Chapter 150: Tip of the Iceberg (5)

“More elixirs over here! This one’s in critical condition!”

“This side’s barely hanging on too!”

The tournament staff rushed to pour elixirs over knights bleeding heavily from head to toe. They were all victims of Keter’s technique, Fission. The staff looked up at Keter, still standing atop the mountain, as if he were a monster.

It wasn’t because Keter was overwhelmingly strong. What chilled them to the bone was something else entirely.

How could he have not killed a single one of them in a situation like that?

Every knight struck had sustained critical injuries, but none were dead. With timely elixir treatment, they could all be saved.

He held back while surrounded on all sides?

Sure, the rules of the tournament forbade killing fellow participants, but this wasn’t child's play. Emotions flared in the heat of combat, and death was not uncommon when real weapons and real injuries were involved. As long as both sides fought in earnest, no one would complain if one of them died—that was a long-standing understanding.

But Keter hadn’t killed a single person. That was madness—a more terrifying kind than killing them all.

He’s a monster. How could such a creature have been hiding in the Sefira family?

It wasn’t just the tournament staff that thought that. The spectators watching the entire situation and the remaining competitors were thinking the same.

“He still has aura left? Even if he was a Master with a hundred years' worth of aura... There’s no way he could use it like that!” muttered a four-star knight.

He was right. Humans didn’t have unlimited aura. A massive island-wide attack and thousands of Aura Arrows were something even Besil, the patriarch of Sefira, couldn’t pull off.

Yet Keter still looked... calm and relaxed. It was natural, as he didn’t just use aura. Keter’s archery style, Endless Archery, was built from the start on the premise of blending aura and mana. By carefully mixing both, he optimized aura consumption.

More importantly, quality mattered more than quantity for aura. Keter had cultivated both his aura and mana through Survival of the Fittest, resulting in purity levels approaching ninety-nine percent. But that wasn’t enough for him. He further refined it, again and again, until it reached a density and efficiency beyond compare.

So, despite the spectacle, Keter hadn’t actually used much aura since he only needed a month’s worth of aura to pull off something others needed ten years' worth for.

I wasn’t lying when I said I used up all my aura after Endless Archery. You guys just gave me enough time to recover it.

Even before his metamorphosis, Keter’s aura recovery speed was fast. However, it accelerated to an absurd degree after the transformation. While others needed a full day of rest to regain aura, he could do it in a single hour. To compare, normal knights had straw houses that were quick and easy, while Keter’s home was like a fortress of steel—airtight and indestructible.

The other knights could vaguely sense that Keter was something else. Like how even among herbivores, a rabbit and an elephant were completely different. Things like given orders, pride, and excitement were dulling the knights' instincts, but they came back to reality after witnessing Fission.

In short...

They’re scared.

Keter slung his Aura Bow over his shoulder and shook his head.

Tsk. I was hoping things might get interesting... but they’re already broken?

He had only shown them two techniques, but the knights’ murderous intent from earlier was long gone, replaced by cautious glances and hesitant retreat.

“Ah, so boring.”

Just as Keter nocked another arrow, the knights split apart, clearing a path. From between them, a lone figure walked toward him.

“Finally. I was waiting for you,” Keter said, smiling with satisfaction.

They were barefoot, yet taller than the others in boots. They had fiery red hair, and dual swords in hand. There was only one person it could be.

“The Sword Witch has arrived!”

The knights cheered as they called out Henya’s title.

She approached with her arms at her sides, swords in hand.

Keter raised his bow toward her and said, “What took you so long?”

“Took longer than expected to find my sword,” she replied.

She wasn’t carrying Cerberus, her level five magic tool, as it was banned in the tournament. Instead, she wielded a high-grade orichalcum sword; it was sturdy, but without any additional effects. It was the same for her armor—no Rainbow Black, just light leather armor for balance and mobility.

Pitter patter...

Henya was just simply walking, until her hair suddenly lifted into the air. She dashed forward in a blur. More conversation was unnecessary now. It was an incredible speed. Keter appeared caught off guard, arrow nocked but not fired.

As her twin swords were just seconds away from reaching his shoulder...

Whoosh!

Henya twisted away at the last second and retreated. To onlookers, it had looked like she had the advantage, so they were confused as to why she would retreat.

But not everyone had missed what really happened. Red Wolf Pashian, who was eyeing for an opportunity with his sharp, wolf-like senses, had seen it.

Keter... what nerves. He went for a kick in that split-second?

Keter seemed to be frozen, unable to react to Henya’s charge and attack, but that wasn’t true. In reality, he had launched a counter-kick aimed at her abdomen. Laced with thick aura, the kick would have crushed her insides even through Aura Armor. If she hadn’t retreated...

It would’ve been mutual destruction. Technically, the Sword Witch lost the opening exchange.

For a swordsman, the minimum distance to slash was two meters, but Henya had ended up further than ideal, as she had to retreat abruptly.

If it were me, I would have taken the hit to sever Keter’s arm.

Pashian was ready to jump in at any moment, but he held back. There was no reason for him to.

Everyone knew Henya was a Master. Keter, though nameless, was clearly on the same level; he was obviously one of the strongest people in this tournament. If they severely injured each other now, Pashian would reap the benefits.

And if I wait just a bit longer... I think I’ll find a weakness.

At first, Pashian had assumed Keter was a martial artist. But after seeing that divine archery, he flexibly shifted his plans.

I’ll let the Sword Witch open a gap, then strike.

Pashian was a knight, but he wasn’t the honorable type. A mercenary by origin, he would gladly stab a man in the back and suffer people’s criticism if it meant victory.

* * *

The battle between Henya and Keter was unlike anything anyone had ever seen; it wasn’t just because it was a clash between archery and twin swords. Archers who used bows and arrows made entirely from aura were incredibly rare. Very few—even among nobles—had ever witnessed such a fighter, especially since Sefira had avoided open conflict for generations.

Thwip thwip thwip thwip!

Aura Arrows were fired wildly from Keter’s Aura Bow. The entire process of drawing arrows from a quiver and nocking them was gone. All he had to do was pull the bowstring repeatedly. That was the strength of the Aura Bow and Aura Arrow combination.

But Keter’s Aura Arrows were special: they couldn’t be seen. They were visible while they were being nocked, but the moment they were fired, they vanished from sight. Invisible Arrows—it was one of the basic forms of Magic Archery that was deceptively simple yet incredibly tricky.

Spectators thought there was something wrong with the display. It was natural, as they had clearly seen Keter fire arrows but couldn’t see them mid-air.

It was also Henya’s first time facing a Master-level archer and transparent arrows. But she didn’t back down. She trusted her instincts and charged forward, twisting her body midair. The transparent arrows skimmed through her bright red hair.

If I can just close the distance, I win.

Henya believed that if she could get close, her infinitely chaining Spinning Wheel Sword would give her the upper hand. But Keter had already seen her sword technique once. He had no reason to let her close in so easily.

Then, he did something strange; he pulled his right hand backward. Henya didn’t know what he was trying to do. However, she soon realized, feeling the pressure from all directions. She couldn’t see it, but something sharp was closing in on her.

Henya charged in even further, swinging her twin swords like windmills. The attack was filled with the intent to cut through both Keter and whatever was restraining her. With one powerful attack imbued with aura, she slashed the Mana Chains connected to Keter’s transparent arrows. These chains, which were strung to his fingers, tightened when pulled. Henya had sliced right through them.

“Not bad,” muttered Keter, retreating with a leap.

Henya’s slash landed right in front of him, only a little short. It was enough to cut the Mana Chains, but not powerful enough to reach Keter.

But she wasn’t about to sit still. Landing swiftly, she leapt again, aiming to resume her attack, but...

Vrrrmmmm!

Her eyes widened as she saw Aura Arrows sprouting like wings from Keter’s sides. It was Arrow Wings, which created forty-four Aura Arrows on each side, making eighty-eight in total. He had done this with no preparatory motions at all.

Then, he gathered a massive amount of aura onto his bow. It was Limitless Archery, Second Form: Milky Way.

It was the same devastating technique that had taken down Burgundy, an Orichalcum-class mercenary, in a single shot. Burgundy had taken it head-on, but Henya had no reason to. That’s why Keter needed eighty-eight Aura Arrows.

He aimed at her and prepared the Milky Way. She had never seen this technique before, but she could feel its power.

I can’t take it head-on.

She moved around, looking for an opening, but the eighty-eight Aura Arrows tracked her, launching in sequence.

Boom! Kaboom!

They rained down to limit her movements. Still, Henya believed that if she could outlast this, the advantage would shift to her.

Just keeping that formation must be draining his aura like crazy.

Aura was inherently unstable; even just maintaining it caused significant loss, especially when used to create physical forms like arrows.

Henya moved like a panther. Her directional control mid-air and acceleration were impeccable. But Keter had seen his share of agile opponents.

“...!”

Just as Henya thought she was dodging well, the seemingly normal Aura Arrows suddenly changed mid-flight. The arrows split mid-air and flew toward her in a fan formation. It was Fission, the technique that had wiped out the knights just like earlier.

He could unleash a technique in that position, too?

She had nowhere to run. She had made this mistake because she didn’t imagine that Keter could apply techniques to arrows he didn’t manually fire. The splitting most likely weakened the arrows’ power, but she still had to block or deflect them.

Should I deflect it with my sword? Tank them with Aura Armor?

Neither seemed right.

If my speed drops for even a second, it’s over.

It was a critical moment. Everyone saved a trump card for times like this, usually by the name of a secret technique or a special move, such as Jordic’s Eclipse, Gyro’s Celestial Route, or Burgundy’s Beast Flow Sword Dance.

But not all secret techniques were offensive.

Boom! Swoosh!

There was an explosion where Henya had been. Then suddenly, a red slash appeared across Keter’s cheek. He turned around, feeling blood trickling down his face.

Whoosh!

This time, blood sprayed from his right arm. It was a deeper cut than before.

Spectators were baffled, unable to understand the battle.

“Lady Henya disappeared!”

“She was just surrounded by arrows. What happened?”

“Why is Keter suddenly getting injured? What is he looking at?”

To the audience, Henya had vanished like a mirage.

Even Keter’s Aura Arrows stalled in confusion. He, however, looked amused.

“Hm... Never thought I would see that here.”

Even as wounds piled up, he showed no panic. His eyes followed Henya perfectly. That was why she couldn’t land a critical hit.

“Didn’t expect you to know Agile Footwork.”

Both Attacking Footwork and Agile Footwork were martial arts that rely on the legs, but their uses differed. Attacking Footwork was for dodging, offense, and defense, while Agile Footwork was purely for moving a far distance extremely quickly.

Most knights didn’t bother learning Agile Footwork, as they didn’t feel the need to. They believed it was their hands that needed to be fast, not their feet. They could jump a ten-meter distance with a light jump, and Attacking Footwork was enough to quickly close the distance within five meters.

Lillian Kingdom, Baen Kingdom, and Adeus Kingdom rarely taught Agile Footwork, as most knights preferred heavy armor. It was more common in Belferio, a distant kingdom known for gourmet foods.

But Henya was using it. Specifically, she was blending Agile Footwork with Attacking Footwork.

“How fun. Didn’t think I would meet an archer’s archenemy here.”

An archer’s worst enemy wasn’t a shield, nor was it someone with great reflexes. It was someone like Henya—a warrior who could use Agile Footwork. They could move dozens of meters in one single leap incredibly fast, as if they were teleporting. As they could also change directions in the air, it was nearly impossible to predict their path.

Archery was an incredibly sensitive art. A slight tremble in the fingers could cause the arrow to veer off completely, and even the smallest movement from the opponent was enough to throw off its aim. As such, an opponent using high-speed movement techniques like Agile Footwork was the ultimate nightmare. No matter what they tried, it was impossible to predict or land a hit; there were simply too many variables.

Though unintentional, Henya realized that her own Flashing Lightning Step was the perfect counter to archery. That was why she was confident she wouldn’t lose to Keter. Even now, she was overwhelming him.

But... Why can’t I land a critical hit?

It wasn’t because she was holding back; she had no intention to. Every strike was aimed precisely at a vital point. Keter was simply dodging them all.

Don’t get impatient. I can keep this up. If I keep wearing him down, I’ll win.

Henya believed that steadily accumulating wounds like this was enough to seize the upper hand. There was no need for her to take a risk and potentially lose it.

But at that moment...

“...?!”

A chill shot down Henya’s spine. Until now, Keter had always turned his head after she moved, never able to track her with his eyes. But now...

“Starting to get used to it. You’ll need to move faster. The next one’s a big one.”

For the first time since she began using Flashing Lightning Step, Keter met her eyes.