The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

Chapter 172

This was no different from bowing down and surrendering.

As long as they spared Aiolos, he would do anything they wanted.

Not even Isaac, a White Dragon veteran, had ever experienced anything like this. It took him a moment to respond.

“You call yourself a god, but you would lower yourself to mortals?”

“I know that you are no common mortals. But yes, that is so.”

Aiolos’s face was sincere and serene.

“With my authority, it would be a simple matter to dominate all the waters surrounding my island. I can assist you in military and mercantile endeavors. I can summon the tailwind whenever you wish, and I do believe that would make your vessels travel significantly faster.”

Though they lived in an era of magical engineering, building ships imbued with magic was no small endeavor. It was impossible to construct them in normal shipyards, and only organizations with a large number of experienced mages and plentiful resources, such as the Magic Tower and the Arcane Society, could build magically engineered vessels.

The more powerful an entity is, the more weight its words carry. Void Deities are no exception, so it’s very likely that his offer is genuine. Considering that there are more benefits than drawbacks, it’s a pretty good deal.

This was something Leonard had learned after awakening his Dragon Eyes. Unlike humans, the words of a transcendental being such as a god or a dragon were binding. It was recorded in the legends about ancient magic that they could kill someone simply by declaring it.

Perhaps Aiolos would have been able to propose something more forceful had he been his old self, but since he was only a fragment, if he broke his oath, he would either immediately cease to exist or lose most of his power and be reduced to a soul.

“I’ll have to refuse,” Isaac said immediately.

Aiolos looked a little flustered.

“You did not consider it for even a second. Do you not believe my words?”

“No. I believe that you’re telling the truth. However,” Isaac paused, “the rules and regulations of the Order of the White Dragon make it very clear. ‘Do not accept any proposition from a god, no matter how generous or beneficial it is. Kill all Void Deities regardless of their integrity. The risks will far outweigh the merits of sparing them’ is what it says.”

The topic of using Void Deities had come up plenty of times in the Cardenas family’s history. Void Deities were very different from Demoniacs, whose goal was to overtake the Middle Realm; Spriggan, whom they couldn’t even communicate with; and Outer Gods, who could corrupt the bodies and souls of anyone who approached them.

The Cardenas could communicate properly with Void Deities, and the words of the Void Deities held binding power, so the family could make stable alliances without having to add a contingency plan. If a Void Deity went back on their word, the Cardenas family didn’t need to inflict the consequences themselves.

“The powers of your kind are incredibly useful, and they would benefit us. But unlike our ancient ancestors, we humans are now capable of forging our own path, and we have no desire to rely on other powers.”

Human civilization evolved through innovations that made up for what they lacked. If rain didn’t fall after a spiritual ceremony, humans would either move on and grow crops that didn’t require much water or develop new farming methods.

But if rain fell every time they performed a ceremony, they would have no incentive to push themselves or innovate, and the development of civilization would halt. That was why their ancient ancestors still hadn’t been able to develop self-reliance even though they were stronger than their descendants.

Aiolos understood and said regretfully, “I see. So our time has come to pass.”

Unlike in the ancient days, mortals no longer needed to rely on their faith. It wouldn’t be easy for him to gain believers either.

They would never let him live.

However, his pride wasn’t completely gone.

“I understand. We have no choice but to pursue our separate aims.”

Aiolos rose from his throne, eyes flashing. His melancholic demeanor swelled into something dangerous, and the winds flying around them began to sharpen.

The White Dragon Knights also prepared for battle.

“You mortals dare to step into my Divine Territory and threaten a god! I, Aiolos, will punish you for your arrogance and blasphemy with my own hands!” he bellowed at the five swordmasters.

The Void Deity’s aura made their hair stand on end.

Perhaps that was why it took them longer than it should have to realize what was happening.

Leonard looked up and squinted. The sun set...? No, the clouds are covering it.

Dark clouds suddenly filled the clear sky, surrounding them with darkness even though it was the middle of the day.

They were cumulonimbus clouds, known for causing heavy rain, winds, and thunderstorms. Replicating them through either magic or martial arts consumed an enormous amount of energy, but Aiolos could summon them at will. This was a testament to the immense power of his divine authority.

Boom...! Boom...!

Several claps of thunder rumbled as Aiolos summoned four tornados behind him. No. It would be more accurate to say that he created them on the spot. Leonard spotted four different elemental energies swirling in a vortex.

The seasonal winds.

Just as the word occurred to him, the tornados melded into the elemental energies and transformed into four divine giant soldiers, each one imbued with a different element.

The divine giant soldiers were over ten meters tall, their intangible bodies made of wind. They held greatswords created by Aiolos’s authority. The swords were all different colors, corresponding with their elements.

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter.

The manifestations of the seasonal winds attacked in unison.

They make no sound! Leonard thought.

Since they were made of wind, they didn’t make contact with the ground. Of course, they weren’t affected by air resistance either. In other words, for how outrageously big they were, they could move faster than Master swordsmen.

“They’re coming!”

Sure enough, as soon as Leonard shouted his warning, the giant soldiers swarmed the knights.

At their lead was the summer wind, whose entire body seemed to quiver like a heat wave from the intense heat it possessed. Leonard stood his ground and raised his own blade as the greatsword came down upon him.

He used a sword art that aspired to pierce the sky.

Five Elements Style

White Tiger Sixteenth Form: Sky-breaking Demon Quell

White sword energy shot out from his blade, scattering the enormous sword made of fire. However, the greatsword reformed within seconds.

Physical attacks are pointless, he thought as he watched.

The other three giant soldiers continued to attack. The spring and autumn winds swung their swords in unison.

They were over ten meters tall, and their swords matched their size in terms of speed, force, and density. As Leonard stood between them, he fell into a trance and raised his sword.

His instincts told him that if he met their attack with a normal technique, his body might not be able to withstand it, though his sword might.

Fire blazed from his blade as he entered the Vermillion Bird form.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

Five Elements Style

Ultimate Secret Technique: Vermillion Bird’s Assault

His flames spread across the spring and autumn winds.

In general, wind was weak to fire, as it only strengthened it. Though, the fire isn’t as effective against winter’s easterly wind.

But the spring breeze, which encouraged life, and the autumn breeze, which weakened it, couldn’t withstand the blazing sword and had to retreat.

Only the winter wind managed to brush it aside with its greatsword.

Just as Leonard had predicted.

“Now! He made us an opening! Fall into formation!” Isaac shouted.

The four knights each assumed their proper positions.

“Are their bodies tangible or not?” Grady grumbled from the left wing. “I’m pretty sure Hugo can do more than I can.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like they have any weak spots,” Hugo replied.

“I suppose I can still rip them apart,” Janet added.

They summoned their auras. Thanks to Leonard’s attacks, all four giant soldiers had let their guards down.

Hugo raised his greatsword.

Pressure Blade

Giant’s Step

He used his unique trait to leap into the air, creating a picture of a giant even larger than the ten-meter-tall soldiers. The soldiers had to raise their weapons to block the sudden attack, fixing themselves in one spot instead of swirling around freely. The area of Hugo’s attack wasn’t very big, but the giants had to ward off the knights before they could escape their reach.

However, the other knights wouldn’t let them get away.

Flash Blade

Song Blade

Grady’s and Janet’s swords were swung in perfect harmony, and a third joined them, slashing downward.

Daydream Blade

They cut through all the giants’ joints, and as the giants lost control of their limbs, a heart sword slipped toward their necks and hearts.

It was no wonder that Isaac was the Third Captain. His unique trait allowed him to land a lethal blow with the slightest opening. He was a formidable knight who could put even Demigod Tier experts on edge.

“What?!”

His sword hit nothing.

Standing in front of his throne, Aiolos had dispelled the giant soldiers with a light wave of his hand and reformed them into their original states.

Had Isaac pierced them with his heart sword, he could have absorbed Aiolos’s authority, but the Void Deity had been one step ahead.

The air grew heavy as the knights realized that they had only managed to waste their own energy.

If things went on like this, their probability of winning would only decrease the longer the fight went on.

—Let us swap roles. I will attack, and you will defend.

Suddenly, Leonard realized that he wasn’t hearing Aiolos’s voice with his ears.

—My sword can cut through your attacks even without a unique trait.

The knights’ eyes widened slightly as they realized he was speaking to them telepathically, but they didn’t let their surprise show. They readied their swords.

Aiolos was significantly more perceptive than most. They couldn’t even guess how many cards he had left up his sleeve.

“We have to target Aiolos himself.” Isaac muttered aloud to grab his opponent’s attention. He concentrated all his power into his sword.

In order to reach the throne, he had to break through four divine giant soldiers. That much was easily doable. His mind moved faster than lightning and light itself; mere winds would never be able to outrun him.

Daydream Blade

Guillotine Cutter

As soon as he steeled himself, his blade melted into smoke and shot tens of meters through the air, wrapping around Aiolos’s neck, as if positioning the neck on a guillotine.

“This is quite an interesting ability, for a mortal.”

Even though Isaac’s processing speed had accelerated by over a thousand times, Aiolos reacted with indifference and dusted off his hands.

That was all it took.

Boom!

Isaac’s smokey sword exploded in his very hands, ripping his flesh. That was the price he paid for trying to break through something unbreakable.

His heart sword was nearly unbeatable, but this was one of the times that it wasn’t.

If the difference in his and his opponent’s power were too big, even attempting an attack would lead to heavy consequences. Since he was attacking with his heart, there were also cases when his opponent could counterattack with their own.

“Kugh...!” n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Fortunately, Isaac’s fingers and wrists were still attached to him. But just as he drew his extra sword, two giant soldiers rushed toward him viciously.

If even one of the winds was defeated, the tide of the battle would change greatly.

Isaac knew this very well.

He caught me.

And so did Aiolos.

After Isaac attempted a critical hit, he had put Aiolos on guard, and the god purposefully made an opening to bait him.

That created the perfect opportunity for Leonard.

Five Elements One Origin Sword Art

Five Elements Style

Ultimate Secret Technique: White Tiger’s Resolve

After Leonard used this technique at sea to cut through air resistance itself and started fighting Aiolos, White Tiger’s Resolve had become even stronger.

Two divine giant soldiers quickly went back into a defensive position, but there were some attacks that one simply shouldn’t try to block.

Since his opponents were so much larger than he was, Leonard naturally had to aim higher. From the ground, he swung upward in a diagonal motion.

Boooooooom⸺!!

He cut right through their waists. It shouldn’t have been possible to injure something made of wind, but their bisected bodies dissipated.

All the divine power controlling them had evaporated.

The incredible force of his attack even shot all the way into the sky, breaking through the stormy clouds. For the briefest moment, a few rays of sunlight shone down between the gaps before everyone was engulfed in darkness again.

Silence.

The White Dragon Knights were speechless. They thought they’d grown accustomed to Leonard’s peculiar abilities.

While they stood dumbfounded, Aiolos sat down on his throne and studied Leonard’s sword. His eyes widened.

“...I sense Lord Hepheastus’s power, though the craftsmanship is far inferior to his. Hmm?”

Just by looking at it for a few seconds, he had seen through the secret of Leonard’s sword.