Chapter 758: Riezel vs. Argana (I)

One should know that Riezel’s abilities were almost entirely centered on swords.

Aside from magic, what he excelled at most was swordsmanship—there was no doubt about that.

From Ais, he had learned the fundamentals of swordsmanship and how to wield a blade.

From Yoriichi and the Hashiras of the Demon Slayer Corps, he had learned various Breathing Styles, forming a swordsmanship that belonged to him alone.

On the Akasha Continent, he had also studied the swordsmanship of the Holy Dragon Sword Style and the Breaking Steel Sword Style.

All of these disciplines had now been fully integrated by him, combined into one, and used to create a style of swordplay that was uniquely his.

Hence, Riezel was a true swordsman.

Even though he had mastered various kinds of magic, he was still a magic swordsman.

Of course, that did not mean that once he lost his sword, he would be unable to fight—even without considering his abilities in magic, he still had ways to battle.

Before his transmigration, he had learned systematic self-defense techniques. Although these were merely minor tricks in this other world, they at least gave him an awareness of unarmed combat.

It had also been mentioned before that Wind Breathing could not only be used for swordsmanship but could also be executed through hand-to-hand combat techniques.

With wind wrapped around his limbs, at this moment, Riezel’s arms and legs became the sharpest weapons.

"Come."

Riezel crooked his finger at Argana.

"Heh..."

Argana, seeing that Riezel truly had no intention of using a sword, stared at him intently and immediately laughed.

It was not a laugh born from anger at being looked down upon, but one that came from the battle instinct deep within her being stirred.

As the strongest amazoness of Telskyura, Argana herself was extremely battle-hungry. Unlike Tiona and Tione, she did not reject rituals and instead reveled in them. In some ways, she was of the same nature as her goddess, Kali, craving slaughter and blood.

The difference was that Kali merely wished to watch, while Argana wanted to participate personally. In Argana’s view, engaging in a brutal fight where only one side could survive was the meaning of her existence in this world.

As a result, when battle arrived, Argana had already forgotten everything.

She forgot about taking Riezel back to bear children.

She forgot that this was a challenge she had initiated.

In her eyes, battle was ritual, and ritual meant that one side must be killed, torn apart, and devoured.

’Defeat him.’

’Devour him.’

’And then, become stronger.’

This was Argana’s way of survival, and also her essence.

As a result, fighting intent and murderous intent surged from her body at the same time, sweeping outward like an invisible, blood-soaked storm. Behind her, it seemed as though a giant python flicking its tongue had appeared, its reptilian vertical pupils fixed on Riezel’s body, as if its gaze alone could bore through his flesh.

Sensing Argana’s surging fighting intent and murderous intent, many adventurers present could not help but change their expressions.

"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"

Unlike Orario’s adventurers, the amazonesses of Telskyura grew even more excited, shouting loudly and amplifying Argana’s momentum.

Bache watched quietly.

Finn, Ais, and the others held their breath.

Riezel, remaining as calm as ever, looked at Argana, who radiated a ferocious aura like a savage beast, with an expression that did not change in the slightest.

*BANG!*

At a certain moment, Argana crushed the ground beneath her feet, kicking up a burst of flying sand and dust as she shot forward like a bullet fired from a gun.

Her speed was as fast as lightning!

"HAAAAHHH—!"

With a fierce shout, Argana leaped high into the air and threw a punch at Riezel that roared like a cannon shell breaking the sound barrier.

*BOOM!*

In the next second, with a heavy, muffled explosion, Argana’s fist slammed into the arm Riezel had raised, generating a powerful shockwave that blasted outward.

Time seemed to freeze for several seconds, and after those few seconds, the fierce battle finally erupted.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

All these were the sounds of fists striking their target.

Argana instantly unleashed astonishing punching speed, her fists accompanied by piercing sonic booms as they crashed forward like an overwhelming tide. One punch followed another, more than a dozen strikes thrown within a single second, as countless afterimages of fists violently bombarded Riezel.

Her storm-like barrage not only sent dust flying in all directions but also left onlookers shocked. They could not even see her fists clearly, as all that entered their vision was a sky full of fist shadows, too many to count.

In their eyes, this was no longer an attack but a brutal ravaging.

Like a ferocious beast trampling the earth repeatedly, muffled explosive sounds rang out in succession, stabbing into people’s eardrums.

Facing such an overwhelming offensive, a transparent gleam had already lit up in Riezel’s eyes.

As the Transparent World activated, Riezel’s consciousness accelerated within a relatively static world, allowing him to take in Argana’s muscle movements, blood flow, actions, and attack trajectories, giving him a complete view of her assault.

Riezel’s wind-wrapped limbs immediately wove together into an impenetrable defense, allowing him to block every incoming punch. If Argana’s attacks were raging waves and surging tides, then Riezel’s defense was a reef—a coastal cliff that would not crumble, no matter how the waves crashed against it.

At times, he deflected punches with his elbows.

At times, he knocked aside fist shadows with his palms.

At times, he blocked strikes with his knees.

At times, he countered with his own fists.

In this manner, having fully seen through Argana’s assault, Riezel calmly, steadily, and indifferently received all of her attacks, then completely dispersed them.

In fact, this defense unexpectedly carried a trace of the ’Absolute Defense’ that Ottar was most proud of.

"Good!"

Seeing that all of her attacks had been completely received, and that she had not even managed to change Riezel’s expression, Argana was not shocked but instead grew more excited.

"Just what I’d expect from a man I acknowledge! Yeah, this is how it should be!"

Argana shouted these words in amazoness speech, not caring whether Riezel could understand, before the fighting intent around her swelled again as she abruptly shifted her offensive, launching a flying kick—a kick strike from the front!

*BANG!*

Riezel blocked the blow with the back of his hand wrapped in wind, and his body drifted lightly away, borrowing the force that burst from the impact.

Argana immediately stomped the ground and closed in, her hands shifting from fists into claw-like shapes, then striking forward and back at Riezel with sweeping, scythe-like motions.

In an instant, the claw strikes tore through the air, grazing Riezel’s retreating arm and leaving several bloody marks across it.

Seeing the bloody marks, Riezel couldn’t help but think that the sharpness of Argana’s nails reminded him of Euryale Reinnail and Shalltear Bloodfallen. Both of these vampires possessed a special ability that allowed their nails to become as sharp as blades, easily piercing the human body and even clashing with sharp weapons.

Argana had not reached that level yet, but being struck by her nails would certainly feel no better than being hit by a monster’s talons.

"Still just an uncivilized beast, huh?"

While maintaining his retreat, Riezel’s figure flickered repeatedly like a phantom, narrowly avoiding the two incoming claw strikes.

Having set aside his sword, Riezel’s Swordsman had indeed lost its effect and could no longer enhance his status. On the other hand, due to the reduction in equipment and lighter load, his Lightweight development ability was further stimulated, causing his speed to increase noticeably compared to usual, with both his AGI and DEX rising to varying degrees.

Consequently, this allowed Riezel to easily evade Argana’s claw attacks, and then, after dodging, he suddenly halted his rapid retreat, lunged forward, and swung a wind-wrapped fist at the approaching Argana.

"!!!"

Argana, seeing the fist rapidly enlarging in her vision, had her pupils shrink before immediately stopping her attack, lowering her body, and crouching down.

With a whoosh, Riezel’s fist brushed past Argana’s hair, stirring the braided strands of the amazoness.

"HAAH!"

After dodging the frontal strike, Argana let out a sharp cry, her legs spinning like a whirlwind as they lashed toward Riezel’s lower body.

Argana’s slender thighs swept across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, but at that moment, Riezel suddenly leapt upward, avoiding her sweeping kick.

"Don’t think you can run!"

Refusing to relent, Argana stomped into the air and chased after Riezel.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

The two figures that had leapt into the air clashed once more.

As they ascended higher, they turned their limbs into blunt weapons, colliding fiercely with one another.

The sounds of flesh striking flesh rang out like explosions—the sheer intensity of the collisions generating countless shockwaves wherever they passed, bursting outward in rings that filled the sky.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Gradually, the battle between the two grew more violent, and the speed of their exchanges increased, causing the sounds of impact to erupt in rapid succession like firecrackers.

Riezel and Argana darted back and forth through the air, colliding at times and separating at others, chasing and crossing paths as their battle raged fiercely.

*Gulp—*

Amid the astonishing hand-to-hand combat, someone among the onlookers could not help but swallow.

At this moment, everyone stared blankly at the fierce aerial clash, as if witnessing prehistoric beasts tearing into each other, leaving them visibly shaken.

"Se wehga! (Thou art the true warrior!)"

Among the onlookers, the amazonesses of Telskyura were ignited by the terrifying melee, and one by one, their faces flushed as they shouted, their eyes gleaming like wolves in the night, as if they wished they could take Argana’s place and fight in such an intense battle themselves.

"Incredible..."

Even Bache’s eyes burned with fighting intent, while her fists clenched so tightly that her nails nearly dug into her flesh.

Compared to her elder sister Argana, Bache was undoubtedly an outlier.

Bache was quiet and composed, not fanatical—unlike Argana’s extreme passion for battle—yet like most amazonesses, she still possessed a fundamentally combative nature.

Consequently, witnessing such a fierce fight, Bache’s blood also boiled, and she almost wanted to rush forward and, like Argana, engage in close combat with that powerful young man.

Of course, to others, this only made her seem frightening.

"W-What kinda battle is this?"

"Isn’t this basically two Monster Rexes from the deep floors just going at it?"

"Can humans even fight like this up close?"

"They’re basically monsters!"

Some adventurers broke into cold sweats, while others shouted uncontrollably, clearly terrified by the fierce hand-to-hand battle between Riezel and Argana.

"OOOOOOHHH! GO ON!"

Only the gods, as if watching an exciting underground fight, were thrilled, shouting one after another.

Everyone watched the battle, this unprecedentedly intense clash of bodies, their hearts rising and falling again and again, shaken countless times.

Seeing the blows land solidly, the merciless exchanges, and the continuous sounds of flesh colliding, they had already stripped away the onlookers’ detachment, pulling all of their emotions into the fight.

"Argana!"

Tione watched the battle in the air, clenching her fists and biting her lip, her expression fierce.

Seeing her rival grow more excited, more immersed, and displaying power far beyond what she had shown before, the unwillingness in Tione’s heart was obvious.

"Is... Argana this strong?"

Even Tiona was shocked.

Yes, she knew Argana was powerful, but the strength Argana was displaying at this moment had greatly surpassed her expectations.

"Is it because of level-boosting magic?"

Gareth frowned as he spoke in a deep voice.

"...Argana Kalif right now isn’t Level 6, but Level 7. Her strength far exceeds what it was before. For Riezel to stand evenly against someone like that is already no easy feat."

Riveria gazed at the battle in the sky and spoke in a low voice.

Even the two Level 7 top executives of the Loki Familia grew serious because of the power Argana was displaying, as they understood that even they might not fare well against such strength.

However...

"No, it’s not just level-boosting..."

Finn, relying on the superior eyesight of a pallum, seemed to see through something.

"Argana Kalif is gradually getting stronger in another way."

Finn’s grave words caused everyone around him to change expressions.

"Getting stronger?"

Ais unconsciously tightened her grip on Fool.

Meanwhile, in midair, Riezel, who was engaged in fierce combat with Argana, had already noticed the anomaly.

*Pu-chi!*

Argana, who had been unleashing an overwhelming offensive, suddenly shifted again, turning her fists into claws and tearing through the skin of the arm Riezel used to block, leaving fresh blood marks across it.

A few drops of blood immediately splashed from Riezel’s wound and scattered into the air.

Seeing those droplets, Argana’s eyes lit up, and she actually licked the splattered blood into her mouth. In the next instant, the aura emanating from her surged, and her attacks grew even more ferocious.

Riezel could see that her strength was unmistakably increasing.

Evidently, this was...

’Magic?’

Riezel recalled this amazoness’s ability.

’No, this is a curse.’

===

[A bonus Chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]

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