Summoning the Holy Sword

The two figures split up and dashed left and right.

Rhode clutched his sword while panting on the spot. Although he wasn’t injured, that didn’t mean this battle was easy. If Rhode was hurt by the enemy, he would have one foot into his coffin because as a Swordsman, he relied on high speed actions.

How troublesome.

Rhode gritted his teeth while facing this Runes Guard. Being unable to summon spirits made it hard for him in battle. After all, an advanced Swordsman and advanced Spirit Swordsman were two totally different concepts. If Rhode was a specialized Swordsman, he could rely on his strength to defeat the enemies. But, it was a pity that, as a Spirit Swordsman, his battle abilities were lower than specialized Swordsman by one-third. In addition, he currently didn’t possess any sword techniques with high mastery levels, which was a cause of trouble for him.

On the other hand, the Runes Guard didn’t seem to change. However Rhode knew clearly that its attributes were entirely different from the giant of light. The Runes Guard seemed to be a full magical being and not a spiritual being. Judging from the non-effective Dead Soul Blade, perhaps the Runes Guard was a magical puppet under manipulation.

But… what was next?

Rhode wasn’t a robot. After all, and he couldn’t keep this wrangle on forever. Furthermore, his battle style required him to go into battle headstrong and defeat the enemy with an abundance of energy and high speed attacks in order to finish the fight in the shortest time possible. But once the battle was prolonged and he used up too much of his energy, it would spell trouble for him.

Rhode once again narrowed his eyes and carefully sized up the Runes Guard. From their previous clash, he had discovered that other than the magical energy ball in the middle of the Runes Guard’s chest, the other physical presence was the bandage-like runes lines. In other words, to defeat the Runes Guard, Rhode would need to destroy its core. But that wouldn’t be an easy task, as Rhode had attempted once before, but failed. No matter what, the enemy only had one vital part to protect while Rhode had to stay alert of his surroundings the entire time.

It seemed that to seize every opportunity was impossible and the only choice left was to take the direct approach.

But, even so, the Crimson Blade wasn’t strong enough to defeat the Runes Guard.

However, Rhode was long prepared for this.

This surprise attack put the Runes Guard at a loss. After all, it was only a being similar to a magical puppet and it was impossible for it to possess the advanced battle intelligence as humans. Due to this reason, the Runes Guard, who had always been fast in reactions, was caught off guard.

Rhode seized this opportunity and once again swiped the blade along his left palm.

The immense pain forced him to grit his teeth as he struck forth.

This time, the Runes Guard finally failed to defend against his attack. The more blood the Crimson Blade absorbed, the sharper it would become. After absorbing Rhode’s sacrificial blood twice, the blade became razor-sharp and penetrated the Runes Guard mercilessly.

“—!”

The magical undulation of the Crimson Blade disrupted the magical flow within the Runes Guard, and shortly after, it trembled violently. Its four limbs shook and its body cracked wide open. The Crimson Blade’s magical powers had struck deep into its body.

Now’s the chance!

Rhode’s eyes glinted with hope. He gritted his teeth and held the blade with his left hand. At the same time, he swung his sword downward and ripped a huge tear through the Runes Guard’s body instantly. A blue magical radiance shone and speckles of light dust fluttered past Rhode’s blade and into the air with some sense of beauty.

However, Rhode wasn’t in the mood to admire this mesmerizing scene. As the Runes Guard lost its balance, he finally caught onto an opening.

Fury Trail!

On the tip of the sword blade, a bright, spiritual light gathered. Then, he struck the Crimson Blade down, and this time, the Runes Guard wasn’t able to guard on time. It raised its hands helplessly, but the radiance of the Crimson Blade dazzled as it pierced into its body like a knife slicing through butter.

At this moment, the stored energy in the blade finally erupted.

Bam!

The Runes Guard exploded as though crashing to a giant fist landing from above. In the blink of an eye, the Runes Guard was utterly destroyed. Broken bandages flew in the air along some light dust, quickly disappearing into nothingness.

Rhode came to a halt and took in a deep breath as he looked at the remains of the Runes Guard.

It finally ended.