Chapter 965: Great Roc Wing Beat, A Pale Blue Hand
Izroth observed the ancient roc summoned by Aurelius. While its presence was nowhere close to that of an ancient beast, the pressure it gave off was enough to fool most and cause them to retreat.
Of course, what Aurelius called forth was not a genuine beast. The ancient roc itself was formed out of sword intent, as well as the Law of Wind and the Law of Lightning.
Earlier, Izroth detected faint traces of the Law of Wind from Aurelius' sword; however, it was the first time he had witnessed the Law of Lightning.
To most, it was common knowledge that a person or object could only contain a single law of the world. But that was not always the case.
For example, thanks to his skill, The Unbounded One, Izroth was able to comprehend not only the Law of Void but the Law of Causality as well.
That being said, Izroth's case was one of the utmost extreme rarity.
More importantly, even he could not use two laws simultaneously without paying a heavy price in return. After doing so in his fight against the Lady of Everlasting Rain Tal'Nis during the final stage of the crusade, he was left in a severely weakened state.
At that time, he had the help of both his Heavenly Golden Body and the Dragon Force temporarily granted through the authority of the Immortal Persona: Dragon Lord of the Abyss.
Dragon Force was something utilized by the dragon race that gave them their mighty physical prowess and high durability. Compared to the Might stat, it was several times more powerful when it came to enhancing one's physical capabilities.
Izroth inspected Aurelius multiple times with his natural senses and Energy Vision Sense. There was nothing that revealed anything comparable or superior to Dragon Force. But, if that was the case, how could he utilize two laws simultaneously without any clear signs of backlash emerging?
'A bit interesting. Though it's a shame, this skill—it is still incomplete.'
Izroth was not simply lost in thought upon the approaching attack. With Time Dilation active, it gave him a clear wind of time to sort through his thoughts and decipher Aurelius' sword skill.
To assist him in that matter, Izroth used Deep Insight and immediately discovered a major flaw.
Shrieeeeek!
The ancient roc flapped its wings once more as it conjured a vicious storm of lightning and harsh winds that wreaked havoc throughout the battlefield.
'This place is still quite far away from the city, but... It will be a little troublesome if the chaos draws any unnecessary attention. I'll end this here.'
Izroth shifted his sword stance as an overbearing aura erupted from the edge of his blade.
As the waves of attacks generated by the ancient roc closed in on his position, Izroth's figure began to flicker in and out of existence.
...BOOOOOOM!
Less than half a breath later, the area where stood exploded and caused the earth to tremble violently.
The large explosion was followed by a series of miniature explosions that swept throughout the surroundings.
As this occurred, Izroth's figure flickered in numerous areas as the explosions appeared to follow his path.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Izroth evaded every attack at the moment just before impact. This made it even more challenging to predict his moves since he would not give any signs of his potential actions ahead of time.
'His reaction time is faster than I expected.'
Not many people Izroth ran into could keep up with him once he used Flickering Steps. But, despite his struggle to land a solid blow, Aurelius was still able to keep track of his movements to a certain extent—even with the presence suppressing effects of Dark Ambush still active.
Meanwhile, Aurelius maintained his position as he constantly adjusted the path of his attacks. There was a look of frustration mixed with exhaustion on his face that worsened every time the ancient roc flapped its wings to release a new wave of destruction.
"This bastard...! How is he still alive after receiving my sword technique head-on...?!" Aurelius thought to himself as he tightened the grip on his sword.
"?!" Suddenly, Aurelius covered his mouth as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Aurelius looked down at his hand and closed his fist.
"Again... Am I going to allow myself to be humiliated again by some arrogant nobody...? I won't..." Aurelius muttered.
He then shouted, "I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THAT!!!"
Aurelius roared as his eyes glowed light green, and his skin turned pale. The sword in his hand trembled as his aura and sword intent underwent a drastic transformation.
ROOOOOAR!
The next moment, a soul-suppressing roar descended from above. This roar came from the ancient roc.
The transformation that occurred not only happened to Aurelius but also to the ancient roc.
The ancient roc turned dark green, and its cries shifted from that of a loud bird closer to that of a true ancient beast!
Naturally, this did not escape Izroth, who was met with a crushing pressure equivalent to that of a level four Gravity Pocket. The pressure was significant enough that, even with his Flickering Steps active, it made it seem as though he was moving at his base speed.
'This change... Did he have a breakthrough in the middle of battle?'
Izroth witnessed the evolution of Aurelius' Windstorm Ultimate Style: Great Roc Wing Beat happen right before his eyes.
Along with its evolution, the earlier flaw that was exposed as a result of his Deep Insight vanished without a trace.
'The opening has disappeared. Then, I will merely have to make my own.'
Izroth did not halt his steps as he continued onward through the multiple layers of obstruction and destruction rained down by the ancient roc.
While it was true that Aurelius' sword technique had undergone an evolution and improvement, Izroth noticed that the user himself was having a difficult time controlling the abrupt boost in power.
Out of nowhere, Izroth glanced to the side as he swiftly kicked off his right foot.
Swoosh! Bang!
'They finally decided to make their move.'
Izroth looked over at the metal arrow pierced into the ground where he had just stood not even seconds ago. His gaze then landed on the individuals in the near distance charging forward.
"Everyone, aid the young lord!" Vincent yelled as he led the charge toward Izroth's position.
"Tch, I thought I got him...!" One of the soldiers trailing right behind Vincent said as they clicked their tongue.
"It's alright. You don't have to hit him. As long as you keep pressuring him, he's bound to make a mistake. We, along with the young lord, will take care of the rest." Vincent stated calmly.
"Well, if you say so. Still... Ain't no way I'm missin' that bastard a second time." The soldier said as they knocked another arrow on their bow before releasing it.
The entire sequence of motions happened in a flash. In addition, they were so smooth and natural that one would not even notice he had released an arrow until it had already long since left his bow's string!
Swoosh!
The arrow soared and weaved through the air as if it were being guided by an invisible hand.
Not long after its departure, the arrow pierced through Izroth's body. However, instead of making contact, it merely phased through as a flickering silhouette disappeared.
Zeeeeut!
In a flash, Izroth arrived in front of Aurelius with his Sword of the Storm already mid-swing.
"How did he get over there so fast...?!" The soldier who shot the arrow gasped in shock.
As the soldier was lost in shock, Vincent said, "I'm going ahead!"
The instant he finished speaking, Vincent's speed rose to an incredible degree as he shot forward at frightening speeds!
'First Baneful Sword: Destruction.'
The overbearing aura from Izroth's sword erupted forth with an unstoppable might toward Aurelius.
Right now, Aurelius seemed to be completely overwhelmed by the sword intent and the laws all mixing into one. To any average onlooker, it would only seem as though Aurelius was getting ready to unleash a mighty attack that could level the entire area.
However, to those with more experienced eyes, they could tell that the Prime Eques was slowly losing control over the evolution of his own sword technique!
"I won't make it...! Faster!" Vincent said to himself as he grit his teeth and pushed himself to his limits.
Ding!
The moment right before Izroth's sword was about to reach Aurelius, it struck something hard. At the same time, a pale blue hand appeared wrapped around the blade of his Sword of the Storm.