Chapter 189: The Ultimate Swordsman Showdown!
On the eastern side of Orsa Island.
The battle between the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia had reached a fever pitch.
The confrontation between the two sides was unprecedentedly fierce. Even the mythological war exploding in the sky, threatening to tear the entire island apart, did not affect the close combat between these two strongest Familia of Orario.
First was the battle between Ottar, The Might, and the three giants of the Loki Familia.
Their protracted battle had become extremely tragic.
However, the tragic situation was arguably one-sided.
From beginning to end, Finn and the others were the ones being violently beaten by Ottar. As for Ottar, let alone suffering injuries, even the greatsword in his hand was undamaged.
This was undoubtedly the gap between Lv.7 and Lv.6, and also the absolute dominance displayed by the strongest of Orario.
However, while the Freya Familia had the advantage in the battle of top adventurers, the middle and low-level adventurers of the Loki Familia were gradually gaining the upper hand.
The main reason was that after Ais used the Sword of Promised Victory to defeat the Freya Familia's Lv.6s earlier, she was freed up to assist the lower-level adventurers, the group where Lefiya was located.
Although Ais herself was somewhat weak due to the consumption of a large amount of magic power, even so, she could completely defeat most opponents single-handedly.
Even the most fearless warriors of the Freya Familia could only obediently submit when facing Ais, The Sword Princess, the formal First-Class Adventurer.
Due to Ais's presence, the Loki Familia quickly cleared out most of the lower-level adventurers and even successfully defeated Hogni, the most troublesome healer.
As a result, the Loki Familia could be said to be free to focus all their members on surrounding and attacking Ottar alone!
However, even so, even with a righteous group attack, the members of the Loki Familia could not muster any confidence or reassurance.
It was as if Ottar alone was more terrifying than all the other members of the Freya Familia combined.
And in fact, that was the case.
When the Freya Familia was left with only Ottar standing, Ottar showed an unprecedented calmness, silently standing in place.
In contrast, cold sweat broke out on the faces of the Loki Familia members.
What a genuine monster...
Almost everyone present had this thought flash through their minds.
The expressions of Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were even more incomparably bitter.
They had originally anticipated that the three of them would take care of Ottar and then support the other members of the team.
They never expected that things would turn out to be the opposite.
Not only were they unable to defeat Ottar, but they now needed the comrades who had finished their battles early to come and help them in the decisive battle against Ottar.
But since things had come to this, meaningless pride had to be cast aside.
Finn and the others were determined to defeat Ottar no matter what and secure victory in this battle!
At this moment, the members of the Loki Familia were as if they had arrived deep within the Dungeon, facing a formidable Dungeon King, and immediately adopted their familiar strategy formation.
"Ais, Gareth, follow me!" Finn, as the captain, gave the command immediately.
"Riveria, Lefiya, prepare to unleash your Great Magic!
Bete, Tiona, Tione, provide support from the flanks!"
"Yes!"
Hearing Finn's clear command, the members of the Loki Familia nodded one after another.
They each took different actions, and the entire team seemed to have become one entity, displaying excellent cooperation under unified coordination.
This was undoubtedly the reason why the Loki Familia could become the strongest raiding Familia in Orario.
In terms of team collaboration, they were the undisputed strongest Familia in Orario.
However, just as the Loki Familia had the title of the strongest raiding Familia, the man named Ottar, The Might, also had his own title: the strongest individual in Orario.
At least before Shirou's arrival, Ottar's title had never been shaken.
Now, facing the charge of all the Loki Familia members, Ottar, in contrast, was only wearing a thin set of armor. Although the breastplate on his left chest, the gauntlets, and the forehead guard looked sturdy, only these few parts were protected.
He looked so vulnerable, yet none of the Loki Familia members could underestimate the man in front of them, much less be careless.
Because the enemy was definitely not an opponent they could afford to hold back against or harbor any foolish conjectures about.
In fact, facing the assault of the Loki Familia, Ottar quickly prepared himself, as if to display his everything, and began to chant—
"Silver moon's mercy, golden field, command this body of mine to be the fierce boar fighting on."
"Bearing the Goddess's divine will, charge forward—"
"Boar Call!"
Instantly, an astonishing magical power emanated from Ottar.
What followed was a golden light that almost blinded everyone's eyes. Like the radiance of twilight, it converged onto the Might's sword.
That was Ottar's most proficient enhancement magic, a skill that could concentrate magic power into a single point for a short time, unleashing unprecedented destructive power.
In addition, another power was condensing on Ottar's body.
Compared to the previous enhancement magic, this time there was no special chant, only two simple words—
"Beastification!"
In an instant, all the members of the Loki Familia felt a sense of terror that almost stopped their hearts. The overly exaggerated pressure made it difficult for everyone present to breathe.
The reason was simple.
When the special skill Beastification was activated, all of Ottar's attributes and his level would increase by one rank. His current level was no longer Lv.7 but Lv.8.
He already possessed the terrifying power to defeat the entire Loki Familia alone!
"Don't retreat! Charge according to the original plan!"
However, facing Ottar, who had already transformed into a Dungeon King, even more terrifying than a typical Dungeon King, the members of the Loki Familia did not retreat at all.
Led by Finn, they charged in one go, clashing with Ottar.
The fierce battle thus pierced through the clouds, transforming into an astonishing melee that shook the entire island.
.
.
.
At the same time as the Loki Familia confronted Ottar, another battle between many adventurers and a Lv.7 continued.
The knight Leon silently watched the coalition army of Familia, which was already on the verge of being torn apart. His state not only showed no damage but one could even say that not a single corner of his clothes was harmed.
Facing the attacks from Ryuu and the many coalition adventurers, Leon, as he had said before, intentionally held back, allowing his opponents to shatter his weapons one after another.
From the very first trial sword, they had now reached the seventh trial sword.
In between, they had gone through a single-handed sword, twin swords, a great axe, a shield, a dagger, a scythe, a spear...
The further into the twelve trial swords, the further the forms moved away from the original shape of a sword, but at the same time, the greater the boost it gave to Leon himself.
By the seventh trial sword, Leon only needed to stand still to easily defend against the full-scale attack from the coalition army of Familia.
In the end, Ryuu realized that she could no longer hold back.
If Leon truly completed the twelve trial swords, they would have no chance of winning.
"Alise, give me a hand!"
Ryuu spoke softly, uttering words that ordinary people could not understand.
But Alise's soul understood Ryuu's intention immediately and said quietly: "Are you sure you want to do this? Emiya said it's best not to use that weapon unless absolutely necessary."
"Now is the absolutely necessary time!"
Ryuu made up her mind and took a deep breath.
Next, she put away the Agaris in her hand and instead grasped the second sword she had been hiding behind her back.
It was a special longsword that looked unremarkable but actually contained an extraordinary aura that was palpable even to the naked eye.
The moment Ryuu drew the longsword from its sheath, an astonishing blaze instantly enveloped the scene, and endless raging fire began to burn on the spot.
"..."
Leon's eyes widened. For the first time, he felt a momentum from the girl in front of him that could shake him.
Ryuu herself, however, looked incredibly strained. Wielding this weapon caused an immense burden on her, even scorching her own soul.
"Miss Ryuu, that sword is..."
The others in the coalition looked at Ryuu in surprise, not expecting her to have such a trump card.
Ryuu took a deep breath and gripped the longsword in her hands—
Noble Phantasm: Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
Yes, this sword was a Divine Artifact forged by Shirou based on his Unlimited Blade Works. It was a weapon capable of clashing with Astraea's Sword of Judgment.
Normally, a weapon of this caliber would be utterly impossible to wield unless one had a special affinity or unless it was used by Shirou himself.
For example, the Sword of Promised Victory; if it wasn't used by Ais, The Sword Princess, who could withstand the Noble Phantasm's power, anyone else would be crushed by the pressure just by holding the weapon.
Ryuu's own compatibility with the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was not very good either.
Because her innate attributes were not so fierce.
The one with the greatest compatibility with the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was Alise.
If Alise were here in her living form, she could probably wield the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi just like Shirou himself.
But unfortunately, Alise was dead, and what remained of her was merely a soul.
However, even as a soul, when Alise possessed Ryuu's body, she could briefly provide Ryuu with a degree of compatibility, allowing her to use the Noble Phantasm Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
This was also the reason why Shirou specifically forged this sword for Ryuu as a trump card.
"Ryuu, be careful! I can only buy you one minute at most. If you can't end the battle within that time, you must give up!"
While possessing Ryuu's body and providing her with the compatibility to use the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, Alise simultaneously forced her to understand the current situation.
At the very least, she had to prevent Ryuu from pushing herself too hard, or from her body completely collapsing due to using the weapon beyond her limits.
"I know."
Ryuu quietly nodded to Alise's words.
But whether her attitude truly acknowledged Alise's warning was something no one knew.
In any case, the current Ryuu had no hesitation whatsoever. She raised the longsword in her hand, and in an instant, an astonishing blaze swept across the scene.
"World Sword: Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!"
Ryuu fully swung the weapon in her hand, completely unleashing the form of the Noble Phantasm.
Her method of using the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was different from Shirou's.
For Shirou, the innate power and strength of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi were not important. He merely created this weapon as a vessel for his Unlimited Blade Works, and ultimately, it was to release his own strength.
But Ryuu was clearly incapable of reaching Shirou's level. Her way of wielding this sword relied more on the weapon's inherent strength!
And the strength of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was indeed not low.
In fact, its very nature was that of a special weapon with the attribute of "Slaying Gods."
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, also known as the Grass Cutter Sword, has its legend originating from the Susanoo myth and was the divine sword wielded in the Yamato Takeru myth.
When the legendary monster, the Yamata no Orochi, appeared in the world, Susanoo slew the colossal, eight-headed, eight-tailed, red-eyed monster.
And emerging from the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi was the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. It was the manifestation of the various divine powers inherent in the dragon itself and the manifold forces of nature. When wielded, it would directly gain an Authority equivalent to that of a god, which was synonymous with becoming one with the world.
Legend says that it could even engulf the innocent people of the city of Edo, with its million inhabitants, in a great fire with a single swing, bringing forth endless destruction that swallowed everything...
"Boom!"
Now, as Ryuu swung the longsword in her hand with all her might, astonishing energy surged from the sword, transforming into a scorching blaze like the flames of the apocalypse!
"!!!"
Seeing this sight, even Leon, Knight of Knights, could no longer just stand by.
He forcibly destroyed the already precarious seventh trial sword, completing the eighth trial sword!
It was a single-handed sword, similar to the initial longsword but distinctly more elongated.
The moment he grasped the weapon, Leon's aura suddenly rose by a notch, thoroughly reaching the realm of Lv.8.
"Come on!"
Leon faced Ryuu's strike without hesitation.
After their powers were amplified to the extreme, both sides created an intense anomaly that changed the very color of the world, allowing this mortal battle to be tinged with the blaze of divine power.
This, in a sense, truly demonstrated that the process of adventurers raising their levels was a process of creating divine power. The higher the level of the adventurer, the closer they were to the gods.
And the closer one was to the gods, the further one often strayed from humanity.
Such gains and losses...
In a sense, all of this might be the development that the Heavenly God Uranus wished to see. The entire Orsa Island had now become a battlefield created by the world's strongest mortals, in their relentless pursuit of the divine realm.
Of course, the focus at the moment was not the change brought about by the adventurers' level-up, but the final outcome of this ultimate knight duel.
"Boom!"
The astonishing battle had yet to fully begin, but the shockwaves were already starting to destroy everything!
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