Without a doubt, swordsmanship was the combat skill Soran excelled at most besides magic.
At the very beginning, he had been rather dismissive of this "primitive," "backward," "barbaric" form of power. He had always felt that magic could solve everything, and he had only learned it because his cheap teacher, Sorin Markov, had forced him to.
But after becoming the lord of the Ninth Layer of Baator, he, as an Archdevil, received the Planar Will's enhancement and inexplicably gained many melee feats such as Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Improved Feint, and Offense within Defense. Only then did he gradually begin adding swordsmanship to his arsenal.
Later, he even studied the Elves' gorgeous Sword Dance under the Dark Maiden Eilistraee, successfully integrating it into his own swordsmanship system and eventually developing the versatile, highly ornamental style he used today.
Unlike Eilistraee's Sword Dance, which emphasized rhythm and beauty, Soran's Sword Dance felt distinctly more aggressive. Often, he merely passed by someone, and dark-red blood would suddenly spray into the air, or several holes would appear in the victim's vital areas.
Furthermore, he did not move particularly fast. It was as though he were taking a leisurely stroll through blood and carnage, every movement radiating noble grace.
That intense contrast, his casual indifference toward slaughter, and his overwhelming strength against the inhuman Apostles blended together to create an extraordinarily subtle chemical reaction.
Quite a few nobles and servants were unconsciously drawn in, their eyes filled with shock and worship beyond description.
After all, admiring the strong was human nature.
When you were weak, everything you did was wrong.
But if you were powerful enough, even your past embarrassing mishaps would have countless people rushing out to defend you.
They might even interpret some bullshit personality, spirit, faith, or other garbage from