The sword aura emerged spontaneously without warning.0

Just as my axe and Ryun’s blade had been about to clash, a translucent ripple had appeared along his weapon. Although I had never experienced anything like it, I assumed it was the embodiment of natural energy the ents had mentioned. Instinctively, I knew meeting it head-on would be disastrous.0

At the last moment, I twisted my wrist, angling the axe to strike the flat of his blade instead.0

Damn it!0

Unfortunately, Ryun wasn’t just any simple opponent; he was a swordmaster. Anticipating my maneuver, he adjusted his grip, effectively nullifying my tactic. 0

With no time to think and inferior speed, I had no option but to counter with sheer strength.0

Straining every muscle in my arms, I managed to shift my axe’s trajectory. My muscles felt immediately overloaded, yet Wind’s Route provided just enough support to make the movement possible.2

Clang!0

The clash of steel on steel rang out piercingly, and I gritted my teeth from the force of the impact. My attempt to absorb the impact by pulling back the axe had proven futile.0

Well, not entirely. Due to my efforts, it felt like swinging an axe at an immovable mountain instead of an unstoppable mountain landing on my axe.0

Before I could regain my balance, Ryun made another calculated, sweeping strike, slashing diagonally toward one of the gaps in my defenses.0

Barely managing to hold onto the axe, which had nearly...0