Battle (II)

Hearing that, Kaien Shiba looked down at the trident-shaped spear in his hand, its surface shimmering with water. Nejibana gleamed softly white and blue in the moonlight, water winding around its shaft like a living thing. It really was too beautiful to look like a weapon meant for battle. He gave a wry smile. "Well... my Nejibana should be the imposing type, right?"

"If your spear shaft were a darker color—say, jet black or deep blue—it might look more imposing," Liu Hao said objectively. "But this pure white and blue looks 'beautiful' rather than 'imposing,' however you look at it."

Kaien Shiba scratched his head. "Uh... all right, you're right. It would look more imposing in a darker color. But—" He flicked his wrist, and Nejibana traced a streak of water through the air. "Even so, that doesn't make it any less powerful."

"Enough chatter." Liu Hao's voice abruptly turned cold. "Let's begin."

Before the words had faded, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. The Imperial Sword trailed a golden-red afterimage as it thrust straight for the center of Kaien Shiba's body.

Kaien Shiba was ready. As a long weapon, Nejibana had a natural advantage in reach. Rather than retreat, he took half a step forward, thrusting the spear tip precisely into Liu Hao's path. If Liu Hao continued forward, the spear would surely run him through.

But Liu Hao was far too fast.

The instant before the spear tip reached his chest, Liu Hao's figure flickered, shifting half a foot to the side like a ghost. He turned the Imperial Sword's thrust into a rising slash, aiming diagonally upward at Kaien Shiba's right hand, which gripped the spear.

Kaien Shiba had no choice but to draw his spear back to block. Spear and sword met with a muffled impact. Water and golden-red Reiatsu sprayed outward, bursting into tiny points of light in the air.

Liu Hao's assault was as fierce as a storm, every sword stroke carrying an emperor's might.

But Kaien Shiba was worthy of being a lieutenant-level powerhouse. He made full use of Nejibana's advantage as a long weapon, always keeping just the right distance from Liu Hao. The spear tip flicked like a venomous snake's tongue, every thrust aimed precisely at an opening in Liu Hao's attack; whenever the shaft swept across, the water would suddenly accelerate, forming a water barrier that was hard to get past.

The two moved at high speed within the barrier, flashes of sword and spear weaving together into a breathtaking sight. Every slash of the Imperial Sword was steadily blocked by Nejibana, while every thrust of Nejibana was deftly deflected by the Imperial Sword.

They appeared evenly matched.

But only Kaien Shiba, caught in the midst of it, knew that the pressure had never eased.

Even without getting close, Liu Hao was still keeping him on the defensive. It was not suppression through overwhelming strength or speed, but something deeper: suppression on a strategic level.

Every one of Liu Hao's sword strokes seemed carefully calculated, forcing him into a particular response; each response, in turn, led him into the next trap. It was like a game of chess: his opponent could already see ten moves ahead, while he could only see three.

This young man really still had not used his full strength.

After dozens of exchanges, Liu Hao suddenly pulled back, instantly opening a distance of ten zhang. He raised the Imperial Sword and pointed its tip at Kaien Shiba from afar. "Since you won't let me get close—" A meaningful smile curved his lips. "Let me show you my long-range attack."

The Imperial Sword traced a profound trajectory through the air.

"Imperial Decree, Myriad Sword Rays."

Nine points of light appeared out of thin air around the Imperial Sword, then rapidly lengthened and took shape, becoming nine swords of light resembling the Imperial Sword. The nine light swords hovered around Liu Hao, slowly rotating.

The next instant—

They began to divide.

Each light sword began to "replicate" itself. One became two, two became four, four became eight... In the space of just three breaths, hundreds of golden sword rays had appeared before Liu Hao. They did not remain still, but trembled slightly as though alive, their tips all aimed at Kaien Shiba.

"Go."

Liu Hao spoke softly.

Hundreds of sword rays shot out at once, tracing dense golden paths through the air and covering every possible avenue of escape for Kaien Shiba like a torrential downpour.

Kaien Shiba's pupils contracted. Without the slightest hesitation, he spun Nejibana at high speed before him. Water followed the rotating shaft, forming a deep-blue vortex barrier.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—!"

The sword rays struck the water barrier, producing a rapid patter like rain beating against banana leaves. Each sword ray was not particularly powerful, but there were simply too many of them. Waves of soreness and numbness ran through Kaien Shiba's arms as the force of the impacts pushed him backward, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the ground.

I can't keep defending passively like this.

Kaien Shiba's legs erupted with force, launching him into the sky and out of the sword rays' range. In midair, he gripped Nejibana with both hands, pointed its tip downward, and thrust fiercely at Liu Hao on the ground.

"Boom—!"

A huge column of water more than three meters wide gushed from the spear tip. Like the wrath of a sea god, it rushed toward Liu Hao with unstoppable force. The ground tore apart and rubble was swept up in its wake, its might astonishing.

Liu Hao looked up at the water column descending from the sky, his expression calm. He held the Imperial Sword level, its tip pointing toward the oncoming column.

"Imperial Decree, Water Mirror."

A circular water mirror roughly two meters across condensed into shape before the sword tip. Its surface was smooth as glass, reflecting the night sky and the raging water column.

A strange sight unfolded. The instant the water column struck the mirror, it neither pierced through nor bounced back, but was "sucked" into it. Immediately afterward, an identical column gushed from the other side of the mirror, rushing toward Kaien Shiba in the sky with exactly the same force.

The two water columns collided in midair.

"Rumble—!"

With a deafening roar, both water columns burst apart, turning into a spray that fell across the sky. It was as though a sudden downpour had broken out within the barrier.

Liu Hao's voice pierced the curtain of rain. "Imperial Decree, Blades Born of Water."

As his words fell, the descending droplets abruptly stopped in midair. Each droplet trembled, distorted, and lengthened, finally becoming a transparent water blade about three inches long. Tens of thousands of water blades hovered in the air, their tips all pointing at Kaien Shiba.

Then they fired in unison.

"So your Zanpakuto is a flowing-water type too." Kaien Shiba adjusted his posture in the air, tracing a complete circle before him with Nejibana.

"Water Wall."

A hemispherical wall of water appeared out of thin air, enclosing him completely. More than half a meter thick, the wall's water rotated at high speed, forming a powerful cushioning layer.

The dense barrage of water blades struck the wall with muffled thuds. Each blade burst apart on impact, turning back into ordinary droplets and merging into the wall. It appeared the defense had succeeded.

But Liu Hao's next command had already come. "Water into Ice."

The temperature plummeted.

A visible current of cold spread outward from the tip of Liu Hao's sword. Wherever it passed, moisture in the air condensed into ice crystals, and white frost covered the ground.

The water wall around Kaien Shiba began to freeze.

From the outside in, the rapidly rotating water gradually slowed and solidified. Deep blue turned to icy blue, liquid to solid. In just two seconds, the hemispherical water wall became a thick fortress of ice.

Inside the fortress, Kaien Shiba's expression changed. He could feel the temperature dropping sharply, and even more clearly, he could feel the ice wall pressing inward from the outside. This was no ordinary ice: Liu Hao's Reiatsu was contained within it, making it far tougher than normal.

I have to get out immediately.

Kaien Shiba bent his legs, and Reiatsu erupted beneath his feet.

"Boom!"

The ice wall exploded from within. Kaien Shiba shot out like a cannonball, tumbling several times in the air before barely managing to steady himself. Shattered chunks of ice flew in every direction.

And Liu Hao's voice followed him relentlessly. "Shattered Ice into Blades."

The flying chunks of ice all stopped in midair. Then each piece began to change shape and sharpen, becoming an ice blade that gleamed with cold light. There were fewer ice blades than there had been water blades, but each was denser and sharper.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"

The ice blades fired in unison again.

This time, Kaien Shiba did not choose to defend. He used Shunpo repeatedly in midair, his figure becoming several afterimages as he darted and dodged through the gaps between the blades. Every dodge was perilously close, the ice blades flying past almost close enough to graze his clothes.

At last, the final ice blade embedded itself in the ground behind him with a crisp clang.

Kaien Shiba landed back on the ground, breathing slightly hard, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat away and looked at Liu Hao not far off. "You might be able to keep me on the defensive fighting like this—" He paused, revealing his usual brilliant smile. "But you might not be able to beat me."

"True." Liu Hao actually nodded in agreement. "That's how long-range attacks are. It's hard to win a decisive victory with them. In a battle of attrition, a back-and-forth struggle, it ultimately comes down to whose Reiatsu runs out first, or who makes a mistake first."

He planted the Imperial Sword in the ground before him and stacked his hands on the end of its hilt, his gaze growing profound. "But in the face of absolute strength, even a long-range attack can decide the victor."

Liu Hao's voice grew low, carrying a rare gravity. "I can't quite control the power of this next move myself. Lieutenant Kaien, be careful."

Kaien Shiba's expression turned serious as well. He tightened his grip on Nejibana, and the Reiatsu around him began to gather and rise again.

Liu Hao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

"Imperial Sword, Command the Myriad Swords."

A strange phenomenon occurred.

With Liu Hao at its center, the space behind him began to "ripple." It was not a disturbance in the air, but ripples in space itself, like a stone dropped into a still lake. The ripples spread in widening circles until they covered half the sky behind Liu Hao.

Then, at the center of those ripples, a cold gleam emerged.

The tip of a sword.

Then came a second, a third, a fourth... Hundreds upon thousands of sword tips slowly emerged from the spatial ripples. The swords came in all forms: ancient, unadorned Han swords, magnificent Western swords, massive two-handed greatswords, and light, nimble rapiers. Their only common feature was that they all radiated the same golden-red Reiatsu as the Imperial Sword, with faint purplish-red dragon silhouettes winding around their blades.

The sight was astonishing. A thousand swords hung in the air, their tips pointing forward like an army awaiting orders.

Liu Hao opened his eyes, and a golden-red light flashed briefly in them. He softly spoke the final words.

"Myriad Swords Fire as One, Slay Every Foe."

"Clang—!"

A thousand swords rang out together.

Every blade trembled at once, emitting a piercing sword cry. The next instant, they moved—not all at once, but in orderly waves. The first hundred swords shot out, followed in quick succession by the second and third waves, forming an unbroken rain of swords.

Kaien Shiba's pupils shrank to pinpoints.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately used Shunpo to dodge sideways. But those flying swords could actually track him.

He sidestepped the first sword, but after flying ten zhang, it traced a graceful arc, turned around, and attacked again. He knocked the second sword away with Nejibana, but after spinning several times in the air, it too changed direction and joined the pursuit.

And that was not all. While the first wave of flying swords was still pursuing him, the second and third had already sealed off every possible escape route. Front and back, left and right, above and below, every direction was blocked by flying swords.

Kaien Shiba could only dodge and block desperately within the limited gaps. Nejibana danced in his hands, forming a screen of deep-blue light. Water spun at high speed with the spear shaft, knocking and deflecting flying sword after flying sword away.

But there were too many flying swords. And every time they were knocked away, they readjusted and joined the attack again. This was no battle at all—it was a one-sided hunt.

More cold sweat appeared on Kaien Shiba's forehead. He realized he could not go on like this. The flying swords were endless, while his Reiatsu and stamina were limited. He had to break out of this predicament.

And the only way to do that—

His gaze pierced the rain of swords and locked onto Liu Hao in the distance.

To capture the bandits, first capture their leader.

Without any hesitation, Kaien Shiba unleashed a sudden burst of Reiatsu, forcibly blasting ten flying swords away from around him. Then he shot toward Liu Hao like an arrow from a bow. His speed rose to its limit, a long afterimage trailing behind him.

And behind him, hundreds of flying swords turned at once, pursuing him relentlessly like a school of sharks that had scented blood.

Seeing Kaien Shiba charging toward him, Liu Hao actually smiled. It was the smile of someone whose plan had succeeded. "You see? You came to me yourself."

He pulled the Imperial Sword from the ground and, instead of retreating, charged straight toward Kaien Shiba.

The distance between them rapidly closed.

Kaien Shiba's heart sank. The rain of swords behind him was no joke. If the two collided head-on, those flying swords would not distinguish friend from foe; they might well run them both through.

This madman!

Just as they were about to collide, Kaien Shiba made an unexpected move. He forcibly twisted his body in midair and turned sideways, brushing past Liu Hao.

In the instant they crossed, he saw the expression on Liu Hao's face: calm, with even a hint of approval.

Kaien Shiba landed and turned, ready to meet Liu Hao's counterattack. But what he saw left him stunned.

Liu Hao had not pursued him.

He had stopped in midair—or, more precisely, he was standing on the blade of a flying sword. The sword hovered steadily, bearing his weight.

What shocked Kaien Shiba even more was what happened to the pursuing swords. As they were about to strike Liu Hao, a small circle of spatial ripples appeared before their tips. The flying swords entered the ripples and vanished, then flew out of another ripple behind Liu Hao and rejoined the hovering swords.

All the flying swords stopped behind Liu Hao, densely packed like loyal guards. They drifted slowly through the air, arranging themselves into a profound formation.

"What?" Liu Hao looked down at Kaien Shiba on the ground, his tone calm. "Did you think I'd be hurt by my own sharp swords?"

He paused, showing a rare hint of seriousness. "Actually, that really is possible. After all, this is my first time using this ability in actual combat, and I still can't control it entirely as I wish."

Kaien Shiba looked at the thousand hovering swords, a chill rising in his heart. This ability... had already surpassed the bounds of an ordinary Zanpakuto. Just how much was this young man hiding?

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on Nejibana. His signature smile, tinged with a hint of wildness, reappeared on his face. "Looks like I'll have to show you what I can really do too!"

Liu Hao leaped lightly down from the flying sword and landed back on the ground. He raised a hand and waved, and the thousand swords behind him slowly descended, their tips angled toward the ground like soldiers awaiting orders.

"Show me everything you've got." Liu Hao's voice carried anticipation.

Kaien Shiba said no more. He held Nejibana level, its tip pointing at Liu Hao, and slowly began to rotate its shaft.

At first it was slow, then it grew faster and faster.

"Water Waves Soar to the Sky."

With his whisper, water began to flow from the spear tip. It did not gush out as before, but bubbled forth like a spring. At first the flow was thin and weak, but as the shaft spun faster, it grew wider and more rapid. Finally, a huge water vortex more than five meters across formed at the spear tip, producing a deafening roar.

The vortex spun at high speed, drawing all the rubble and vegetation on the ground into it. Its might was several times greater than that of the earlier water column.

A sharp light flashed in Kaien Shiba's eyes, and he thrust Nejibana fiercely forward.

"Go!"

The huge vortex broke away from the spear tip, becoming a water column that reached the sky and rushed toward Liu Hao with the momentum to destroy everything. It plowed a deep furrow into the ground in its wake, and even the edge of the barrier rippled violently.

But that was not all.

Just as the water column was about to strike Liu Hao, Kaien Shiba shouted again.

"Water Waves Become Rain!"

"Boom—!"

The huge water column exploded. It did not scatter, but "split" deliberately. The single column burst into thousands, then tens of thousands of thin streams. Each stream lengthened and sharpened in the air, finally becoming a densely packed rain of swords.

The rain swords covered an enormous area, enveloping nearly every inch of space around Liu Hao. They were also extremely fast, their passage through the air producing sharp, piercing sounds.

There was nowhere to dodge.

Liu Hao looked up at the rain swords filling the sky, his expression still calm. He raised the Imperial Sword and traced a circle in the air with its tip.

"Water Curtain."

A hemispherical wall of water rapidly condensed before him. The wall was thick, and the water surged within it.

But the rain swords were more powerful than expected. When the first wave struck the water wall, they actually pierced straight through its outer layer and continued inward. Although they slowed, at this rate, the wall would not hold for more than a few seconds.

Liu Hao frowned slightly and pointed his sword forward.

"Condense Ice."

A bone-chilling cold spread instantly. The water wall rapidly froze from the outside in, becoming a thick ice barrier. The rain swords struck it with muffled thuds, leaving a dense web of cracks across its surface.

But strangely, fresh water would flow from within at those cracks, filling the gaps before freezing again. The ice wall seemed capable of repairing itself. It teetered under the rain swords' continuous assault, yet never broke.

Seeing this, resolve flashed in Kaien Shiba's eyes. He gripped Nejibana with both hands and made a slashing motion toward Liu Hao in the distance.

There was no contact, only a swing through empty air.

But a huge crescent-shaped slash of water flew from the spear tip, tearing through the air as it struck toward Liu Hao behind the ice wall at astonishing speed.

Liu Hao's pupils contracted, and he instantly dodged to the left.

"Crack—!"

The water slash cut through the ice wall without resistance, splitting it in two. Its momentum undiminished, the slash continued forward for dozens of zhang before finally striking the edge of the barrier and stirring violent ripples.

But in the instant Liu Hao dodged, Kaien Shiba had already swung his spear three times in succession. Three slightly smaller but faster water slashes flew out in a triangular formation, sealing off every direction Liu Hao could possibly dodge.

Liu Hao's gaze sharpened, and the Imperial Sword slashed horizontally.

"Break."

A golden-red arc of sword light flew out and collided with the three water slashes in midair.

"Boom—!"

Reiatsu exploded, sending light shooting in every direction. A huge spray of water burst from the point of impact, countless droplets scattering outward.

This was the moment Kaien Shiba had been waiting for.

He raised Nejibana and pointed its tip at the scattering droplets, his Reiatsu erupting.

"Transform!"

All the water droplets froze in midair, then instantly stretched and sharpened into hundreds of tiny rain swords. The swords turned around in unison and pointed at Liu Hao, who had just landed.

Then they fired in a volley.

Liu Hao darted backward, weaving and dodging through the dense barrage of rain swords. He was so fast that each movement left only a faint afterimage behind. The rain swords grazed his clothes and buried themselves in the ground, leaving deep holes.

But there were too many rain swords, and they covered too wide an area. At last, Liu Hao had to strike back to clear them away. He swung his sword across a fan-shaped area in front of him, and a golden-red sword beam swept through, wiping out every rain sword in its path.

But just then, Kaien Shiba smiled.

It was the excited smile of someone who had grasped a new move and couldn't wait to try it out.

"Actually, when I saw those flying swords of yours just now—" He raised Nejibana, tracing a circle in the air with its spear tip. "I figured out some new ways to use mine too. Perfect timing. I'll try them out on you."

As soon as he finished speaking, a bizarre sight unfolded.

The rain swords that had already flown past Liu Hao and embedded themselves in the ground or the barrier walls all "came alive."

They pulled free of the ground and the barrier walls, adjusting their direction in midair. More than that, even the water vapor that had already dispersed condensed again, forming new rain swords.

In front and behind, to the left and right, above and below.

The tips of all the rain swords pointed straight at Liu Hao.

This time, there truly was no escape.

Liu Hao looked at the deadly trap, but instead of panicking, he sighed softly. There was a trace of helplessness in that sigh, a trace of relief, and a trace of excitement that he could finally fight without holding back.

"Looks like—" He held the Imperial Sword upright before him, its blade reflecting his calm eyes. "I'll need to reveal more of my abilities."

Golden-red Reiatsu began to boil in a way it never had before.