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Chapter 188
Melissa slowly pointed the tip of her sword toward Cheon Ryeong, and in response, he gave her a short bow of courtesy.
"You are strong, young lady."
Melissa didn’t reply. Instead, she released a pressure that seemed to press down on the entire atmosphere as she pointed her sword at him.
The oppressive force was enough to freeze Gordon and Karim in place, unable to move properly.
Yet Cheon Ryeong withstood it and managed to approach her.
"You're coming too? That makes it five against one now, you know?"
"This duel isn't exactly to my liking. But if it's something I must do, then I will."
Aura flowed gracefully around him as he spoke calmly.
"It may be important to you, but I, too, have reasons I can't back out of this. So I’ll be going a bit rough."
At those words, Melissa and Cheon Ryeong’s figures vanished and reappeared in an instant as they clashed swords.
Unlike her previous fights with Gordon and Karim, this time no one was being overwhelmingly pushed back.
Whenever Cheon Ryeong, emanating a brilliant white aura, clashed with Melissa, who exploded with dark aura, black and white energies scattered in all directions.
"Oh, not bad..."
Luna muttered a short word of admiration as she watched.
She had heard that in the Eastern Continent, sword techniques were highly developed, with systematic training from an early age.
That’s why the young generation there was generally stronger than their Central or Western counterparts.
This boy must be particularly talented even among them.
But Melissa was no different.
She might not have followed a method refined over years, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword she had mastered was something I had honed and perfected through countless battles and revisions.
It was a technique that had evolved through bold experimentation and real combat over immeasurable time—so in terms of sheer quality, Melissa’s swordsmanship arguably had more potential.
If it hadn’t been for the procedure she underwent before coming here, it would’ve been a fairly even match.
But now, like reaping honey after a long effort, all the stacks Melissa had accumulated had burst forth.
Melissa's capabilities had increased to a level even she wasn't fully aware of.
Still, the results weren’t as explosive as I had expected.
"You put a limiter on her?"
"She just hasn’t adapted to her body yet. She’ll get faster."
Just as he said, Melissa’s movements—initially cautious and slow—grew more natural, faster, stronger, and more fluid as she continued exchanging blows with Cheon Ryeong.
As the duel gradually tilted in Melissa’s favor, Cheon Ryeong’s expression grew darker.
"Incredible..."
Their output was similar.
The techniques they used weren’t much different from what mid-level experts could perform.
But in everything else—technique, boldness, energy distribution, aura control—Melissa steadily gained the upper hand.
Even more astonishing was how the gap between them was widening.
Melissa’s attacks pressed in with movements that went far beyond Cheon Ryeong’s expectations, and she seemed to parry his blows with baffling ease.
Her habit of dodging at the last possible moment with fluid movements was something she had learned from me, and she was using it effectively.
Used carelessly, it was an extremely dangerous tactic—but when mastered, there was no better way to conserve stamina.
However, from the opponent’s point of view, it made them wonder if she somehow knew their sword style.
Just as everyone was reeling from Melissa’s unexpected dominance—
Someone approached me.
It was none other than Hwa Ryeong, Cheon Ryeong’s younger sister, currently engaged in the duel with Melissa.
Dressed in elegant Eastern attire, she held a fan in one hand and walked toward me with a stern face.
"Lord Leon Cascadia."
"And you are... Lady Hwa Ryeong, was it?"
"Yes, I am called Hwa Ryeong."
I remembered her walking away with a rather bitter expression the first time we met.
But now, despite her brother being in combat, she seemed completely uninterested.
"Isn’t the duel still ongoing?"
"My brother does not like interference during a match."
With that, she extended her fan toward me.
"If it’s not too discourteous, may I witness your power firsthand, my lord?"
What the hell does this woman want?
"Do I have a reason to agree to that?"
Munching on popcorn, I asked, and she made a conflicted expression.
"I came all this way just to meet you. Separately from the others."
"Weren’t you here to participate in the expedition?"
"There are not many ways for someone like me to leave my family’s domain."
At her words, I refused her offer.
"Whatever your reason is, this doesn't seem like the right time or place."
"Are you truly saying that?"
"Excuse me?"
"I’ve heard the rumors about you even in the Eastern Continent. Strange, almost unbelievable stories about Lord Leon. But I have few chances like this…"
As she pressed on with her unreasonable request, Luna glanced over at me.
Should I smack her?
No.
Behave.
What kind of angel is this destructive?
Meanwhile, the duel had become almost entirely one-sided in Melissa’s favor, now that she had adapted to her new physical condition.
"You see, I judged that this may be my only chance, and thus I beg your pardon in advance."
With that, I sensed an unusual flow of mana around her.
I had heard that in the East, they could form formation magic using mana.
Soon, a flowing Taiji pattern of mana began to rise around her.
Though I had only encountered formations during my battles in the Labyrinth, my mastery of elemental and necromantic magic had sharpened my senses.
Whatever her reason for doing this, I honestly didn’t care.
Formations were, in the end, just another branch of elemental magic.
I quickly began reverse-calculating her formation to forcibly cancel it when—
"Ah! No! Ma Cheon has broken free!!"
A panicked shout came from the Eastern contingent.
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Startled, Hwa Ryeong also turned her head.
"That’s impossible..."
There, a small boy—shrouded in ominous black energy and exuding a feral aura—burst out of a torn tent, letting out beast-like growls.
Looking around, I saw that while many were panicking, a few wore expressions as if they understood what was happening.
"We—we definitely had suppression formations on him!"
"Could someone have released them by accident?"
"Th-that’s not possible! Not unless someone intentionally removed the talisman…"
Judging by their reactions, it seemed the twin siblings Cheon Ryeong and Hwa Ryeong, along with the officials from the Eastern Continent, didn't exactly see eye to eye on the matter.
And then it happened.
Ma Cheon let out a growl, his crimson eyes gleaming, and fixed his gaze on Melissa, who was in the middle of fighting Cheon Ryeong.
Oh no, he's about to snap.
“Grrrrraaaaahhhhh!!”
BOOM!!!
With a violent crash, Ma Cheon flung whatever he was holding and charged at Melissa like a rabid beast.
It seemed the strange aura of the Heavenly Demon Sword flowing from Melissa had provoked him.
Could a kid really emit that kind of energy?
Actually, it didn’t even feel like something that came from a living being...
It looked like someone had implanted something into the child that should never be placed inside a human body.
That thing was more monster than human.
Of course, since it was forcefully implanted, he couldn’t control it—it was simply running amok.
Ma Cheon rushed forward with astonishing speed, black aura billowing around him like mist, as if he were a madman drunk on blood.
Even Melissa, who had gotten used to her new body, was a beat too slow to react.
“Cheon?!”
Just like Hwa Ryeong, who had been fighting in front of me, Cheon Ryeong flinched at the boy's sudden appearance.
He instinctively shoved Melissa aside and raised his sword to block Ma Cheon.
KAAANG!!!
A thunderous crash rang out, hard to believe it came from a clash between a sword and a bare hand infused with aura.
Cheon Ryeong’s sword went flying into the air.
No—more accurately, Cheon Ryeong’s arm holding the sword was severed and flew off.
And Ma Cheon didn’t stop there.
He tore the arm to shreds mid-air like a wild beast.
The sheer brutality was monstrous.
“Guhk?!”
With claws bared and roaring like an animal, he lunged at Cheon Ryeong again, as if furious at being interrupted.
“Brother! No!”
Hwa Ryeong’s panicked voice grew distant.
And then—
“Why is Cheon acting like this?!”
Cheon Ryeong’s voice became clearer as he rushed in.
“GRRAAAAAAAHH!!”
But Ma Cheon wasn’t able to sink his claws into Cheon Ryeong’s neck.
Because I had appeared above him as if I’d teleported, grabbed his head with one hand, and slammed it into the ground.
He had taken some damage, but seeing how he healed within seconds—this wasn’t the body of a human.
“Grrrk, gck…”
“Stay down.”
Was he the last one?
That caught me off guard.
I should’ve been more careful.
Never thought the Eastern Continent would raise something like this.
A literal monster.
You couldn’t even call this human anymore.
If this thing had jumped into the duel, then the Death Knight I assigned to Melissa would’ve moved as well.
“GRRAAAAAHH!!”
He struggled to break free from me, but I pinned him down and, gripping his head tightly to the ground, unleashed a burst of force.
BOOOOM!!!!
A formless, colorless shockwave erupted from me.
Ma Cheon’s body shuddered violently, then went limp.
With the sudden intrusion, all eyes turned to us.
Good—since I’ve got everyone’s attention, time to speak up.
First off, these people are out of the exploration mission.
“I believe I clearly stated that external interference during a duel results in disqualification, didn’t I?”
Silence followed my question.
Well, staying quiet isn’t going to change anything.
“Pack your bags and get lost. All of you.”
* * *
As expected—or maybe it was just obvious.
The opposing side didn’t move right away.
Melissa and her group had done their part, and now it was our turn to act.
Leaving Arsha with Melissa, I moved with Luna.
As I stepped into the Coral camp, suspicious gazes gathered from all directions.
When I entered the main tent where their leaders were, two men were waiting for me.
Both were Sword Masters.
One was the Coral faction’s Sword Master, not on good terms with Bata.
The other was an elder from the Sichuan Clan, a major clan from the Eastern Continent sent as reinforcements.
The Sichuan Clan...
The Eastern Continent is made up of various clan alliances.
I don’t know all the details, but the Sichuan Clan was one of the largest and most influential among them.
They were probably trying to assert dominance with this oppressive presence—but such efforts meant nothing to me or Luna.
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