The Strongest Swordsman

[Status Window]

Name: Vyuskr (Buske)

Race: Skeleton – Human

Affiliation: –

Talent: Genius (Prodigy)

Stats:

(Most abilities are sealed due to the post-transformation trait [Undead].)

Strength-Level 1 (Sealed)

Agility-Level 1 (Sealed)

Vitality-Level 1 (Sealed)

Fortitude-Level 1 (Sealed)

Mana-Level 1 (Sealed)

Innate Trait:

[Great Genius]

Post-Transformation Traits:

[Path of the Sword]

[Undead]

Skills:

(Most abilities are sealed due to the post-transformation trait [Undead].)

[Swordsmanship Lv.9 Rate.S] (Sealed)

[Mana Cultivation Method Lv.1 Rate.C] (Sealed)

[Authority of Spirit Devouring Lv.- Rate.A]

Charging forward while checking the status window, Doyun doubted his own eyes.

‘Swordsmanship Level 9?’

Given his human birth and sole cultivation of the sword, the concise status window was understandable.

However, the level of his main [Swordsmanship] skill was astonishing.

All his stats and skills had fallen to Level 1 due to the powerful seal. Yet his Swordsmanship remained at Level 9, the same level Doyun had achieved during the previous Demon Lord war.

‘Then, what was the original level…?’

What level had his Swordsmanship been before the seal?

He grinned slightly.

For Doyun, who had also reached Swordsmanship Level 9, this was the first time encountering a worthy opponent since then. It was an opportunity to witness the swordsmanship realm elevated by enlightenment. He struggled to calm his surging fighting spirit.

As he contemplated this, the distance between them closed completely. Azure flames flickered in Vyuskr’s eye sockets, and golden light flashed in Doyun’s eyes.

Even Brudhild’s eyes widened.

‘This is a moment of the clash of titans that must not be missed.’

He focused all his efforts on observing the two supreme swordsmen.

With Vyuskr’s strength sealed, Doyun also moved only a minuscule amount of mana equivalent to Level 1. He restricted his strength, agility, and other abilities, grasping only the sword itself.

Thus, each of their swords moved, and the first exchange began.

Doyun’s sword swung down from above, while Vyuskr’s sword swept up from below.

Their swordstrikes, as identical as decalcomania prints, met precisely on a horizontal line across the ground, only to slide past each other as if separated by a sheet of paper.

Both had perfectly timed their deflections of the other’s attack. As a result, their sword faces overlapped completely in that moment, causing their respective eyes to shine.

[Vyuskr’s Style (Buske’s 式) Swordsmanship – Sword Mirror (Geomgyeong)]

[Vyuskr’s Style (Buske’s 式) Swordsmanship – Sword Mirror (Geomgyeong)]

Clang—

The swordplay of the two swordsmen, worthy of being called sword sages, could not be described simply as blocking and deflecting.

Through the [Sword Mirror], they had read each other’s impending moves and, in that brief instant, waged an endless battle of moves in their minds, like playing Go.

Their swordsmanship was no mere martial art but a discipline in its own right.

Following the principles of grafting, their simultaneous deflections caused the returned forces to gently collide.

The two swords, which had met on a single line, bent and rebounded along their trajectories.

Woong—

Neither retrieved their swords. They utilized even the rebounding force in their sword paths without wasting a single bit of momentum.

Doyun, who had swung his sword downward, lowered his body and deftly twisted his wrist, converting the downward inertia imbued in the sword.

The rebound changed direction at Doyun’s wrist, rising upward from below. And following the upward trajectory of his raised sword towards Vyuskr, it accelerated the thrusting strike.

At the moment the rebound Doyun intended reached the sword’s tip, a flash erupted from the blade.

No, it was not a flash but a barrage of thrusting strikes splitting like rays of light and raining down on Vyuskr.

An improved version of the technique that unleashes numerous thrusts from a single swordstrike, striking a wide area.

[Razvolnic’s Style (Războlnic’s 流) Swordsmanship – Blooming (Kaihua): Unidirectional Concentration Type]

The blooming thrusts diverging from the sword’s tip became sharp awls soaring towards Vyuskr.

Vyuskr, who had swung his sword upward, precisely moved his bony fingers to rotate the upward-arcing sword downward.

The smoothly moving sword’s tip now faced downward. His bony hand gripped the sword in a reverse grip, utilizing the upward rebound in the rotation.

Vyuskr struck his sword down towards the ground. As if he had no intention of defending, his downward vertical strike passed through the diagonal rain of thrusts aimed at him.

Just as Doyun’s attack was about to reach Vyuskr’s face, the tip of Vyuskr’s sword plunged into the ground.

Thunk.

[Vyuskr’s Style (Buske’s 式) Swordsmanship – Declaration]

In what seemed like the briefest moment where Doyun’s sword appeared to halt, a hemispherical domain expanded outward from the point where Vyuskr’s sword had struck the ground.

Shhhhhh—

The momentary temperature drop chilled their swords.

The time that had seemed to pause resumed its flow, and their swords moved again.

Vyuskr’s sword was slow. Moreover, the distance it needed to cover to defend was too far. While his sword had just left the ground, Doyun’s sword tip was already about to pierce Vyuskr’s cheekbone.

However, as the domain unfolded, Vyuskr’s sword changed in an instant.

Paradoxically, his sword moved faster than Doyun’s.

Vyuskr’s sword traced a clear line, deflecting Doyun’s barrage of strikes one by one at a slower speed than Doyun’s thrusts.

Doyun’s sword was so fast that it seemed to compress time. Though the thrusts had bloomed from a single sword, they had been unleashed simultaneously.

And Vyuskr’s sword was so slow that it appeared to stretch time. Though the incoming thrusts were simultaneous, he deflected them one by one in order.

It was as if they existed in different timeframes.

The consecutive metallic clangs were so fleeting that they overlapped, sounding like a single clash.

Clang—!

Without wasting any force, they moved their swords again, painting with their blades like brushing ink onto a canvas.

With widened eyes, Brudhild followed Doyun’s sword, leaving countless afterimages as it slashed through the air, and Vyuskr’s sword, which divided space into a single line.

Clang! Clang! Clang—!

Chingchingching—!

The slower Vyuskr’s sword became, the faster Doyun’s sword moved.

Doyun moved with dazzling grace, unleashing the Razvolnic’s Style, a fusion of various geniuses’ footwork and martial arts he had encountered over 200 years. With his signature movements, he freely altered the sword’s acceleration and trajectory, swinging it like a dance. Each strike imbued with force and speed, assailing Vyuskr like a storm.

Vyuskr moved fluidly, displaying the single swordsmanship he had devoted himself to—the Vyuskr’s Style. His chilling sword path was simple and slow. Yet it did not fall behind Doyun’s movements. Though infinitely slower than Doyun, he was deflecting all of Doyun’s strikes.

His skeletal body, composed of thin bones, seemed as if it would shatter at any moment. However, the hand gripping the sword was firm, and the body wielding the sword remained unwavering.

Although Doyun had completely restricted his stats and other skills, Vyuskr’s prowess, matching the current Alliance’s strongest warrior with his undead body, was truly formidable.

The two swordsmen, crossing blades after a hundred years, moved their bodies with sheer joy. A hundred years ago or now, they were each other’s sole worthy opponent to duel on equal footing.

‘As expected…’

‘Indeed…’

They thought simultaneously.

‘He is my friend.’

The azure and golden lights in their eyes shone brilliantly.

After countless clashes, they faced each other in the center once more and took their final stances, swinging their swords.

Their blades crossed in an X, clashing in mid-air.

Clang—!

The resounding shockwave swept away any lingering aura, and the dust on the training ground’s floor scattered into the air.

With that final exchange, Doyun and Vyuskr halted their swords.

The profound vibration emanating from the crossing point traveled through their swords, wrists, arms, and shoulders, resonating in their chests. It was their dialogue through swords, just like a hundred years ago.

“…Well fought.”

As Brudhild’s words ended with a shout, the two swordsmen sheathed their swords.

It was a swordplay that left a profound afterglow in all three of them, truly deserving to be called ‘splendid.’

‘These two are truly…’

Brudhild swallowed hard, his trembling throat betraying his thrill.

Having achieved remarkable growth and gained some confidence in his skills, Brudhild had felt himself gradually approaching his father’s realm from a hundred years ago.

However, today, Brudhild was able to etch the word ‘humility’ clearly in his heart once more.

The swordplay of the two elders served as a signpost, telling him that he still had a long way to go.

The flames in Vyuskr’s eye sockets faded.

“…I’ve expended all my power.”

“Your stamina is pathetic.”

Doyun clicked his tongue.

The power Vyuskr had gathered came from the death energy (sagi) generated by the complete extermination of all monsters along their return route after the previous expedition.

Yet the immense price of all those deaths had only allowed for this brief swordplay.

“Just how much power do you need to show that thing you mentioned?”

“It seems I can only demonstrate it during an actual war, and then only once.”

“Tsk, what a tease.”

Doyun scratched the hilt with his fingertips.

Despite his words, his fingertips resting on the hilt trembled slightly with anticipation.

Even as an undead, and after briefly using his power, he had matched Doyun’s realm.

Then, if he could truly unleash his full might, what would he show?

‘Truly… even greater than my prime?’

Just yesterday, the date for the expedition had been announced. War was imminent.

Doyun could not contain the excitement in his heart as he awaited the day when he would witness Vyuskr’s sword.

He eagerly counted down the days until the impending expedition.