The Duke's Son :Re-Chapter 252

Chapter 252
Hell Sword...
Connected to Iyarugt, this Skill was powerful indeed, but the activation requirements were no less difficult, requiring successive strikes for a small probability of activation.
Such a Skill was difficult to use in actual combat.
In a life-or-death battle, successive strikes were a hard thing.
After all, with his sword-drawing technique, if the level of his opponent was such that he needed more than one strike, then he’d likely have little attention to spare for activating Hell Sword—and if it did activate, he might even miss the System notification saying as much several times.
Fortunately, it was easier than expected.
In that sense, Jae-Hyeok’s confrontation with Theodore could be said to be relaxed. Not only had he activated Hell Sword with relative ease, but he’d also had the leeway to watch for the activation message and thus respond promptly.
In part, the smooth outcome of this battle was a testament to Jae-Hyeok’s rich combat experience in fighting higher-level opponents.
Primarily, however, this outcome was thanks to Theodore’s nature as an undead.
For hundreds of years, Theodore had lived as an immortal being. What were lethal wounds to a human were nothing more than slight inconveniences to Theodore’s skeletal body. As such, its combat style had developed in an equally inhuman direction—not shying away from its opponent’s strikes.
Ironically, however, this made Theodore’s perpetual body have relatively low endurance when in combat, as Jae-Hyeok was able to work away at its joints, slowly hampering its movements while waiting for Hell Sword to trigger.
The experience of fighting Loren was very helpful.
The nature of the undead to disregard wounds was an inherently powerful weapon.
No matter whether it was pierced or cut, the undead would not falter in their attacks. Maintaining composure against such an enemy wasn’t easy. If he failed to succeed in one strike, then he had to anticipate the course of the undead’s own attack and decide his next move accordingly.
Combat was a test of physicality as much as it was one of wits—but the logic behind one’s predictions changed when fighting fearless, tireless undead.
Even beheading wouldn’t stop the undead from counterattacking; anyone fighting such monsters for the first time was bound to panic.
Thankfully, Jae-Hyeok had much experience fighting undead and was not so timid. Moreover, most of his experience came from battling the high-level undead of the Baus family. Because of this, Jae-Hyeok hadn’t been flustered and knew precisely how to play off Theodore’s fearlessness to seize victory. Now, Theodore could only kneel.
Iyarugt had sunken halfway through Theodore’s raised greatsword, but Hell Sword was in part an AOE. Even without direct contact, the pressure and sword threads alone had driven Theodore to the ground and ravaged its body.
Jae-Hyeok let out a steady exhale before smiling faintly. However, when several moments passed without the System notifying him of his victory, Jae-Hyeok’s smile faded. He stepped back while tightening his guard.
A series of cracks and pops rang out, but Theodore rose smoothly, unfazed by the sound of its own splintering bones.
By the time it returned to its full height, Theodore’s thick leg bones bore deep fractures that ran their entire length. But immediately thereafter, a shroud of purple mana erupted from Theadore’s skeleton. Churning, the shroud congealed into tangible bands that then wrapped around Theodore’s bones like purple muscles, tightly binding the fractures beneath.
But that wasn’t all.
Theodore further reinforced its legs, infusing ever more mana into the bones and bindings below its waist—within moments, its legs took on a faint glow, and the sand around its feet swirled from the mana fluctuations.
Damn...
Jae-Hyeok was rarely at a loss in battle. After all, the foundation of strategy was to account for both the success and failure of individual tactics. And this time, all of Jae-Hyeok’s tactics had worked without a hitch, culminating in his catching Theodore in Hell Sword, his strongest move.
The only thing Jae-Hyeok hadn’t predicted, however, was for Hell Sword to fail in ending the battle.
Theodore tested its joints before chuckling.
“Why are you standing there watching instead of finishing me off? Are you so relaxed that you are giving me time to recover?”
Theodore’s words were filled with mockery. But Jae-Hyeok wasn’t fooled. Theodore had likely been taking its time while rising, hoping for Jae-Hyeok to take the bait so it could counterattack.
“
Well, that strike was indeed powerful. Were it not for your ignorant control, I never would’ve found a way out. As it is, that sword art really doesn’t suit you.
Theodore glanced at his purple sword.
It was on the verge of shattering after receiving the brunt of Hell Sword.
“Doesn’t suit me? That sword technique? That’s impossible.” Jae-Hyeok shook his head. Rather than trying to buy time, he was genuinely bewildered.
Iyarugt was not an ordinary sword.
Through testing, Jae-Hyeok had discovered that no matter what weapon he held, so long as he called upon Iyarugt, it would manifest. This indicated that Iyarugt’s true essence existed in a form beyond the physical, and that essence—whatever its true nature—seemed to dwell within his mind.
Jae-Hyeok didn’t entirely understand it.
But one thing was sure: His bond with Peak Sword’s mysterious sword bordered on the spiritual—and since it had recognized him, that was like Peak Sword himself acknowledging Jae-Hyeok as a worthy successor.
Hell Sword, meanwhile, was a Skill that stemmed from Iyarugt and was thus an extension of Peak Sword’s inheritance. As such, how could there be anyone more suited to Hell Sword than Peak Sword’s chosen successor? Than him?
For Theodore to claim otherwise was ridiculous.
Jae-Hyeok shook his head. “You’re wrong. Hell Sword is practically meant for me.”
“You really don’t know anything.”
Theodore snorted. Purple mana rose from the cracks on its blade, infilling them in until not a scratch remained. Then, it raised its sword.
A heavy pressure erupted from Theodore’s sword, and jagged purple threads of sword aura radiated outward in every direction.
Jae-Hyeok's expression changed.
“Hell... Sword?”
“Each of these lines reflects my understanding of the sword. The paths they trace mirror sword comprehension and thus the countless trajectories my sword might take, manifested all at once.
“This is also the principle behind your Hell Sword. But the paths traced by your Hell Sword are nothing like the sword techniques you’ve shown me so far; you’re wielding someone else’s comprehension, and in doing so, you’re like a child wielding a club. The flaws are more than I can count.”
The threads of sword aura reflect the various paths of my sword...
Jae-Hyeok was shocked to learn the essence of Hell Sword.
But more than anything, however, he was simply shocked to see Theodore manifest its own Hell Sword. This begged the question: just how many others could use Hell Sword? Jae-Hyeok had thought himself special, but evidently, that wasn’t the case...
Theodore’s jaw clacked in mock laughter. Inwardly, however, it was clicking its imaginary tongue; in fact, the version of Hell Sword that Theodore produced still fell short of Jae-Hyeok’s and was unable to maintain its form for long before dissipating.
Theodore resisted the urge to shake its head, and, seeing the wild gleam building in Jae-Hyeok’s eyes, it instead chuckled.
“
I guess you’ve noticed.
Hell Sword, was it?
Once you replace every thread of sword aura with those mirroring your sword comprehension, you’ll no longer have a Skill but a technique, whose specific effects will be unique to your swordsmanship.”
“Uniquely my own...” Jae-Hyeok muttered.
Indeed. He had realized the truth in Theodore’s words. As of current, Hell Sword manifested as a tyrannical, overwhelming force. The will behind it spoke of a swordsman who sought to kill anyone who stood opposed like ants. This was different from the will with which Jae-Hyeok swung his sword.
From this, Jae-Hyeok could clearly feel the truth behind Theodore’s earlier words—it was right. The current Hell Sword really didn’t fit him.
But thinking as much, rather than disappointment, Jae-Hyeok’s chest swelled with anticipation. Just what would his own Hell Sword, infused with his sword comprehension, look like?
Well, no matter what, only by creating and mastering his own version of Hell Sword could the power be said to be his. If he hoped to become the strongest player in the world, then as much as possible, Jae-Hyeok felt the power he wielded naturally had to be his own.
Just as Jae-Hyeok was lost in his thoughts, Theodore surged forth, cutting Jae-Hyeok across the chest and sending him staggering back.
Theodore pursued—not giving Jae-Hyeok the slightest chance to rest, its sword produced a web of purple afterimages as it swept past Jae-Hyeok again and again.
“Kid, pull your head out of the clouds. There’s no use dreaming about an uncertain future!”
Theodore carved dozens of wounds across Jae-Hyeok’s chest and arms. At some point, Jae-Hyeok seemed to have given up on blocking; however, Jae-Hyeok still held firmly onto his sword, even as his grip slicked with blood.
This guy...
Theodore’s sword swept past once more, this time grazing Jae-Hyeok’s neck, but following this miss, a follow-up thrust pierced a hole through Jae-Hyeok’s thigh.
The lights in Theodore’s eyesockets flared.
He’s only avoiding the lethal strikes. What a little demon...
Despite Jae-Hyeok’s gruesome look, his eyes shone brightly, locked on the motion of Theodore’s sword. The level of focus was such that Jae-Hyeok seemed as if he’d fallen into a trance.
An ominous premonition arose in Theodore’s empty ribcage.
This isn’t good.
It wasn’t just a hunch. The fact that it couldn’t land a fatal blow meant Je-Hyeok had begun reading its attacks.
“Fine. How about this!”
Theodore listened to its instincts and decided to press for a quick victory. It raised its sword, but before it could bring it down, a red thread trailed from the end of Jae-Hyeok’s blade. The brilliance of that thread reflected in Jae-Hyeok’s eyes like a red ember, and the path it traced was none other than the path his sword-drawing technique would follow.
He condensed a sword thread? Impressive, but it’ll take more than one—
Theodore’s vision flickered, and the sound of its own skull cracking rang loud in its ear holes.
Meanwhile, a stream of System messages scrolled past Jae-Hyeok’s vision.
[You have won the fight against Theodore!]
[Legendary achievement!]
[You have defeated a transcendent.]
[All stats have increased by 10.]
[Your level has increased by 5.]
[The hidden quest of Lion’s Castle, “Defeat the Death Knight,” has been cleared.]
[The hidden quest of Lion’s Castle, “Birth of a New Legend,” has been acquired.]
[Your great achievement has triggered Noble Chivalry.]
“Sigh, a promise is a promise.”
Theodore fell to one knee in front of Jae-Hyeok and lowered its head in a reverent manner.
“I, the nameless knight, will pledge my loyalty to you.”
“Good. Very... good..”
Jae-Hyeok smiled before losing consciousness. Just as he was about to fall on his face, a bony hand reached out to spare him the indignity.
Of course, the sight of Jae-Hyeok being grabbed by the back of the collar was not all that dignified, either...