As Redson crashed into a nearby stone pillar, the collapse of the enormous structure and the commotion it caused were nearly comparable to the scene of a small mountain crumbling apart.
One should know that this was the throne room, the place where the king normally worked and rested. It was incomparably spacious and magnificently grand, while the stone pillars standing throughout it were all massive beyond imagination, each one so large that dozens of adults holding hands in a circle would barely be able to wrap around it.
With such a gigantic stone pillar collapsing, the disturbance it created was naturally immense, to the point that even the ground trembled. If one were watching from outside, they would have been able to see the royal palace itself shaking slightly.
It was difficult to imagine that such a scene had been caused simply because a single person had crashed into it.
"Master..."
Holding Luna in her arms, Lizbeth looked at Riezel, who stood facing the collapsing stone pillar, with a trace of concern.
It was not that she was worried he would lose to that old man who had appeared out of nowhere. Rather, she instinctively found herself worried for her master.
After her bloodline awakened, her spiritual power had advanced tremendously. Against opponents who had no way of dealing with spiritual power, she could even fight a Sword Saint.
Precisely because of that, however, she could sense that the old man who looked as though he was nearing the end of his life was actually an extremely powerful individual.
Most notably, there was a powerful vitality operating within his body. He did not resemble a frail elder at all. Instead, he felt more like a vigorous young man brimming with life.
Such a realization made Lizbeth feel that defeating him might not be as easy as it seemed.
Sure enough...
Amid an explosive sound, a figure shot out from the pile of rubble that had gradually accumulated on the ground, sending countless broken stones flying in every direction.
"Oh? You’re still that full of energy?"
Riezel, who had already sheathed his sword, muttered in surprise.
Indeed, Redson seemed perfectly fine.
At the very least, he did not appear injured, and his appearance was merely somewhat disheveled.
"You..."
Covered in dust and looking rather bedraggled, Redson stared at Riezel in shock.
"How are you this strong?"
Redson simply could not believe that he had been forced back by merely two strikes.
Even though he had sensed a faint threat from Riezel, he had only thought that Riezel was qualified to fight him. He had never imagined that the young man would actually gain the upper hand during their clash.
It couldn’t be helped.
Riezel’s age was extremely deceptive.
Coupled with the fact that he had already mastered , his presence and aura were completely concealed. Unless someone possessed extraordinarily sharp senses, they would never be able to perceive his true strength.
Redson’s perception was already quite impressive. Otherwise, he would not have sensed the threat Riezel posed despite the concealment provided by
Even so, he still could not clearly gauge how powerful Riezel was and could only vaguely sense a trace of danger.
How could Redson possibly have believed that the young man was this strong?
"Strong?" Riezel replied calmly, not looking concerned at all. "Well, that depends on who you’re comparing me to."
Compared to Redson, Riezel was naturally very strong.
After all, in his normal state, he could already unleash combat power equivalent to Level 9. Even without using magic, suppressing a Level 8 like Redson was easy.
However, compared to the Fire Dragon Lord beneath the ancient ruins of Reinnail, he was still far from enough.
Just like the One-Eyed Black Dragon of the world of Danmachi, it was so powerful that one could question whether it was truly a mortal creature rather than a god.
Back then, Riezel had exhausted every means available to him. He had even stacked together with , yet he had still been completely overwhelmed by that black dragon. He had nearly been slaughtered on the battlefield, just like what had happened to the elites of the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia.
Had he not used Rhongomyniad at the final moment, combined with Divine Meloe’s time-reversal ability, numerous other mystical artifacts, and Corrupted Spirit Alaya serving as a long-range mage in the rear, he might never have found an opportunity to shatter the black dragon’s magic stone.
In that battle, he had even used the weapon forged specifically for him by Hephaestus. Only by unleashing every card he possessed had he finally secured victory.
It was also during that battle that he accumulated an enormous amount of high-rank excelia and achieved an unimaginable feat.
According to Loki, he could already level up.
Yes.
He was already capable of leveling up.
If he wished, he could advance to Level 9 at any time, catching up to the legendary Level 9 of the Hera Familia and becoming the highest-level adventurer in the history of the world of Danmachi.
What kind of feat was it to single-handedly defeat the final target of the Three Great Quests?
To slay the King of Monsters that had destroyed the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia, the monster that even the Last Hero, Albert, had failed to defeat, the calamity that had plagued the Lower World for over a thousand years?
Needless to say, the achievement it brought Riezel was simply beyond measure.
At that time, countless gods had cheered wildly for him, while the entire world had celebrated. Both Heaven and the Lower World had been filled with countless lives shedding tears of joy.
Because of that, Riezel officially obtained the title of Hero.
By the time he left, epic tales based on his deeds had already begun spreading throughout the Lower World and were destined to be passed down for countless generations.
With such an achievement and such heroic deeds, the amount of high-rank excelia he received was naturally enormous. Failing to meet the requirements for a level up would have been the strange thing.
In the end, however, it was Riezel himself who refused to level up, which was why he still remained at Level 8.
He couldn’t help it because his status had not yet reached its limit. At present, his highest basic ability was only at A and was still far from SSS.
If it had been anyone else, they would have happily leveled up without hesitation. Compared to the massive improvement granted by a level up, raising their basic abilities by only a few more ranks was hardly worth mentioning and could easily be abandoned.
Naturally, Riezel did not think that way.
With the heaven-defying skill , his potential was practically limitless. During his previous seven levels, he had always advanced only after pushing all of his abilities to SSS, and the result was that his latent basic abilities had become astonishing. Combined with the amplification from his various combat-oriented development abilities, he could now challenge opponents above his level even in his normal state.
Because of that, he had no intention of giving up this advantage. He would not abandon such an important accumulation simply to pursue immediate strength. As long as he pushed every level beyond its limits, his accumulated basic abilities would become more terrifying with each level he gained.
Right now, he could challenge opponents one level above himself in his normal state.
In the future, it might become two levels, three levels, four levels, or even more.
Taking all of this into consideration, he had almost immediately rejected leveling up and instead left his status in a standby state. Only after pushing all five basic abilities to their limits would he choose to level up, enter a new stage, and undergo another transformation.
Of course, even at his current level, defeating a Level 8 like Redson was no longer difficult, which was why Riezel had said what he did.
"Impossible..."
Redson still seemed unable to accept it as he gripped the longsword in his hand tightly and stared at Riezel.
A moment later, Redson took a deep breath, and his expression gradually became solemn as he raised his sword into a ready stance.
Seeing that, Riezel said nothing and merely smiled faintly before slowly walking toward Redson.
As soon as Riezel took a step forward, Redson appeared before him as though he had teleported, just as he had done before. Now, his aged face had turned sharp and fierce, while the sword in his hand slashed down violently, creating a faint crack in space itself.
Seeing that, the calm expression on Riezel’s face was immediately replaced by surprise. A transparent glow flickered in his eyes as he completely captured this unbelievable strike.
Within his , he clearly saw that Redson’s sword was accelerating continuously, and doing so in an extremely unnatural manner. Even the surrounding space was subtly fluctuating.
As a magic caster capable of using time magic, Riezel instantly recognized the true nature of the phenomenon.
Redson Elieman, the Old Sword Saint, had cultivated a Special Swordsmanship that could accelerate the flow of time.
As soon as he realized the truth behind Redson’s strike, Riezel drew his sword within a tenth of a second.
Lightning erupted from his body.
Entering the ultimate accelerated state through , Riezel unleashed the fastest Iai slash of his life—
A bell-like collision rang out as the slash of lightning and the slash of time collided violently. The clash released a terrifying shockwave that swept everything around them away.
In an instant, the impact burst outward like a storm, while lightning raced wildly like serpents and sharp sword energy flew in every direction, affecting both Riezel and Redson at point-blank range.
Riezel was fine.
Thanks to his high END stat and the magical clothing he wore—which was comparable to second-class equipment—he endured all the incoming sword energy.
Redson was not nearly as fortunate.
Several wounds instantly opened across his body as streaks of sword energy passed by, drawing blood.
Unexpectedly, however, shortly after the blood began to flow, the wounds started shrinking and rapidly scabbed over before disappearing completely.
Seeing that, Riezel understood.
"You’ve mastered two Special Swordsmanships?"
Riezel looked at Redson across from him as he posed the question, but Redson did not answer.
Unlike others who cultivated only a single Special Swordsmanship, he had indeed mastered two.
The first Special Swordsmanship he learned had been bestowed upon him by the king before the previous king—the master he had served in his youth—after he reached the strength of a Sword Master.
It was an extremely precious and powerful Special Swordsmanship obtained by the royal family of Jinas during the kingdom’s founding era. It had been recorded within a special magic crystal, and once someone successfully learned it, the crystal would shatter.
In other words, only a single person could ever master it.
After obtaining the swordsmanship, the royal family had stored it within the royal treasury because no one had ever met the requirements to learn it, so they simply waited for a destined successor to appear.
With his master’s permission, Redson entered the royal treasury, obtained the swordsmanship, and ultimately mastered it, becoming a great swordsman who wielded the .
With the , Redson slew countless swordsmen of the same rank. Before even becoming a Sword Saint, he had crossed levels to kill a Sword Saint from Reiburg, instantly making a name for himself.
It was after killing that Sword Saint that Redson gained immense prestige within Jinas. After becoming a Sword Saint, he quickly stood out among Jinas’s Sword Saints and even surpassed the previous generation’s Sword Saint of the Borley family.
As for the second Special Swordsmanship Redson cultivated, he had obtained it while exploring an ancient ruin.
At the time, Hendrick was still merely a prince, and the previous king still sat upon the throne.
Redson, however, was already approaching sixty years of age, so his body had stopped growing, his potential had been exhausted, age had begun to erode him, and he had already started declining physically.
If things continued that way, he would only grow older and weaker until the day he died.
Redson had already realized his fate.
Because of that, he had actually planned to retire. After finishing the expedition to the ancient ruin, he intended to request the king’s permission and return to his homeland to spend his remaining years in peace.
Yet perhaps heaven had not abandoned him.
Within that ancient ruin, he actually discovered a miraculous Special Swordsmanship.
It did not greatly increase combat power and instead granted an ability that countless people dreamed of obtaining—life extension.
Yes, life extension.
As long as one successfully mastered this swordsmanship, not only would their lifespan increase according to their level of mastery, but they would also gain extraordinary recovery, vitality, and endurance.
After obtaining the swordsmanship, Redson had been overjoyed.
He spent more than a decade studying and practicing it before finally mastering it completely.
For that reason, despite being nearly a hundred years old, he still possessed the strength of his prime and had not yet reached the end of his lifespan, remaining deep within the royal palace and protecting three generations of Jinas monarchs.
Needless to say, the reason he could still stand and continue fighting now was precisely because of the recovery, vitality, and endurance granted by that swordsmanship.
"Defeating me won’t be that easy."
A powerful fighting spirit emerged in Redson’s eyes.
It was the gaze of a man who had overcome countless hardships, defeated innumerable powerful enemies, and clawed his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood—the sharpness contained within that gaze surpassed any opponent Riezel had encountered thus far.
"Interesting..."
In response, the fighting spirit within Riezel was quietly ignited as well.
"In that case, let me see just how strong the strongest Sword Saint of Jinas really is—a man who’s been fighting all across this world for nearly a century."
As he spoke, the transparent light within Riezel’s eyes began carrying streaks of lightning, causing the lightning around his body to grow increasingly violent.
"Haha! Good!"
Redson seemed to have forgotten his mission, forgotten why he had come here, and even forgotten that he had wanted an explanation from Riezel.
He became nothing more than a pure swordsman.
Only his opponent remained within his eyes.
"Let me see just how much strength the most monstrous genius in the continent’s history has been hiding!"
Just like that, the two swordsmen, separated by an enormous age gap, ignited their fighting spirits simultaneously during this duel.
In an instant, violent lightning and surging magical energy erupted at the same time, causing the throne room to shake violently before continuing to tremble without end.