A month later, this year's Izumo Sword Festival was held as scheduled in "Forgotten Rivers," the territory of the Raiden Clan. This Sword Festival was also named the River Lethe Sword Festival.
Due to the special significance of the River Lethe Sword Festival, it became the grandest Sword Festival gathering in nearly a century despite the current turmoil.
After all, the Edict Blade "Fierce" had remained masterless for eleven years. It was time for someone to draw it and return that dormant Divine Art to the world.
To ensure fairness, all swordsmen participating in the Sword Festival used standardized longswords. What was compared in the arena was the swordsmanship of their respective schools and the depth of their mastery.
After the Sword Festival began, the most eye-catching figures were naturally the rising talents of each family. Foremost among them was Raiden, Watcher of Forgotten Rivers, Tsuyi, now the head of the Raiden Clan. As the host and nominal head of the Twelve Houses of Izumo, her talent and strength in the sword were beyond doubt.
The school taught by the Raiden Clan suited the characteristics of the Edict Blade "Thunder"—"Lightning could tear through the sky, while falling thunder punished with heavenly judgment." It was renowned for explosive power in an instant. Thus, in the arena, this young lady of the Raiden Clan needed only a single strike to end her matches with ease.
Beyond that, successors of several obscure sword schools that had once remained hidden in the mountains also began to emerge. Though their sword schools were obscure, that did not mean they were weak. Sometimes, it was quite the opposite. Precisely because these sword schools took unconventional paths and imposed harsh requirements on their practitioners, their inheritances had dwindled and declined.
Now, through this River Lethe Sword