Water Magician

Chapter 431: Abel vs Oranj

Editor: Tseirp

Meanwhile, what was happening between Abel and Oranj?

For a human, youre quite skilled, Your Majesty. Call me surprised.

I wont lose to a mere minion, when its not even the Djinn itself.

No, youre underestimating me

Oranj frowned at Abels somewhat declaration of determination.

From Oranjs perspective, while Abel was indeed a strong swordsman, if it came down to who would win, it was 100% him.

Even if the heavens and the earth were overturned, the outcome wouldnt change.

But

(However, those eyes bother me.)

Looking into Abels eyes, Oranj couldnt shake the feeling.

Those eyes were familiar.

The eyes of the man who once fought against his lord, Garwin

(Theyre the same eyes as Richards. He too, despite being repelled by Garwin-sama numerous times, continued to fight)

To Oranj, who had watched from the sidelines, it wasnt an unpleasant sight.

Richard, who never gave up.

Garwin, who fought with a smile on his face.

It wasnt a mocking smile.

But a genuine one

A laugh that seemed to well up from the depths of his heart

Honestly, Oranj thought. How envious.

To be able to fight someone with a smile that comes from the depths of their heart.

Even if you lived for thousands of years, such experiences were rare.

Recently, he felt something similar when facing the water-attribute magicians in the city of Hafrena.

But, it was too short-lived!

Now, what about the man in front of him?

Possibly.

It made Oranj wonder.

Perhaps?

(Is this? Could it be? Maybe itll become clearer if we fight a little bit more?)

Oranj was a little surprised by the feeling that welled up from the depths of his heart.

The man standing before him, who kept coming at him time and time again

He had potential.

He wanted to keep fighting.

He wanted to keep clashing swords.

More, more, and more!

Oranj, what are you doing fooling around?

Oranjs thoughts were interrupted by a womans voice from the side.

Isolde, dont interfere.

It was a surprisingly stern voice from Oranj himself.

It was filled with displeasure.

Garwin-sama said to finish that man off quickly.

Im just getting to the good part. So just stay quiet and watch.

Ignoring Isoldes words, Oranj deliberately didnt respond directly.

He wouldnt disobey Garwins orders.

But, right now, was really the best moment and he didnt want anyone to interrupt it.

That was Oranjs honest feeling.

Abel understood that he was at a significant disadvantage.

The sword wielded by the minion in front of him called Oranj was unlike any sword Abel had ever seen.

It was different from his masters sword, different from the sword wielded by the Demon Prince on the 40th floor of the dungeon.

Of course, it was also different from Ryos, the strongest magician Abel knew even though he had only seen a few of his serious strikes.

But Abel understood that Oranjs sword had undergone an extensive process to reach its current form.

It wasnt just some superficial technique.

It wasnt reliant on talent or ability.

If it were, he wouldnt feel this despair.

It was the sword of someone who had devoted themselves entirely to the sword even more than Abel.

Such a sword was strong.

Of course.

And terrifyingly, the man before him was a minion of a Djinn.

Which meant

He surpassed Abel in strength, speed, and skill.

Likely even in endurance

How could one possibly defeat such an opponent?

The answer was clear.

You cant.

Of course.

The path of the sword wasnt so easy.

Thats why everyone trained, honed their strength, speed, and skills.

To win.

It was impossible to defeat an opponent who surpassed in all those areas.

He knew that.

He knew that.

He knew thatbut

No! I wont accept it!

For some reason, Abel heard the voice of the Premier Duke, who shouldnt be there.

Since their connection was severed, it was undoubtedly an auditory hallucination.

Abel, there are still things you must do! You want to leave Noah fatherless? Or leave Rihya by herself? Or perhaps abandon the peoplewho crowned you king? No. I for one, wont allow it!

(Oh. Those words he said on my sickbed. If we cant defeat the Djinn here, Noah, Rihya, and the peoplewont survive. Ryo sure always asks for the impossible.)

Abel smiled faintly.

That smile brought a change to Abels sword.

His tension was released.

Perhaps that was all that happened.

The unnecessary force he used was relaxed. That was all but

The speed of his sword increased.

Gripping firmly at the moment of impact, and releasing the rest of the force perhaps thats why the power also increased.

And maybe because his field of vision widened he could understand Oranjs sword and movements even better than before.

All from just releasing tension.

In every sport, theres a reason for repetitive practice.

Its to optimize ones body some would say.

As optimization progresses, what happens?

Movements that were awkward at first become smooth.

Moves that were thought out every time become almost reflexive.

Its about focusing energy intensely where its needed and releasing where its not.

In a sense, its about reducing unnecessary force.

Of course, Abel isnt wielding his sword with those things in mind.

Hes just wielding it to win.

But by smiling a little and relaxing, unnecessary force was reducedhis field of vision expanded, and his thoughts became clearer.

Not bad.

Abel murmured.

At the same time, he was thinking inwardly.

(This minionfrom his downward strike to his sideways cut and upward slice, the coordination is impressive)

Abel realized the remarkably high probability of combination and connection within the high-speed barrage.

And all of this was thanks to the smile Ryo had brought to his face

The fact that the kings sword in front of him had changed was something Oranj had also perceived, of course.

(Sure enough, his sword speed has increased. And, his bodys movement has become more agile! Did he just grow suddenly? No, that cant be it. So what in the world?)

Recalling the events from a little while ago, Oranj realized.

(He smiled just a bitever since then, I guess.)

Orange understood that Abel had grown stronger once he reduced the unnecessary tension he had, not only increasing the speed of his sword but also making his bodys movements smoother and faster.

Oranj was a sword-maniac minion.

Rather, one might even say he was a being possessed by the sword.

He had spent countless years pursuing how to win with the sword

How to channel strength.

How to increase speed.

And how to hone his skills.

Countless years that a human cannot live

If one were to spend that much time mastering the sword, it was only natural that one would become stronger.

Thats why he was strong.

But surprisingly, the swordsman before him was trying to catch up to Oranj, who had spent hundreds or perhaps even thousands of years in pursuit of the sword, in this moment.

(This is absurd)

Thats right, such a thing was impossible.

Mastering the sword was not something so simple.

Even if one were to be a genius, no matter how much talent one hadit takes time to train.

(What the hell is going on?)

Oranj was skeptical.

While suspicious and finding it strangedeep down, he didnt really care about the reason.

Because Abel had become stronger than before

(This is interesting!)

A smile inadvertently escaped him.

Isolde, who was watching from the sidelines, was the first to notice the reason for Abels transformation.

Of course, it was because Garwin had pointed out something about Abels sword.

(That magic sword, it used to only glow red, but now white light has mixed in.)

Yes, the way Abels beloved sword shone had changed.

Although it was unclear what exactly had changed.

Isolde felt that it was for a reasonshe was almost certain of it.

(Thats why I told him! To hurry up and finish him off!)

Isolde muttered curses in her mind as she clenched her fists.

And yet, Oranj told her not to interfere

(Should I intervene?)

Honestly, she couldnt decide.

They werent evenly matched yetOranj was still superior.

Butshe didnt know what might happen.

As Isolde remained motionless, she watched what happened next.

Oranjs rapid flurry of attacks.

Although it was called a flurry of attacks, there were tens, hundreds of combinations, making it impossible for the opponent to predict.

Or so it should have been

Oranjs downward strike followed by a 45-degree upward cut, just before hitting the ground

Abel widened his stance, bent further forward, and slipped under the sword about to be raised

With a single stroke, he cut off Oranjs wrists and then decapitated him with the returning sword.

What?

Isolde couldnt continue her words.

She understood what had happened.

King Abel had read it. Oranjs coordinated techniques.

The connection between certain techniques embedded within the flurry of attacks.

The 45-degree upward swing from the downward strike.

Of course, it wouldnt happen every time.

The downward strike of the sword was a common move.

But Abel must have found some habit to connect it to the 45-degree upward swingor perhaps he made predictions based on more intricate details

Either way, by reading it, he turned the tide in an instant.

But Isolde knew it wasnt just Abels strength.

When Abel severed Oranjs hands and beheaded him, the sword gleamed sharply.

Whether it was Abels movement or determinationthe sword responded to something

No

Abels breath was too ragged.

Finally, he thrust the sword into the ground and leaned on it like a staff to support himself.

It was clearly not just the result of swordplay.

He entrusted himself to the sword? He forcibly drew out the swords power.

Of course, the sword must have acknowledged him to some extent.

But not completely.

The sword didnt fully recognize him.

So he offered his energyor perhaps his magic powerand momentarily drew out the power of the sword

I see truly worthy of being Richards descendant.

Isolde muttered with a frown on her face.

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