Chapter 169: Beginning Of The Defiance

Back to the present.

Elias rushed toward Berman, who was still recovering from the damage caused by his attempt to touch Lastbane.

The knight’s hand remained pressed against his chest, and blood stained the corner of his mouth, yet the moment Elias entered his reach, Berman’s eyes sharpened.

Hellcaller whistled through the air as Elias swung it in a wide arc toward Berman’s torso.

Berman reacted just in time.

He raised his sword and blocked the attack, and the instant the two weapons collided, a deafening clang rang throughout the ruined training ground, followed by a sharp crack.

The force of the impact pushed both men apart.

Berman slid several steps backward before stabilizing himself, while Elias’s wounded body staggered from the recoil.

Berman narrowed his eyes at the pitch-black blade before spitting toward Elias.

"What kind of bizarre swords do you have, bastard?"

Elias wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly.

"You would like to know, huh?"

Berman’s face twisted with fury.

He lunged forward, and crimson Aura immediately surged around his sword. The energy flowed over the blade like a layer of water, rippling and shifting with every movement.

Elias’s expression darkened.

’His Aura is much stronger than Belthon’s...’

He remembered what he had learned about Aura.

Just like Weapon Mastery, Aura possessed seven tiers, and each advancement brought it closer to becoming completely solid. At the first tier, Aura appeared as nothing more than light. The second resembled smoke, while the third became noticeably thicker. At the fourth tier, Aura took on the appearance of flowing water, followed by a slime-like consistency at the fifth. The sixth was nearly solid, and the seventh became completely solidified.

Berman’s water-like Aura meant he had reached the fourth tier.

Even Stella’s Aura, which had once seemed overwhelmingly powerful to Elias, had only reached the third tier... however, he couldn’t really compare them because of several factors.

’Do not worry, he is already injured.’

The thought barely finished forming before Berman reached him.

His sword descended toward Elias with terrifying force.

Elias raised Hellcaller and blocked the attack.

The impact nearly numbed both of his arms.

His shoulders sank under the pressure, and his feet scraped across the cracked ground as Berman forced him backward.

Yet the moment Berman’s crimson Aura touched the black smoke surrounding Hellcaller, it began to twist.

The water-like crimson energy lost its shape where Hellcaller touched it, and then it dissipated.

Berman’s eyes widened.

He immediately pulled his sword away and stared at the fading remnants of his Aura.

"What is that sword?" he asked, his voice carrying genuine curiosity.

Elias didn’t answer.

Instead, he twisted his body and slipped beneath Berman’s next swing, narrowly avoiding the blade as it passed above his head.

Berman immediately turned and pursued him.

Elias retreated across the training ground, Hellcaller held tightly in one hand while his battered body struggled to keep up.

He no longer attempted to fight Berman head-on.

Every direct clash caused more damage to him, and although Hellcaller’s black smoke could destroy Berman’s Aura, Berman’s sheer physical strength remained troublesome.

Elias ducked beneath another strike, then twisted aside as the sword swept toward his ribs.

The blade still grazed his armor and nearly cut it off.

He raised Hellcaller and blocked the following attack, but the impact forced him backward again.

Berman grinned.

"What happened?" he asked as he pressed forward. "Cat got your tongue?"

Elias remained silent.

He stepped away from another slash, then moved around Berman’s side before retreating again.

Berman followed without hesitation.

Although his movements were still powerful, Elias noticed something important.

His attacks lacked the refinement and overwhelming pressure of an Exalted Elite at full strength.

Lastbane had already damaged him, and whatever had happened when he touched the sword had clearly left a deep injury.

Even so, Berman remained an opponent Elias could barely handle.

Every attack forced Elias to move.

Every exchange threatened to tear open his wounds.

His breathing became increasingly ragged, and blood continued to seep through the injuries covering his body.

Yet he continued retreating.

Berman’s grin widened as he interpreted Elias’s movements as desperation.

"Running will not save you," he said.

Elias continued moving.

He avoided another sweeping strike, ducked beneath a horizontal slash, and blocked a downward blow that sent a sharp vibration down his whole body.

His body screamed at him to stop. But Elias kept moving.

Berman suddenly stopped.

The crimson Aura surrounding his sword thickened as he poured even more of his remaining power into the weapon.

"Let’s end this," Berman declared.

He lowered his body and charged.

The cracked ground shattered beneath his feet as he accelerated, his sword dragging a crimson trail through the air.

Elias finally stopped retreating.

He raised Hellcaller before himself and tightened his grip.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.

Berman’s expression changed.

"What kind of weird trick is this?!" he muttered.

He didn’t slow down.

His sword swept toward Elias with enough force to split the stone beneath them.

Then, just before the blade could land, a tremendous amount of earth mana surged upward from beneath Elias.

The surrounding ground violently ruptured.

Stone cracked, shattered, and immediately crumbled into dust as the earth mana gathered around Elias and formed a thick dome.

Berman’s sword crashed into it.

BOOM!

The impact shook the entire training ground.

A spiderweb of cracks spread across the dome from the point of impact, while Berman’s arms trembled from the tremendous resistance.

Yet the barrier held.

Blood seeped from the corner of Elias’s lips as he stood behind the thick layer of earth mana, his body trembling from exhaustion.

[The host is facing an Exalted Elite.]

Elias slowly closed his eyes.

There was only one way he could defeat Berman.

He had to awaken his own Aura.

His Mind’s Eye opened, and he dived deeper into himself, remembering everything that his maidservant and the Sword Spirit had told him.

He first needed to find his will within himself, which took shape upon reaching Advanced VII.

He knew it would take a lot of effort to find it, and the current circumstances didn’t allow such a risky move, but he had no other choice.

He appeared within his spiritual self, and his eyes widened instantly, "What is this?!"