Monster Siege

"How... how... how is this possible?!"

"It... it broke!!"

"Arthur's Light's Judgment was actually cut apart!!!"

"What on earth happened?!!"

The commentator was dumbfounded as well, stammering as he spoke. He couldn't understand what had happened either.

Arthur's Light's Judgment was his ultimate move, one that had always been unstoppable. While it might not have been world-destroying, its power was still terrifying beyond measure. To this day, he had never seen anyone capable of withstanding that attack.

"Wh... what's going on?"

Erza had no idea what was happening either. Having personally taken Arthur's attack head-on, she had every right to speak on the matter.

Even when she gave it everything she had, she couldn't block Arthur's attack. Its destructive power was simply too terrifying. Even with her strongest defensive armor, she had been unable to stop it. Yet this man named Yoriichi Tsugikuni had blocked it with nothing but a sword—and even cut it apart. It was beyond her comprehension.

"This monster..."

Clay stared at Qi Yan in the arena. To outsiders, it looked as though Qi Yan had defeated him in a single move, but they had no idea how many times he had tested him.

This guy was a genuine, absolute monster. How could a monster like that possibly fail to withstand Arthur's attack?

Still, seeing Qi Yan cut apart Arthur's strongest technique so effortlessly gave him quite a fright.

At that moment, Qi Yan slowly came back to his senses. Only an instant had passed, yet it felt as though he had experienced an entire hour.

"So this is enlightenment?"

Having read countless cultivation novels, he had some understanding of enlightenment.

He must have entered a state of enlightenment just now. At the moment, using magic power felt incredibly smooth to Qi Yan, as though he had reached an exceptionally high level.

Only Yoriichi Tsugikuni's heaven-defying talent could have allowed him to attain enlightenment and swiftly master this power the moment he came into contact with magic power.

Looking back now, the way he had used magic power before was like children playing house. It couldn't even be called using magic power.

Just now, he had rearranged the magic power and condensed it along the blade, producing astonishing destructive force.

Qi Yan looked at Arthur, raised his sword with one hand, and casually swung it downward.

Swish—!

A slash shot forth from Qi Yan's blade.

The slash swept past Arthur, leaving him no time to react.

Crack—!!

A clean cut was carved directly through the enormous arena, as though it had been sliced through like tofu.

"!!!"

Everyone who saw this was terrified senseless. The commentator's microphone even fell from his hand.

They all stared at the massive cut with horror on their faces. The entire venue fell deathly silent.

"Wh... what is that?"

Qi Yan's attack had seemed completely silent, yet the destruction it caused was undeniably real. Many people present could destroy the arena walls.

But cutting through the arena wall as evenly as if it were tofu, without even causing damage to the surroundings, was beyond explanation.

Arthur stared blankly at the clean cut, his expression shocked and dazed.

He had originally thought his swordsmanship was only slightly inferior to the other man's. Now he realized it wasn't merely a slight difference—it was the difference between heaven and earth.

Qi Yan sheathed his sword and stood still, speaking calmly. "You do not know swordsmanship. Before me, you are like a frog at the bottom of a well gazing at the moon in the sky. When you are fortunate enough to become a Nine-Star Swordsman someday, before me, you will be like a mayfly gazing upon the blue heavens!"

Boom—!!

Everyone was stunned by Qi Yan's domineering words. They were overwhelmingly arrogant, yet with nearly every top swordsman in the Sobeia Kingdom gathered here, not a single one spoke up to refute him.

No rebuttal meant acknowledgment.

Arthur's pupils contracted sharply, and then his knees gave out as he knelt on the ground.

"I lost!"

"The victor has been decided!!!"

"The winner: Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!!"

"Too strong!! He is truly too strong!!"

"The winner of the World's Strongest Swordsman Tournament is: Yoriichi Tsugikuni!!!"

"The strongest swordsman on the Ishgar Continent!!! Yoriichi Tsugikuni truly deserves the title!!!"

"Sword God!! Sword God!! Sword God!!"...

Everyone in the stands began cheering. Most of them might not have been able to tell just how extraordinary Qi Yan's swordsmanship was. They only knew that he was unbelievably strong—even the strongest Nine-Star Swordsman looked like a child who had only just begun learning the sword before him.

But to the Seven-Star, Eight-Star, and Nine-Star Swordsmen, the swordsmanship Qi Yan had displayed was simply heaven-defying.

As they listened to the crowd cheering Qi Yan's title,

a thought involuntarily sprang into their minds.

Could this man truly be the Sword God?

They could not imagine who else, besides the Sword God, could possess such terrifying swordsmanship.

Inside the royal palace

Smack!!!

The king excitedly smashed the table before him.

As the strongest Nine-Star Swordsman of the previous generation, he knew what Qi Yan's slash represented. He remained shaken for a long while, unable to recover.

Many might have thought Qi Yan's final words were exaggerated, but the king did not find them exaggerated in the slightest. Between himself and that man lay an insurmountable gulf.

It was a realm he could never reach, no matter how long he trained.

If he were younger, then no matter the cost, he would definitely have taken this man as his master. Unfortunately, he was old now, and his physical abilities had declined. What a pity.

Still, being able to witness such swordsmanship in this life made him incomparably fortunate.

As long as he could invite this man to join the campaign against the Demon Dragon, this time they would surely succeed.

Suddenly!!

A voice rang out.

"Report!!! Urgent!!!"

A soldier hurried inside, his face filled with panic.

"Why are you panicking like this?!"

"Reporting to Your Majesty!! According to scout reports, there has been unusual activity in the Great Monster Forest! At least a hundred thousand monsters are heading toward the city!!!"

"What?! At a time like this?!"

The king's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. He had not expected something like this to happen now. A hundred thousand monsters was an enormous number. If they did not respond carefully, the entire city could be destroyed.

The king quickly calmed down and began issuing orders. "Minister! Immediately gather all soldiers and place them on the highest alert!"

"Arrange for the city's citizens to take refuge in the arena. At the same time, recruit every swordsman in the city to join the battle!!"

"Yes!!"