CHAPTER 747: 588 MYSTERIOUS NATIONAL GUARDIAN DIVINE WEAPON

"..."

At that moment, setting aside others, Reiger’s brows were deeply furrowed.

He watched the emotionless girl who stared straight at him, feeling surprised for perhaps the umpteenth time.

The girl’s strength was not bad; it had gradually captured Reiger’s attention, to the point where he even contemplated taking her more seriously.

However, just as Reiger decided to get serious, unexpectedly, the woman seemed ready to turn hostility into friendship.

"This isn’t just about admitting inferiority, you’re actually surrendering, huh?"

Reiger then said such words.

"It’s just not worth it," said the girl, still expressionless. "As far as I understand, the initial conflict between you and us took place in Iron City, a territory of the Meipros family. There, a young master who collaborated with us employed our magic puppeteers to strike against your attendant."

"But the real instigator should be that young master. We were just doing a job for pay, and as a result, several of the magic puppeteers who moved against your attendant never returned."

"Given the circumstances, it should be alright to consider this matter cancelled out, shouldn’t it?"

On hearing this, the response Reiger gave was rather cold.

"But it seems you weren’t really prepared to just write it off, otherwise the incident with the underworld beast Yarakulon wouldn’t have happened."

Speaking of which, the true cause of Reiger’s enmity with these people could be traced back to that incident.

During that time, they conspired with the Hadi family while Reiger and Revin were dueling, not only drawing forth the underworld beast Yarakulon to trap Reiger inside its body but also sending magic puppeteers with a Divine Artifact to ambush him, intending to murder him in the body of Yarakulon.

It was a plot that endangered Reiger’s own life, causing him to view these people as enemies. Even after he escaped that crisis, he had no intention of letting bygones be bygones.

Although their meeting this time was a coincidence, even without it, Reiger had already entrusted the Meipros family to investigate these rogues, and had even handed over a Divine Artifact they had confiscated for investigation.

Therefore, Liz’s encounter had been the catalyst, but their true enmity began with that encounter with the underworld beast Yarakulon.

However, the girl flatly stated without any courtesy.

"That was just ’Chillion’s’ foolish behavior. Not only were the rest of us unaware of his actions at the time, but there was also a split in opinion about it afterward."

"The likes of ’Skyhunter’, ’Giant Warrior’, and ’Fire Princess’ had already held that idiot accountable for his actions. Even ’Tyrant’ and ’Ba Serpent’ disapproved of him striking out at you without notifying others."

"As for me, I was indifferent at the time, but now I too think that guy is as foolish as ever."

Poor ’Chillion’, the Meipros family’s schemer hidden in the shadows, was being incessantly called foolish by the ’Ice Maiden’, who seemed truly annoyed with him, suggesting a strong dislike for that person.

But this didn’t represent anything.

"Since you’re so sincere, then I too have a few questions for you," Reiger spoke indifferently.

"Exactly who are you people? What is your purpose in acting together?"

At these words, the girl’s brows knitted together.

"Is that important to you?" she retorted.

"Isn’t it important?" Reiger replied with a question of his own.

"You are trafficking people on a large scale, including refugees, using them for experiments and to manufacture magic puppeteers. Although I’m not sure how you are controlling the underworld beast Yarakulon, you can freely enter the Ancient City within its body. For unknown purposes, you even resort to kidnapping its Guardians, stealing artifacts from the temple, and now you aim at the relics of this Ancient City, disregarding the potential release of the ancient Dragon King, just to take a part of the structure that seals it away."

"All of these actions tell me that you’re after something significant."

"And if you could strike against Liz and me before your conspiracy was revealed, who’s to say you won’t harm me or those around me for some other reason in the future?"

Reiger lifted his gaze, his eyes gradually becoming more chilling as they locked onto the girl’s.

"In a word, I don’t trust you."

"Turn hostility into friendship?"

"Do you think such a casual remark can make me drop the issue?"

"You’re thinking too much."

Upon hearing these words, the girl’s tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

"...Is that so?"

She sounded neither surprised nor regretful, just indifferent.

"Then, there’s no helping it."

As she spoke, the girl slowly drew the weapon at her waist.

Reiger’s attention was involuntarily captured by that weapon.

It was an extremely beautiful sword.

It was snow-white throughout, with an ice-blue hilt and a blade like solidified ice crystals, giving off a sparkling, translucent effect; the top of the hilt was even set with a blue gemstone, resembling an intricately carved piece of art.

Notably, the blade emitted waves of chill visible to the naked eye, within this hot environment where lava flowed nearby, which could actually condense the surrounding air and cause ice grains to fall.

Such chillness was simply terrifying.

And even more terrifying was that when the girl drew the sword, a palpable coldness began to emanate from her body. Ice-blue eyes lit up, her long ice-blue hair moving without wind, stirring up a breeze of cold air around her.

"That sword..."

Reiger’s eyes, shining with a transparent luster, also began to focus.

In his clear world, the girl seemed to have merged with the sword in her hand, her whole body releasing a fatal coldness, as the magic power within her climbed higher and higher.

This was different from Sgranot’s temporary bursts of power.

Sgranot’s burst was achieved by using the sword technique’s power to absorb the magic power of the Amber Blade, erupting with greater strength through massive consumption of magic power, in hopes of exerting far greater than his own strength before the magic power ran out.

The girl, however, was completely fused with her sword, indistinguishable from each other, achieving an effect where one plus one was greater than two.

At that moment, the girl’s strength would enhance the sword’s power, and the sword’s power would also boost the girl’s strength.

Both complemented each other and achieved greatness together, and yet each one of them was immensely powerful on its own, culminating in a force that felt to Reiger no less than that of Elf Knights like Gawain or Lancelot.

The power-boosted girl slowly walked towards Reiger.

"You should feel honored."

The girl’s voice turned mechanical, as if it had lost all emotion.

"Since becoming a Sword Saint, I have rarely used this National Guardian Divine Weapon."

"Two years ago, I used it to defeat a veteran Sword Saint within the country."

"One year ago, I used it to defeat the combined forces of two Sword Saints."

"Now, you have made me use it for the third time."

"I hope you can make its unsheathing meaningful."

As her words fell, the girl raised the National Guardian Divine Weapon in her hand towards Reiger and gently swung it.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the atmosphere roared.

A stream of extreme coldness transformed into a torrent of ice and snow, surging out like a tsunami while expanding in all directions, covering the entire rock platform.

The temperature in the air dropped drastically.

The rock platform, formerly glowingly red-hot from the lava, froze over at a velocity visible to the naked eye.

The astonishing coldness turned directly into a snowstorm, sweeping across the land and in every direction.

"...!"

Sgranot’s face changed dramatically, and he leaped away without choosing his path, making a clumsy escape from the reach of the sweeping ice and snow.

"Ah!"

Liz, who was fiercely battling the magic automatons, let out a small cry of alarm when she was caught off guard by the chill, and only moments later did she leap away covered in ice shards.

As for Reiger, watching the avalanche of ice and snow form, the transparent luster in his eyes grew even more luminous, and the rhythm of his breathing changed.

"Bang!"

A surge of blazing flames rose from Reiger’s body, dispelling the cold enveloping him and once again raising the surrounding temperature.

"Bone-Burning Sun!"

The black sword radiating high temperatures was spun and then slashed, immediately stirring up a flaming vortex that soared into the sky, confronting the approaching ice and snow.

"Boom!!!"

The vortex of high-temperature flames collided fiercely with the low-temperature snowstorm, setting off a deafening roar.

In an instant, a red and a white, a hot and a cold, a fire and an ice storm clashed and collided on the rock platform, making the surrounding temperature rise and fall abruptly, at times each dominating one half, causing the magma around the rock platform to churn like the waves of a disturbed sea, bringing a tumultuous feeling.

"Eh?"

Seeing this scene, the girl wielding the National Guardian Divine Weapon seemed somewhat surprised.

"Fire?"

Reiger Brillhaut... could actually use this kind of sword technique?

Not only the girl thought this, but the bewildered Sgranot also had a face full of astonishment.

"How can it be fire?"

Didn’t that guy use the techniques of the Sword of Thunder and the Sword Technique capable of slashing out powerful blade winds before?

Does he have a third kind of sword technique? And one that can counter the wielder of the National Guardian Divine Weapon, a foreign Martial Goddess?

This...

While Sgranot was filled with shock and astonishment, Reiger’s form had already become akin to a brilliant sun, slowly ascending and levitating.

"Is this your full strength?"

A voice, calm yet slightly eager for battle, reached the girl’s ears, echoing around them.

"Good, this is interesting."

As the words fell, with a burst of noise, the Swordsman within the brilliant sun stepped on the waves of flame and shot towards the girl like a streak of firelight.

The girl’s ice-blue eyes widened in a flash, and without thinking, she raised her sword to block.

"Clang!!!"

The black sword, wrapped in flames, clashed with the ice crystal sword exuding coldness in the next second, making a bell-like striking sound that echoed throughout the lava field.

The flames and ice exploded like a shockwave, and before long, they submerged the entire rock platform.