Chapter 55: Taste My Big Sword!
Now that the target had been found, it was time to prepare. Gripping the hilt of the massive white greatsword with both hands, he lifted the blade that was comparable to a human body in size. His fingers clenched with unprecedented force as Joshua emptied his mind and continued to communicate with his weapon.
In his past life, he would have disdained such an act. A warrior should be a master of weapons and techniques, an expert in killing and combat. He wielded spears and giant axes, sharp blades and heavy hammers—merely using tools to dispatch targets more efficiently. That was all.
But after such a long time since his transmigration, Joshua had come to understand something.
This was a fantasy world—a world of miracles filled with battle qi and magic, demons and dragons. Mundane weapons—like Ying—truly possessed their own will and wisdom, their own souls, their own 'flame.'
If that was the case, then respect was due.
Just as Ying always claimed she was merely a weapon, merely a tool in her master's hands, Joshua had never believed that.
He tore off his already battered helmet and cast it to the ground, kicking up dust. His black hair drifted in the wind as the warrior's pupils blazed like burning flames.
"Ying, match my rhythm."
Now was the time to cooperate seriously with the two of them.
"Yes, Master!"
Through the records in her memory core, Ying instantly understood what the warrior intended. She immediately grew serious, her spiritual frequency shifting in tandem with her master's—until, through the Divine Mechanism contract, the wavelengths of their souls resonated in that single moment!
Divine Mechanization.
Just as the inherited memories described, a Divine Mechanism was not merely an incredibly sharp and durable weapon. These humanoid races were also intelligent beings. They could not only be passively wielded but could actively grant their contracted partners even greater power. The price was merely an increased burden on the body.
For Joshua, who had leveled up ten times in a row, had all his hidden injuries healed, inherited the power of legacy, and seen a massive increase in all attributes, this was hardly a difficult feat!
Potent arcane power surged through the Divine Mechanism contract, which resembled a tattoo on his right hand. The external energy flowed through Joshua's body as smoothly as if it had always belonged to him, reinforcing him layer by layer. His already formidable physique—comparable to magical beasts or even dragons—rose to an even higher level!
"But Master... in this state, I can only last... at most twenty minutes..."
The arcane power surged as the Divine Mechanism girl's urgent spiritual fluctuations reached him. In the state of soul resonance, the burden on Ying was also considerable. These twenty minutes were not Joshua's limit—they were hers.
"I told you, that's more than enough."
The warrior let out a disdainful snort.
Just how strong am I now? Even I don't know.
Compared to before, Joshua's overall strength had indeed increased by a notch. But as for exactly where he had grown stronger, it was hard to pinpoint. Regardless, it was a clear leap forward.
As a former legendary warrior, Joshua knew just how powerful a Gold-rank warrior's body could be—running at supersonic speeds, free flight, regenerating severed limbs, immunity to all diseases—these were merely basic abilities. Crushing a Silver-rank Minotaur with one hand, or punching with the force of a cannonball, was nothing special. Just like before, truly powerful Gold-rank warriors could even bathe in molten lava, swim in molten steel, or devour metal and chew iron, gnaw on stone and eat dirt, surviving in the harshest of conditions.
But now, Joshua truly did not know the limits of his body, strengthened as it was by the flames of Order.
As a transcendent being whose physical condition was gradually approaching that of various magical beasts—or even natural creatures like dragons—Joshua's current vitality was hundreds or even thousands of times greater than an ordinary person's. This meant that if he used load-bearing techniques like berserk rampage, he didn't have to worry too much about his body giving out.
Not to mention the martial techniques from his past life, which utilized muscles, tendons, bones, internal organs, and blood energy...
"Huff—"
He exhaled, then took a deep breath. The Gold-rank warrior's powerful lung capacity acted like a black hole, sucking in all the surrounding air. Whether it was ash mixed with volcanic smoke or the purple-black chaotic mist, Joshua accepted it all, drawing it into his lungs.
Then came a long roar.
Accompanied by a thunderous sound like a dragon's roar or a tiger's howl, the sonic waves vibrated, his bones and tendons sang in unison, and the blood within him surged and roared. Combined with the powerful vibration of his lungs, it formed a deep, resonant rumble. The atmosphere was torn apart by this sound, and a crisp noise like shattering glass came from the air. Within a radius of several hundred meters, the blizzard that had been falling like goose feathers was all shattered into icy dust by the resonance, drifting down gently.
An inhuman physique, a powerful will, combined with unparalleled martial techniques and battle qi—the combat wisdom and killing arts of two worlds were fused into one person, creating this warrior who didn't even know his own strength.
His knees bent slightly, his leg muscles storing power like a drawn bowstring. Then, the crimson battle qi entwined around his body turned black-red, and his muscles released their power simultaneously, exploding violently. The gale blew away the accumulated snow and shattered the solid rock. Gravity lost its meaning in an instant as the warrior shot into the air like an arrow, piercing through the atmosphere, breaking the sound barrier.
Midair, Joshua, wrapped in a dim, blood-ink-like aura, coldly gazed at the location of the black dragon within the clouds.
A dragon. And chaos.
No matter what it was, as long as it faced him now, it was fragile and weak, utterly vulnerable.
—High above, within the clouds.
The Chaos Dragon, hidden within the purple-black mist, passed through the blizzard stirred up by the Ice Butterfly, watching the deep cyan light point on the ground that was constantly slaughtering frenzied beasts and wild gods.
Blood of all colors scattered through the air, and fragments of flesh and severed limbs flew everywhere. Amidst the black tide of frenzied beasts, a bloody path of crushed bones and internal organs had appeared.
This human is indeed strong.
Watching the blonde swordsman kill various magical beasts and mature wild gods almost instantly, the black dragon thought to itself—if it were to engage in close combat itself, even with one wrong move, it probably wouldn't fare much better than those foolish monsters. If that warrior using crimson battle qi joined in, even with its chaos-enhanced power, it wouldn't be able to handle them.
The twin blades in the swordsman's hands, radiating powerful Order fluctuations, were not only incredibly sharp but also exceptionally effective against chaotic forces. As the blades cut through the air, leaving trails of light, the chaotic magic within dozens of meters was instantly swept clean, as if burned away by fire, leaving nothing behind.
But that wasn't all. The black dragon felt that the swordsman possessed another terrifying ability. It was precisely this ability that allowed him to ignore the defenses of the frenzied beasts and wild gods every time, killing them in a single blow, thus conserving his stamina.
But now, it was indeed the end.
After killing so many monsters, the blonde swordsman's speed finally began to slow. The swings of his twin blades were no longer like a flawless storm; gaps began to appear. Sensing the opportunity, the surrounding magical beasts and mature wild gods with crystalline carapaces roared and surged forward, surrounding him completely.
Fangs, claws, and charges. The surging black tide of beasts completely engulfed the swordsman wrapped in deep cyan battle qi. Although his sword light was still fierce, and each strike still claimed the life of a magical beast or wild god, both he and the black dragon knew he couldn't hold on much longer.
The distant Ice Butterfly continuously unleashed blizzards and bitter cold, wearing down the swordsman's stamina, while the endless stream of monsters on the ground gave him no time to rest. Combined with various hidden curse magic and negative spells, for a human to hold out this long was already...
"——————"
A heroic, long roar suddenly erupted from the ground behind him, interrupting the black dragon's thoughts. Its flapping wings stiffened instantly as it felt a terrifying threat—one that seemed as if it would kill it on the spot—rapidly gathering!
It quickly turned its head, scanning its surroundings, but found nothing. However, this black dragon had gained wisdom and immediately realized that since it wasn't around or on the ground, there was only one possibility!
The sky!
"Hsssaaaaaa!!!"
Feeling as if a knife was at its back, the dragon roared in fury, raising its head. It opened its single eye, its gaze piercing through the clouds. Its dragon pupil focused, and through the endless mist, it saw the massive light source that had been obscured by the dark clouds for so long—the blazing, scorching sun!
And right there, at the source of that infinite light, a human figure used the sunlight to conceal his aura and form, gathering a blinding thunderous flame in his hand. In that instant, he also sensed that the black dragon had discovered him. So, the crimson battle qi erupted wildly, surging forth from the heights of the sky.
The sun's radiance was swept up, wind and thunder rippled, and the dark clouds covering the sky were shattered and scattered by the residual force of this power. The Black Forest, which had not seen sunlight for months due to the blizzard, was finally bathed in a layer of golden light!
And at that moment, a silver-white greatsword wrapped in golden radiance descended from the sky alongside that crimson figure, cleaving down toward the black dragon's head—
Ultimate Essence: Sunlight Sword!