Chapter 526: Countering and Lying In Ambush
Translator: Yukidaruma Translations Editor: Yukidaruma Translations
'What?' Asto looked at the scene before him in disbelief as he bellowed furiously in his heart, 'What situation is this?! My attack is the combination of over 10,000 streams of sword force, and its speed far surpasses Conferred Knights' reaction. To think that she's able to tap on it instantly and just to happen to break the balance of the 10,000 streams of sword force? Is she a human or a ghost?'
That was not all. Lilia's entire arm was soon unable to hang on under Fang Xingjian's control. Her flesh tensed up like it would disintegrate at any moment now.
Despite her powerful physical body, which she had cultivated with the third level of mystical prints and with her job transition as a Gale Wind Sword Deity, Lilia was unable to withstand Fang Xingjian's power.
Therefore, with a light tap of her finger, the one point, in which 10,000 streams of sword force had merged together, was already slashing out toward Asto.
Facing his own attack which had been turned into his opponent's power and then used to against himself, Asto's expression turned extremely cold. The killing intent he felt toward Lilia had also risen to greater heights.
Faced with Lilia's counter-attack, Asto swung his hand casually, unleashing several tens of thousands of sword force which exploded out. He wanted to fend off the attack from Lilia and then continue to attack and kill her.
However, just as the attack, which was a condensation of 10,000 streams of sword forces, arrived right before Asto, it suddenly exploded, turning into a myriad of meteors and thrusting toward his face.
'What?! To think that she can let the sword force explode in midair? How on earth did she do that?'
Before he could figure out the principles of Lilia's attack, Asto quickly controlled the sword forces around him to neutralize the scattering attacks. However, as he unleashed streams of sword force in succession, his countenance also turned increasingly grim.
With each stream of sword force he unleashed to clash with his opponent's sword force, his own sword force would instantly be absorbed by the opponent's sword force and then shot back toward him.
Asto felt like he was up against a boundless sea. Each time he attacked, his attacks would just rebound right back.
An extremely intense battle broke out within a range of one zhang around Asto, and he continued to handle the attacks while breaking out in cold sweat. However, as he unleashed more and more explosive sword forces, the sword forces which were sent back toward him increased as well.
The terrifying attacks slowly inched toward his body like they would smash his entire body at the very next moment.
'Impossible!
'How could such a thing happen?
'To think that I would lose out to a young lady who hasn't even a condensed a single specialty seed?!'
By the time Asto was thinking of escaping, it was already too late. The densely packed sword forces encompassed and gushed out incessantly toward his physical body.
Asto could only watch as the explosive sword forces he had unleashed continued to be turned back on him by his opponent and then also as the wildly seething sword forces continued to inch closer toward his body like countless locusts.
If it were Lilia's attack, Asto, who had attained perfection in his body's toughness, would be able to easily take the attack head-on even if he neither moved nor dodged.
However, right now, he was facing his own attacks. In this instant, it was as if he was being surrounded and attacked by several hundreds or thousands of copies of himself.
Finally, with a cry of despair, Asto was instantly covered in blood as he knelt down onto the ground.
However, that was still alright. As an expert who had mastered the level of brain regeneration, Asto would be able to revive even if he were slashed into tiny pieces. Moreover, right now, he had only been slashed to the extent that his skin and flesh had split open.
"Damn it! I'm going to kill you! This time around, I'll definitely not let you have the chance to make use of my sword force!"
Just as Asto let out a furious bellow and was about to make his move, Lilia's cold voice was transmitted into his brain through information currents.
"If I were you, I'd take a look at the words on myself."
Asto was slightly stunned. Then at the next moment, blood mist sprayed out from all over his body, revealing that densely packed blood writings had been engraved on his body.
On Asto's chest, there were big characters in the color of blood, ‘Complete Counter of the Swordless Sword’.
It was not that the earlier attacks had not killed Asto, but rather, the intention of the attacks had been to slash through his skin, leaving large carvings of words.
Right now, words had been carved all over his body, writing down the methods on how to neutralize his sword force and the method of countering his Swordless Sword.
In that instant, Asto's eyes were agape, and he seemed to be at a loss.
He wanted to immediately recover his physical body and kill Lilia.
However, if he were to recover his body's condition, what would happen to the method of countering the Swordless Sword? He had a deep craving to read the contents and perfect his sword technique.
Asto scanned through it with his Heaven's Perception and recorded the words and patterns left on his body. However, the feelings and aura he sensed were both extremely profound, preventing him from comprehending it within just a short moment.
Should he leave these scars on his body? If he were to do that, he could forget about going out in public again.
"Ahhhh!!!!"
Asto let out an agonizing cry which sounded like the cry of a wild beast that was on the verge of death. Then, bringing along a series of afterimages, he disappeared from everyone's sight.
Asto's final decision was to find a deserted location and first study the method of countering his sword technique thoroughly.
By then, both Zhou Xingwen and Anderson had already arrived next to Lilia and were looking at her in slight disbelief.
Anderson, especially, was wearing an extremely complicated expression. "Lilia, how on earth did you do that?"
Lilia's face flushed red as she smiled and said, "It wasn't me. Master was the one who did that."
"Xingjian?"
At the next moment, Fang Xingjian emerged from the spatial gaps. Upon seeing his appearance, Zhou Xingwen broke into a surprised expression. "Xingjian, you’ve come out from your seclusion?"
Fang Xingjian nodded. "Call everyone over. Get the Head of Department and Governor here as well. I have some matters to discuss."
Zhou Xingwen nodded excitedly. Fang Xingjian's return from his seclusion was too timely. Moreover, having just seen how easily Fang Xingjian had defeated Asto, Zhou Xingwen could not stop grinning.
During this period of time, they had suffered a lot under Asto's hands.
Thinking of Asto, Zhou Xingwen could not help but say, "Oh, right, Benjamin’s side..."
Fang Xingjian replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry. As long as Asto manages to comprehend the sword technique on his body, he won't dare to go against me anymore. As for Deputy Governor Benjamin sent by the First Prince... There will be someone else to deal with him. Regardless if it's Asto or Benjamin, they will feel too ashamed to want to handle the matters of the Great Western Region."
...
From the back door of a luxurious manor in Great Western City, Tyrant jumped over the wall with a light leap. By the time he landed on the ground again, he had already taken on the appearance of a maid.
Following the path leading deeper into the manor, he passed by a corner and saw a group of maids. By that time, he had already turned into a fully equipped guard.
Advancing just like that while changing continuously, Tyrant arrived at the manor's master bedroom in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the decor in the master bedroom, Tyrant's lips twitched. 'He's quite rich.' However, recalling the things he had in the Gates of the Netherworld, Tyrant started grinning.
He took a look in the master bedroom, the study, and then finally the toilet.
'If I were to turn into a toilet bowl, I would definitely catch everyone by surprise, right?
'That's not right. A Demigod seems to not need to poop.
'Then what if I were to turn into a bed? A Demigod doesn't need to sleep either...
'Hmmm, if it's at the study desk, there are plenty of books and documents that have been flipped through. There are also signs of usage. It seems that he still maintains the habits from when he was a mortal when dealing with work.'
Thinking of this, Tyrant eventually walked behind the study desk, and then reached out his hand to store the chair into the Gates of the Netherworld.
Next, hints of gray light flashed on his body as he activated level 5 black magic—Flesh-matter Transformation. In that instant, his entire body had turned into a chair that looked the same as the original one.
It was not just in appearance. Even the physical structures of the chair were exactly the same as the original one.
This level 5 black magic allowed him to turn himself into some commonly seen material. In the past, Tyrant would not have been able to sustain it for very long even if he were to activate it, as he had been unable to transfer his will onto a physical item for an extended period of time.
However, ever since he started training together with Fang Xingjian, he had continued to temper his will incessantly. Right now, even if he were to turn his physical body from flesh to another material, he would also be able to sustain the state for six hours.