Chapter 330: And It Was Winter (6)

Eslow didn’t know why Demon Sword Aporphis, which should have been in Keter’s possession, was in Wid’s hands. It was because Keter had given it to him. The night before, Keter arrived in secret and called Wid aside.

“You want to help Henya, don’t you?”

“Yes, even if it kills me.”

“Then you can probably afford to give up about half your lifespan.”

When offering sacrifices to Nippur, the Observer of All Things, Keter had not handed over Aporphis. This was because of its versatility.

Aporphis was a relatively reasonable Demon Sword. It didn’t corrupt its user; it simply and honestly delivered skill in proportion to the lifespan it took. Of course, even a single use would shave off a huge chunk of life, but that was better than dying.

Keter’s plan was perfect—Eslow had fallen into a double trap. His arrow was bait, and the real strike was Wid’s blow. Keter stood hundreds of meters away, but thanks to Sefira’s special eyesight, he could grasp the situation clearly.

As expected, an unsealed Demon Sword works on the Lord.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A normal Demon Sword, no matter how exceptional, wouldn’t work on someone like Eslow, who was close to eight-star. However, Aporphis was unsealed, and its performance was monstrously strong.

The sword moved faster than Eslow, who had mastered all weapon arts, and carved an unavoidable long wound across his chest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a critical injury, but it wasn’t a light wound either.

Pshh!

Purple smoke rose from Eslow’s wound. It was an effect of the toxin inherently embedded in Demon Swords.

Whoosh! Crash!

From the front, Aporphis pressed Eslow relentlessly. From behind, Keter’s arrows flew without giving him a moment to breathe.

“Ha!” grunted Eslow, who hadn’t even batted an eye while facing the Green Tower’s group foundation magic and Titans with divine power.

That was how lethal the combined assault of Aporphis and Keter was.

Henya watched, tensing without even knowing it.

Even to my eyes, I can barely make it out...

She knew Eslow was serious, but she couldn’t believe how much he was holding back. She couldn’t see his movements at all. Only lines and afterimages followed, and the sound burst out afterward.

Even more incredible was Keter, who was driving Eslow back. The arrows flying in from somewhere had clearly traveled at least three hundred meters, yet their speed and destructive power were overwhelming. It was Limitless Archery, Sixth Form: Tusk, Resonance. With supreme penetrating power, Tusk triggered resonance the instant it struck Eslow.

At first, it had no effect on him. However, as the resonance began to stack, Eslow’s reaction speed started to slow. It was only 0.1 second, but Aporphis dug into even that tiny gap. Still, Eslow kicked Aporphis away with the tip of his foot, then spun like a top, creating a whirlwind of divine power.

The stacked resonance from Tusk dispersed, but this was only the beginning of Keter’s attack.

Voong....!!!!!

A massive sphere of light dropped from above Eslow’s head. It was Limitless Archery, Third Form: Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire, Complete Annihilation.

It couldn’t be called a mere sphere of energy, as its density was even higher than the Terraria the Green Tower mages had used. This energy sphere with overwhelming physical force began falling at a terrifying speed.

Eslow didn’t bother meeting it head-on and tried to dodge instead. It was fast, but not faster than the arrows he’d been blocking. He could easily evade, but Aporphis stubbornly did not let go. That wasn’t Aporphis’ will—it was Wid’s. Even if it killed him, Wid wanted to land a decisive blow on Eslow, and Aporphis granted that will.

Wid’s resolve showed on his face, and Eslow snapped.

“You worm!”

Eslow reached out, and a greatsword extended out of thin air, drawing itself into his grasp.

Thud!

All Eslow did was simply grab it and take a battle stance, yet the ground flipped and shockwaves rippled outward in succession. Aporphis shielded Wid with its blade, but Wid felt like the wrist holding the sword was being torn apart. It wasn’t imagination; he could see the skin splitting.

And it wasn’t just his wrist. Blood trickled down from Wid’s eyes and nose. His ears rang, and his head hurt so much that he couldn’t even tell the sky from the ground. Just standing was a miracle. No matter how much protection Aporphis offered, Wid was still an ordinary human. He couldn’t endure a battle between Transcendental through sheer willpower alone.

Wid also felt his limit. This was it, and beyond it was unknown. But he was certain that at the end of it would be death. However...

“Ahhh!!!”

Wid willingly stepped into that unknown. Even as the waves pouring off Eslow shredded his flesh, even as pain that felt like it crushed every cell roared through him, he endured it all.

“This bastard...!”

Eslow stared in shock as Wid, bleeding from head to toe, advanced toward him one step at a time. Wid wasn’t strong—he wasn’t even on the level of a one-star knight. The only reason he could stand against Eslow was the Demon Sword. Even if he managed to close the distance, Aporphis might endure, but Wid wouldn’t. One swing, and his life would vanish like a flame in the wind.

Does he not know that? They say fools are brave.

Eslow thought Wid was only doing this because he was too stupid to understand. It was also true that it had become an annoyingly troublesome situation because of him, as the Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire falling from above carried power that Eslow absolutely could not afford to take head-on. In the end, Eslow chose to defend against Keter’s attack first.

Swoosh!

The greatsword smoothly cleaved the sky. Along that diagonal line, the Heavenly Rain of Exploding Fire split apart like water. While Eslow’s gaze was on it, Wid, drenched in blood, thrust out his sword. Eslow wasn’t worried as he already figured out the attack pattern of Wid—no, Aporphis.

But this time, it was different. This wasn’t Aporphis swinging the sword—the sword was swung by Wid’s will. And the power in that swing sent a chill down Eslow’s spine.

Sky-Slashing Sword Art, Ultimate Technique: Slashing the Sky—the swordsmanship of Deyal, the Lord of the East, was reproduced through Wid’s hands. Aporphis supported the lack of power and speed.

Crreeaak!

This technique didn’t just cut space, but the world itself. Wid’s sword swept past, carving a long slash across Eslow’s shoulder. The greatsword that Eslow had tried to casually deflect the attack with split cleanly in two, as if it had been pierced.

Clang!

Eslow struck Wid with the half-greatsword. Aporphis blocked it, but Wid couldn’t withstand the recoil and was flung high into the air.

At that point, he no longer even looked human. It looked like a flying lump of blood.

* * *

“Ugh...”

A thin line of blood flowed from Eslow’s mouth. The chest wound carved by the Demon Sword Aporphis had split wide open, blood still pouring, and his shoulder had been cut even more deeply.

How did that worm use Deyal’s technique...

Crude though it had been, it was undeniably Sky-Slashing Sword Art. The injury it dealt was even more severe than the one from the Demon Sword.

Deyal, you dared to interfere with me?

Eslow had no time to dwell on Deyal, as Keter’s arrows were already flying in succession. These were arrows difficult to break through, even when he was in his best condition. Now, he had two major wounds. On top of that, the supreme armaments he favored were all under Henya’s control and couldn’t even call them back.

And in that urgent situation, Eslow smiled.

I see. You prepared quite the proper trap, Henya.

The intervals between the arrows shortened. That didn’t mean Keter was firing more; it meant the distance itself was closing. And yet, somehow, Eslow began deflecting and blocking the arrows even more perfectly than before he was injured.

“I suppose I’ll be a little more serious from now on.”

The moment Eslow finished speaking, a rain of weapons poured down from the sky—swords, spears, axes, whips, sickles, cleavers, clubs... Thousands of unfamiliar weapons, even to mercenaries, were stabbed into the ground.

Regardless, the tempo of Keter’s attacks rose even further. By the time Wid had dropped out of the fight, even Milky Way had arrived.

Boom! Rumble!!!

Explosions erupted around Eslow. It was impossible to believe were coming from arrows. However, with the sickles in his hands, Eslow cut through Milky Way as if dancing, then threw the sickles.

Whoosh! Crash!!

Like boomerangs, they flew and shaved an entire section of forest flat. It was the direction the arrows had come from, but Keter wasn’t there. Now that Eslow had blown the forest—his only cover—away, arrows instead flew from other directions.

“You have many tricks.”

Eslow grabbed a whip and stretched out his arm. The whip extended endlessly, shooting forward like a snake and coiling through empty air. It hadn’t just wrapped empty space. It caught Keter, who was invisible, by the neck.

Crack!

With a snap of the whip, Keter’s head flew off. Henya flinched, but it was fake, a detailed decoy made of dirt and magic. The real Keter appeared above Eslow’s head.

“An archer closing the distance himself... Foolish.”

“That’s a popular last line from a lot of my opponents.”

Arrow Wing, Drone.

Keter, who had seemed about to dive into Eslow, shot upward with his Arrow Wing. Eslow’s whip skimmed beneath his feet.

“Arrows aren’t yours alone.”

Eslow picked up a bow and began firing even faster than Keter. Then, when Keter pointed at Eslow, two hundred arrows that were once his wings flew forward to intercept Eslow’s arrows.

“You’re not better than me at this.”

Eslow, on the ground, and Keter, in the air, began firing arrows like they were mad, almost as if they were competing to see who could shoot more, and faster. The result was anticlimactic—Keter was being pushed back one-sidedly. Even injured, Eslow was overwhelmingly faster than him.

As Eslow smiled in pride...

Squelch.

An arrow lodged in his back. It was the one Keter had left behind earlier. This wasn’t Eslow growing careless—it was Keter’s archery being absurd.

I can control weapons with my mind as well, but not this irregularly.

Among swordsmen, it was called Sword Telekinesis, where the sword appeared to move on its own. In reality, however, it was controlled by the swordsman’s mind, and its efficiency was extremely poor. It may seem to offer greater freedom since the hands weren’t used, but that excessive freedom actually demanded even more concentration instead.

Yet Keter did it. He can control an arrow so precisely that he can secretly maneuver it behind my back...

As if proving he could handle more than one, arrows began flying from all directions. Eslow had only been caught off guard the first time because he didn’t know, so he wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice. He immediately shifted direction and scattered arrows in all directions. On top of that, like Keter, he expended his mental force to use Arrow Telekinesis.

Hundreds of arrows drifted and tangled through the air. Their speed was so great that long trails of afterimages followed them, to the point that onlookers couldn’t even tell where the two fighters were.

Meanwhile, Henya, her wounds fully healed by the Wooden Armor and elixirs, confirmed that Wid was safe and took up her weapons again. But she stood still like a statue—no, she couldn’t move.

There’s no opening to enter between them. If I go in clumsily, I’ll only burden Keter.

The other warriors seemed to think the same. They had their weapons in their hands, but no one dared to approach. They wanted to help, but there was no space in the fight between Keter and Eslow. Entering meant instant death or getting in Keter’s way.

Henya gripped her weapons so hard that blood flowed from her hands. She hated her own helplessness.

No. Calm down. I’ve already helped enough. I sealed Eslow’s five armaments.

Just holding control of them helped Keter, but she couldn’t be satisfied.

Wid, you did well.

Wid, an ordinary person, had shown courage, even while being torn apart.

There must be something only I can do... Ah!

At last, Henya realized it—a secret plan only she could perform, one that could deal Eslow a heavy blow.