The Indomitable Martial King

Yet, even in his heightened state of excitement, Repenhardt did not act rashly. The presence of the sword-wielding middle-aged man beside Romad’s group was the reason.

‘He is strong,’ Repenhardt thought.

It was evident at a glance. Was this a unique sense possessed by martial artists? For some unknown reason, he was certain of the man’s strength, which prevented him from acting recklessly despite his anger reaching its peak.

Upon seeing Repenhardt, Romad exclaimed in an overexcited tone.

“Lantas, sir, that’s the guy! He’s the one who’s the master of the Slayer.”

Without even turning his head, Lantas replied with a disgusted expression.

“You’re such a fool…”

How could he inform him that the owner was a novice! Just by looking at him, all his senses were sounding alarms! If Lantas, an aura user, could not gauge his opponent’s strength, it implied that the opponent was at least an aura user as well.

‘But how could he be so young?’

Repenhardt did not seem to be older than in his twenties. Given his size, one might guess late twenties, but his face looked remarkably young, possibly early twenties. Either way, it was definitely not the age to possess such tremendous energy.

‘Could he be an incredible case of looking young?’

The thought that his face was youthful but he might actually be middle-aged crossed his mind. Of course, it was a preposterous idea. Not even daily skincare at the renowned Philanence Aesthetic Salon could achieve that look. However, for Lantas, the miracle working capabilities of Philanence’s beauty skills were more believable than the existence of a twenty-something aura awakener.

‘He must be at least in his late thirties.’

That was around the time he had awakened his aura. Lantas drew his sword with a serious expression.

“It’s been a while since I’ve met a truly strong opponent.”

Repenhardt sneered coldly.

“A perverted old man who preys on children is pretending to be a knight.”

The moment he heard the name Lantas, Repenhardt knew. He knew why such a notorious aura user was acting this way here. Lantas’s infamy was well-known, even to Repenhardt.

Lantas’s face twisted with humiliation at his opponent’s mockery.

“Damn it!”

While he could ignore Sillan’s taunts, being ridiculed by a fellow martial artist, especially a strong one, felt completely different. Grinding his teeth in frustration, Lantas raised his sword.

“This bastard…”

A crimson aura sinisterly flowed down the blade of Lantas.

“Why? Are you heated because you got cursed at? Or maybe it’s your ‘preference’, so ‘please respect it’~?” he taunted.

Repenhardt, too, clenched his fists, adopting a stance. A golden aura began to emanate, filling his hands and burning like flames.

There was no more conversation. Both silently sized up each other.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, Repenhardt kicked off the ground, propelling himself forward. Lantas charged as well, his sword ready. A dazzling golden light clashed with the red, emitting a loud explosion.

Boom!

The collision of red and gold illuminated the night sky over Zeppelin, spreading waves of light in all directions.

* * *

A red sword dance swirled around, cutting through the air and leaving behind a curtain of crimson, like silk.

This curtain was torn apart by a golden light. Each punch that flew was filled with terrifying force, easily piercing through the aura’s veil and firing off like cannon shots.

“Eiit!”

“Taah!”

Repenhardt and Lantas exchanged dozens of blows, their movements beyond human understanding. The red blade continuously danced through the air, while punches and kicks violently shook the void, yet neither could land a hit on the other’s body. Instead, the clashing auras caused destruction around them.

With every attack and dodge, the colliding auras spread waves of light in all directions. Wherever the waves reached, stone pavements overturned, walls crumbled, and water barrels shattered, sending droplets scattering everywhere.

“Ugh…”

“Shouldn’t we be running away?”

“If we get caught up in the fight while running, we’re dead meat!”

Amidst the horrifying spectacle of destruction, Romad and his group could only tremble in fear. The waves of light from the clashes and the residual destructive power of the neutralized auras had already turned the clearing into a battlefield ruin. The power of aura users was indeed terrifying.

Thus, Romad and his group hid behind a half-destroyed well, too terrified to even raise their heads, fearing instant death if caught in the aura waves. They didn’t dare think about escaping.

Meanwhile, Sillan and Siris were relatively at ease watching the battle.

“…Was Repenhardt an aura user?”

“Huh? Didn’t I mention it?”

Even amidst the fight with Lantas, Repenhardt was careful to ensure that the aftermath didn’t affect them. If a wave seemed to head their way, he’d block it with his body or neutralize it with an energy shot. To perform such feats while evenly matched in battle? Lantas muttered in disbelief,

“What’s with this guy? His skill doesn’t look like someone who just awakened their aura!”

Lantas had awakened his aura more than ten years ago. Although he had become somewhat lazy, indulging in pleasures, he had experiences and years behind him. The basic stage of reinforcing his body with aura and overlaying it on his weapon was something Lantas had already surpassed, stepping into the level of manipulating the aura itself. That’s why he could now extend his aura long like a whip and wield it.

Sssk!

His red aura extended nearly three meters, wriggling like a snake, aiming for his opponent’s back. However, Repenhardt immediately turned around and shot a force bullet, destroying the whip. It was astounding. It had taken Lantas seven years to reach the level of manipulating the aura itself. Yet, this young brat was using a technique of a similar level. Even considering Lantas’s laxity, reaching such a level would normally require at least two to three years of relentless training.

In other words, this guy had awakened his aura in his teens, or it meant he was over forty!

“Damn it! Either way, it doesn’t make sense!”

Grinding his teeth, Lantas unleashed a flurry of attacks. Repenhardt dodged them calmly, cursing under his breath.

“Damn! How is this pervert so strong when he only targets kids?”

Despite his notorious reputation, Lantas’s swordsmanship was surprisingly fast and powerful. Moreover, this was Repenhardt’s first time facing a proper swordsman in combat. Although he had sparred with Gerard extensively, swordsmanship and martial arts were considerably different, and he hadn’t found a breakthrough yet.

“Ugh, so frustrating.”

This was the man who tried to kidnap Siris. Repenhardt wished he could just beat him to death, but it was infuriating how sharp Lantas’s sword was, considering he was a pedophile. Repenhardt ducked and dodged a horizontal sword strike, gritting his teeth.

“Anyone who says martial arts aid in cultivation of character, I’ll definitely beat them up.”

After all, a true person of character resolves conflicts with words, not fists. It seemed clear that such sayings were probably invented by martial artists to boast. Amid these biased thoughts, Repenhardt kept firing force bullets.

“Go!”

But Lantas executed sword parrying, bursting all the force bullets. Repenhardt’s expression soured.

“Tch!”

Indeed, he was still shallow in manipulating the aura itself and couldn’t shoot force bullets as powerfully as Gerard. Although his current power was enough to warp steel and shatter rocks, it was still insufficient against aura wielders.

Lantas immediately counterattacked. The red blade, meticulously aiming for vulnerabilities, pierced through the defenses. A sharp aura, filled with intense energy, targeted Repenhardt’s body. For a moment, Repenhardt considered bracing himself against the attack, but the idea was quickly dismissed. A miscalculation could lead to a dire situation.

‘There’s no chance to dodge it…’

Ultimately, Repenhardt unfolded the Spiral Guard, deflecting the blade. His forearms, wrapped in a golden aura and spinning, hardened his defense, and Lantas’s expression stiffened.

‘Deflecting a sword with bare forearms, not even armored?’

Indeed, both forearms were imbued with aura, yet the sheer toughness of those arms was astounding. Not a scratch or mark remained after blocking the blade. Lantas had heard of such a martial art that could enhance one’s body to such an unbelievable extent. It was so renowned that it was impossible not to know of it.

He momentarily paused in shock.

“… Could it be!”

At that moment, Repenhardt launched himself into the air. Twisting his massive body in a reverse somersault, he unleashed a kick charged with aura. The Reverse Somersault Kick aimed directly at Lantas, leaving him no chance to evade. Lantas raised his sword in defense, gathering all his aura into it.

Aura clashed against aura, creating a thunderous boom.

The wind blew. The clash of destructive forces boiled the atmosphere, generating small whirlwinds throughout the clearing. In this storm, the two aura wielders gauged each other’s reactions, catching their breaths. Sillan clicked his tongue upon witnessing this.

‘Ah, if it were an ordinary duel, there’d be a role for me.’

Sillan’s formidable divine power could amplify a warrior’s abilities beyond their limits. If these were regular warriors, he would have already bestowed his blessing to decide the victor.

However, divine power does not apply to aura wielders. More precisely, it does apply, but to no effect. Aura wielders have already amplified their abilities to the extreme with their aura, far surpassing the amplification a priest’s divine blessing could provide. Thus, to aura wielders, receiving a blessing makes no difference.

Despite potentially sustaining injuries, he had been on the lookout for an opportunity to use healing magic from the start. However, since Repenhardt’s body was exceptionally sturdy, he hadn’t even gotten a scratch on him yet.

It was during this standoff that Lantas suddenly spoke up.

“Were you a disciple of Fist King Gerard?”

His tone had shifted. Given Repenhardt was a mage and thus in a different industry, he simply hadn’t realized the enormity of Gerard’s reputation among martial artists. There was hardly any fighter of note who didn’t know of Fist King Gerard.

Repenhardt didn’t respond to the question. He was still troubled by his aversion to Gerard. However, Lantas seemed to have already concluded that he was indeed Gerard’s disciple, given the unmistakable style.

Shaking his head as if in disbelief, Lantas asked again.

“Why would someone as powerful as you be so preoccupied with mere slaves?”

He seemed to completely ignore the fact that he himself was concerned about slave abduction. Repenhardt didn’t feel inclined to point this out. There were more infuriating matters at hand.

Repenhardt clenched his teeth.

“Who are you calling slaves…”

A deep-seated anger flowed from his entire being. Lantas flinched. There had been a constant flow of murderous intent and hostility, but this was something different.

This was a more pure and direct anger!

“The ones you drag around as ‘slaves’ have minds and emotions too!”

Repenhardt launched himself forward, furiously dashing straight at Lantas with repeated bounds. Lantas grimaced and responded with a triple thrust attack. Three spears of aura left a red trail as they aimed for vital spots.

“Have you ever truly spoken with them? Have you never once questioned the fact that they are considered ‘slaves’?”

Bursting with intense rage, Repenhardt swung his hand widely. He shattered the incoming spears of golden aura and surged towards Lantas like a comet, who stepped back in panic and exclaimed.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Lantas’ face was full of incomprehension, and seeing this, Repenhardt ground his teeth even harder.

Everyone was like that. Even in his previous life, everyone had reacted the same way.