Chapter 962: Windstorm Sword Styles
But, even as the attack approached him in a completely defenseless position, there was not the slightest bit of panic present on Aurelius' face.
Woosh!
Izroth cut through Aurelius effortlessly. However, he immediately noticed that something was off with the impact of his sword.
'It's different...'
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Aurelius disappeared, leaving behind an abrupt gust of wind.
Izroth narrowed his eyes as his Soul Sense went off. At the same time, he could feel a sudden shift in the atmosphere as a heavy rise of electric currents spread throughout the surroundings.
"Windstorm Fifth Style: Thunder Call."
A strong blast of wind blew at Izroth's back as Aurelius appeared out of thin air with his sword swinging in a downward motion.
Around Aurelius' sword was a light golden aura. This aura released a terrifying sword intent and was fused with the lightning element. This not only increased the speed of the strike but also enhanced its destructive powers several times over.
Right before Izroth's attack could reach him, Aurelius used a movement skill called Fleeting Breeze. With it, he could briefly make himself completely intangible and move freely within a certain distance.
In addition, Aurelius used another movement skill that was in constant use known as Flowing Winds.
Flowing Winds provided a boost to Aurelius' overall speed while also providing him with large bursts of speed whenever he concentrated mana on his feet. It was this skill that he performed earlier to shrink the distance between himself and Izroth.
Bzzzzt... Crrrrckle!
All of a sudden, Izroth's Sword of the Storm emitted a faint glow as a bolt of lightning descended from above Aurelius.
'Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder.'
BOOM!
An ear-piercing explosion sounded as a powerful series of shockwaves erupted from Izroth and Aurelius' location.
Without turning to face Aurelius, Izroth reversed his grip on the Sword of the Storm, using the attack speed buff from his Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder to quickly adjust his sword's position to intercept Aurelius' strike.
"Woah... Is that the famous Windstorm Sword Styles? It's more domineering than I imagined." One of the soldiers commented with a look of awe on their face.
"Its ranking among the sword techniques throughout the kingdoms is not just for show. The Windstorm Sword Styles focuses on harnessing the power of wind and lightning. What makes it special is that it combines one's sword intent with those elements. This allows the members of the Windstorm family to display a flexible style of swordsmanship that can adapt and overwhelm their opponents at will." Vincent stated as his eyes remained locked on the battle.
Meanwhile, as if feeding off one another, Izroth and Aurelius' strikes that contained both sword intent and the lightning element tangled into a mess of chaos that created a storm of destruction.
In the end, the build-up of destructive energy resulted in both Izroth and Aurelius being forced several meters apart from one another.
However, this did not mean that the two were equally matched in the clash just now.
Aurelius had a look of disbelief on his face as he stood motionless with his hands trembling uncontrollably as he struggled to keep a tight grip on his sword.
"How is this possible..?!" Aurelius thought to himself as he could not hide the confusion and anger in his eyes.
After their attacks clashed, while it was true that both parties involved were forced back by the aftermath, the distance the two traveled was vastly different.
Aurelius was sent back several meters. On the other hand, Izroth had only moved back half a step!
In addition, when their swords crossed during that last attack, Aurelius felt as though he was hitting an unmoving wall of solid metal.
Izroth was not surprised by the dumbfounded look on Aurelius' face.
At the last moment, right before their swords crossed, Izroth activated the Strength of the Ancient Colossus. This amplified the effects of his Might stat by 100% for one minute and elevated his physical strength to an entirely different level.
The last-second change in pure physical strength gave Izroth the upper hand and caused Aurelius to be caught off guard. This ultimately led to the Prime Eques being utterly overwhelmed by Izroth's Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder.
Aurelius stopped his hands from trembling as he stood up straight and lowered his sword.
"To receive my Thunder Call head-on—I guess you aren't just all talk, after all. But..." Aurelius' expression darkened as the aura around him shifted.
He then continued, "Don't go getting any wild thoughts in that head of yours. I'll admit I let my guard down just now. From this point on, I'll show you the true terror of my Windstorm family's swordsmanship."
Crrrrckle!
With his Energy Vision Sense active, Izroth could see the changes happening to Aurelius' aura. There was a sudden overflow of the lightning and wind elements pouring out from his body as the mana around him exploded forth.
Ranazera's gaze landed on Aurelius as she watched the fight unfold.
In truth, she was shocked that Izroth managed to push Aurelius back using a sword skill, of all things.
But, the sixth princess knew—the true battle was only just beginning.
"This is the technique passed down to the descendants of the Windstorm family. To think that arrogant guy would use it in a place like this." Ranazera muttered to herself.
At the same time, the lightning and wind elements that encompassed Aurelius settled down. However, the new source of strength flowing from Aurelius did not dissipate in the slightest. In fact, with every passing moment, it even appeared to be growing.
"You should feel honored. It's not every day one gets to face the Storming Bulwark of my Windstorm family." Aurelius proudly proclaimed.
Although his physical appearance had not undergone any drastic changes, the energy around Aurelius was a different story altogether.
There was a coating of the lightning element paired with the wind that covered the Prime Eques from head to toe.
'I suppose he still has a few tricks up his sleeves.'
Suddenly, Aurelius soundlessly vanished without a trace.
Simultaneously, everything around Izroth appeared to move considerably slower. But, it was not as if everyone had abruptly become sluggish. This was due to a skill Izroth activated, Time Dilation.
At the moment, Izroth was perceiving everything around him at 80% of its actual speed.
To most players, this by itself would be an incredible boost. However, for someone like Izroth, who possessed extraordinary senses, it was like giving wings to a tiger!
Swoosh!
Izroth utilized his Light Feather Footwork as he slid his right foot back and swung his sword in a horizontal arc to his right side.
To onlookers, it looked as though Izroth was swinging randomly at nothing but air. However, right as Izroth's sword reached the halfway point of its arc, it collided with something that was not supposed to be there.
Ding! BANG!
"?!"
Aurelius, who had just disappeared without so much as a sound, was suddenly right next to Izroth with his sword locked in place.
"Impossible...! How can he still follow my movements..?!" Aurelius thought to himself as an ugly expression formed on his face.
Storming Bulwark was a powerful buff skill that granted its user a huge boost of destructive power and speed. It also used the wind element to flawlessly hide the user's presence and seal off any sound that came from the movements they made.
This combination of speed and presence erasing essentially made the user invisible to their opponents.
That's why Aurelius could not believe that someone who had probably never even caught a glimpse of the Storming Bulwark beforehand was able to follow his movements. It was not something that should be possible!
Of course, things were much different for Izroth. Not only did Izroth rely on his Energy Vision Sense to track Aurelius' movements, he also used Time Dilation to make it so that he had plenty of time to react to the surprise attack.
"I must admit, it's quite a clever use of the wind element to hide one's presence. In the middle of an intense battle, a single moment where you lose track of your opponent can cost you your life. However, it's unfortunate. Such a method—it will not work against me." Izroth stated with a distant gaze.
Aurelius grit his teeth as he nearly coughed up blood in anger. Was he saying that his Windstorm family's swordsmanship was useless against him? How could he accept such a ridiculous claim?!