Chapter 564: Chapter 564- Tales of a Gutsy Knight (3)

As cunning as the Storm Sovereign was, even it got irritated, and its taunts became harsher.

But Vangeance had wised up and did not pick a fight in unfavorable areas.

Seeing his growth, Silvia smiled. The trials are different for each knight, and the Altar hands it based on the characteristics of that knight.

For Vangeance, it was not without reason that he was given this trial. The current mission was slowly sharpening his rough edges and honing the things that he lacked.

.

The next day, they reached the middle peak.

A huge rocky mountain that rose so high its summit vanished into swirling thunderclouds. Violent cyclones coiled around its slopes, and lightning intermittently struck the surface.

“This is it,” Silvia spoke calmly.

“How can you be so sure?” Vangeance tilted his head.

She glanced at him, pulled out a hand drawn map filled with markers, drawings, and overlapping routes.

“These past days I mentally mapped every location where the Storm Sovereign appeared. Then I connected those points, and this peak sits in the dead center of it.”

She pointed at the blank area encircled by a rough circle and the mountain in front of them.

“Although the appearance of the Storm Sovereign seems random at first, if you think about it carefully, it only appeared in front of us when we entered certain locations. What’s more, given its behavior, it was guarding something. And the more closer we got to that place, the more aggressively it responded.”

Silvia folded the map and slipped it back into her pouch.

“It tried various methods, redirecting us, pushing us, trapping us… all because it didn’t want us to reach this mountain. This place is its lair, there is no doubt about it.”

“Damn, that thing really is cunning.”

Vangeance wore a complicated face. He finally understood how dreadful the Storm Sovereign was.

Although he was not afraid of its powers, had he been undergoing this trial alone, he would have already found himself lost in this place, unable to even get near its lair.

“T-Thanks.” Vangeance scratched his cheeks and thanked in an unruly fashion.

“You are welcome.”

Silvia was in a good mood. Why would she not? Thanks to the unique environment of the area, she made steady progress on the Fourth Light of the [Holy Sword Arts].

Commander was right, simply practicing in the training field won’t help one master the technique.

Only when one goes through numerous trials and deepens one’s understanding and changes one’s mentality could one hope to make progress in the Divine Art.

Thus, it could be said that it was not just Vangeance who was benefiting from this journey, but also her.

“Let’s go.”

Vangeance took the lead, too eager to corner the Storm Sovereign.

Don’t fall for his looks; although he looked calm outwardly, he was actually at the boiling point. The constant humiliating taunts from the beast these past few days had gotten to him, and he wanted nothing else but to roast the oversized chicken and fill his stomach with it.

Just like Silvia said, this truly was the lair of the Storm Sovereign. The moment they stepped onto the lower slopes of the middle peak, the atmosphere shifted, and a powerful pressure engulfed the entire place.

BOOM…

Thunder boomed, and a lightning vortex formed in the clouds.

SKREEEE… Then stretching its huge wings that fanned the storm, the Storm Sovereign showed its appearance.

“Heh, you are finally serious huh.”

Vangeance’s lips curled into a savage grin.

The moment the beast appeared, it hit them with its bloodlust, showing that it was furious.

The Storm Sovereign was angry? But so what? When was he, Vangeance afraid of anyone?

BANG… The ground beneath him exploded as the beast slammed down, talons tearing deep into solid stone.

A tidal wave of compressed wind blasted outward.

However Vangeance had already vanished by then.

As for Silvia, she hurriedly opened a distance for the two to fight.

The shockwave pulverized boulders, flinging debris into the sky. Yet in the chaos, a shadow could be seen skipping across falling rocks like stepping stones.

Vangeance leapt, twisted his body, kicked off a spinning slab of stone, and launched himself straight toward the Sovereign’s head.

However, just as he was about to reach its head, the element around its wings shifted. The razor sharp wings vanished, and lightning erupted in their place.

Under the Storm Sovereign’s manipulation, a spear of thunder descended from the lightning vortex, heading straight for Vangeance.

The speed was so fast that the latter barely had time to use [Holy Shield] before the lightning spear detonated against him, sending him flying back.

BOOM… After smashing through debris, his boots skidded across a fragment of floating rock, barely stopping himself from falling off its edge.

“That’s all you’ve got?!” Vangeance dusted his clothes and pointed his sword at the beast with a smile.

His words seemed to have pissed it off. The Storm Sovereign shrieked and unleashed a hurricane blast from its wings.

The gales became violent, and even the air current changed direction.

Vangeance was hurled backward. But having seen this move already, how can he let himself fall for it again? He twisted his body mid air, planting one foot against a collapsing cliff wall and sprinting horizontally across it before launching himself back into the storm.

“Your blades shall carry the weight of your vow. Your movements and your swing shall become one with your mind, breath, and blade. Finding unity in all three will remove all gaps.”

Uttering his signature catchphrase, he shifted into the first and second state of Transcendence.

Reinhardt couldn’t have known at that time that the words he muttered casually while teaching his knights the secrets of [Holy Blade Arts] would stick with Vangeance, almost becoming a sort of mantra for him.

Having unleashed the states of [One with the Sword] and [Heart of the Sword], he moved like a blur of white and silver.

Step, spin, kick, leap.

Every falling shard of rock became a platform. Every drifting fragment a foothold.

His movement was a dizzying three dimensional dance, weaving through lightning arcs, slicing through violent wind currents, and rebounding off airborne debris.

.

The Sovereign slashed downward with its talons.

Vangeance dodged with superhuman reflex and drove his punch towards the beast.

BOOM…

His fist collided with a condensed mana barrier, detonating in a violent explosion that sent both of them flying back.

In the distance, Silvia stood atop a large boulder and observed the fight. When she saw Vangeance punch the Storm Sovereign without any preparation, she was taken aback.

“So reckless,” she sighed and muttered.

Monsters like the Storm Sovereign, who had reached this level of power, weren’t easy to take down. Not only can they affect the environment around them, but they also possess mana barriers to protect their bodies.

Unless the barrier is breached first, it is almost impossible to hurt them.

As could be seen, although the beast was pushed by the sheer force of Vangeance’s punch, there was hardly any damage to its body.

That said, a faint curl appeared at the edge of Silvia’s lips.

She continued to watch the battle unworried that Vangeance would fail.

SCREEE.

The Storm Sovereign screeched. The lightning vortex above answered its will, sending forth hundreds of lightning bolts that converged into a massive sphere of condensed storm energy.

The beast glared at the ant-sized human in the distance and hurled the huge sphere towards the latter.

RUMBLE… RUMBLE…

The power within that ball of sphere could be imagined. The air trembled in its face, and the entire mountain started shuddering.

Yet in the face of such a powerful attack, not a hint of panic or self-doubt could be seen within Vangeance.

He planted a foot and faced the attack head-on.

[Blessings of Valor].

Bright white light burst out of his body, converging towards his sword, they formed a large holy blade.

SLASH…

Then just when the sphere struck, he swung his sword [Judgement Slash].

BOOOOOOM…

A column of blinding light and thunder exploded skyward. The impact gouged a massive crater into the mountainside.

However, if one looked carefully, they would be able to see that the crater was divided into two halves, with the ground in the middle being completely unscathed.

Whoosh… A figure burst from the explosion.

Vangeance shot forward like a cannonball, his entire body wrapped in condensed holy aura. As it appeared just before the Storm Sphere collided against him, he cut the attack in half, barely dodging the attack.

Vangeance stomped his foot to speed up, jumped once to reach head level with the beast, and delivered a devastating spinning kick directly into the Storm Sovereign’s jaw.

CRACK…

As expected, the brunt was absorbed by the mana barrier. Still, there was a crack in it, and that’s all Vangeance needed.

He maneuvered his body mid-air and slashed down with his sword.

CRASH…

The barrier, unable to take another attack, collapsed entirely, and the sword hit the beast’s beak.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep