Chapter 64: The Radiance of the Supreme Saint
Turning his head to look at this streak of light, the figure within was unsurprisingly Brandon.
"You've finally appeared. Are you well?"
Joshua greeted this comrade-in-arms. He had been flying openly in the sky earlier without any concealment. One reason was that all the Gold-rank magical beasts had been wiped out, so there was no fear of ambush. The other purpose was to let the swordsman find his trail as quickly as possible.
"Not bad... but you don't look so good."
Brandon replied in a low, weary tone. The sweat from his previous battle had frozen into ice crystals, clinging to his brows and chin, making him look somewhat disheveled.
This was only natural. The Order Twin Blades, unlike the Azure Orb, did not possess the ability to convert chaotic energy to restore the wielder's stamina. Though they were unmatched in sharpness and could be called top-tier divine artifacts in the world, they were not suited for prolonged combat.
However, purely in terms of appearance, even though Joshua had the Azure Orb for recovery, he looked far more battered than Brandon.
At least the Gold-rank swordsman had his armor intact and few wounds on his body. In contrast, the warrior's upper body armor was completely shattered, leaving him nearly naked. Countless small wounds covered his entire body, not to mention the large chunk of flesh and bone missing from his left shoulder, with only a few tendons and skin holding his arm in place. Without months of recuperation, it would be impossible for him to regain his full combat strength.
Stopping the other man from continuing his lament, Joshua shook his head, indicating that time was short. He tilted his head, signaling Brandon to look at the bottom of the pitch-black pillar of light, where a colossal creature was slowly being transmitted through the space-time gate.
Half of its massive bone wings had already been transmitted through. Its sky-piercing giant horns flickered with cyan-white lightning. Strange light swirled in the compound eyes on its head, an ocular structure resembling an Eye Demon's, leaving no doubt that deadly magical rays could shoot forth at any moment.
"This..."
The moment he saw it clearly, the Gold-rank swordsman was stunned. But Brandon, after all, was an experienced Chaos Warden who had seen much in his years of adventure and training. He had encountered mountain-sized magical beasts like this more than once. So, after a brief shock, he quickly recovered and began analyzing the creature's strength.
Soon, the Gold-rank swordsman furrowed his brow and came to a conclusion:
"If this monster successfully completes its transmission, we have no chance of victory."
"That's certain. An Ultimate-rank Wild God like this—even the two of us combined wouldn't be enough to withstand a single swipe of its claw."
Staring at the base of the space-time gate, Joshua let out a scornful laugh. He raised the Divine Mechanism in his hand, pointing it toward the pillar of light: "Based on my estimate, this thing has about eight minutes before it can break free from the constraints of space-time transmission and start attacking us with magic. Within twelve minutes, it will be fully transmitted and free to move in our world."
Then, it would destroy everything around it, turning the entire Northern Lands—especially Moldova—upside down.
The warrior turned his head, looking directly at the Gold-rank swordsman, whose jaw was clenched and face full of worry. He spoke seriously: "The only way to stop this monster now is to destroy the space-time gate and kick it back to its home before it fully arrives."
Hearing this, Brandon was momentarily stunned.
Destroying the space-time gate—of course. That was why he had come here in the first place. But the most important question was: how could they possibly destroy this massive transmission channel? After all, they couldn't even get close to it!
Under Brandon's demonic eye, he could clearly see surging tides of chaotic magical power emanating from the mountain-sized Wild God. This immense force acted as a repulsive barrier, blowing away anything that tried to approach—even smaller Wild Gods of the same kind, let alone him and Joshua, Chaos Wardens who had inherited the power of order.
In fact, before the warrior arrived, Brandon had tried to approach the space-time gate. He had even unleashed the power of the Order Twin Blades, igniting white holy light on the blades and his body. But even so, he couldn't hold out for long before being blown back by exhaustion.
"If I were still at my peak strength, I could probably break through this magical tide and get close to the space-time gate to carry out the destruction."
Shaking his head, Brandon sighed: "But now, my body is utterly exhausted, and the battle qi within me is nearly depleted. Even if I burn my life and soul, I can't restore a hundred percent of my combat power."
At this, the Gold-rank swordsman's expression turned somewhat despairing.
After fighting for so long, was it still inevitable that they would face defeat?
"Indeed, if it weren't for this Ultimate-rank Wild God, even if tens of thousands of ordinary magical beasts were besieging us, it would only be troublesome. There's no way they could stop the two of us from destroying the transmission channel together."
Joshua paid no attention to his comrade's expression. His eyes were fixed on the chaotic space-time gate not far away. His mind was working at full speed, analyzing its magical nodes with his rich experience and pinpointing their locations one by one: "But since this is the situation, it seems there's only one way."
Pausing, the warrior, who had finished his analysis, turned to the swordsman beside him and spoke clearly, word by word:
"Brandon, use your strongest move to break through this magical tide! I'll take this chance to destroy those nodes!"
"My... strongest move?"
Subconsciously repeating Joshua's words, Brandon blinked in confusion. He instinctively gripped the twin blades at his waist: "You mean my demonic eye? Indeed, I can see the weaknesses around the space-time gate, but neither of us can get close."
This time, it was Joshua's turn to look confused: "What are you talking about?"
How could you not know your own most famous and powerful skill?
Thinking this, the warrior suddenly realized—
Ah, that's right. It's still the year 831 of the Falling Stars Era. The legendary expert who swept through the Abyss and slew Demon Lords in his memory was now just a Gold-rank swordsman. Not only had he not reached the Legendary realm, he hadn't even touched the Ultimate barrier. He was far from being the Empire's Guardian Sword Saint, known by the title of [Ruin], from his past life.
The real Brandon was floating wearily beside him. According to the records of legendary experts from his past life's war band, those skills capable of destroying heaven and earth might not have even been learned or touched upon by him yet.
This was a bit awkward. Joshua thought so, but the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. The warrior didn't seem worried about this situation at all; instead, he smiled.
What a coincidence.
According to the records of his past life's war band, the move Brandon used to slay the Gluttony Demon King and become celebrated throughout the world was not a sword technique at all!
He never expected that his foreknowledge would be used in this way...
"Brandon, do you trust me?"
Joshua suddenly asked the Gold-rank swordsman beside him, looking directly into his eyes with a serious tone.
"Of course. You were willing to risk your life to aid Verdani and unhesitatingly eliminate chaos. I trust you unconditionally."
Brandon replied promptly and cheerfully.
"Good."
Nodding, ignoring the puzzled expression on the Gold-rank swordsman's face, Joshua shifted his gaze to the Order Twin Blades tightly held in the other's hands.
The Edge of Order Iron, the Blade of Sequence—two unadorned yet immensely powerful sage weapons were radiating white light. In this place near the space-time gate, filled with chaotic magical power, they pulsed restlessly, as if wanting to completely purify everything around them.
"Come, Brandon. In a moment, I'll recite a line, and you repeat it."
With that, without giving the other time to react, the warrior immediately spoke the first line. His pronunciation was a bit rough at first but quickly became fluent. The complex syllables carried an ancient aura from the dawn of the world's creation. The moment the words were uttered, they shook the atmosphere and froze the magical power.
"Fire burns the soul, the body as fuel..."
"Fire burns the soul, the body as fuel..."
Without hesitation, Brandon began to imitate. His pronunciation was also a bit rough at first, but as a Gold-rank swordsman, his control over himself allowed him to perfectly replicate the strange language Joshua was reciting. As he repeated, a storm of shock raged in his heart.
This pronunciation... could it be...
Yes, this was the language said to have been used by the Sage and his saints during the Era of Radiance!
Joshua had only just inherited the position of Chaos Warden, not even knowing the secrets of his own family! How did he understand this ancient language, excavated from ancient ruins, capable of directly communicating with magical power and the world, which even the Imperial Royal Mage Association in the capital was still analyzing?!
No matter how shocked he was or how many thoughts arose, Brandon still perfectly repeated every word Joshua spoke.
No matter what, this warrior would never be his enemy. And since he had said he trusted him, he would trust him until the very end.
"Starlight's radiance, the supreme saint's power..."
"Starlight's radiance, the supreme saint's power..."
When he reached this point, Joshua fell silent and stopped speaking. But Brandon tightly gripped the Order Twin Blades in his hands.
A bright yet non-dazzling light, like starlight, flowed along the blades in his hands. Suddenly, many things appeared in the Gold-rank swordsman's mind. The power of the ancient Sage, channeled through these holy words, poured into him, compelling him to continue.
The light of order, accompanied by a sudden holy gale, blew forth a sound like the cheers of tens of thousands. Empowered by the holy artifact in his hands, Brandon, now restored to full condition, raised the twin blades. The light, swirling like a nebula, spread along the edges of the swords, expanding until it was as vast as a mountain—
"Order is light! Sequence is radiance!"
"Break for me!"
A roar erupted. The magnificent holy light surged. Accompanied by a faint, glass-like cracking sound from somewhere unknown, a purifying wind swept through heaven and earth, restoring the turbid world to clarity. At the same time, a colossal blade of light, like a star, carried the most sacred and orderly divine radiance, slashing straight toward the pitch-black pillar of light that was releasing surging waves of chaos!
[Sacred Relic: The Radiance of the Supreme Saint!]
Crackle, crackle—
"Now!"
The moment Brandon unleashed the true name of the holy artifact in his hands, using the supreme saint's radiance to break through the chaotic waves and the pillar of light, Joshua immediately burst forward with all his might. The fluctuation of killing intent swirled around him like ink, allowing the warrior to break the sound barrier in an instant and reach the base of the pillar of light, where the chaotic space-time gate emitted a turbid, murky glow!
Silver-white divine energy flowed on the Divine Mechanism, carrying a killing intent capable of devouring everything. Amid the pitch-black fluctuations surrounding Joshua's entire body, only two red dots on his head flickered. Draining the last trace of power from his body, the warrior unleashed unprecedented speed. Like lightning, he continuously destroyed the magical nodes he had previously observed and pinpointed, moving with incredible swiftness!
The Ultimate-rank Wild God, with its massive bone wings and single horn, its body flickering with cyan-white lightning, had already been half-transmitted. It looked up at the star-like giant blade that had cleaved through its magical tide above its head, and at the black figure rapidly moving to destroy the nodes of the space-time gate. It opened its massive maw in fury, as if trying to roar.
But why would Joshua care about its thoughts? He raised his greatsword with one hand and, with a fierce slash, struck another node of the space-time gate beside him. Instantly, the invisible gathering point of magical power was disrupted by the warrior's fluctuation of killing intent, then collapsed and vanished.
You want to come out?
No way!
(To be continued.)