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Stalla was no different. She nodded, applying aura to her side to stop the bleeding.

“Is it a technique that separates presence from substance?”

Russ had mixed his aura with a real sword, masking his presence with aura while hiding his actual body, then delivered a slash.

Stalla was genuinely impressed by his skillful use of aura. Such a technique wasn’t something that could be achieved through mere effort. It required innate talent. Repenhardt and Stalla could understand what he did, but they couldn’t replicate it.

However, Russ didn’t seem pleased. Holding his sword, he wore a dissatisfied expression.

“Tch, it failed…”

The orcs watching were puzzled. They couldn’t understand why he called it a failure after landing a solid blow. But Stalla seemed to understand.

“It was quite a decent attack, but it won’t work a second time.”

With just one observation, Stalla had figured out the weakness of Russ’s technique. She couldn’t replicate the technique, but countering it wasn’t difficult. One only needed to ignore the aura and focus on the physical vibrations of the air being cut.

In other words, since Russ’s attack hadn’t inflicted a fatal wound on Stalla, the technique was now useless. Stalla understood why Russ considered it a failure.

“Alright then, let me teach the young one a lesson!”

Taking her stance, Stalla leaped forward, exuding confidence. She unleashed her blade aura in conjunction with her daggers. Russ also raised his sword to counter.

“Phantom Divide!”

Countless slashes rained down like a storm. However, this time, Stalla and her two daggers, imbued with her spirit, ignored the presence and detected the vibrations in the air to counterattack. Her dazzling blade aura repeatedly slashed through the illusions, aiming fiercely at Russ’s real body.

“Hah!”

At that moment, Russ let out a shout and swung his sword diagonally. The illusion aimed at her thigh, but she ignored it. It was just an aura.

Recognizing the true slash aiming for her neck, Stalla smiled confidently. This one was real! The flow of the air confirmed it!

“Hup!”

With a yell, she confidently moved to block the sword with her palm. Suddenly, Russ’s longsword shifted one meter lower, slashing her thigh!

“Ugh!”

Stalla grimaced, stepping back. Russ clicked his tongue. It was too shallow. He had only grazed her skin, barely affecting her combat ability.

However, Stalla wore a shocked expression that went beyond the pain of her wound.

She had been struck again.

And this time, it was by the aura.

No, to be precise, it was as if the positions of the physical and aura attacks had switched places, as if space had shifted. Russ, even while gasping for breath as if he might collapse any moment, murmured in exhilaration.

“S-success!”

The orcs’ expressions grew even more bewildered. Earlier, Russ had landed a solid hit and called it a failure, but now he was celebrating after a mere graze.

‘What’s with him?’

In contrast, Stalla, who had the insight to understand Russ’s technique, stammered in astonishment.

“A-amazing… What is this…?”

“Wow…”

Repenhardt, glancing between Russ and Stalla, expressed his admiration.

Even he couldn’t comprehend what Russ had done. This technique was entirely different from the martial arts Repenhardt had learned and practiced. Although he was a more powerful aura user than Russ, this technique was beyond his understanding.

However, he could make a guess.

Contrary to Stalla’s misconception, Russ hadn’t called the first Phantom Divide a failure because it failed to deal a fatal blow. The initial Phantom Divide had genuinely been a ‘failed’ execution. The separation of presence and substance was merely a byproduct of the failed technique.

A successful Phantom Divide was far more than just that.

‘Has he already grasped the essence of the Void Sword? He truly is a genius.’

What Russ had just performed was the initial stage of the Void Sword, the ultimate technique that had tormented Tassid so much in his previous life, wielded by the Sword Saint Cyrus.

Cyrus was the greatest swordsman who had created his own unique swordsmanship, transcending all martial arts on the continent.

His sword could traverse space. Although this ability was limited to a few meters around him, it was still enough to astonish all warriors and mages.

The three fundamental elements that no magic of the current era could manipulate: time, matter, and space.

By honing his aura to the extreme, Cyrus had succeeded in breaking the laws of the world with just his sword.

How he achieved this was a mystery even to the Archmage Repenhardt, and Cyrus himself. It was an intuitive technique, impossible to explain theoretically. Consequently, none of Cyrus’s numerous disciples had ever managed to grasp the Void Sword, let alone train in it.

‘Seeing that again feels so strange.’

Repenhardt scratched his cheek bitterly. He vividly remembered how much trouble the Void Sword had caused Tassid in his previous life. The blade could slice through space itself, making it impossible to dodge or block. If it weren’t for his robust orc body, he would have died multiple times.

‘Nevertheless, that rascal Tassid eventually managed to block it.”

Tassid’s method of dealing with the technique was truly characteristic of an orc.

‘He probably just relied on his instincts, didn’t he?’

The Void Sword appeared suddenly, making it utterly unpredictable. However, the one wielding the sword, Cyrus, was unmistakably human.

What Tassid did was not to anticipate the sword, but to predict Cyrus’s thoughts and movements. To put it nicely, it was foresight; but in truth, it was more accurate to say, ‘He had fought him so often that he instinctively knew what his opponent would do next.’

At any rate, seeing what Russ was doing now, it seemed he had already found the beginnings of his path at such a young age.

‘He must have picked that up after spending a few days holed up in the Grand Forge.’

Repenhardt stroked his chin, clearing his thoughts. Now that Russ had shown such potential, Stalla would also give her all. Repenhardt watched the two in the clearing. The tense atmosphere was slowly rising into the sky over the wilderness.

Stalla was frowning as she looked at Russ. She could clearly sense that his stamina and aura had significantly dropped. It seemed he had exhausted a considerable amount of energy with that technique. He looked even more tired than when his right arm had been injured.

‘It’s time to wrap this up.’

Though reluctant, Stalla decided that she couldn’t drag this out any longer. Russ had already proven his worth more than enough. Besides, Stalla had another opponent to face after Russ.

‘That big human over there also received the blessing of Debata…’

Seeing Repenhardt’s sparkling eyes focused on her, Stalla bit her lip.

Only an aura user could face another aura user. Among the orc warriors present, Stalla was the only one who was an aura user. If she were to fight Russ and then immediately face Repenhardt, she needed to conserve her strength.

Stalla extended her hand. Two daggers in the air flew into her grasp. Russ looked puzzled. Why was she retrieving her Spirits Weapon now?

Stalla grinned, revealing her teeth.

“It was fun! Now, let’s finish this!”

Russ also raised his usable left hand, assuming his stance once more. In his current condition, taking the initiative was impossible. The only thing he could do with his remaining strength was to counter the opponent’s attacks.

‘Can I activate Phantom Divide one more time?’

His stamina was at its limit, and Phantom Divide wasn’t a technique with a high success rate. Despite all his practice, he could barely succeed once in ten tries. The fact that he succeeded once out of two attempts earlier was nothing short of a blessing from the goddess of luck.

‘Well, if I lose, I lose.’

Russ relaxed his mind. He had already shown everything he had. And in return, he had earned the admiration of the orc warrior, Stalla. He had done enough and had no reason to be greedy.

With his sword aimed, Russ gathered his remaining energy. Even if he was prepared for defeat, he had no intention of losing on purpose. He would simply swing his sword with all his might!

Stalla also gathered her energy. The aura around her was so intense that the air shimmered like a mirage above her shoulders. The two aura users stared at each other, waiting for the right moment to strike the final blow.

“Haaap!”

Stalla moved first. She lunged forward like a bird, her arms holding the daggers extended behind her. Russ raised his sword above his head, ready to counter.

Suddenly, Stalla thrust her hands forward and shouted.

“My twelve sisters!”

Ten more daggers shot out from Stalla’s chest! Combined with the two daggers she already held, there were now twelve, all of them shooting forward like arrows.

Whoosh!

Amid the deafening roar of the twelve daggers slicing through the air, Russ was stunned.

“What, what is this?”

His mouth hung open. Russ, who rarely showed surprise, couldn’t control his expression this time.

The twelve daggers flying towards him were imbued with a chilling energy, each blade shimmering with a purple aura. They moved so fast and precisely that he couldn’t even track their trajectories.

With the twelve destructive lights filling his vision, Russ abandoned the idea of a counterattack. His exceptional instincts showed him a clear future.

No countermeasure.

There was absolutely no countermeasure for this.

Russ quickly dropped his sword and raised his hands high.

“I concede defeat!”

* * *

The sky over the wilderness was turning red. The relentless battle had brought the day to its end, with the sun setting on the horizon. Stalla, standing proudly against the backdrop of the sunset, declared her victory.

“The third duel of the Ritual of Hotu, victory goes to the Blue Bear Tribe!”

Then, immediately turning to Russ, she shouted.

“Human warrior! Though I have won, your defeat does not diminish your strength. You are a true warrior, and I acknowledge you as a fighter!”

“Oooooooh!”

“Waaaaaah!”

The orc warriors erupted in excited cheers. Amidst the jubilation, there were cheers not only for Stalla but also for Russ. This outsider had stood his ground against a warrior of the Blue Bear Tribe and proven himself. If someone like him couldn’t be called a warrior, then who could claim the title?

“Cyrus Karuga!”

“Karuga Cyrus!”

The orcs chanted Russ’s name, waving their fists in the air. Though he had lost, Russ returned to his companions with a relieved expression, free from any regrets. Silan quickly began healing his shoulder with divine power.

As Russ caught his breath, Repenhardt approached him with a question.

“Well done, Russ. But when did you learn that? Was it in the Grand Forge?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“That technique, Phantom Divide, was it? Show it to me later when we spar. I’d like to experience it firsthand.”

“Against you, big brother, it’s not that useful. After all, someone like you doesn’t really dodge anything….”

Russ shook his head with a wry smile. While the Phantom Divide was a fearsome technique that transcended space, it wasn’t very effective against Repenhardt. His Spiral Guard could easily deflect any attack, making it irrelevant where it came from.

Phantom Divide, with its miraculous effect, also required an enormous amount of aura to perform. Using up all his strength to transcend space, Russ would have no energy left to penetrate Repenhardt’s Spiral Guard.

“In that sense, it wouldn’t pose much of a problem for you either, big brother.”

Russ chuckled as he glanced back at Stalla. Her technique of controlling twelve daggers was indeed terrifying to him.

But for Repenhardt? He could just withstand it with his body. No matter how many self-moving weapons there were, the aura within them was still Stalla’s. Split among twelve daggers, it wouldn’t be enough to breach his Spiral Guard.

Repenhardt shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it’s something we’d only know by trying….”

He cracked his neck from side to side, loosening up.

“Alright, it’s my turn now.”