Solo Swordmaster

Chapter 97: Lord of the Sword Tower

Limon was beyond baffled, thinking it was some kind of evil joke, but Wei-ling was serious. “This is an urgent work matter.”

[Just what kind of…?] Limon let his words trail off in thought. After a brief silence, he spoke again in a much more serious tone. [Where are you?]

“The Cheonhwa Department Store.”

[What’s the situation?]

“There are many dead and one injured. I’m facing a single opponent that I presume to be the one behind the ‘Black Dragon Building’ incident.”

[Are they a man or a woman? Tell me their weapons, height, weight, and what they look like.]

“He’s in his late twenties, between 177 and 178 centimeters tall, around 60 kilograms, and is wearing a clown mask and using a knife.”

[Have you tried fighting him yet? You’re usually the type to try ambushing first.]

“He dodged my snake venom attack from behind, and I missed his heart.”

[Did you manage to hurt him at all?]

“I grazed him on the left shoulder.”

Limon understood it wasn’t a joke and exchanged information as quickly as he could with Wei-ling. Meanwhile…

The young man was taken aback by their conversation. “Hey, Comrade… Don’t you think it’s rude to talk about someone when they’re right in front of you?” Despite his question, he didn’t bother trying to intervene and was more curious about how the phone call was supposed to help her.

[I see… Alright. He’s that guy who likes to dissect people with his knife,] Limon muttered to himself after he got some more information. That was everything he needed.

“Would it be possible?” Wei-ling softly asked.

[I’ll ask one more time… Is he alone? There’s nobody else there?]

“Yes.”

[Hm, really? You’re lucky. You would’ve been in trouble if it was either of the other two, but you should be able to manage that bastard.] Limon gave a halfhearted chuckle. [Consider this an honor.]

Though Wei-ling's life was at stake, Limon was not the slightest bit empathetic or nervous. Rather than having no affection for her, it was simply too far for him to run, her opponent was too strong to fight, the risk was too big, and, above all, Limon was used to that type of situation.

He’d gone head to head against enemies from across the globe and overcome the impossible time and time again—he was humanity’s hero, and he was the first and last Lord of the Sword Tower who’d taught 7 of history’s 13 swordmasters.

Limon laughed. [Of all the swordsmen who went through the Sword Tower, you’re the first to learn swordsmanship from me in three minutes.]

* * /invite/reaperscans

* * *

[Are you ready?]

Wei-ling switched her phone to speaker mode and put it in her pocket, making sure it would stay there.

“Yes.”

[I’m telling you this for the sake of caution, but if you’re going to do this, do it right. One slight hesitation will mean death.]

“I got it, so you better not mess this up either.”

[Look who’s talking. Who do you think I am?]

“Aren’t you the executive who leaves all the work to me and goes out all the time?”

[That’s not relevant here…]

“We wouldn’t be in this three-legged race if you’d just been here at the start.”

[This is the only reason you’re getting a special, free lesson. Hey, back in my day, royal families had to empty their savings to get one lesson from me!]

“Stop bringing up the past, you old man.”

“Hey… gender-ambiguous Comrade… I’m a little confused here.” The young man awkwardly raised his hand and scratched his head in confusion after silently listening to their conversation for a bit. “You’re about to fight me like that?”

“Yes.”

"While holding that hand-phone-thingy or whatever it’s called… and getting scolded?”

“Basically.”

“…” The young man’s jaw dropped. He’d met plenty of nutcases in his life and was aware that he was also far from normal, but it was the first time he’d ever heard anything so absurd.

“Are you crazy, Chao Wei-ling?!” The same went for Xue-reung. Even for someone who had experience in martial arts like him… no, because he had experience in martial arts, he knew Wei-ling was about to do something completely unhinged.

“I know this is crazy.” In all honesty, Wei-ling knew she was pulling something mental. It wasn’t a game of chess or a talent show—it was a matter of life and death that could be decided in the blink of an eye, yet there she was, ready to fight based on instructions given over the phone.

She had a better chance of surviving a drag race blindfolded with only the GPS guiding her, but she was firm in her decision. It was absurd to anyone watching, and she wasn’t certain it would work, but there was someone she trusted more than herself.

“I trust the Princess.”

“…”

He was the man Li Chingei had chosen as her husband. If he was good enough for the Princess to speak well of on several occasions, then Wei-ling believed he could guide her through.

Xue-reung was speechless; as a fellow martial artist and member of the Black Dragon Clan, even he found Wei-ling’s devotion to the princess to be unbelievable.

“Ha, this is going to be fun.” The young man cackled and waved his knife at her. “Hit me with whatever you’ve got, then. I’ll give you the first move since you’ve made this entertaining.”

“I don’t—”

[Ooh, that bastard knows a little something about martial courtesy! Hey, take it. There’s no need to refuse a guy’s ego when it’s as high as the heavens.]

“Alright, I’ll accept the first move. Thank you.” Wei-ling blushed in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, the young man awkwardly nodded after he heard he was an egoist with his head in the clouds. “Alright, then…”

Limon continued his instructions after humiliating them both. [First, point your sword down in the Covert Central Sword Technique.]

“Point… down?” Wei-ling briefly hesitated. The Covert Central Sword Technique she learned from the Void Progression Sword was a move that targeted an opponent’s upper body from a low stance. The technique never started with the blade lowered.

[What? You can’t do it? Tell me now if you can’t. You’ll die here if you can’t do this right.] He could teach her the finest swordsmanship in the world, and it wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t follow along. His words were both a warning and a slight form of teasing.

“I never said I couldn’t…” Wei-ling followed his orders, and it ended up looking like she was planting her sword in the ground instead of preparing to attack, but she stopped hesitating. She’d already left her life in his hands the moment she made up her mind to listen to him, so questioning his orders would only ensure her death.

[Keep a distance of about 330 cm and maintain a distance of about 12 cm between each step. Keep the edge of your blade exactly level with your ankles.]

“Okay.”

[Good, then just move as I tell you, and don’t worry about answering.]

“…” Wei-ling answered with silence.

‘Holy shit…!’ Xue-reung could barely hold himself together as he watched her, but he wouldn’t let his thoughts out of his mouth. He was also a martial artist, so he knew far too well that anything he said would only be a distraction.

The young man grinned.

[Shadow Ammunition Blade, three steps right.]

Woosh–=!

Wei-ling shot forward like an arrow.

“Isn’t that too simple…? Hahaha!” The young man abruptly stopped laughing as he saw her run at him at full speed.

Wei-ling’s low stance got even lower, almost sliding, as she went past his left shoulder.

[Sealed Flame Descension, turn around.]

The young man turned around with a terrifying reaction speed befitting a high-level player, but she was nowhere to be seen.

She’d planted her sword into the ground and used the sudden stopping force to leap into the air, she flipped backward, sailing over his head, and…

[Heaven’s Hollow Rebellion, headshot.]

Swoosh—!

Her blade struck down like lightning and narrowly missed the young man’s back.

‘Wh-what the hell is this?’ He broke out in a cold sweat, realizing he barely avoided getting his skull split in two thanks to hearing Limon’s voice right before Wei-ling came down.

She wasn’t any faster than before, nor was she using a different swordsmanship, but her moves were much harder to predict.

The young man started to tense up as he felt that something wasn’t right about the situation, but that was only the beginning.

[Secret Stream, Razing Phantom Blast, Tiger Rampage, combination.]

Powpoowpowpowpow—!

She was practically lying down at that point, and her blade shot for his left before, with a twist of her body, she went for lethal blows.

Her blade grazed his thighs with a gentleness resembling a butterfly in the eye of a hurricane with each of his frantic dodges, and she quickly sprung back into a standing position and took a perfect step back.

Her blade shot out in wondrous ways at Limon’s every word, and the young man couldn’t even see her anymore as he did his best to dodge her flurry of attacks.

“H-hey, Comrade…!” The young man frantically retreated, unable to control his anger and surprise. “Just what kind of sorcery are you using!?”

He would’ve at least understood the situation if she’d acquired a skill from a Constellation, but it was unimaginable to think she’d gone from being inferior to miles ahead of him due to some simple orders over a phone call.

The young man was confused but wasn’t the most aghast person there.

‘Oh, my God!’ Xue-reung gulped. He might’ve been below the young man in terms of skill, but he was also an elite martial artist of the Black Dragon Clan, and as an outside observer, he was able to see how the young man was being forced into a dead end.

‘That nutcase Master of Swords…! Is he creating an analysis technique without even needing to see /invite/reaperscans

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