"Arrogant!", The man did not hold back. With a cold snort, he drew his sword, forcefully pushed off the ground, and shot toward him like an arrow released from a bow.
In the blink of an eye, the man had already reached Ash.
What he used was one of the advanced sword techniques of the Sword God Style, Longsword of Silence.
This move was extremely subtle and dangerous. As the blade swung, it made not the slightest sound, striking silently toward Ash's shoulder like a ghost.
He seemed to intend to carve a deep gash into Ash's shoulder, teach him a lesson, and make him pay the price for his arrogance.
But at the instant his opponent closed in, Ash, who was completely unarmed, grabbed the blade at an even faster speed, yanked it hard, then swung it.
The man, who had been charging at top speed, only felt a tremendous force hit him. Before he could even figure out what had happened, unwilling to let go of his sword, he was sent spinning through the air and slammed toward the ground, sword and all.
With a muffled "bang," the previously aggressive man was now sprawled awkwardly on his back, staring up at the sky. His face was filled with shock, and for a long while he could not recover from the sudden turn of events.
Losing to someone else was not strange, but he did not even understand what technique his opponent had used, what school it belonged to, or... why the other man had never even drawn a weapon from beginning to end?
The man was defeated in an instant, but the people who had gradually gathered around did not, as Ash had expected, put on a scene where one of their own was defeated and a whole group swarmed the outsider.
Someone slowly stepped out from the crowd. He first gave Ash a slight cupped-fist salute, then silently led the way, taking Ash deeper into this holy land, toward the arena located in the center.
However, before they could even push open the arena doors, a wildly arrogant voice clearly came through the door and echoed across the empty, silent snow-covered grounds inside, "Come on, bring it on! If you can take me down, then you lot can slaughter each other and see who gets to call himself the Sword God in the end! By then, forget about money you couldn't spend even after hundreds of lifetimes! Women from slaves to princesses will line up one after another, twisting their asses and begging you to favor them!"
"What a nice future. But can I try for the title of Sword God too?"
Ash's voice entered the snow-covered open-air arena along with the doors as they were pushed open.
"Hm?", The old man standing in the middle of the arena abruptly stopped laughing when he heard the voice and turned toward the entrance.
He had short blue hair and eyes as sharp as a hawk's. A conspicuous scar stretched across one side of his face, giving him a tough and imposing air.
His actual age was in his late fifties, yet he was also the strongest swordsman of the current era, the Sword God, Gal Farion.
The moment Gal noticed the newcomer, the expression on his face became serious for the first time.
Although the uninvited guest walking through the snow before him looked extremely young, seemingly not even twenty years old, the instant his eyes met Ash's, he actually felt a powerful sense of danger well up from the depths of his heart.
It was as though the person standing before him was not a young man at all, but an ancient beast of prey, radiating a pressure that made one's blood run cold. His invisible presence seemed almost tangible as it rushed straight toward Gal.
The entire atmosphere of the arena instantly became tense and charged.
The people who had been whispering around the arena fell completely silent, every pair of eyes fixed on Ash.
Because at this moment, it was not just their master. Everyone could clearly feel the pressure emanating from the newcomer, and it was so overwhelming that they could barely breathe.
"I see... You came to take the Sword God title, didn't you? And you're different from those guys who just want to try their luck."
Although the other party had not made many moves, Gal's nerves were still instantly taut. He unconsciously tightened his grip on his magic sword and stared at Ash with complete concentration, not daring to relax for even a moment.
"Just a spar."
"Haha! Why put it so politely! Be honest and just say you're doing it so those women will line up and let you go in and out of them. That's more in line with a man's spirit!"
"How boring."
"If you want to become the Sword God, you can't do it without endless desires and bottomless greed!"
"Putting that aside, if you're going to call yourself a god... aren't you a little weak?"
"Still weak? Ha! This is the first time anyone has ever called me weak! Good! You're really something!", As Gal spoke, he slowly drew his sword.
The blade shone with golden light. It was one of the Sword God's Seven Swords, as well as one of the forty-eight swords forged by the Demon World's master craftsman Julian from the bones of the Dragon King Kajakut, Magic Sword: Windpipe.
The Sword God, who had never drawn his true sword except when facing his two disciples who were Sword Emperors, had now drawn the magic sword even against this nameless nobody he had never heard of.
This made the spectators understand that a shocking battle was about to begin, and they were all witnesses caught in the middle of this storm.
Everyone held their breath and nervously watched the situation that was about to explode.
Even the two Sword Emperors who had fought Gal earlier... or rather, had simply been toyed with by him, silently stepped aside.
But an expectant smile appeared on Gal's face, "Don't call it a spar. If you've made it this far, you must have your own desires, right? You want my daughter?"
"As far as I know, your daughter is still a child. Speaking of which... can a daughter even be used as a bargaining chip?"
"Why not! The strong take everything from the weak! The weak should willingly offer themselves! That's simply the law of nature!", The Sword God Style advocated swordsmanship that followed one's desires, and Gal was its clearest embodiment.
Ash did not deny this either, "That's what you said. Don't cry when you lose later."
The two of them almost simultaneously assumed identical ready stances, which made Gal pause. He was quite surprised by Ash's movements.
"Finish it in one move?", Ash asked calmly.
"Ah, yeah. Let's decide the winner in one move," Realizing that Ash knew the Sword God Style, Gal's expression sank, and he once again became as serious as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
Within the swordsmanship philosophy of the Sword God Style, striking first was an absolute rule. As the strongest practitioner of the style in the current era, Gal naturally understood this principle deeply.
He was like a cheetah that had locked onto its prey. He suddenly exerted force through his legs and took one steady, decisive step forward.
The step looked simple, but it contained tremendous force. His entire presence rose with that step, as if he had merged with this frozen world of snow and ice while simultaneously standing above all things.
Immediately afterward, the two of them charged toward each other almost at the exact same instant, like two bolts of lightning tearing through the sky.
Ash surpassed the wind, and even surpassed everyone's imagination. He concentrated his magic power into a single point and brought his sword straight down.
Though simple, this was the essence of the "Sword of Light." However.... how could Gal possibly be an easy opponent?
He suddenly stopped halfway, placing himself in a more precise and reasonable position. His feet were like ancient trees rooted deep in the earth, planted firmly in the snow, while still allowing the explosive force accumulated in his lower body to flow continuously into his upper body, unleashing his strongest strike.
What he used was a sword technique famous for its overwhelming sword speed. Taking an upper stance, he wrapped the blade in a massive, unstoppable momentum. Like a dazzling beam of light carrying tremendous force, it struck toward Ash's wrist one step ahead of him.
This was a movement Gal had practiced tens of thousands of times. Every detail was close to perfect.
As the sword technique was swung, it contained a unique rhythm and beauty, as though it were the ultimate expression of the art of the sword. Anyone who witnessed this scene would be unable to help being captivated by it. It was, without question, the most perfect, "Light Reversal."
BOOM!
A fierce wind raged through the surroundings. With the point where Gal's blade landed as its center, the shockwave it created directly scattered all the snow.
And amid the flying snow, raging wind, and chaos, Ash and Gal both remained firmly standing where they were, allowing the biting gale to whip their clothes loudly like a mad beast.
The Sword God Style disciples watching from around them were all staring at the scene with their mouths open. In particular, Ash's wrist, which had nearly been cut off outright, made everyone suck in a sharp breath.
At this moment, Gal's blade was already lodged in Ash's bone. Blood continuously seeped from the wound, slowly flowing down his arm and dripping onto the ground.
"No way, right? It didn't break?"
"Did Master hold back?"
"As expected of Lord Sword God!"
"N-No, but even so, this young man is really impressive."
On the surface, Ash was injured, which seemed to mean that Gal had won the match.
[T/N: New fanfic chat—"Genshin Impact: Just Another Guy who Transmigrated". Currently, it has a Powerstones Goal for 5 bonus chapters. It ends on Monday, so rain those Powerstones.]