Chapter 160: The Interrupted Match

“Boom!!!”

An earth-shattering sound roared out.

The sudden, deafening thunderclap felt as if it could shatter the heavens and earth itself. Everyone who had rushed to the palace training grounds felt a sudden pain in their ears and head before dropping to the ground with a scream.

The shaking in the palace had also intensified several hundreds or even thousands fold.

The violent magical power practically formed into a maelstrom, roiling in the sky above the palace.

Terrifying force expanded out in an invisible blast wave. Starting with the training ground in the center, it first blasted out through the palace before expanding outwards, shaking the lake island and then moving on to the lake itself, buffeting the peaceful lake with waves.

With as much commotion as it was making, even the people of the capital have started to take notice.

Thus, the pedestrians on the road stopped moving, looked in the direction of the palace, and started raising a commotion. The many horses pulling carriages seemed to have gotten scared. Even children seemed like they heard some huge sound and were scared into wailing. All in all, the capital was starting to turn chaotic.

All of that originated from the palace training grounds, caused by those two towering blades of magical power being swung down.

““Haaaaah————!””

Within the training ground, Shien and Lucy both roared out. The Holy Swords they restively swung down, along with the enormous blades of magic power, struck another in a horrifying clash.

“Boooom…!”

The ground itself broke and shattered, turning into pebbles and dust and thus sinking downwards.

“Crack…! Crack crack crack…!”

Up in the stands, the walls were also collapsing piece by piece before being shattered to dust.

“Bang!”

As the barrier set around the training ground met the blast from that horrifying magic power, it was first shaken before then filled with cracked. Then, it finally just shattered, erased from existence.

This was merely the side effect of the blast wave caused by the clash of [Magic Swords] between Shien and Lucy.

The clash of the two [Magic Swords] caused wave after wave of magical powers to ripple out. The tempest had expanded out into a destructive whirlwind. The ground shattered. The air shook. The entire training ground was a complete disaster scene. Only the area around where Shien and Lucy stood remained untouched, protected by the unbelievable magic power blazing from their bodies.

However, beyond that small place, the rest of the area was the very scene of a catastrophe. It had turned shattered and ruined.

If this continued, the entire training ground or even the whole palace might be affected and destroyed.

However, neither Shien nor Lucy could stop anymore. All they could do is grit their teeth and infuse every bit of their magic power into their [Magic Sword] in the hopes of defeating the other and claiming victory.

Yet, both of them had learned the [Magic Recovery] skill, and at a high level to boot. Even as their magic power was being spent at a furious rate, it was also being furiously replenished.

In other word, there won’t be any resolution to this particular clash anytime soon.

Shien and Lucy both realized this point and cursed in their minds.

That’s because if that really did happen, the magic power being output by the two of them might really turn into a disaster affecting the entire capital city.

If that happened, then it’d be a serious problem.

““No! I can’t let it continue like this!””

Both Shien and Lucy thought the same thing then.

Thus, the two of them could only grit their teeth once more.

““Just going to have to give everything I have!””

As that thought crossed both their minds, both Shien and Lucy shifted their Holy Swords.

Indeed.

The two of them once again thought the same thing and got ready to unseal their Holy Swords in order to quickly resolve this clash.

Lucy even started to consider using her unique skill.

Although that skill isn’t something that she could use as she liked, this wasn’t the time to worry about such things anymore.

Thus, the two of them got ready to chant the incantation to unseal their Holy Swords.

Then, at that moment, something happened.

“Boom!”

Following another explosion of air, a third [Magic Sword] appeared in the utterly ruined training ground.

That [Magic Sword] didn’t have nearly as terrifying a presence as Shien and Lucy’s, and the magic power infused in it was nowhere close to the two’s.

However, this particular [Magic Sword] was unbelievable dense. It was like a solid object, with an extremely strong radiance from the light of its magic power.

The one who held such a [Magic Sword] was a very knightly looking man.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh…!”

The man roared out, leaped high up into the air from outside the training ground, and descended down from the sky as he struck out at where Shien and Lucy’s [Magic Swords] were clashing.

The third [Magic Sword] landed heavily upon Shien and Lucy’s clashing [Magic Swords] and, after a brief pause, sliced right in.

“Shink!”

The next moment, a clear cutting sound was heard.

The man’s [Magic Sword] had thus cut through Shien and Lucy’s [Magic Swords], directly shattering them and dispersing the remaining forcing into the surroundings.

However, before the remaining magic power blasted out too far and destroyed everything, a cool voice rang out.

“Magic Disperse!”

A king in royal robes and a crown raise the scepter in his hands and chanted a spell, lighting up the gemstone on said scepter.

As the light shown upon the expanding wave of magic power, the wave suddenly stopped.

Then, the expanding magic power vaporized like snowflakes beneath the sun, completely disappearing.

Thus, this clash had come to an end.

The training ground once more fell quiet.

“Phew…”

Watching the whole thing happen, Shien and Lucy first breathed a sigh of relief before feeling any surprise.

However, right after, Shien’s expression changed. He held up his Holy Sword without hesitation into a block.

“Clang!”

At nearly the same moment, a two meter tall great sword mightily slashed forward at Shien from the front, slamming into Shien’s hurried block with great force.

“…!”

Shien only felt a numbness in his arms as a terrible force came down upon him from the great sword. The force shattered the ground beneath him, blasting away said shattered remains in a cloud of dust.

“So heavy…!” Shien couldn’t help but moan out.

This particular strike, just in terms of strength, was far stronger than the strike that Lucy forced him back with before. Shien nearly failed to block it.

If this particular blow wasn’t swung down from above, Shien may already have been sent flying.

The one who struck this blow was that knight who cut apart Shien and Lucy’s [Holy Swords].

“Who are you?” The man coldly questioned.

Shien’s hackles rose.

“Your old man!”

As he said that, magic power exploded out from Shien.

“Boom!”

This time, it was the sound of an explosion that roared out.