Chapter 39: Comprehending the Way of the Sword, Level 2!

Coming out of Emio’s camp, Rod’s expression was grave—the situation was worse than he had imagined. Iron Bar Town was on the verge of collapse, and any carelessness could lead to severe losses! One of the three divine-level warriors was already injured, limiting his combat effectiveness.

On the other hand, the Black Tooth Legion suffered even heavier losses. Since the outbreak of the beast tide, the death toll had exceeded 100,000, most of them dead, with nearly 20,000 seriously injured. The situation was extremely dire! Now, Emio was also considering plans to shift the defense line, which were being carried out urgently. Meanwhile, Deputy Legion Commander Moro was preparing urgently for a mass retreat once the time was right. He had adopted Rod’s advice of sacrificing the lesser to save the greater, aiming to form a large suicide squad to prepare for and cover the army’s withdrawal.

All of this weighed heavily on Rod’s heart. Instead of going to Zone C for rest, he headed straight toward the city walls, where the sounds of fighting and roars filled the air day and night.

Upon reaching the city walls, Rod couldn’t help but frown, his expression solemn. Continuously, wounded soldiers were carried down, while more fell, with cries of pain and agony filling the air—almost like hell itself. Seeing those fighting bravely despite the bloodshed, his heart ached. The once-every-decade beast tide turned out to be so powerful; perhaps it was even more severe this time. After all, for the first time in a thousand years, the four powerful races—demons, vampires, werewolves, and dragons—had appeared together. Their formidable strength was the main reason for this outcome.

From afar, he saw the figures of Nightingale and the others. At that moment, Nightingale was leading the first squad in attacking three werewolves! It had to be said that the werewolves were extremely strong. Just one quasi-saint-level and two emperor-level werewolves managed to resist fiercely despite being surrounded by over fifty people. Among those fifty were no fewer than ten emperor-level warriors, nearly thirty-five gold warriors, and even one quasi-saint-level powerhouse! Fortunately, Kiro, Viski, Ciel, Jem, and the others were still safe and continuing to fight. Though injured, being alive was a good thing.

Without hesitation, he drew Dark Dragon and charged forward. Somehow, he was also wearing armor, looking extremely imposing.

Rod’s appearance immediately caught the attention of those around him. Many were clearly stunned upon seeing him. Many of those present had also been at the battle the previous night, and after a short rest, they had returned to the city walls, having witnessed the terrifying scenes from last night.

The captain of this Death Scythe Squad single-handedly leaped onto the dragon’s back and, with the help of several warriors, bravely slew the giant dragon. That scene was awe-inspiring, one that perhaps no one would ever forget in their lifetime. Especially his proud stance atop the dragon’s corpse, spraying blood from its dragon hole while holding his sword, inspired deep admiration in everyone! A new hero had been born.

The price paid to slay the dragon was obvious—his battered body and weak appearance were visible to all. In the end, he had to be helped off the city walls, struggling even to walk. Yet now, he seemed full of energy, as if nothing had happened, his injuries seemingly healed. Everyone was shocked by this, filled with both awe and confusion, as if they couldn’t understand what was going on.

A flash of black light appeared, and Rod suddenly exerted all his strength, transforming into a red streak that flashed by. With his entire combat energy unleashed, Rod realized that his strength had once again soared, barely reaching the threshold of mid-Imperial rank, seemingly on the verge of breaking through at any moment.

He was secretly pleased, knowing this must be the effect of being tempered by the dragon’s essence. At the same time, he guessed it might also be related to the continuous life-and-death battles he had faced recently.

After all, advancing to the Imperial rank was extremely difficult; ordinary people would need decades to make further progress. Even those with great talent would be foolish to expect success without several years of effort. He had only been at this level for less than half a year, and even with full confidence in his talent, it was hard to imagine reaching such heights.

With a loud boom, a werewolf was sent flying, followed by a scream. Everyone felt as if a gust of wind had caused this scene.

In shock, they focused their gaze and saw a figure appear in the combat area at some point! Before they could react, the figure darted forward again to pursue them. Though the werewolves were strong and formidable, Rod was not afraid at all; in fact, he felt as though his own abilities had surpassed those of the werewolves!
Chasing continuously, he moved in an arc through the air. Amidst the werewolf’s screams and widened pupils, his attack pierced through directly to its vital point. With a spasm, the werewolf collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Its mutations began to reverse, returning to its original state in less than a breath!
It was only then that everyone looked closely and recognized the newcomer—it was Rod, standing there with his sword in hand.
“Head!”
“Head, how did you get here?” Immediately, cries of surprise and excitement followed.
Rod’s appearance undoubtedly injected a powerful boost of enthusiasm into everyone, lifting their morale instantly!
“There are two left. Let me handle this one; you take care of the other and finish it as quickly as possible!” Nodding slightly, Rod glanced at the remaining two werewolves and spoke in a firm voice.
Clearly, from the moment Rod appeared and killed one of their kind, the other two werewolves grew anxious. They recognized this man—he was currently very famous and had even been added to the hit list. The Lord of Demons had ordered that he must be killed. Last night, they even heard he had slain the Fire Dragon, and that feat of slaying a dragon had left a deep impression on them.
Dragons were beings no less powerful than the Lord of Demons, and they understood full well what it meant to kill one.
So, their hearts sank, and their fighting spirit vanished. If they could barely resist before, now they had no chance to fight back at all. The balance of power was obvious.
A one-sided situation ensued. Nightingale led everyone to attack the quasi-saint-level werewolf, while Rod took on the emperor-level werewolf alone. Although it was somewhat difficult, he could clearly feel that after his improvement, facing werewolves was much easier now—his abilities were no weaker in any aspect. As the battle progressed, the opponent grew more panicked, while he became more confident.
He wielded the Dark Dragon skill freely, with a fierce sword intent. Unconsciously, Rod had reached another level in the art of swordsmanship, comprehending a brand new realm!

The swordsmanship techniques used before were only at the first level of sword refinement. Although one could master every move skillfully and perfectly control its variations and applications, this level merely allowed the practitioner to let their mind guide the sword and the sword to adapt to the moves. Now, having reached the second level, the biggest difference is that it is the person who controls the sword and initiates the moves, rather than the moves controlling the sword! Reaching this level means having a solid understanding and mastery of swordsmanship, enabling one to adapt effortlessly, generate countless variations, and let the sword move and change as one wishes.

The moves became extremely sharp, and the Invisible Sword also began to be executed in a chaotic manner subconsciously, with each move mixed together. Coupled with these unpredictable changes, the werewolf had no chance to counterattack. The more they fought, the more terrified he became.

From a balanced fight at first to a one-sided struggle now, the werewolf felt as though he was being dragged along by his opponent. It seemed the opponent saw him merely as a practice opponent for sword refinement, as a mere opponent for training, without even considering him seriously.

Indeed, the opponent was playing a game of cat and mouse. This realization filled him with shock and anger, yet he was helpless, completely suppressed with no chance to escape. What could he do?

“Enough!” Suddenly, a cold voice rang out, startling the werewolf. Alarmed, he looked up and saw a cold glint in the opponent’s eyes and a faint smirk on their lips.

Suddenly, the opponent vanished in a flash. The injured black long sword seemed to come to life at that moment, flying out of the opponent’s hand, swirling around, and ending up behind him. A cold aura rushed toward his back.

He quickly turned around only to find that the sword, after swirling, began to circle back toward him again.

Left with no choice, he managed to dodge by making a clumsy jump. His subconscious told him that this sword was extremely dangerous.

“Die!” A cold shout came from behind! Time seemed to freeze. In just one second, he felt a chill between his brows, and a faint figure appeared in front of him, standing with a sword, looking at him indifferently.

An excruciating cold spread throughout his body. His forehead suddenly hurt, and then he felt something rushing out rapidly. His consciousness gradually blurred, and the last thing he saw was the smile on that man’s lips!

Truly worthy of being a dragon-slaying warrior—he has such strength! That was the last thought the werewolf had. Immediately afterward, everything went dark, the world fell silent, his body fell straight backward, and with a loud thud, he lost his life.
With that single sword strike, Rod grasped the essence of swordsmanship—controlling the sword with his mind—and succeeded on his first attempt. The final sword pierced through the werewolf’s forehead, killing it instantly. In less than three minutes since his arrival, he had slain two werewolves, an impressive feat that truly earned admiration! Clearly satisfied with his performance, Rod couldn’t help but smile slightly as he stepped forward toward Nightingale and the others. The other werewolf there was also in grave danger; surrounded and overwhelmed, death was only a matter of time.