Chapter 88: To You, My Beautiful Sparrow

The Abyss Mage—seeing this monster made Li Mo think of the Abyss Order. And the Abyss Order had a deep connection with Khaenri'ah, the nation destroyed by the gods five hundred years ago. But speaking of the Abyss Order, one had to mention...

So, is the leader of the Abyss Order a princess or a prince?

The Abyss Mage before him made Li Mo's imagination run wild. But then again, not all Abyss Mages necessarily followed the commands of the Abyss Order.

"Uncle Tejima, can you still fight?"

"I can, but I can't break the Abyss Mage's shield in a short time. That water-element barrier is troublesome," Tejima said.

The Abyss Mage was of the water element, which was strengthened in this weather. Uncle Tejima's Vision, on the other hand, was purple—the Electro element, the same as the Shogun of Inazuma.

That was good. At least it wasn't Fire or Water. The former would be limited in such weather, while the latter wouldn't trigger elemental reactions at all.

"Then leave the rest of the small fry to me."

Tejima and Li Mo charged forward simultaneously. Tejima rushed straight toward the Abyss Mage, knowing that the remaining Hilichurls would be dealt with by Li Mo.

And that's exactly what Li Mo did. As Tejima charged at the Abyss Mage, the remaining Hilichurls tried to block him. Even these low-intelligence creatures knew that the mage couldn't handle close combat. Fortunately, Li Mo was right beside them.

These Hilichurls were all cannon fodder.

Li Mo excelled at killing cannon fodder. Hilichurls, like humans, had one head, two arms, and two legs. Their body structure was almost identical, so the techniques Li Mo had honed worked perfectly. The only difference was that Hilichurls were shorter on average, but Li Mo simply adjusted his angle accordingly.

In the blink of an eye, multiple Hilichurl heads flew into the air.

For a brief moment, Li Mo became an emotionless killing machine. The Japanese sword in his hand always found the most precise angle to slice through the Hilichurls' slender necks, and with a slight flick of his wrist, he ended their lives.

At this point, he noticed that the reinforcements numbered in the dozens, including some Hilichurls carrying torches. These torch-bearing Hilichurls would charge at him from a distance, waving their torches menacingly.

What kind of torches are these?! How can they still burn in the rain?! This defies science!

Uncle Tejima had already closed in on the Abyss Mage. Under the pouring rain, his Vision glowed brightly.

What Li Mo needed to do was create an undisturbed battlefield for Uncle Tejima. So...

Watching the Hilichurls charging at him, especially the torch-bearing ones, he noticed a certain rhythm in the way they swung their torches.

They're not just swinging randomly!

Li Mo recalled a joke about how these charging Hilichurls looked like they were performing the "Dance of the Fire God." That's why they were teased as using the Sun Breathing technique.

Really, why am I thinking about this in the middle of a battle... Do I feel no pressure at all? Maybe I should take this a bit more seriously.

His breathing steady, Li Mo lowered the brim of his hat, his entire body buzzing with energy.

"Sun Breathing—"

"Flame Dance!"

A dance of blessing offered to the gods, as beautiful as the "Dance of the Fire God," swirling with Pyro energy as it swept toward the Hilichurls.

"Sun Breathing" could also stir Pyro energy, but it was slightly inferior to a true Vision. Not to mention, it was raining, and the falling rain weakened the Pyro element.

There might exist beings capable of boiling the seas, but clearly, Li Mo was not one of those godlike figures.

Even without the help of Pyro, his sword was sharp enough.

The rain continued to fall, even growing heavier. This was no help to Tejima, who wielded an Electro Vision, but it was advantageous for the Hydro Abyss Mage.

The enemy grew stronger while they remained the same. The scales of victory were no longer balanced.

Age was catching up.

Tejima could clearly feel the decline in his strength due to aging. His swordsmanship had improved compared to before, but his physical decline made him far less effective in life-and-death struggles than in his youth.

He sidestepped, dodging the Abyss Mage's water bubbles. If caught in one, there would be little oxygen inside. You had to break the bubble before you ran out of breath, but honestly, that was difficult.

Then, he saw the Abyss Mage's water bullets. At this point, he had no choice but to retreat.

But could he still charge forward now? There was no one else to replace him. That young man could manipulate some Pyro energy, but it wasn't enough. Yasuda should have gone to inform the Tenryou Commission by now. Really...

He hoped he could still return to continue waiting.

Tejima adjusted his stance, preparing to charge again.

But someone was faster.

The young man he had mentioned, Li Mo, rushed toward the Abyss Mage. Only then did Tejima realize that Li Mo was faster than him—even faster than he had been in his youth.

But... elemental reactions were the fastest way to break an Abyss Mage's shield. How much Pyro energy could this young man's swordsmanship summon?

Manipulating elements wasn't something only Vision holders could do. Tejima knew that the Kairagi in the wild could use talismans to invoke elements. But the question was, how much elemental energy could they summon?

Li Mo didn't know what Tejima was thinking, nor did he plan to do that. If he had studied the Electro talisman he obtained from the Kairagi, Raiden, during the Jinren Island battle last night, he might have used elemental reactions to break the shield now.

But he chose another path.

Normal attacks could still break the shield. If the shield couldn't be broken, it was simply because the force wasn't strong enough!

For a moment, the world slowed down before Li Mo's eyes. Even the falling raindrops seemed sluggish.

The thirteenth form of "Sun Breathing" aimed to completely seal off an opponent's movements, an impenetrable offense. "Secret Sword: Swallow Return" had a similar effect.

But the former always had gaps. The latter, however, attacked from three directions simultaneously, almost at the same time.

—Could those three slashes overlap perfectly in the end?

Li Mo couldn't see the elemental flow of the Abyss Mage's shield, but he knew that such shield-based abilities would break if a flaw was exploited.

Focus on one point, reach the pinnacle.

"Secret Sword: Swallow Return!"

The blade left its sheath.

An arc of light appeared in the rain. One? No, three.

Three trajectories appeared in the air, left by the Japanese sword as it cut through the rain. Each slash followed the same line, striking the same spot on the shield.

The pinnacle of human strength, the razor-sharp Amenoma Kageuchi, and the ultimate sword technique that compressed space.

In an instant, a crack appeared on the Abyss Mage's shield. Then, in the blink of an eye, the crack spread like a spiderweb.

The shield shattered!

Instantly, the Abyss Mage suffered a backlash and fell unconscious.

A sharp flash of the blade, and the Abyss Mage's head flew off. Its health bar emptied in an instant.

In the rain, Tejima watched the young man land, as if witnessing the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

In the rain, a figure watched from afar, observing everything.