Chapter 3: The Final Confrontation (1)

Seeing that the evil spirits unleashed from his Soul Refining Sword failed to achieve the desired effect—his opponent merely showed a strange expression before using powerful icy combat energy to harden and shatter the spirits—Kaiserlen felt for the first time how formidable his opponent really was.
The evil spirits he had sealed within the Soul Refining Sword were no ordinary ones. Though they weren’t the demons sealed by his master during his adventures in the Land of Mist, they were still thousand-year-old evil spirits he had conquered through his own adventures. Their powerful corrosive force had already posed a challenge even when he hadn’t used the Soul Refining Sword to deal with them. Yet his opponent effortlessly dispelled them—this technique was far more powerful than his own. It was indeed surprising why his opponent could handle such an attack from an evil spirit from the abyss so easily.
The counterforce emitted from the opponent’s knightly spear also made Kaiserlen carefully check his Soul Refining Sword. Fortunately, the sword wasn’t damaged by the opponent’s intense combat energy; instead, it was Kaiserlen’s own arm that felt strained.
In truth, Sorenberg wasn’t as unscathed as Kaiserlen thought. The sudden attack by the evil spirits attached to him nearly cost him dearly. But having spent long time in the dark world, he had considerable experience dealing with such undead creatures. To combat them, either light magic or pure dark magic was needed—only these two types of magic could effectively counter them. The dark magic used to counteract them immediately suppressed the madness of the undead. Dark magic shared similarities with undead magic, which also belonged to the dark magic category. But this time, the opponent didn’t use undead magic—instead, it was a real, tangible undead being, a thousand-year-old evil spirit summoned using a special invocation spell from within the Soul Refining Sword!
After being suppressed for a moment, the thousand-year-old evil spirit immediately counterattacked, absorbing the dark energy from the dark magic. Its power surged dramatically. By the time it rushed toward Sorenberg, it already took on the form of a solid shadow. Even with Sorenberg’s quick reflexes, he was nearly defeated by this ancient evil spirit.

But Sorenberg was still Sorenberg—twenty years of experience in the dark world hadn’t been in vain. With a sudden exhale, his fierce Dan Yuan Gang Qi, amplified by the full force of his life’s energy and capable of piercing metal and splitting stone, blew away most of the deadly aura of the raging evil spirit. Immediately following, the icy combat Qi turned the thousand-year-old evil spirit to stone in an instant. With a slight shake, everything vanished into the air as negative energy dispersed among the stone dust.

This wild attack made both sides realize their strengths were not as simple as they had thought. Especially Kaiserlen realized that to subdue this opponent, he would likely have to unleash his true killing move. Once resolved, Kaiserlen hesitated no longer—decisiveness was the hallmark of a soldier.

The Soul Refining Sword was raised once more. Spiraling upward, it resembled a flowing streak of dark light. Under Kaiserlen’s full-powered sacred combat Qi, the entire blade seemed unstable, like a flexible ribbon that could instantly transform into countless glowing blade shadows, spreading out in a magnificent fan shape.

What a splendid and beautiful swordsmanship! This was truly Aristotle’s ultimate secret technique. The ever-shifting blade shadows also appeared unpredictable in Sorenberg’s dark, piercing eyes. This was the first time Sorenberg had encountered someone whose true intentions he couldn’t discern. With the rising and falling blade shadows, it was impossible to guess where the attack would come from. The fierce sacred combat Qi, deliberately suppressed by the opponent, contracted inward in a strange way, and the shrill sound of the sword was muffled by its internal cohesion. Sorenberg could even sense that once this attack was unleashed, it would likely lead to a fight to the death.

The opponent’s fierce assault didn’t intimidate Sorenberg; instead, it ignited his endless fighting spirit and interest. Fighting against nature brought endless joy but seemed hopeless, while fighting against humans brought brilliance and splendor—why not? For a seeker determined to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, such intense trials were exactly what he needed.

A faint black mist rose from Sorenberg’s body and swiftly flowed toward his hands holding the knight’s spear. Since the opponent had already resorted to any means necessary, it seemed unnecessary for him to adhere to any knightly principles. The Dark Corruption Magic was activated immediately. With Komer’s catalytic magic enhancing it, Sorenberg’s dark magic was released twice as fast as usual. In the blink of an eye, a thick layer of black haze climbed up along the trembling blade of the knight’s spear, heading straight for his opponent!

Stars like celestial lanterns scattered downward, instantly enveloping Sorenberg’s entire body. Like a roaring black dragon snapping its fangs and claws, Sorenberg suddenly pressed and lifted his knight’s spear at the last moment, raising his head high as his fierce icy combat energy was fully unleashed!

Like celestial lanterns crashing down, the sword energy that drifted downward burst forth upon colliding with Sorenberg’s icy combat energy. The shrill screech of the sword energy and the buzzing sound of the spear energy merged together, creating a strange sound barrier that caused temporary deafness.

After a series of interlocking clashes, thick ice mist mixed with dark gloom swirled around as the two figures clashed repeatedly in midair. It wasn’t until they delivered their final blows that they finally separated and landed gracefully.

Sorenberg watched his opponent quietly. During those few exchanges in the air, he unleashed all his dark corruption magic along with his ice-based spell “Frost’s End” at once. Meanwhile, the opponent’s brilliant sword shadows broke through his full defenses—four swords pierced through his protective combat energy. Fortunately, his armor had been specially strengthened by the lord, but even so, the intense sword energy still penetrated his body. He was now utterly powerless, unable to move even a finger, with only a faint trace of consciousness left. He remained standing solely because of an unyielding spirit within him.

Kaiserlen was equally stunned, though his remorse was even greater. He had expected the powerful combat energy from the opponent’s knight’s spear, but he never imagined that the opponent would not only counter his dark corruption magic but also secretly add an ice-based spell to it. While he was trying his best to neutralize the dark magic’s power, he was caught off guard by the ice magic’s ambush. The intense freezing force nearly froze his body in midair. If it weren’t for his extraordinary spiritual power forcing thawing, Kaiserlen feared he would shatter into ice fragments as soon as he landed.

Even so, Kaiserlen found himself as stiff as an ice statue. Though his sword was raised high, looking mighty, he couldn’t even lower his Soul-Forging Sword.

The entire arena was dead silent; almost everyone feared that the slightest sound might break this balance and trigger another fierce battle between the two. The unprecedented aerial duel captivated all the spectators. While casual onlookers enjoyed the spectacle, those with more knowledge recognized the skill involved. Both ordinary spectators and the delegations from various countries were utterly impressed by this extraordinary fight.

The three judges stared in awe at the scene before them, bewildered by the strange positions the two fighters had adopted. They were unable to determine a winner in that brutal aerial battle. They could only vaguely sense that Kaiselen had an edge in combat energy, but he had taken the initiative by using a summoning spell first. In response, Sorenborg from Piraeus launched a dual-magic attack, which seemed to injure Kaiselen as well. Although magic was prohibited in the duel, the fact that both sides used magic and fought evenly made it impossible for the three judges to reach a fair decision.

Although both fighters stood proudly at the moment, they showed no reaction after such a long time, seemingly waiting for the judges to rule based on their earlier performances, which further complicated the judges’ decision-making.

After much deliberation, the chief judge finally stepped forward and declared the match invalid, stating that both fighters had violated the rules by using magic attacks, and they were both disqualified from advancing to the next round.

The judges’ final decision caused a huge uproar in the arena. Both the Spartans and the people from Piraeus were dissatisfied with the ruling, but the judges’ authority could not be challenged, and the decision was final. Despite their dissatisfaction, both sides showed respect for the judges’ judgment. They could appeal to the judging committee, but that would not change the already announced decision.

The strange standoff between the two fighters continued until the referee announced the final result. It was not until people from each side went to help the fighters back to their respective camps that the audience realized they had both reached a point where they could no longer continue, unable even to leave on their own. This ultimate showdown immediately overshadowed all other events, and the entire city of Athens discussed this astonishing battle. The seemingly invincible warrior Kaiselen was actually matched by an obscure swordsman from Piraeus, and both had used magic in the fight—though it was against the rules—showing just how skilled they were.