Out of the fourteen monsters, only two had fallen. The remaining twelve continued attacking Leon from every direction.
But Leon weaved through their assaults.
A metal monster threw a powerful punch. Leon ducked beneath it, and the next instant, the Demon Sword burst into flames once more. He swung it upward in a blazing slash.
Schlk!
The monster was split cleanly in half.
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
Two more monsters charged from opposite sides.
Leon effortlessly dodged both attacks.
They were metal monsters as well. The moment he slipped past them, Leon spun through the air. The Demon Sword traced a brilliant arc, cleaving both monsters in half.
Two more rushed toward him.
Fire monsters.
Whoosh!
One slashed toward his arm, leaving a trail of blazing flames in its wake.
Leon didn’t even bother to dodge.
He allowed the flames to engulf him while the Demon Sword flashed once again. This time, however, the fiery blade turned icy white.
The second fire monster was still a short distance away.
Leon swung the massive sword.
A crescent of freezing energy shot forward.
The monster was instantly cut in two before its body froze solid.
Only seven monsters remained.
Three metal monsters.
Four fire monsters.
None of them attacked again. They simply stared at Leon as fear crept into their eyes.
Leon slowly rose into the air with his flying ability.
The monsters immediately turned and started fleeing.
Leon calmly swung the Demon Sword seven times in succession.
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
Whoooosh!
...
...
...
...
Thud! Thud! Thud!
One corpse after another crashed onto the ground.
The entire battle hadn’t even lasted two minutes.
Leon looked at the Demon Sword in awe. A blazing crimson aura still enveloped the blade.
Hummmm!
A deep sword melody echoed through the air.
The demon with long black hair smiled faintly. "Congratulations, Master. That was a swift victory. I believe you wish to learn the next form before proceeding to the next phase of the trial."
"Yes," Leon replied as he descended to the ground.
He sat down once more and took out the Sword Art Breathing manual. This time, he flipped to the page describing the Fifth Form. ’Let’s see what the Fifth Form is.’ Leon mused inwardly as he started reading.
’Sword Art Breathing, Fifth Form... Sword Aura.
Just as every living being possesses an aura, every sword has an aura of its own.
To unleash Sword Aura, one must resonate with the sword. Understand the sword.
Once Sword Aura is comprehended, a sword is no longer merely a weapon. It becomes an extension of one’s body.
And when the sword becomes your body... your body becomes the sword.’
After reading the description, Leon raised an eyebrow. "A sword becomes my body... and my body becomes the sword?"
The next moment, the corners of his lips curled into a smile. "What a profound concept," he murmured. "A sword is no longer just a sword. It becomes a part of my body. And then my body itself becomes a sword..."
He lowered his gaze and continued reading.
Unlike the previous forms, there was no separate breathing technique to master.
No special stance. No complicated movements. The essence of the Fifth Form lay in only one thing.
Understanding the sword.
Leon kept reading until the very last word. And the moment he was finished..
Ding!
[Congratulations, Host. You have comprehended the Fifth Form of Sword Art Breathing.]
[Fifth Form: Sword Aura.]
Leon slowly rose to his feet before lifting the Demon Sword and gazing at its massive black blade streaked with crimson markings.
"Become the sword," he murmured.
As his focus deepened, a faint buzzing sound echoed through the air.
Zzzzzzzzzz!
It was so subtle that anyone lacking keen perception would never notice it. But Leon could. He could feel the blade’s incomparably sharp edge.
A faint halo of white light seemed to envelop the sword. The halo wasn’t ordinary light. It radiated an indescribable sense of destruction, as though countless microscopic particles were vibrating at unimaginable speed within it.
Anything that came into contact with that halo...
Would be erased.
"I’m ready," Leon said.
"Then the fifth phase of your trial begins now, Master."
The moment the demon finished speaking, the scenery around Leon changed. He found himself standing atop a towering mountain.
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Where are the opponents?" he muttered.
"There are no opponents, Master," the demon’s voice echoed through the air. "For this phase, your task is to penetrate this mountain and reach its very bottom."
With that, the voice fell silent, offering no further explanation.
"Penetrate a mountain, huh?" A smile appeared on Leon’s face. "These trials are becoming more and more interesting. I can’t wait to see what else this demon guy has in store for me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Leon rose into the air once more.
Higher.
Higher still.
The mountain beneath him gradually shrank until he finally stopped a hundred meters above its peak.
The instant he focused, Sword Aura erupted from the Demon Sword.
Zzzzzzzzzzz!
The destructive aura was so intense that the surrounding air began to sizzle.
Leon’s gaze locked onto the mountain below.
It was at least a thousand meters tall. Yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in his eyes.
Only curiosity.
A desire to see how far his sword could cut.
And...
A thirst for greater strength.
The next instant...
Whoooooosh!
Leon shot downward like a falling meteor, the tip of the Demon Sword aimed straight at the mountain while his feet pointed toward the sky.
He looked like a majestic streak of light descending from the sky. The Demon Sword led the way, its blade enveloped in a faint halo of destructive white light.
Boooooom!
A deafening explosion echoed as the tip of the Demon Sword slammed into the mountaintop.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
The earth shattered layer after layer as Leon continued drilling downward, the Demon Sword carving a path through the mountain like an unstoppable spear.
One hundred meters!
Two hundred meters!
The deeper he descended, the harder the mountain became.
But the Sword Aura only grew fiercer.
Wilder.
It refused to yield.
It wanted to conquer.
Three hundred fifty meters!
Five hundred meters!
Six hundred meters!
By now, the faint halo surrounding the Demon Sword had evolved. The once barely visible aura had become a tangible white glow.
Seven hundred twenty meters.
Eight hundred meters.
The white Sword Aura grew denser and denser, resembling concentrated mist wrapped around the blade.
Zzzzzzzzzzzz!
Anything that came into contact with it was instantly obliterated.
Nine hundred meters!
One thousand meters!
Booooooom!
Another thunderous explosion erupted as the tip of the Demon Sword struck the very bottom of the mountain.
From above, only a perfectly round black hole remained at the mountain’s peak.
And then...
Rumble! Rumble!
The entire mountain trembled violently before it began collapsing in on itself.
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