruction you’ve brought. That absurd…”
At that moment, as the casual-looking Yordan began to speak, Logan charged forward.
Flash.
Swoosh.
As the golden Force Blade, serpentine and alive, bent towards Yordan’s throat, the superhuman’s eyes slightly contorted.
– Yordan? That guy? Hmm, you should know, having become a superhuman, he specialized in the attribute of fire. His swordsmanship is quite good too, and it seems he has strengthened his body in some unique way to rival physical specialization. Of course, he doesn’t have any particular weaknesses.
The characteristics of Yordan Walsh mentioned by his master were indeed discouraging.
– And how am I stronger than him? Simple. I am much faster.
The essence of martial arts was the domination of space.
And such domination was governed by speed, not strength.
– I can hit him unilaterally, and he can’t hit me.
No matter the disparity in levels, if you can hit without getting hit, you can win.
And he had been…
‘I fought on equal terms with the wind-attributed Weaken Callian.’
Logan could cling to hope because of that fact.
But…
“Hmph. Pitiful tricks.”
With a soft snort, the red Aura Sword swung without leaving any room for the Snake Blade to retaliate, and it struck with force.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
Sliding back.
He thought he had grown stronger after continually facing the Storm Sword over the past few days, yet with one strike, he was helplessly pushed back.
More than the awesome power of the sword, it was its unexpected speed that struck with despair.
The entire episode was a far cry from his previous fight under Clayton’s magic; Yordan’s agility was easily on par with his, if not greater.
However, Logan did not despair.
‘Discard the first plan. Move on to the second.’
As he saw the blazing red Aura approaching, Logan twisted his body and thrust his sword to the side.
He aimed for both to receive a severe blow if a collision occurred.
The golden Force Blade, though momentarily knocked by the Aura, maintained its existence and targeted the enemy’s vitals.
Yordan’s great sword reacted first with a twitch of his eyebrows.
Fwooom!
“Utter madness, unbecoming of nobility.”
“Thank you for the compliment!”
As the repelled Logan spat out nonsense, he quickly closed the distance again.
That instant, Yordan, with flames of Aura burst forth from his body, shot forth at an even greater speed.
The distance vanished in a moment as they clashed.
Ignoring the great sword swung from the lower-left upwards across his whole body, Logan released a beam of golden light.
It was not a move to exchange friendly blows, but an all-out attack intending mutual destruction.
Yordan’s face hardened noticeably as he hesitated for a moment, his body sliding as if to circumvent Logan from the back.
But…
Swoosh.
Elegantly evading from behind, Yordan’s strike missed as Logan vanished like a ghost.
Crouching close, Logan’s golden light surged towards Yordan’s groin.
“How dare you!”
Boom!
In rage, Yordan’s explosive strike forced the charging Logan to slide back again.
“You lack the dignity of a noble…”
“I don’t, you old fossil!”
With banter filled with nonsense, Logan hoped to shake the enemy’s reason as he narrowed the gap once more.
He was met with a wall of scorching red Aura.
Yordan’s great sword had unleashed a wave of Aura wide enough to engulf Logan’s entire body.
In response, Logan’s counter was a gigantic golden guardian’s sword.
Bang!!
An attack spread too wide loses focus compared to a concentrated strike.
Regrettably for Logan, the result of the clash was not in his favor.
Though both staggered, Yordan stepped back only a few paces while Logan was pushed back tens of meters.
‘Cough!’
As Logan struggled to contain the turmoil within him, the less-damaged Yordan’s expression twisted further.
“Ha. You really are resisting Aura. Well, good. From now on, I’ll take you seriously. Stop fooling around and come at me with all you’ve got. Unless you want to die as you are.”
Logan’s lips curled up slightly.
The blow to his pride seemed significant already.
“Then as you command…!”
At the same time as he spoke, Logan charged at Yordan with lightning-fast speed.
Pulling all his Force together, he confronted his strongest enemy, relieving himself of all restraints.
“Ugh!”
Perhaps due to the previous collision, a significant amount of ‘sincerity’ was poured into Yordan, carrying more force than Logan had anticipated.
And this moved his opponent more fiercely than expected.
“You filthy rat…!”
The loudest voice he’d ever heard from Yordan.
Logan took advantage of the heated ‘sincerity’, hiding behind it to target a vulnerable spot below, releasing a streak of golden light.
Slash.
Boom!
‘It worked!’
Pushed back by the strong impact, Logan grinned satisfyingly with a sensation felt in his hand.
But…
“I will rip you apart, you vile creature!”
The proprietary technique of Blaze Sword, The Lord of Fire, was triggered. Yordan, now a massive ball of fire, charged forward, the only injury incurred being a deep slash along the inside of his thigh.
‘Damn, so close!’
Despite the successful application of his second plan, he missed the chance to eliminate his foe with a single blow.
Deeply frustrating, but Logan had no time to dwell in such a critical moment.
– The Lord of Fire? It’s just a pompous name Yordan gave it. The principle is simple: he surrounds himself with fire Aura and incinerates anything approaching. Being an Aura, it’s naturally hotter than most magic.
– But really, that’s not the main thing. The actual purpose is to crush anyone enduring it within his range. Within that space, his Aura controls even the air.
– How to break it? Just… Ah, at your level? Impossible… but if you insist on a method…
‘Only long-range sniping from outside his range.’
Recalling his master’s words, Logan’s sword tip gathered a golden light.
‘Normal attacks won’t work.’
He had already exceeded the limits of Mono Cut, which only emitted a single blade of light, by spattering the concentrated energy widely like a net with the skill Liberation in the air.
If he could now reverse that experience and channel multiple folds of overlaid energy into a single strike…
Flash!
Baaaang!
The impact sounded as if a massive metal had been struck hard, resonating sharply in the surrounding space.
Concurrently, Yordan, who had been charging headlong, staggered back several steps.
In place of the enormous ball of flames that was his Aura, stood…
“You dare to challenge my Flamma…”
A twisted face like a ghoul, Yordan’s great sword now rose in the air, a fissure cracking through the middle of the blade.
Mana seeped through the crack, clearly visible to Logan, but his mood was far from elated.
‘Damn it!’
His decisive move had failed again.
He had entrusted the strongest blow possible to Yordan’s typically unguarded form, only for the attack to scatter the mana in the sword.
‘Now the only option left is…’
As Logan felt the emptiness of his more than a third-depleted Force, he desperately tried to gather his thoughts.
Before him already loomed the vividly burning Blaze Sword.
Slash.
“Just a rat like…!!”
Barely dropping down in time, a lock of hair flew as the earth beside him deeply gouged.
Criiick.
“…It can’t be!”
Rolling aside to dodge and the ground where he had just stood was carved out.
Logan let out an exclamation, embracing the primal sense of being a tiny creature facing an enormous threat.
“Squeak!”
“…Ha. You damn rat!”
Yes, the provocation was a success!
Boom!
As he mentally cheered and drew back, the spot where he had been standing exploded.
Even the tiny hairs on his skin stood on end.
With the intensity of a real fight rather than play, Yordan’s assault poured down like a shower.
Despite using all his skills and means to dodge, Logan couldn’t avoid gaining several light sword wounds.
‘But why did I even provoke him?’
The original strategy blurred in his mind amidst these chilling moments.
With heightened alertness, it took his petrified mind a while to grasp the last resort.
That’s when he remembered the ‘other target’.
‘I’m lucky it hasn’t gotten too far. Thanks for coming out, idiot.’
As Yordan’s sword came at him again.
‘Please!’
Despite the terror of impending death, Logan aimed a beam of light not at Yordan but at his careless target, the watching 2nd Prince, Romaine von Grandia.
Fortunately…
Boom!
Even while executing his full-powered attack in fury, Duke Yordan managed to deflect Logan’s strike aimed at the prince.
But, no Aura user could avoid stumbling briefly due to the abrupt directional change, no matter how quick.
Seizing that moment, a golden serpent born from Logan’s sword bit into Duke Yordan’s arm.
Slash.
“Agh! You…!”
“Too bad…”
His sincere regret spoke inadvertently.
The wound carved by the sword along Yordan’s wielding arm certainly reduced his combat ability, but it was not fatal.
“You…!”
Yet that sincerity swiftly calmed the red-faced, enraged Duke Yordan.
‘Damn!’
Realizing his blunder, Logan weaved through the air irregularly like a ghost’s shadow, firing consecutive streaks of golden light.
Had his master witnessed it, he might have applauded the perfect execution of his teachings.
All his attacks focused on the 2nd Prince.
But Yordan, having regained his composure, calmly deflected each strike.
Feeling the strain on his Force core due to continuous use of Divine Blade Vision, Logan eventually had to abandon this tactic.
He then leaped towards Duke Yordan with a face that seemed to surrender everything.
Yordan, surely more skilled by a move, if not two, must have sensed Logan’s physical state by now.
“Well done. I’ll commend the Sword Sage who raised you.”
The red great sword drew a fierce flash in the air.
And then…
Crack.
The fractured sword split in two, suspended in midair as a fountain of blood erupted.