The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 268

He’s the type that’s stronger against knights than mages, Leonard judged as he swiftly dodged the fist that flew past his sword.

The Heart Demoniac Belial was not only as strong as a Demigod Tier, but he had also spent countless years honing his technique and amassing combat experience. Even among the Named, he was one of the few specially designated as “extremely dangerous.”

Given that Belial had slain a Black Dragon Commander in the past, not even Leonard was guaranteed to win this duel.

Northern God Style

Universal Suppression Technique

Cold Snowfall of Winter

Leonard deployed mind martial arts without a moment’s hesitation. Fine shards of augmented energy burst from his sword, suddenly pausing the supersonic sword swings and punches and raining down on the whole area.

Crack! Crack!

With a single leap, Belial retreated hundreds of meters, yet he still failed to evade all the shards. The slivers of energy managed to pierce his skin.

Belial’s physique was so resilient that even the most frigid conditions couldn’t give him frostbite, but mind martial arts could surpass such physical limitations. Unlike Brain Demoniacs, Belial’s strength lay solely in his body, making him especially vulnerable to mind martial arts.

If the shards pierced his skin and damaged his muscles, they would weaken him. But somehow, Belial managed to flex his muscles and eject the slivers of energy, shooting them back.

Belial couldn’t morph the world with his mind, but he was physically strong enough to move mountains. Such a measly trick wouldn’t even slow him down.

Here he comes!

Even though Leonard’s reflexes were as fast as lightning, Belial was still faster, becoming a mere blur as he surged forward. Every movement was honed to its peak—his martial arts were flawless.

After all, martial arts were, in a sense, generous—they were open to all, regardless of species or affiliation. Belial, who had never read a single word of scripture or theory, was more graceful in his punches and movements than anyone Yeon Mu-Hyuk had ever seen in his past life.

One of the unique powers of Heart Demoniacs was their unlimited stamina. They required no energy or magic to sustain themselves and were always in peak condition. Once they gained the upper hand in a fight, it was hard to turn the tide.

So, Leonard decided to face Belial head-on.

Southern God Style

Single-Point Breakthrough Strike

Fiery Scarlet Point

Though Leonard couldn’t cut through Belial, he could force him into a contest of pure strength.

———————!!

Belial’s tightly-curled fist and Leonard’s sword froze right before they met, quivering as they tried to overpower one another.

When the two powerful forces finally collided, the explosive impact shook the entire area. Anyone who unknowingly stumbled into their range would be torn to shreds. Shockingly, Belial was slowly overpowering Fiery Scarlet Point. In such a situation, the sword should have the advantage over the fist, but Belial was simply physically stronger.

With that being said, Belial didn’t walk away unscathed. The heat of the Vermillion Bird Qi melted his skin, burning so deep it exposed bone. Yet he didn’t relent. He possessed the stubbornness of a warrior, a martial artist, prioritizing his own vision over what was practical.

“Gah...!”

With his flesh burnt and shredded all the way up to his arm, Belial’s fist overpowered Leonard in the end, throwing him back. Any well-made sword would shatter from the sheer impact, but Leonard’s near-divine sword endured.

Leonard felt a wave of relief at that silver lining. Had his blade shattered, his fighting strength would have been almost entirely lost. He gripped the handle tightly as his arms were thrown back.

Then, a chill ran down his spine as he realized his fatal mistake—he had left himself open.

“■■■.”

Leonard couldn’t even make out the syllables Belial was sounding out, but he understood what he was trying to convey.

“This is the end.”

That was what the monster had said. He was sure of it.

With all his power and years of experience, Belial was confident in his words. They sounded like a promise.

“...Says who?!”

But Leonard refused to accept that, gritting his teeth as he threw a defiant kick. He landed it squarely on his target—something the other knights, who had only learned hand-to-hand combat to supplement their swordplay, would likely have failed to do in this situation.

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While teaching Kundali’s Kick, Leonard had also managed to brush up on his kicking technique.

Vajrayana Art

Five Great Wisdom Kings Secret Technique

Kundali’s Kick

Kicks had more disadvantages than palm and fist techniques, but their primary advantage was their greater strength and destructive power.

As legs are longer and heavier than arms, the force of a kick could be multiplied using centrifugal force. However, focusing on sheer strength like that isn’t ideal; as long as the opponent isn’t a fool, they could dodge, block, or counterattack.

The martial arts experts in the Central Plains who had become famous for their kicks not only focused on power, but also dexterity and speed, so that they could move as strategically as other fighters.

Bam—!

Like a bird taking to the sky, Leonard’s foot shot up and hit Belial’s wrist.

With his right hand destroyed by Fiery Scarlet Point, Belial had attempted to make a follow-up attack with his non-dominant hand, but Leonard cut him right off. Now, his chance to finish Leonard off was gone.

Nevertheless, Leonard was still at a significant disadvantage. He couldn’t escape the corner he had been forced into with a single well-timed strike. Even a solid kick would barely scratch Belial.

So, Leonard decided to raise the tempo.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

A flurry of kicks rained down on Belial. Typically, Heart Demoniacs had no weak points, but since Belial was built so similarly to a human, Leonard knew exactly where to hit.

Slowed down by the barrage, Belial’s punch missed, and Leonard was able to fall back into his original fighting stance.

“Hoo...” He let out a long exhale after narrowly escaping death, restoring his breathing to normal.

Belial had fought many, many knights before, but he had never come across one who knew how to use kicks properly, so naturally, he was taken by surprise. That was why Leonard had been able to escape this one time.

But it wouldn’t happen again. Both of them knew this.

His wounds from Fiery Scarlet Point are already closing... I guess not even mind martial arts can completely overpower his healing abilities. I either have to kill him with one big attack or wear him down in a prolonged fight.

If Leonard hastily attempted a big attack and failed to execute it properly, Belial could easily overpower him. Of course, if Leonard was willing to use his Innate True Energy and accept the risk of injury, he might have a chance—but there was no need to go that far.

At this point, the Golden Dragon Knights were likely on their way from cleaning up the lesser Demoniacs at the base, so time wasn’t on Belial’s side.

The scales were slowly tipping in Leonard’s favor.

Claaang—!

After exchanging thousands of attacks in the span of a few minutes, the two of them retreated once more.

Belial was in tatters, whereas Leonard didn’t have a single scratch on his body. While Belial had focused on attacking relentlessly, regardless of whether he also inflicted damage on himself, Leonard had focused solely on blocking.

Belial gradually grew weaker—his skin tore, his muscles snapped, and his bones rattled, again and again.

It’s almost time.

Leonard had almost completely recovered from using the Fiery Scarlet Point, and the Black Tortoise Qi and Vermillion Bird Qi circulating through his body slowed down.

If Belial became slightly more careless, Leonard could use Taiji Phaseless Slash and put an end to it. Victory was within his grasp.

With that, Leonard confidently lifted his sword—

Thump—

His eyes widened. There was something he had failed to predict—a royalty-class Demoniac had been born, right then, right there. He had known this could happen if their luck was especially bad.

If thousands—no, tens of thousands of Demoniacs die within a small area, not even Hades would be able to absorb all the energy they release. That’s how a new Demoniac can be born. But to think it would happen while fighting this guy...!

Leonard almost wondered if someone had planned this out. The Golden Dragon Knights would have sensed the surge of power and would be on their way, moving in the Eighteen Arhat Formation. But they wouldn’t be fast enough. Only Leonard would be.

Demoniacs didn’t go through any kind of growth period. They came to life within seconds or minutes and could immediately wield the powers they were born with according to their ranking.

Thus, Leonard gave up the opportunity to finish off Belial and sprinted hundreds of meters toward the newborn monster as he felt its power expand.

He raised his sword. He had to attack fast and hard.

Eastern God Style

Mountain-Severing Judgment

Lightning and Wind Cleaving Slash

Augmented energy shot down his blade and formed an Augmented Qi Sphere, spinning so fast it crackled with lightning.

In his fight against Scylla, Leonard had spread out the energy to tear off her hide, but this time, he condensed it all into one sphere to kill the monster with one hit.

With the Deification of his Vermillion Bird Qi and Black Tortoise Qi, the five elements weren’t balanced, so he couldn’t use the Dragon God Style.

Go.

The Augmented Qi Sphere tore through the air and crashed into the ground, crushing the head of the Demoniac as it struggled to crawl out. The creature hadn’t even let out its first cry—its body still incomplete—and it had already taken a near-fatal hit.

The sphere burrowed into the creature and exploded, shredding it to bits.

“Not yet! It’s still breathing!”

“Commander Leonard already overexerted himself with that attack! Finish it off!”

“It may be a Demigod Tier, but it’s half-dead! This is nothing!”

Despite the vicious attack, the monster was still breathing. That was because it was a Heart Demoniac, not a Brain. With healing abilities greater than even the legendary troll king’s, simply tearing it apart wasn’t enough to kill it.

The Golden Dragon Knights moved in to finish off the creature. Even in its current state, it would take at least another few minutes.

Even if it had finished forming, I don’t think it would have been able to overpower the Eighteen Arhat Formation, but we can’t just leave it alone. It could assist Belial, or run off somewhere else.

Leonard didn’t regret his decision to target the newborn Demoniac.

“How...?!”

But when he turned back to Belial, he saw that the monster had sprouted two additional arms in the short time he had looked away.

For a fist fighter, the arms acted as swords, shields, spears, and whatever else they needed them to be. And now that Belial had four, with his level of skill and dexterity, his arsenal of moves had, at the very least, doubled.

Judging from Belial’s bloodlust, Leonard could tell this wasn’t a temporary transformation.

He’s absorbed a lot of the energy that was released by the other Demoniacs. He doesn’t just have more arms now—he’s stronger as a whole!

None of them, not even those affiliated with the Order of the Black Dragon or the Arcane Society had ever fought in the Demonic Realm like this before. They had never expected something like this to happen.

Leonard raised his sword against Belial, who now looked more like an asura than a human. He sharpened his focus. They were almost done exterminating the weaker Demoniacs, and most of the excess energy had been absorbed, so he could assume that there wouldn’t be any more surprises.

“In that case... it’s time for round two.”

“■■.”

It was time for the showdown.