“Fang Gaode, you have to help me this time!”
The moment the City Guard arrived, Ral bolted for their leader like a panicked deer.
“Huh? Young Master Ral, what happened to your hand? And what happened here?”
Their leader was a burly middle-aged man, a long scar carving his face like a lightning strike.
“Hmph! That bastard with a woman’s face did it! He ruined my arm and butchered my men! Fang Gaode, I owe you. Break him for me, no matter what!”
Ral snapped his head toward me, his glare like thrown knives.
“Even if you didn’t ask, I’d still bring that villain to justice.”
Fang Gaode clapped Ral’s shoulder. Then hundreds of soldiers closed in, an iron tide rolling to drown me.
“Kid, I’m the captain of the City Guard, Fang Gaode Jetra. Will you walk with us, or do we drag you by force? Your pick.”
His eyes treated me like I was already a corpse, cold as a grave at dawn.
“Hmph. You talk too much.”
Annoyance surged hot, then I moved. I slashed the air, sending arcs of Sword Aura slicing like crescent moons.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
Cries scattered like birds. Dozens of soldiers were blown skyward by Sword Aura, then hit the cobbles and lay half-dead, faces pale as ash.
“Good! Good! You’ve made Rat City a mess and still dare to attack the City Guard. You’ve got guts!”
Fang Gaode laughed in fury. His sword flashed from his belt like a shard of winter.
“Move in! Seize this rebel, dead or alive!”
He lunged, rage a burning wind.
“Die!”
His blade howled down at me.
Clang!!
I lifted the Shattered Light Sword and caught his strike in an upward parry. The shock ran down my arms, heavy as falling stone.
“Shadow Flash!”
I shed his pressure and slid back, then burst forward, swift as a ghost cutting through mist.
“Hah! Cheap tricks. Flame Sword!”
Fire bloomed on his blade, a blazing flower that roared as he swung.
“Not good!”
A sea of fire flooded my vision. I killed Shadow Flash and planted my feet, heat gnawing like a fever.
But Fang Gaode wasn’t alone. From above, magic fell like a storm of meteors, the mages of the City Guard painting the sky with lethal light.
“Sword Aura Slash!”
I sent several slashes skyward. Sword Aura tore the falling spells apart like wind shredding paper lanterns.
“Kid, don’t forget your real opponent. Flame Burst!”
He thrust his flaming sword at me. A spinning pillar of fire tore free and screamed toward my chest.
“Draw Sword Technique!”
No time to gather power. I condensed Sword Aura and released it in an instant, like lightning leaving the blade.
Boom!!
Sword Aura hit the fire pillar. The collision burst like a thunder drum, smoke and sparks swirling wild.
“Now! Attack!”
Fang Gaode’s shout cut through the smoke.
“What!”
The haze cleared. Hundreds of long spears thrust at me in one jagged wave, points cold as frost.
“Fallen Edge!”
I sprang with everything left. Sword Aura gathered at the Shattered Light Sword’s tip, a star at the edge of night, then I fell.
Boom!!!
I hit. The Sword Aura at the tip detonated, a sudden shockwave pushing the soldiers back several steps, boots scraping like skates on stone.
“Hoo—hoo—”
My breath dragged like bellows. Sweat streaked my brow like rain, the battle eating my strength like fire eats oil.
“Oh? You’re a sword genius after all. Pity you crippled Young Master Ral’s arm. You’ve earned the Kage Family’s mortal hate. Otherwise, I’d train you.”
Fang Gaode watched me with regret, head shaking like an old tree in wind.
Train me? Please. Pride flared, then disdain settled cold. Hill could sneeze and end you. Xinuo wouldn’t even need to try.
Still, truth sat heavy. Beating Fang Gaode and hundreds of soldiers right now was... hard as climbing a cliff on shattered legs.
“Enough talk. Be smart and come with me.”
“Win first, then talk.”
I met his stare, contempt dry as dust. I raised the Shattered Light Sword and closed my eyes, letting silence sharpen like a blade.
“Sword Qi Dance!”
I opened my eyes and moved. I swung with everything. Each swing launched a line of Sword Aura, streaks like white gulls across a storming sea.
“Damn!”
Fang Gaode didn’t dare take it lightly. He raised his sword high, the stance a mountain under fire.
“Flame Dragon!”
The fire on his sword surged tenfold, then he swung forward. A dragon of flame coiled from the blade and rushed at my Sword Aura, jaws open, scales blazing.
Boom!!!
Sword Aura met flame. The blast outmatched the last, a sun bursting in a narrow street. Buildings on both sides collapsed like sandcastles under a tide.
“Now!”
As the Flame Dragon faded, I unleashed the final beat of Sword Qi Dance.
I pressed the Shattered Light Sword down with both hands. An X-shaped Sword Aura ripped forward, cleaving the ground like a plow and racing at Fang Gaode.
“Damn it! Shield of Flame!”
He carved the air with his sword. A massive shield of fire rose in front of him—too slow.
The X-shaped Sword Aura struck before the shield fully formed.
The shield broke like bubbles in rain and thinned into sparks.
With the shield gone, Fang Gaode took the hit full on.
“Puh!”
Blood gushed from his mouth like a dark ribbon. He flew backward, weightless as paper in a gale.
Thud!!
He stopped only when he slammed into a building, stone coughing dust.
“…”
The soldiers went quiet in one breath. They stared, eyes wide as moons. Even Ral looked stunned, his anger swallowed by shock.
“Ha—ha—”
I slumped to the ground. I was gasping like a fish on shore. Sword Qi Dance ate strength like a black hole. I had nothing left. Limbs felt boneless.
“You bastard! You ruined my magic longsword!”
Fang Gaode pushed himself up, armor shredded like bark, right arm bent wrong, his sword in glittering fragments. Aside from that, he carried only surface wounds.
He shoved stone off his shoulders and strode at me, rage simmering like molten iron. His eyes promised dismemberment.
“Ugh—nngh.”
I tried to stand. I couldn’t. No strength anywhere. I could only watch him come, every step thunder in my ears.
“Hill, your turn.”
Xinuo’s voice rang clear, cool as morning bells. The air’s temperature began to drop, a slow winter settling over the street.
…
