Chapter 180: Sefira’s Big Shot (5)

While there was a near-infinite number of offensive techniques utilizing aura, there was only one widely used defensive technique: Aura Armor. It was very simple to use, as one just had to release the aura and harden it to create a barrier.

Its effectiveness, however, varied greatly depending on the amount, quality, and user’s mastery of aura. Even then, it was far from efficient. Using ten units of aura could only block two units of incoming aura. Despite its inefficiency, knights still relied solely on Aura Armor for defense, and the reason for this was simple: they believed that the best defense was a good offense.

“Defending just gives your opponent more chances to attack.”

“It is better to fight attacks with attacks.”

Modern swordsmanship philosophy wasn’t about balance; it was about relentless aggression. This belief dominated not just the Lillian Kingdom, but every nation. As a result, most didn’t even bother learning defensive techniques. Time spent mastering defense was instead used to hone another offensive technique.

But Keter never cared for popular trends. If he wanted to learn something, he did. Even if others called it useless or misguided, it never swayed him. And now, the result of that mindset was unfolding before everyone’s eyes.

Strike-Breaking Wave, Falling Petal Point, Fatal All-Cutting Blade, and Extreme Galewind Sword—four ultimate techniques used to kill the opponent with absolute certainty were released. Normally, Keter would have overwhelmed them with greater force, but this time was different.

He simply raised both arms and shielded his face. That was it. It was an absurdly simple defensive motion so simple that Rajis, watching from behind, was left speechless.

Has he gone mad?

To Rajis, those four ultimate techniques from Norman weren’t something even a Master-level Aura Armor, or even adamantium armor layered on top, could withstand.

And yet, Keter wasn’t wearing amantir armor. All he was wearing was a loose shirt that was fluttering in the wind. It was probably comfortable, but it offered no protection at all. It wasn’t some kind of trick either, and yet, he was trying to block the attacks with only his arms. Why?

Because I can take the hit.

Keter didn’t need armor. He had layers of aura beneath his skin, as well as between his flesh and muscle. Aura flowed throughout his body with his blood.

Aura was a double-edged sword. It could hurt even the wielder, but Keter had no problem circulating his aura in his body. That was because he had trained his body through countless cycles of destruction and regeneration, until it adapted to the flow of aura; his resistance to it grew. In addition, his cells were interwoven with mana, another type of power flowing through him.

And above all, ever since his metamorphosis, his physical structure had fundamentally changed. He was now stronger and more flexible. His range of motion had increased due to new joints that didn't exist in ordinary humans appearing. His muscles were denser and tougher—tough enough to resist even aura.

Rajis, who didn’t know any of this, was in despair. All he saw was that it was already too late to intervene and save Keter.

Whoosh!! Kaboom!! Clang!!

Norman’s four ultimate techniques struck Keter directly. The shockwave made Rajis’ hair fly. The sheer force grazed his armor and skin.

“Incredible power...” he muttered.

Norman’s strikes were no half-measures. They had the weight and force worthy of a Master. And yet...

“How is he still alive?”

Keter hadn’t been torn apart. His limbs were intact, and his neck was still connected. Though his clothes were shredded and blood trickled from several wounds, he could tell none of them were deep.

Keter lowered his arms and taunted Norman, “Don’t tell me that’s all?”

“Keter....!!!!!”

Norman growled his name, and his clones shifted their focus, all of them now targeting Keter.

Keter smirked.

Just as planned.

The moment he appeared, Keter put on a performance by blocking four ultimate techniques. Norman took the bait, mistakenly thinking that taking four ultimate techniques head-on must have weakened Keter. Even if Norman judged the situation logically, the mere fact that Keter survived would prompt him to go all in. Either way, Norman’s full attention was now on Keter, which was exactly what Keter wanted.

“Rajis,” Keter called without looking back.

Rajis silently nodded.

“You take care of the Undead.”

It was a one-sided order, but Rajis didn’t mind, since it meant Keter would take on Norman alone. And while the Undead were still a nuisance, the priests Keter brought from the Order of the Sun made them manageable.

“Good luck.”

Rajis lowered his raised sword. Instantly, the Undead charging toward Keter were shattered from head to toe. Trusting Rajis with his back, Keter summoned the Amaranth, the Demon Bow.

He said to Norman, “Don’t die too fast, Norman.”

* * *

A match and a battle were fundamentally different. A match was closer to a game where one had to take extra care not to break their toys. A battle, on the other hand, was real. One had to put everything into subduing or killing the opponent. Of course, one might hold back if the goal was just to subdue them, but if the goal was to kill...

There’s no reason to waste time dancing around and playing it safe.

Fwoosh!

Keter released both aura and mana. He poured out everything he had.

Voong!

Limitless Archery, First Form: Arrow Wings.

Keter formed twenty-four Aura Arrows to his left and right. However, these weren’t just any arrows.

Limitless Archery, Second Form: Milky Way.

Each of the twenty-four arrows was the Milky Way, Aura Arrows with maximized explosive force. On top of that, he coated their tips with Demon Arrows. But this wasn’t it. Keter placed an arrow on Amaranth—the same arrow that once bombarded an entire deserted island.

Limitless Archery, Third Form: Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire.

He also used his remaining Demon Arrows on this as well, concentrating the last six into this single shot. He had now used up all thirty of the Demon Arrows he had saved up until now.

Even though Keter had used all his aura, he wasn’t finished.

I still have mana left.

Limitless Archery, Fifth Form: Kaleidoscope.

He had briefly described this as Magic Archery to Katherine, but in truth, that was just a piece of the Kaleidoscope. The Acceleration Gate, Dimensional Tunnel, and Refraction Panel used to be one, under Kaleidoscope.

Kaleidoscope had different levels. Before Keter regressed, he scattered thousands to surround an entire city in innumerable Kaleidoscopes, but he couldn’t pull that off now. However, he had enough mana to surround this arena.

Kaleidoscope-A Myriad of Sand Crystals.

Thin, circular mirrors scattered and took position in all directions. They seemed randomly placed, but at least two were always facing each other. Arrows passing through the Kaleidoscope were accelerated and followed one of two patterns: they either transfered to another mirror or refracted in a new direction.

This was it—this was everything Keter had and his full power.

“...”

“...”

Norman suddenly stopped moving. The look on his face seemed like he knew that he was about to die in one blow.

Click.

Keter fired the Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire at Norman. At the same time, the twenty-four Milky Ways scattered in every direction towards twenty-four of Norman’s clones.

Kwahhh!!

Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire pierced not just the air but even the surrounding darkness. Norman’s human-like clones gave up on blocking and tried to dodge. But Norman himself, now nothing but a mass of tentacles, didn’t even try to evade and instead met it head-on.

Norman, I’m sure you’ve made many mistakes in your life. It’s probably those mistakes that made you who you are today. But I’ll tell you this for certain... That decision right now will be the biggest mistake of your life.

As a slime, Norman probably lived comfortably in the knowledge that he could always regenerate as long as his core was intact. Sure, he had regenerative powers rivaling the Undead, but Keter’s arrows, fueled by his full power and the decay of the Demon Arrows, went far beyond that regeneration.

“

Roar!!!

”

Norman summoned more bladed tentacles and unleashed sword techniques.

How disappointing. Still just a monster, and still dumb. You absorbed Pashian, so shouldn’t you use Martial Spirit at the very least?

“I gave you a hint during the battle royale, remember? You can’t beat archery with swordsmanship.”

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

The Milky Way, which Norman’s clones thought they had dodged, collided with the scattered mirrors of Kaleidoscope, repeating acceleration and refraction. It looked like beams of light dancing.

They accelerate, ricochet, and shift direction at least three times. Could someone like you possibly understand or predict this randomness?

“You can’t.”

Norman’s clones flailed around, twisting and frantically looking around to try and dodge the arrows at their peak acceleration, but...

My arrows are faster than your thoughts, buddy.

Fwoosh!!

Screech!!

A thunderous explosion and the death cry of a monster echoed through the darkness of the arena. The clones hit by the Demon Arrow-tipped Milky Ways didn’t regenerate. They couldn’t, as the power of decay killed them cell by cell, destroying even their cores.

The same went for the real Norman; the Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire, packed with six Demon Arrows, took over him. The Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire Keter used on the island exploded mid-air and lost much of its power. This time, it didn’t explode and concentrated all its force into a single target.

“Gaghhh!!!”

Norman’s monstrous scream wasn’t one of triumph; it was a pitiful cry begging to live. The orichalcum floor warped as Norman was driven back. He tried to swell his body to resist obliteration, to which Keter applauded him for.

“Wow, you’re holding out. But... here’s the thing.”

Keter calmly nocked one last Aura Arrow to his bowstring.

“I’ve still got one left.”

Twang.

The lightly fired Aura Arrow pierced what Keter presumed to be Norman’s abdomen. It didn’t strike the core but just disrupted his balance slightly, but that was enough. Now thrown off balance, Norman could no longer withstand the Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire, and it swept over him.

“G-gahh!!! M...Me of all people...!”

In his final moment, Norman let out a human-like scream. He uttered a painfully cliché villain’s last word...

But somehow, I never get tired of hearing them. Always a fresh treat.

“I was meant to rule the world...!”

A white stream of energy burst from Norman like a volcano. It was the condensed life force of all the people he absorbed.

The Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire devoured Norman completely and then exploded as if to deny even a sliver of hope.

Boom!!!

Blue flames of aura spread across the arena, lighting it up like the midday sun. The power of the Demon Arrows surged into a storm of red lightning. There was no need to check—Norman had been utterly erased from existence.

“

Phewwww...

”

Keter trembled. Thanks to Survival of the Fittest, the cultivation technique he mastered, his aura and mana increased.

“Barely increased. Maybe two years’ worth.”

Norman was a worthy opponent he could go out all against, but he couldn’t expect big rewards from someone who died in one hit.

Norman, you left a lasting impression on me. Such big dreams for someone like you.

“Next time, just try being a village chief or something.”

That much, I’ll give you.

* * *

Norman’s annihilation was visible to everyone. That was no surprise, as Keter’s technique was so overwhelming and colossal that no one could miss it. Even within the darkness, the twenty-four Milky Way arrows and Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire he unleashed shone more brilliantly than the sunlight conjured by the priests of the Order of the Sun.

Not only had he obliterated Norman and all his clones in a single strike, but the surrounding Undead were also swept away by the hundreds. That, too, left a strong impression.

“Keter... have you already transcended humanity...?”

Ragis, upon witnessing Keter’s full-power strike, found himself momentarily stunned—something quite unlike him.

Could I have blocked that?

There was no need to deliberate.

Absolutely not.

Even the orichalcum arena couldn’t withstand the impact and had warped under the force. And it wasn’t just about raw power; the attack was also fast and unpredictable. There was no room for defense, evasion, or counterattack. He couldn’t dare to even try.

The Undead, devoid of emotion, fought on relentlessly. But if they possessed even a shred of feeling, they would have been struck senseless by Keter’s display of divine might.

Thanks to Keter taking down Norman quickly, the Undead were swiftly dealt with, and Sefira’s archers were also playing a major role. With the Order of the Galaxy, who had already evacuated the civilians, finally joining the battle in earnest, the situation grew far more stable. Under Myle’s coordination, their efficiency skyrocketed. It wasn’t perfect leadership, but it was a hundred times better than nothing.

Thwack!

Eslow’s battle, too, neared its end.

The final fallen angel’s head was sent flying into the air. Ailos had predicted they would last seven minutes, but in reality, they didn’t last past five.

Watching this, Taragon muttered to himself, “He’s a god... His Grace is practically a god...”

Just the aura radiating from a single fallen angel made it hard for Taragon to breathe. His legs trembled just from looking at them, and yet, Eslow faced off against four of them with complete composure.

“What’s with all the fuss over that?”

“Keter!”

Keter, who had suddenly appeared beside Taragon, watched Eslow battle the fallen angels, looking sick of it.

“Maybe he used ten percent of his power? It wasn’t even a real fight—he was just toying with them. Out of curiosity, probably.”

“H-how is that possible?”

“He’s a monster, alright. Definitely one of the Four Lords.”

Having reached the realm of Prime in his previous life, Keter could roughly gauge Eslow’s combat ability just by watching him fight.

He’s either on par with Deyal, the Lord of the East, or even stronger.

That was troubling news for Keter, who would eventually need to defeat all the Four Lords in order to kill Queen Lillian. But Keter remained unfazed.

If someone carries the grandiose title of the Four Lords, they better not be weak. I would be more disappointed if they were.

The harder the goal, the sweeter the sense of accomplishment when it was achieved.

What a sight. I got to witness Eslow fight.

As Keter watched Eslow with renewed determination, ironically, the eyes of the crowd weren’t on Eslow; they were on Keter. At least visually, the performance Keter had just delivered completely outshone that of Eslow.

He’s the jackpot of Sefira, not the mad dog...

How has a monster like that stayed unknown until now? Lord Besil isn’t someone to disregard.

I knew he was strong, but this is just beyond comprehension.

The political landscape of the south is about to change.

The nobles who attended the tournament changed the perception of Sefira, who were previously dismissed as the weakest noble family. The three Sefira brothers had already performed above expectations and left strong impressions, but no one was more impressive than Keter. Even Eslow, after witnessing Keter defeat Norman, found himself reevaluating archery.

A form of archery I’ve never seen... Where did you learn such a technique?

Eslow, known as the Weaponmaster, had mastered every weapon over centuries, including the bow. Yet, he owned no bow himself. Shooting arrows was meaningless to someone who had reached the Prime realm. Since he could shoot swords like arrows, he didn’t need to use archery. And yet, the archery Keter had just demonstrated appeared to have no limits. It shattered the very foundations of what was believed possible.

Have I underestimated archery?

Eslow resolved to give the bow another serious look.

Keter had already drawn great attention, but never like this. Even nobles who hadn’t been impressed found themselves setting aside their prejudice after witnessing Keter's divine might as he obliterated Norman in a single blow.

And yet, the very person who had stirred all these emotions stood at the edge of the battlefield, casting a disappointed look toward the spot where Norman had once been.

“I thought I’d finally get a decent fight, but what a letdown. Should I just try hitting Eslow from behind?”

He said it so casually that anyone who overheard would think he had lost his mind.