Peerless Blade

The black crescent moon split the corpse horde in half and rushed at the middle-aged man.

When the middle-aged man grinned coldly and wiggled a finger, the crescent moon scattered like fog before his eyes.

‘Not a trace of spirit power.’

However, as amber energy flowed out like threads, the corpses’ bodies combined as one again.

‘Does he control the dead as puppets? Or do the dead truly return to life?’

There was no leisure to deeply investigate the strange phenomenon.

He simply prepared the best response to the given situation.

Kaaaaahh-!

With the crowd rushing like waves, there was no place to flee.

But fully cutting them all down was problematic because they kept regenerating.

Indiscriminate power struggle was disadvantageous for Kaid.

One method remained.

Whooong!

Kaid laid down the pitch-black sword and lowered his posture.

The sword tip aimed at the crowd’s center, eyes faced beyond, and the moment Guardian Spirit energy condensed at his toes.

Bang!

Black lightning pierced through the mountain of corpses at one point.

The sharp momentum took momentum and headed to the middle-aged man’s nape.

However, the moment ten steps remained ahead, Kaid’s killing intent began wavering.

Clang!

The sword that had somehow returned to original form was blocked by the middle-aged man’s amber hand.

‘This is the biggest problem.’

Kaid distanced from the middle-aged man without lingering attachment. He quickly organized the strange phenomenon that had just occurred before corpses rushed.

‘When I just approach near there, my Guardian Spirit loses power. I certainly think there are similar parts, but why does energy keep scattering? Other amber possessors couldn’t exert this influence on me, so why only that bastard…’

If the Guardian Spirit didn’t work, the middle-aged man also wouldn’t have taken the method of scattering energy.

Because he views the Guardian Spirit as threatening, the middle-aged man is also guarding.

That fact was important.

If this sword could reach that neck, he needed to create opportunity through different methods.

‘…It seems a wall is erected. Something special completely blocks other’s energy. Then what if I clash with the same energy to offset it?’

Kaid lightly took a deep breath and drew up energy.

And moved one step slower than before.

Corpses stuck to Kaid like fish meeting water.

He somehow felt like he’d become a fugitive.

The sight of corpses filling space tightly revealing ominous fangs and rushing wasn’t very pleasant. And that would be the same for the middle-aged man too.

“…?”

The middle-aged man released his hands for the first time and stood from his seat.

He didn’t view as ordinary Kaid leading corpses and rushing toward him.

‘Even knowing, he cannot block it.’

If corpses covered the middle-aged man as is, he could collapse what was erected like a wall.

Because the same type of energy was added together with manpower filling the space.

If he released energy to block this, that was also desirable.

Corpses would droop limply, and he just needed to insert his sword through the momentarily opened gap.

In a situation perfectly suited to the words “besieged on all sides,” the middle-aged man grinned coldly.

“You bastards are always so arrogant! Do you think one cannot use weapon arts just because there’s no weapon!”

That moment, amber energy flickered in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

Eventually he whose both hands were dyed amber swung both arms at speeds difficult to think of as a withered body.

He chose the path to face Kaid together with corpses rather than releasing energy.

“However, what can you who can’t even use spirit power when standing alongside me do?”

In a situation where energy still scattered, if he struck Kaid with evil energy before corpses arrived, resistance with only a human body holding one blade was close to impossible.

If he were an ordinary spirit caster, that is.

Clang!

When both arms and sword clashed, the middle-aged man’s pupils wavered.

Because he conversely was pushed back two steps.

‘Such monstrous strength comes out? From a bastard who couldn’t wear anything?’

Still Kaid couldn’t put a single thread of energy in the sword. Even so, the sword was extremely fast and graceful, unable to capture in eyes.

Clang clang clang clang!

Only after exchanging five bouts did the middle-aged man realize.

“Don’t tell me you bastard…!”

Kaid was bursting Guardian Spirit energy inside his body.

Repulsive force bursting out instantaneously strengthened physical abilities.

‘Was it a method that scattered only energy flowed outside?’

Kaid was also roughly grasping the middle-aged man’s ability.

Energy worn on the sword scattered, but the middle-aged man couldn’t touch energy ignited inside the body either.

The difference was just one.

Whether he could interfere with energy flowed out.

In other words, the middle-aged man’s energy only interfered with things that took form externally.

In a situation where he held tight sovereignty inside the body, unless the middle-aged man directly infiltrated energy, it wouldn’t escape Kaid’s will.

And thanks to this one offensive means being created, Kaid succeeded in the plan thought up impromptu.

Boom!

Countless corpses poured down above the middle-aged man and Kaid’s heads.

The corpses’ evil energy clashed with the middle-aged man and shattered.

The hidden something that had scattered Kaid’s energy revealed its appearance.

Boom boom boom!

It was threads where amber energy flickered.

The threads that had been transparent until now showed form after being stimulated by clashing with similar energy.

Bang!

Immediately Kaid ignited energy he’d circulated inside the body externally.

When he swung the sword that had turned pitch-black avoiding threads tangled chaotically in all directions, the middle-aged man’s both wrists were cut off.

The middle-aged man who didn’t even scream tried to quickly gain distance, but Kaid never released prey once caught.

Swish!

Energy that burst out once more in empty air accelerated Kaid.

Swish!

Only after the middle-aged man’s both legs were cut did sounds arrive.

Kaid looked back indifferently.

As the middle-aged man with both wrists and legs cut sprawled on the floor, the amber threads that had tangled chaotically vanished and corpses fell into rest.

“I’ll thoroughly examine what you plunderers are hiding.”

“Not a chance…!”

Kaid’s sword tip tapped places throughout the middle-aged man’s body.

The middle-aged man couldn’t even budge his mouth as if frozen.

When even hemorrhaging was stopped, Kaid wrapped the middle-aged man in his clothing.

“Since I manipulated your body’s flow, you absolutely cannot die until I permit it.”

Shouldering the middle-aged man whose eyes widened, Kaid escaped the 7th Tribe.

He gave up the choice to enter the 6th Tribe.

Because he’d thoroughly done preliminary work in the base region and secured an important plunderer who handled the amber something well.

Kaid escaped the Royal Guard and plunderer groups.

When he returned to his nation, many tribal chiefs were waiting.

They all seemed to have heard Number 1’s explanation.

The king pointed to the middle-aged man Kaid had laid down.

“What is this prisoner?”

“I regret to report, but he is one who controls the dead.”

“Controls the dead?”

“The amber gem I previously offered. Since he is one who uses the same power as that, I will investigate thoroughly and report.”

The king nodded.

“However, how many Tribes did you break through?”

“The 7th Tribe.”

“The time of dispatch approaches.”

The king solemnly announced to all people.

“We’ll dispatch troops to the west as soon as the Supreme General’s investigation finishes! Supreme General, you must certainly bring victory to Barganta!”

Kaid knelt and received the king’s sword.

“I will definitely offer Barganta’s honor!”

Two weeks later, the dispatch date was set.

It was the day to quickly bring down from the border when plunderers were relieved thinking Kaid had vanished.

Until then, Kaid investigated the suspicious energy.

He thoroughly examined by what principle heterogeneous power that wasn’t spirit power controlled the dead and scattered spirit power, mobilizing even the kingdom’s best torture official.

Ten days passed.

In the torture chamber where blood and flesh emitted disgusting stench, the middle-aged man grinned coldly.

“Kekekek, you want to know who we are?”

He received strange discord from the dying complexion.

“We are Children of the Soul Ledger. The Death God is my brother, and the King caresses the dead flowing here! You foolish humans who worship spirits! Your ignorance bound by the lower realm will gnaw your nation, family, and precious things to awaken the true king in this land!”

When the torture official tried to raise an iron skewer, Kaid stretched out his hand to block and instead raised a branding iron heated in fire.

Though he personally pressed the iron to the middle-aged man’s chest, he didn’t let out a single scream.

Kaid also asked the middle-aged man without changing expression.

“Do you deny your king?”

“Kekekek, there’s no king in the west. Only pitiful chiefs gathered who groan for long.”

“If you withdraw wicked thoughts, Barganta will value you.”

“Do you bastards take pride that you’ll become this world’s hegemon?”

The middle-aged man cried out while shedding tears of blood.

“No! I saw! It appears in my eyes! Your appearance losing the nation and crying out in agony! The beautiful days when the Land of Gods collapses and the whole world is dyed golden!”

Kaid discarded the branding iron and drew his sword.

The middle-aged man vomited blood at Kaid regardless.

“The world’s king was decided from the start! Our death administering the Soul Ledger will soon dominate you! Raise both hands in worship! Foolish Barganta’s…!”

Swish!

As the middle-aged man’s head fell, the torture official looked at Kaid with a flustered expression.

Kaid handed the sword to the torture official and spoke indifferently.

“The dispatch ceremony is soon. I can’t word-spar with a foolish bastard who won’t give answers.”

“B-but didn’t you say he was an important hostage?”

“Hostages have their distinctions. He was a bastard who wouldn’t live long. He knew it too. That’s why he wouldn’t open his mouth while suffering this torture.”

Rather than loyalty, terrible religious faith was glimpsed from the middle-aged man.

He rather viewed death as a means that saved him.

So he’d smiled and kept his mouth shut even through countless tortures.

“What about information?”

“I found several things. However, you too shouldn’t have lingering attachment and reorganize the torture chamber. I’ll capture identical plunderers to this bastard as soon as they’re seen.”

“Ah! Understood!”

Leaving behind the torture official who bowed his head, Kaid left the torture chamber.

Returning to the study, materials Number 1 had organized were placed.

Regarding the Soul Ledger…

Before the eastern nation combined, there was a great spirit master whom all tribal chiefs respected ceaselessly. He was also called a sage who remembered history continuing from primordial times.

His study was inherited by Kaid now. It was just right for investigating old lore, and Number 1 seemed to have found things related to the Soul Ledger.

In ancient times, the world had a god handling life and a Soul Ledger administering death.

The Soul Ledger’s king was said to rule souls, and his eyes, hands, and feet were said to be soaked in gold.

Therefore, eyes looked at souls and dominated souls.

Hands spread souls to reverse life and death.

Feet were known to reap all places where life dwelled.

This was called the Soul Ledger King’s three authorities, and western old tribes were said to revere this.

Kaid contained in his head every bit of the lengthy report without missing anything.

Though most was old lore, overlapping with evil energy users including the middle-aged man and those who’d aimed hands at him at the wall, there were contents that vaguely resonated.

“How should I respond if such people ravage the army…”

Not rumors grasping at clouds, but reality directly unfolded.

While conceiving methods to respond to the Soul Ledger’s power that defied spirit power, Kaid closed his eyes.

Worries deepened until the day before dispatch.

“Glory to Barganta!”

The scheduled day arrived.

He couldn’t immerse in worries and postpone dispatch forever.

Kaid conveyed tactics thought up as temporary expedient to each Royal Guard.

The Royal Guard shared with each unit commander, and thought the best operations to respond to all situations.

And Barganta advanced west.

They knocked on the western border before southern and northern nations came.

Bang bang bang bang!

The west that had been relieved thinking Kaid had vanished didn’t detect the devices he’d planted before and collapsed futilely.

Pushing through with crushing force to the 7th Tribe, plunderers began hesitating or fleeing.

Toppling groups that had clumsily imitated kingdoms was a very easy task.

They guaranteed promotion, promised safety, and broke down their unity.

It was the day Kaid’s advance extended to the plunderers’ capital.

The 1st Tribe.

One chilling evening when the moon was extremely pale.

Kaid faced an unfamiliar youth.

The youth holding a longsword identically led the 1st Chief’s forces and fought against Kaid.

The plunderers’ annihilation was expected with numerical inferiority plus even inferior spirit casters.

But when he clashed with the youth, Kaid trembled.

“So you’re the one born with a transcendent’s soul.”

It was the first time since gaining the title of Peerless that sword and energy were pressed down together.

No, it was difficult to package that as simply being pushed back.

It was an eerie feeling as if Kaid’s Guardian Spirit was sucked into the opponent.

It was a disgusting feeling that everything he’d handled was dominated by that person.

Swish!

The two people separated while exchanging one move.

Kaid’s left sleeve split, and the youth’s bangs were cut off.

And Kaid saw.

The youth’s evil pupils rippling amber.

“However, you haven’t yet shed your shell.”

When the youth raised his sword, all energy in the area was sucked into it.

That was power of a different dimension Kaid had never experienced before.

“…!”

Pernok sat up sharply with eyes wide open.

The hurriedly raised hand felt familiar.

In the past, his body called Peerless had synchronized with his current life.

Was it because of that?

The moment he faced the youth was still imprinted as an old memory.

He’d realized after dying that the mysterious power that had suppressed him then was spiritual power.

Surprisingly, there was one who handled spiritual power in life before Pernok.

But he’d certainly killed him on the day calamity rushed.

Though his temperament didn’t leave lingering attachment to opponents he’d killed, why did that day’s memory surface…

Pernok wiped away cold sweat as if shaking off nightmares and filed away the memory.

As complete synchronization finished, something special floated before his eyes.

Synchronization rate – 91%.