Holy Sword Fragment

"It's actually a fragment of a Holy Sword!"

John's voice trembled at first, then his entire body began to shake. He was beside himself with excitement.

Parr, who was peering into the gray box at the metal fragment, looked completely confused. A Holy Sword? What Holy Sword? Fine! This was yet another thing Parr had never heard of. There were simply too many secrets on this continent.

If he did not understand something, he asked. Parr tugged on John's clothes.

"Uncle John, stop shaking. What's a Holy Sword?"

Inhale... exhale...

It took several deep breaths before the excited John barely managed to calm down. He looked left and right like a thief, as though afraid someone might be nearby.

Of course, there could not possibly be anyone else here. So John reached out, placed the gray box in Parr's hands, then patted Parr's thin shoulder and solemnly warned him, "Little one, you must not tell anyone what you saw and heard today."

"Mm."

Parr hugged the somewhat heavy box and nodded. Then he looked at John expectantly. He knew the main story was about to begin.

Inhale...

Sure enough, John took a deep breath and slowly said, "Holy Swords are connected to Holy Knights..."

This was an extremely secret legend, unknown to ordinary people on the continent.

Legend had it that the Seven Savior Holy Knights were not only immensely powerful themselves, but each also possessed a Holy Sword representing the ultimate form of their own attribute.

These seven Holy Swords were named after the prefixes of the Seven Savior Holy Knights' titles. For example, the founder of the Wind Wolf Kingdom, the Swift Shadow Wind Wolf Holy Knight, possessed the Swift Shadow Holy Sword.

These seven Holy Swords were said to be the strongest weapons in history. But just how powerful were they?

Did Parr remember the story John had told him about the Purifying Spirit Whale Holy Knight?

In that story, in order to save the continent, the Purifying Spirit Whale Holy Knight sacrificed herself to purify all the polluted water sources on the continent. Her weapon fell into the Absolute Cold Mountain Range, forming the Fluorescent River that ran through the Western Territory of the Wind Wolf Kingdom.

There was no need to doubt it. That weapon was the Purifying Spirit Holy Sword.

"If Holy Swords are so powerful, why is there a fragment of one here?" Parr got straight to the point after thinking it over.

"That is another legend."

John stood where he was and looked up at the rocks overhead. An image surfaced in his mind: night, dense woods, a campfire, and an old man and a young man beside it. The old man was handing the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword to the young man, his expression solemn, as if passing on a legacy.

That had been John and the guide who had led him down the Path of the Knight, just as John was now guiding Parr.

"Little one."

Waking from his memories, John lowered his head to look at Parr. He smiled and rubbed Parr's little head, then told him the legend of the Holy Swords' destruction.

"It is said that after the Great Calamity..."

After the Great Calamity, the five surviving Holy Knights established the four great kingdoms and the Church of Neutral Light.

As time passed, the heavily wounded five Holy Knights passed away one after another, and the Holy Swords in their hands ended up with their descendants.

At the time, although the wielders' realms were only at Limit Breaking, with the support of the Holy Swords, they could crush others of the same rank. After the Holy Knights, they were considered the strongest people in the world.

Power bred ambitions they should not have had. Some unpleasant things happened, and those events led the last surviving Holy Knight, the Lightning Chasing Swift Hawk Holy Knight, to make a decision: destroy every Holy Sword in the world.

By then, the Lightning Chasing Swift Hawk Holy Knight was already close to death. But a Holy Knight was still a Holy Knight—his strength was unmatched. In just half a month, he gathered all five Holy Swords that had been passed down across the continent.

Afterward, the Lightning Chasing Swift Hawk Holy Knight destroyed the five Holy Swords and secretly scattered their fragments throughout the continent. From then on, no one ever saw him again.

Because of this, the royal families of the other three kingdoms did not think highly of the Swift Eagle Kingdom. Fortunately, the Swift Eagle Kingdom lay deep within the Absolute Cold Mountain Range. It could not reach others, and others could not reach it. It was practically isolated from the world. Otherwise, after the Lightning Chasing Swift Hawk Holy Knight's death, the Swift Eagle Kingdom would surely have been ganged up on by the other three kingdoms.

"So that's how it was!"

Parr nodded his little head. He now understood why the Holy Swords, said to be the strongest weapons in the world, had become fragments. Then he asked another crucial question. "Uncle John, what are Holy Sword fragments used for?"

"..."

John fell silent for a moment, then drew his Dark Knight One-Handed Sword. As he stroked the blade, he said quietly to Parr:

"Little one, Holy Sword fragments can be fused into weapons, granting them a Skill and turning ordinary weapons into something like Spiritual Tools. Take my sword, for example. It contains a Holy Sword Fragment. You've seen its Skill too—it creates a phantom to help me fight."

"So this sword has a Holy Sword Fragment too!"

Parr was a little surprised. He had not expected John to hide things so deeply. John's Dark Knight One-Handed Sword was probably the most valuable thing he owned.

"Yes, it has one too."

John put away the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword, then patted Parr's little head and said with a squinting smile:

"I originally planned to give this sword to you after you became a Bronze-level Knight, but now it seems I won't need to before I die, because we've found another Holy Sword Fragment."

"Why don't you use it yourself, Uncle John? Wouldn't that make you even stronger?"

"No."

John shook his head and pointed at the box in Parr's hands. "I can tell that this Holy Sword Fragment and the fragment in my sword belong to different Holy Swords. They cannot fuse together."

"What Skill will it give?"

After explaining everything, John had Parr draw the Black Short Sword and place the Holy Sword Fragment on it.

"Little one, the way to use a Holy Sword Fragment is simple. Just place it on a weapon and drip blood onto it."

"Blood recognition of ownership?"

Parr silently called it cliché, then eagerly drew the Black Short Sword. He took the White Holy Sword Fragment from the gray box and placed it on top.

"Please give me a good Skill!"

Before letting himself bleed, Parr pressed his palms together and prayed in his heart. He felt just like he was drawing cards in a game, desperately hoping to get gold.

Exhale...

After praying, Parr extended a finger and poked the sharp Black Short Sword. Then he hurriedly pressed his bleeding finger onto the White Holy Sword Fragment.

The Holy Sword Fragment instantly lit up with dazzling white light. Then Parr felt a connection form between himself and the fragment, and an image of a White-Gold Giant Dragon raising its head and roaring surfaced in his mind.

Roar...

The illusory sound shook Parr to his core. He felt as insignificant as an ant.

"So this is strength?"

Parr murmured absentmindedly. From that moment on, he had a new understanding of what strength meant.

"Little one, fuse it quickly!" John's voice woke the dazed Parr.

"Mm."

Regaining his senses, Parr did not hesitate any longer. With a thought, the White Holy Sword Fragment, which had already formed a connection with him, began to fuse into the Black Short Sword. But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Bang! With an explosive sound, the White Holy Sword Fragment resting on the Black Short Sword was sent flying.

"What..."

Parr was confused for a moment. What had happened? "..."

John was confused too. He had never seen anything like this. The Holy Sword Fragment had failed to fuse—what was going on?

"Uncle John..."

Not knowing the answer, Parr directly sought John's help.

"Wait. Let me take a look."

John stepped forward, picked up the Black Short Sword, and examined it. The blade was pitch-black and uneven, as though it had just been dug out of a coal pit. There was nothing special about it. "Strange. Could it be..."

John thought of a possibility and hurriedly drew the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword, touching it against the Black Short Sword.

"No! There isn't a Holy Sword Fragment in here either!"

There was no reaction at all. John ruled out his guess, fiddled with it for a while, and finally came to a conclusion. "Little one, Holy Swords have spirits. It seems this white Holy Sword Fragment doesn't like your Black Short Sword, so don't try to force them together. Switch to another sword!"

"..."

What kind of damn reason was that? Did he think they were matchmaking?

Parr looked speechless and felt a little frantic inside, but for now, he could only trust John's unreliable explanation.

Parr had two swords. One was the Black Short Sword left behind by his biological parents, and the other was the One-Handed Sword Old Jack had given him before they set out.

It was the standard One-Handed Sword issued to soldiers at the Western Border Fortress of the Wind Wolf Kingdom. It was ordinary, but after tonight, it would no longer be ordinary.

John had Parr wait there while he went to retrieve Parr's large bundle from outside. He ran incredibly fast and returned carrying it in less than three minutes.

"Hope nothing goes wrong this time!"

Parr picked up the White Holy Sword Fragment. For some reason, the instant it touched his hand, he felt as though the fragment was a little aggrieved. But the feeling vanished in an instant. He shook his head and dismissed it as an illusion.

Then Parr placed the White Holy Sword Fragment on the Standard One-Handed Sword. With a thought, he began the fusion.

This time, the fusion went smoothly. The White Holy Sword Fragment turned into white light and merged into the One-Handed Sword.

"Nothing changed!"

After the fusion succeeded, Parr picked up the One-Handed Sword, which was a little too long for him at the moment. He found that neither its weight nor appearance had changed. However, he sensed something new in his heart: the sword now possessed a special effect, a Skill.

"Try it quickly."

John was curious as well and could not help urging him on.

"..."

Parr silently raised the One-Handed Sword. Then, following the feeling in his heart, he activated the Skill attached to the Holy Sword Fragment.

In an instant! White light—dazzling white light—radiated from the blade. Bathed in it, the two of them felt utterly comfortable, as though they had been soaking in a hot spring at the perfect temperature.

Parr felt an itch in his finger. Looking down, he saw that the wound from where he had drawn blood was healing.

The same was true for John. The minor wounds he had sustained in the earlier battle began healing. He closed his eyes to sense it, then came to a conclusion. "This is the Church healers' Radiance Healing Art. No! It is even a little stronger than the Radiance Healing Art!"

"It's not even an offensive Skill."

Parr felt a little disappointed. He had not expected to draw a healing Skill from the fragment. It was somewhat different from what he had hoped for.

"Not bad, very good."

John, however, was quite satisfied. He smiled and said, "At the very least, we won't have to worry about getting injured in the wilderness from now on. Besides, the Church's Radiance Healing Art can also be used against enemies."

"You mean..."

Parr lowered the One-Handed Sword. Hearing John's words, he thought of something. He abruptly looked up at John and saw him narrow his eyes with killing intent as he said, word by word:

"Radiance Healing Art plus a sword can cut down cultists!"

"That's true."

Parr nodded, though he had another thought in mind: from now on, he could openly use the Skill Dazzling Light in front of John. If anyone asked, the sword was to blame.