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Chapter 167: First Time Exhibiting the New Art
As the best restaurant in town, the area on the second floor was considerably large. After clearing all the tables and chairs and arranging them to block the exit, the space left was perfect to set up their battle formation and gang up on their enemies. Moreover, they still had more comrades waiting outside of the restaurant. Even if Sila’s team decided to break through the window, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Malevolent psychic power filled the room. The first thing that Sila was able to tell was the fact that these players were all psychic types. It was also highly likely that they trained together, chosen their energy type together, and might even come from the same dojo in reality. It was at this moment that Sila was reminded of the Wulin Masters Association.
Sanon had told him Montra relied on his successor position to recruit many groups of martial artists to fight for him. It was Montra’s secret forces coming from several dojos in the real world. The time they spent inside the game was short, so they might not be able to fight against veteran players. However, with financial aid and support from the Heavenly Dragon Guild, and each group coming from the same dojo, it would take no time for Montra to acquire a large number of high-quality soldiers.
To make matters worse, these armies didn’t even have to be dispatched under the name of the Heavenly Dragon Guild. They could act as mysterious groups of players, secretly working under Montra.
Realizing this, Sila quickly became aware that Montra was indeed an intelligent person. Sila suspected that this plan was just one of the many trump cards Montra prepared for the war event. Sila might not have figured it out if wasn’t for Sanon explicitly telling him. He was confident that, except for him, others would still not be aware of these mysterious groups. At most, there were only rumors about them.
He also noticed that all of the enemies were using similar swords; a Western longsword with a considerably thick blade. This fact asserted Sila’s suspicions—the opponents weren’t amateurs but true swordsmen who practiced swordsmanship in real life.
Sila decided to warn Burapha. “Be careful. These guys are not ordinary.”
“Neither am I, Big Brother.” Burapha spun his lance, and waves of energy emitted from the tip of the lance in several layers. It was Sila’s first time witnessing Burapha’s art. Seeing his friend full of confidence, Sila realized that he was worrying too much.
“Auror Formation!! First Unit takes the left, Second Unit takes the right, and the rest stick to the original plan,” The young leader shouted. He was Sila’s first target. Though, for the sake of interrogation, Sila didn’t plan to kill him yet. However, where the young man issuing commands from required Sila to break through the front line.
“It seems I need to step up my gear,” muttered Sila. He dashed forward, showing no fear of his opponents’ blades.
“You are seeking death!!” The players in the front shouted.
The first three styles of Weapon Subduing Art were most suitable against a large group of enemies as they didn’t require too much energy to utilize. The middle three styles required more energy to use, so they were best in a one-on-one fight or against a small group of enemies. As for the last three styles, they were profound and flexible, so they could be used in almost any kind of situation, though the power consumption was simply too high.
The first style that Sila chose to depend on was the most fundamental style; Armament Trampling. Both of his feet moved at high speed. Sometimes he stepped to the left, while sometimes he stepped to the right. He closed the distance to the opponents at the front in an instant.
Dozens of swords aimed at him, ready to cut him into pieces. Sila jumped high enough that his feet were at eye level, before throwing several kicks using both feet. All of his kicks connected with the sides of the blades, without a single one hitting the sharp edges. This was Sila’s own martial move, which he called Subduing Kick.
For the people at the receiving end of the kicks, Sila’s kicks were too heavy, and their hands were almost broken. The swordsmen loosened the grip on their swords, and a gap was shown amidst the dangerous field full of blades. Without hesitation, Sila landed himself on the shoulder of one of the men and increased his weight, pressing the man to kneel down.
The Auror Formation wasn’t so simple. When one part of it was damaged, the other parts would replace that position and continue the duty. The remaining swordsmen continued their moves, while the injured ones stepped back to let their comrades replace their positions.
The change of position had yet to finish, but Sila refused to let the most injured one go. Swords were a mid-range weapon, so with Sila keeping his distance at melee range, his opponent couldn’t make any efficient attacks. Naturally, his opponent tried to shake him off, but it was to no avail. Sila followed him closely and didn’t let him break free.
However, the problem was solved in no time. Many players stabbed their swords at Sila’s back. Finally, they managed to separate Sila from Burapha. Now, the single big encirclement became two.
Secretly, Sila’s hand moved toward the enemies’ blind spot, and a second later, the image that one of the swordsmen in front of him was seeing turned upside down, together with a cracking sound. Like a marionette doll with severed strings, his body fell to the floor, his head rotated around, and his eyes wide open.
Seeing such a terrifying sight, the opposing party paused for a brief moment. The dead body turned into light and disappeared three seconds later, but the sense of terror still lingered in their memory. They all began to realize that Sila was a dangerous person.
Finally, Sila had started using his second style, Bone Claws. When utilizing this style, he had to show no mercy. Hesitation and sympathy would only result in the opponent suffering, and that would be cruel for them. Killing opponents without hesitation was, actually, a way to show kindness. That was what Divine had taught Sila.
Slamming his palm against the table, Sebastian exclaimed, “Splendid! ...How marvelous!”
Bluebird ceased his hand, holding a chicken drumstick. “That’s... Isn’t that too brutal? That man’s head was snapped in such a terrifying manner.”
Meanwhile, Franz and Asura thoughts were the same: As expected of Sebastian’s master, to use such a sadistic method to kill enemies.
To be honest, Sila was quite shocked too. That was his first time using Bone Claws against a real opponent. In his sparring match against Divine, he always tried his best but his attacks never worked, so he didn’t think he should hold back. It also surprised him how effective this style was.
“Guys! Don’t be afraid of him. Let’s hack him into thousands of pieces to avenge our comrade!”
As their morale raised from the yell, the barrage of attacks continued.
Seeing through that these players were not so strong—although their slashes had high attack power, they weren’t enough to threaten him—Sila clad his Mechanical God’s Protection with Yin Yang Energy, and the symbol on the back of his armor began to spin.
Clatter—! Clatter—! Clatter—!
The sound of blades breaking continued to echo once they came into contact with Sila’s body. The defense of Mechanical God’s Protection was high and the attribute of Weapon Crush was also included. Every blade slash at him, if not strengthened properly, would shatter on the spot.
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As Sila no longer needed to mind many of the swords aiming at him, he began to make a new move. He spun his wrists, preparing to initiate one of his middle styles, Stellar Wheel.
Still trying to approach the leader of the group, Sila advanced forward and struck both of his hands against the ones blocking his path. Being hit by Sila’s hands, his opponents flew and crashed into either the ceiling or the wall. A fist-shaped dent could be seen in their armor.
“Encircle him! He is a melee fighter. Just keep your distance!” The leader shouted a suggestion to his subordinates. However, understanding the solution and being able to practically put it into action were entirely different concepts. Sila could move freely inside their encirclement as if he was strolling in a garden. His speed was also extremely fast. There was no way for them to widen the distance even if they wanted to.
On Burapha’s side, his opponents were having an easier time, as he didn’t excel at fighting against a large number of enemies like Sila. The Eastern Sea Sailing Lance Art emphasized defense rather than offense. Though, once an offensive move was used, the opponent would face uninterrupted waves of energy.
Burapha depended on his layers of psychic power to defend against the opponent’s series of attacks while getting help from Julia. He only managed to kill a few of them, one at a time.
‘These guys are tough. They fight systematically; when one of them is weakened, another comes forward to take their place. How can Big Brother Sila manage to defeat them easily like they are just a bunch of side characters? Moreover, based on the system notifications, they all seem to be at Marquis Rank. How come there are a lot of Marquis Rank players making an appearance out of nowhere?’
Previously, Burapha had planned to travel to the Snow Realm, and once he re-entered the city, his focus was on White Swan and the gathering party, so he wasn’t up to date regarding the news about the Heavenly Dragon Guild’s Cloudy Dragon Ring.
Four out of ten players would successfully avoid being killed by Burapha. However, three out of those four would end up being shot by Julia instead. A small hole would appear on their foreheads before they collapsed.
For the record, Julia was trying to get used to the gun. Even though she was programmed to be an expert at utilizing items, practice was still required for her to be really good at using it.
As expected, her first few shots missed. However, once the number of her shots reached twelve, none of her shots after that ever missed their targets. It was also helpful that she was properly guarded by Burapha and could take her shots with ease.
Unlike Sila who was advancing into the enemy’s group, Burapha stood his ground and only waited for his opponents to come at him while also protecting Julia behind him. As a result, Julia could take her time to practice shooting. As a matter of fact, she had only been using her life force as bullets, and had yet to utilize Trickstar’s special ability.
Sila was like a tiger in a sheep den. Every time he made a move, there would be someone dying or getting injured. Many of his opponents began to doubt their own ability. They had always believed that they were strong. However, why was it that, when up against this man, they felt like they were just background characters whom only existed to be defeated by the main protagonist?
Unfortunately for them, not only was Sila strict on himself by always spending his time practicing alone, but all of his sparring partners were supreme experts whom Sila had to give his all in the hopes that he could inflict even the smallest injury. As a result, the degree of battle Sila experienced far surpass what they could imagine. For Sila, these insignificant players were only lackeys compared to people of Divine’s level.
Many cracking sounds continued to resound, along with people falling down with dreadful and bizarre postures. The dying ones didn’t even get a chance to scream in pain, because they didn’t feel it. Every death was abrupt and neatly done by Sila’s merciful hands. There was no pain. There was no suffering.
In the end, the leader of the group ordered his subordinates to back off and confronted Sila in a one-on-one match. It seemed he was at least an excellent leader, refusing to let his subordinates die uselessly anymore.
The amount of power that Sila could sense from this man was enormous. He was surprised because he had only secluded himself for a short period of time, but suddenly there dozens of strong people appearing before him. It didn’t make sense even when considering the backing of the Heavenly Dragon Guild. Even the most ordinary-looking swordsman in this group whom Sila had killed was as strong as Fargo before he went berserk.
Massive power was clad into the sword that the man was holding. Sila deliberately allowed himself to be slashed by it out of curiosity and could feel the impact behind the slash. His blood slightly dyed the Mechanical God’s Protection. It was the first injury Sila received in this battle. Even though it wasn’t a fatal one, it was proof that the man in front of him was quite skilled.
‘There are still a lot of hidden powerhouses in Monster Soul, so it seems. That’s unexpected.’ Sila decided to fight for real against the man. Since he couldn’t completely block the attack, there was no need for him to try defending against the attack head-on.
On the other hand, just a small bloodstain was enough for the man to confirm that his opponent didn’t have an impenetrable body. He only needed to add more power into his sword to be able to kill him.
The man furthered strengthened the sword in his hand, shouting the name of his skill.
“Rhythm of the Water-Cutting Blade.”
At the end of the sentence, Sila immediately sensed an unexplainable danger emitting from the blade. Although he still believed that if he put all of his power into strengthening Mechanical God’s Protection, it might be able to block the attack, there weren’t any reasons for him to risk his life to try it.
The power of Stellar Wheel was exhibited for the second time. Sila circulated Yin Yang Energy within him at high speed and its power covered Sila’s entire body like he was wearing a thin layer of fabric.
The blade slashed downwards quickly enough to leave behind an afterimage.
Sila stood firmly. He lifted his right hand, ready to parry the sword, while preparing his left hand to block the kick he predicted the opponent would soon throw at him.
As he thought, the man really kicked him, to which Sila countered by punching the man’s shin, completely stopping the attack while also sending the opponent’s body flying.
However, his opponent had yet to admit defeat. Even with his body rotating in mid-air thanks to Sila’s attack, he relied on centrifugal force to accelerate the slash.
Sila already intended to finish the fight, so he decided to use his most powerful attack. His eyes shone with malice as if belonging to a monster. The power of One Above All was about to be unleashed.
One Above All was a style directly developed from Kiryu’s ultimate move, Tiger-Dragon Fusion. Not only it was a blow that consisted of both the soft and hard attributes of tiger and dragon, but he further increased its power output with Genesis Punch. As a result, Sila could choose to concentrate the power behind his punch or to scatter the power into several points of contact at his will, elevating the previously simple Genesis Punch into a tricky offensive move.
Sila struck his left hand against the blade, while the opponent smiled at such a sight.
No sane person would counter the blade using a bare hand. Once he cut this hand down, he would have an easier time emerging victorious.
However, contrary to his expectations, once his sword collided with the hand, not only could the blade not penetrate Sila’s skin, but the force within the hand profoundly moved along the blade into the handle, exploding his wrist.
“Arghhh—!!” The first painful cry of the battle came out of the man’s mouth. However, Sila's attack had yet to end. His right claw struck his opponent’s shoulder, sinking through the armor as if it was melting butter. The claw reached the man’s chest. Lastly, Sila jerked the high-grade armor as if it was just a toy.
“ARGH—!!” Another painful cry rang out as what Sila sharply pulled out wasn’t only the armor but also a part of his flesh.
Cladding his fingers with a moderate level of energy, Sila stabbed both of his index fingers under the opponent’s left nipple. Soon, the man experienced unbearable heat and let out a miserable cry.
The move that Sila had done was called Flame Lotus, one of the many moves of Moon Perishing Yizichan. The points he pierced with his fingers were the acupuncture points near the human heart, an organ of the fire element. As a result, the temperature in the body would break loose and become hotter. The opponent being hit by this move would feel like they were suffering in a purgatorial flame even when there was no real flame. Considering that the pain in this game was only a tenth of the reality, Sila dared to try this move on the opponent. He didn’t think that it would still be painful enough for his opponent to cry in agony though.
Witnessing the defeat of their leader, the rest of the swordsmen retreated to the stairs. Even though their bodies were still here, their hearts had already fled. No one among them possessed the will to fight anymore.
Within the eyes were various emotions: fear, panic, shock, disbelief, and even respect. Sila went back to his seat.
“Whoever wants to leave, just leave. I’m going to resume my meal.”
The leader nodded to tell his subordinates to leave, to which they immediately complied. Then, he slowly following them, though he did not have much strength left due to his injuries, including the heat inside his body.
Burapha and Bluebird gave Sila a look. They were against Sila’s decision to let the group of opponents go. At the very least, they thought they should interrogate some of them for information. Nevertheless, Sila had already made his move.
Using Psychic Crush, Sila sent his power through the wooden floor, breaking the man’s ankles from a distance. Even though he still couldn’t properly show the power of the last three styles, for Psychic Crush, he could use it in certain situations, especially when his opponent was limping.
Crack—
For the unfortunate young man, the bones that made up his ankles completely turned to dust. As he didn’t see any attacks coming at him, he hadn’t protected himself with energy reinforcement. Ultimately, his face smashed into the floor.
“Except for you. You can’t leave yet. I still have some questions to ask you.”
Now, even the trio monsters, Asura, Franz, and Sebastian, couldn’t follow Sila’s previous action. The former two quit underestimating Sila from his past behaviors, while the latter chuckled and thought to himself that his master was indeed interesting.