Chapter 1374: The Way

"You’re not going anywhere," Michael shouted.

It was at this point that he unleashed the Aubility Power building inside his wrist, transferring them over to his Unity Saber.

A strange, orange hue began to incandescently glow around the Unity Saber’s edges, as if reality itself was being burned as it was being torn through its very fabrics.

"Quantum Strike!"

He swung his Unity Saber, unleashing a crescent of power that shot towards Draco at an immeasurable pace!

Not expecting such an attack, Draco was only able to move his body away from being hit in a critical spot!

The Quantum Strike hit Draco’s shoulder armor, with its contact creating a large shockwave that permeated through the entire dark forest.

Unity and Quantum forces eviscerated Draco’s blood armor, turning it completely asunder, not even leaving a small drop.

"Ah!"

Draco crashed through the forest floor from the impact, bumping through numerous trees and tumbling them as if he was some kind of meteor.

He landed on the ground, with his shoulder completely burned. The blood armor around it had been completely eviscerated. Draco’s own blood tried to suffuse the armor with more blood to try and rejuvenate it, but the damage was simply too much.

"Kugh! Damn you!" Draco could only curse. Somehow, Michael had a Nascent Spirit attack that could even destroy Nascent Armor as if it was nothing!

That was simply impossible! He knew that the leader of Reborn was some kind of monstrous genius. But he knew that Michael was not good in a straight-up fight.

They’ve done extensive research on him. And in all the battles, in all the fights, in all the duels that he partook in, he always let his own men fight for him.

His greatest strength came from those around him. His allies. His technologies. And his strange weapons. But never his one-on-one duel. He hadn’t been trained with any Ways of the Weapon!

So, Draco was sure that as long as he isolated Michael, he would win. At the very least, he would buy enough time so that his army could tear through the Rebornian soldiers so that they could later help him take down Michael.

But that wasn’t even possible! Somehow, the Rebornian army was still standing! And in turn, Draco’s soldiers were the ones who were being backed into a corner!

Draco knew that he had to act now. "Bloodthirster!" he shouted.

With his blood spear summoned, Draco charged towards Michael. His speed was extremely fast, targeting Michael’s weaknesses in his forms and posture.

And credit to Draco, he was able to easily break through Michael’s rudimentary defenses.

Blood clashed against golden nanoparticles, directly towards Michael’s throat.

However, Michael’s Nascent Armor held on. The blood spear didn’t even cut through a single inch of the golden nanoparticles.

"It adapted to my attack?!" Draco cursed in shock. Instead of simply resisting the force, the golden nanoparticles instead folded upon itself to take the spear’s attack, thereby lessening its force!

Draco continued his assault. His blood spear became nothing but a red, hazy aura as his thrusts became faster and faster.

Michael was barely able to defend against Draco’s power. But thanks to his armor, he held on.

But in truth, his focus wasn’t entirely on defending himself. Instead, he was focused on Draco’s attack.

[Draco’s Blood Spear swordstyle has been analyzed. Would you like to download the forms directly into your mind?]

Michael certainly could have taken the easy way. He’d learn Draco’s weak points as easy as if he was just flipping a switch.

But he knew that this truly wasn’t the way to master a weapon art.

After all, he’d already analyzed multiple sword forms before. And theoretically, he should have the same kind of mastery as someone like Eldea or even Caliburn.

But in truth, he was far from that. He could only have the same mastery as a veteran. But never a true genius.

For him to become the same as Jaku, he must have his own analysis of sword art. And this would never happen if he didn’t do it himself.

And so, he let Draco dance with his spear. He had full trust in his nascent armor. However, inevitably, with the amount of damage that his golden nanoparticles took, small holes in his armor started to emerge.

"Hahahaha! You may have this amazing armor on you, but it will only be a matter of time until I break through that golden facade!"

Michael found himself getting pushed further and further back. And this simply gave Draco more confidence with his strikes. He became more savage with the thought of finally breaking through and getting Michael’s blood.

Michael then let his own thoughts flow freely. As if he was simply a spectator in his own mind.

And he started to see Draco’s movements. Not just see, but understand.

Michael always thought that movement forms were rigid. That they were stances and swings that he should execute with absolute precision. That’s how a master should move, he thought.

But after seeing Draco’s movements, there was no form. No set swings. He was just simply letting his own body express itself through the swings.

It’s not just random. Draco was so bloodthirsty, so crazed, so dedicated to drawing his opponent’s blood that his movements became subconscious. He was letting his own instinct take over, and in turn, this was expressed as a masterful way to use his spear.

I see, Michael said. That’s why it’s called the Way.

The Way of the Spear. The Way of the Sword. Perhaps, he shouldn’t be thinking of them as a road that many people took in order to achieve the same result.

But in truth, these Ways were actually not a path at all. It was a dirt road. One that was paved through a person’s constant movement through an open field.

It was a Way that people carved!

And through that, Michael finally had an understanding. No wonder he hasn’t mastered the sword.

He was just copying other’s movements. He wasn’t using his own thoughts, his own goals, his own ideals!