Seeing this, the Sword God Style disciples around them secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately afterward, they could not help marveling at their master's terrifying control, which had allowed him to stop his overwhelmingly powerful attack so precisely. Only...
"H-How is this possible. You, are you really a god?"
Gal seemed not to hear the commotion around him. He simply stared blankly at the man before him, whose expression had not changed in the slightest, while waves of shock surged through his heart.
Others might think he had held back, which was why the wound was only this serious. But only Gal himself knew that he had never made any move to hold back.
The slash that could kill even an Evil Dragon in one blow, easily cut a city wall in half, and even sever the Dragon God's hand had failed to cut off this man's arm.
"How could that be? But still...", Compared to his injured wrist, Ash was much more interested in the fact that he had deciphered the Sword of Light technique, "This isn't the Sword of Light. What is this?"
"The Sword God Style's secret technique, Light Reversal," Gal gave him a deep look as he pulled his blade free and revealed the truth.
Ash instantly restored his arm to its original state with healing magic. He moved his arm around, thoughtfully nodded, and said, "This is meant to counter it, right? I've never heard of it before."
"That's right. It's a secret technique created to counter the Sword of Light. Before the Sword of Light reaches its highest speed, you catch up to it with an even greater speed and cut it in two first."
"It feels like something created specifically to deal with your own people. Can you teach it to me later?", Ash asked matter-of-factly, as though he were asking someone to share an ordinary little trick, without feeling that there was anything inappropriate about his request.
"You still need me to teach you? I can't even completely break through your defense."
"Defense? No, I wasn't defending just now," He shook his head speechlessly. What he said left even Gal unable to understand, "You weren't defending?"
Even if the Dragon God used Dragon Saint Battle Aura for protection, the Sword God Style's secret techniques could still break through his defense. Yet this man had not defended at all, relying solely on his physical body to keep his arm from being severed?
'What kind of monster is this? No, this has to be a joke, right?', Gal felt as though his entire worldview had been violently shaken, and he even suspected that Ash was lying.
Although Gal did not believe him, Ash could understand his thoughts.
After all, the combat philosophy of this world placed far more emphasis on offense and speed than defense.
The Sword God Style in particular regarded speed as its life, making it the core and absolute focus of the school. All sword techniques and training revolved around how to increase speed.
Ash, however, was different. He silently wiped the blood from his wrist, calmly assumed his battle stance again, and said in an even tone, "Sorry, my homeland is different from the mainstream. Defense is also given considerable emphasis, so it's different from what you know."
"How can defense be emphasized? In the end, a human body simply can't... N-No! That's not right! Your physical strength isn't something a human could possibly have!"
Gal's eyes seemed to be examining an existence beyond common sense. Even the Dragon God combined with Dragon Saint Battle Aura did not possess this level of defensive strength.
Warriors possessed the ability to wrap magic power around their bodies, which was also called Battle Aura. This could greatly enhance their physical qualities and combat abilities, and could even enchant weapons or provide a decent level of defense.
This process could also improve the body's physical defense to some extent, but that indirectly increased defense was simply insignificant.
After all, the limits of the physical body were lower than one might imagine, and there was no need to improve it. It was better to simply dodge. Why go to the trouble of defending?
Yet the defensive ability Ash had displayed had already reached a terrifying level above the god level.
But if this was merely passive defense, what would active defense be like? Gal truly could not imagine it, yet he could not help wanting to find out.
But at this moment, Ash took the initiative to correct him, "You probably have a little misunderstanding about me. Just now, I actually restrained my magic power's instinctive defense. That was a state of completely leaving myself undefended, even removing passive defense."
"Then let me see your normal defense."
"Sure. I happen to want to see what your special techniques are like."
After making a basic assessment based on Ghislaine's memories and gaining a rough understanding of his opponent's strength, Ash silently nodded and assumed his stance once again, while no longer restraining his magic power.
The magic power that had originally lain dormant inside him instantly became active. Like surging currents, it automatically rushed toward every part of his body, then rapidly gathered and intertwined, transforming into an indestructible, almost tangible defensive iron wall.
At that instant, Ash's figure underwent a complete transformation in Gal's eyes as well. He changed from that ancient beast into a terrifying monster that seemed to cover the earth, just like... when he had once faced the Dragon God. There was simply no chance of victory.
No matter how strong they were, a human body could never withstand blades and swords. That was why people challenged the Sword God, hoping to gamble on their luck. As long as they could break through his defense, there was hope.
If your luck was unbelievably good... even an ordinary person could stab an unsuspecting Sword God to death. After all, everyone had mortal bodies. Even with Battle Aura defense, even the Sword God could not maintain that defense every moment.
But the Ash before him seemed to deny the very value of humanity. There was no opening whatsoever, giving no one any hope. Faced with a gap between species that could not be overcome, Gal smiled.
There was no fear or retreat in that smile. Instead, it carried determination and fervor, like a true seeker obsessed with the way of the sword, whose purest fighting spirit had been ignited upon facing a monster powerful enough to make heaven and earth lose their color.
He yearned to challenge that supreme authority with his own sword. Even knowing that he might be shattered into pieces, he would not retreat, but would charge forward, and in the next moment...
"Sword of Light!", He lowered his body and put everything he had into it.
His entire body exploded with extreme speed. His figure became a dazzling streak of light that tore through the void, disappearing from where he stood in an instant.
The speed was so extreme that it had already surpassed the limits of what the naked eye could follow. The people around them had not even had time to blink before Gal appeared behind Ash as if he had teleported.
The entire process was completed in one fluid motion, without the slightest hesitation or wasted movement.
As his figure flashed through the air, a dazzling cluster of sparks, streaking away like a meteor, also flew up beside Ash.
No one present could detect when the attack had been launched. Everything ended too suddenly, and that incomparably sharp sword strike seemed like an ambush from another space-time.
Yet astonishingly, the two of them remained firmly standing where they were. Neither had fallen, as though that earth-shattering strike just now had been nothing more than an illusion.
"Impressive. Your body is obviously so weak, yet you can burst out with a speed even faster than I have in my normal state. You even actually managed to cut through the magic power's iron wall?"
Standing in place, Ash rather unexpectedly touched the shallow wound on his neck. Blood flowed from it, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"'So weak'?", This was the first time Gal had ever heard such a description. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he almost wanted to scream in his heart, 'The one who's abnormal is obviously you!'
But in the end, he said nothing. He simply lowered his head and looked at the magic sword, his face filled with bitterness.
As a sword genius, losing to the Dragon God in the past was one thing. But now, facing this unknown man, he had actually....only managed to barely scratch his defense?
He could feel that at the instant his blade flew out, the sword he had swung with all his strength had been blocked by the excessively dense defensive iron wall surrounding Ash. Yet he could not even understand what that thing actually was.
"Let's try again. I'm very interested in you. But it would be even better if I could see you when you were younger, in your prime. Your daughter is still so young, yet you've already grown old."
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