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[LFTAW] Chapter 244: Sixfold
🕑 Added 2024-08-19 01:14:44 +0000 UTCAt this moment, the situation changed abruptly.
As one of the Letto brothers was struck by the lightning bolt, blood scattering through the air and him being thrown backward, the spectators let out a series of gasps.
Just a second ago, Riezel had been overwhelmed, clearly at a disadvantage, but now he suddenly struck back, taking down one of the Letto brothers in an instant.
Needless to say, this sudden turn of events had many people wide-eyed in astonishment.
However, before their astonishment could settle, the situation shifted again.
""NOW!""
As Riezel took down one of the Letto brothers, the other two ignored their fallen brother and quickly surged forward.
BOOM!
They poured all their magical energy into their swords, unleashing a sonic boom even louder than Riezel's thunder and lightning.
It was as if they had been anticipating Riezel's move, ready and prepared for this moment.
Indeed, their anticipation had been accurate.
From the beginning, the Letto brothers had already deduced that if they faced Riezel, they wouldn't be able to withstand his lightning bolt-like slash.
After observing the previous two battles, the Letto brothers noticed something.
When Riezel performed his lightning bolt-like slash, the explosive force and incredible speed meant he could only execute a straight-line attack without any deviation or change in his movements.
Realizing this, the Letto brothers had already devised a strategy before challenging Riezel—not to distance themselves too much and to stay close to one another.
In this way, when Riezel unleashed his lightning bolt-like slash, no matter who was struck, the other two could deduce the trajectory of the slash based on their struck brother and Riezel's positions before the strike, allowing them to counterattack at that same moment.
Since Riezel had just taken down one person, with his strength spent and new strength yet to be built up, and with his inability to change direction or move mid-strike, he would undoubtedly struggle against their two-pronged attack.
At that point, victory was theirs.
As it turned out, the Letto brothers' judgment was indeed spot on, proving their impressive insight.
Even though Thunderclap and Flash was indeed a supreme strike, the fastest and most explosive among the six sword forms of Thunder Breathing, its drawback was its inability to change direction or moves once executed.
If its nature and trajectory were seen through, it became easy to counter.
Regarding this, Blooming Radiance had a similar weakness since it was also a straight-line slash, just like Thunderclap and Flash.
However, since Blooming Radiance's power far surpassed that of Thunderclap and Flash, as it could enhance the user's strength multiple times before conducting the attack, even if its nature was revealed, opponents would still find it difficult to react in time.
Additionally, the flickering sun flame from Blooming Radiance also disoriented opponents' vision and senses, making it extremely hard to decipher its trajectory and respond effectively.
Yoriichi was an example.
Even though he had awakened and mastered the Transparent World from a young age, he still couldn't see the trajectory of Blooming Radiance.
In contrast, Thunderclap and Flash was too straightforward and direct, with a higher chance of being seen through.
After observing Riezel's battle twice, the Letto brothers successfully identified this weakness.
Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed.
They had indeed seen through Riezel's weakness, but Riezel, using the Transparent World, had also seen through their next move.
In other words, Riezel knew exactly what the Letto brothers were planning.
As a result, Riezel once again prepared a surprise for his challengers.
BOOM!
As the two Letto brothers swung their strongest and final strikes, it seemed that Riezel, who had become a lightning bolt, was about to be hit by them.
However, as Riezel darted away with unrelenting force, crashing into a piece of flying debris and creating a thunderous sound, he seemed to ricochet and change direction.
Yes.
Riezel had changed direction.
""What?!""
Seeing this unexpected scene, the Letto brothers turned pale.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
While the Letto brothers were stunned, Riezel, who had become a lightning bolt, streaked around like a ray of lightning, striking one piece of debris after another—each hit produced a booming thunder sound and altered his direction.
If Zenitsu were here, he would instantly recognize it.
Clearly, this was an enhanced version of Thunderclap and Flash, capable of multiple directional changes using the surrounding terrain. It was created by Zenitsu to compensate for the vulnerability of Thunderclap and Flash when its nature and trajectory were exposed to opponents.
Its name was—
"Thunderclap and Flash - Sixfold."
With six changes in direction, the lightning bolt returned to the Letto brothers, darting past them.
WHOOSH—!
In an instant, Riezel's slash cut through the two bodies of the shocked brothers, causing them to fall like their already fallen brother, blood staining the sky.
Thud! Thud!
Soon after, the two brothers fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground, creating a muffled sound and swirling dust.
At the same time, the lightning bolt, now at rest, landed among the three brothers, revealing Riezel's true form.
Crack—BOOM!
Suddenly, Riezel's sword cracked and then exploded into fragments, demonstrating that the immense power he had unleashed was so great that even the sword couldn't withstand it.
"..."
Silence fell over the scene again, leaving everyone speechless.
Cough! Cough! Cough!
With their hands stained red with blood and looking as tragic as one could imagine, the Letto brothers lay on the ground, coughing and covering their wounds.
"It's alright. They've just got minor injuries. I didn't hit them too hard, after all."
After the lightning and thunder phenomena around Riezel disappeared, he reassured everyone, causing many to breathe a sigh of relief.
It was only then that everyone noticed the swordsmen who challenged Riezel, though they looked quite beaten and gruesome, didn't seem to have any serious injuries.
Before, Marco and Alder, who had been unconscious, were taken aside by the Frenzel family's knights for treatment.
Now, they had woken up but appeared somewhat pale.
After a while, the Letto brothers managed to prop themselves up and shakily stand.
Seeing that the challengers were all mostly unharmed, the fearful gazes directed at Riezel lessened significantly.
After standing up, the Letto brothers looked at each other, and upon confirming that they were okay, they finally relaxed and looked toward Riezel.
"We—"
"Lost."
"We concede."
Saying these words, the Letto brothers bowed slightly to Riezel, then helped each other up, preparing to leave.
Seeing them leaving, Riezel suddenly spoke up.
"Your swordsmanship seems to let the magical energy between you merge and even lets you communicate mentally, right?"
Riezel's sudden words caused everyone present to pause in surprise, including the Letto brothers, who also stopped in their tracks.
"That's right."
"The essence of our swordsmanship lies in this."
"It lets us exchange and balance each other's strength."
Surprisingly, the Letto brothers were open about their swordsmanship and responded accordingly.
According to the Letto brothers, the Harmony Sword Style was a unique swordsmanship that enabled its practitioners to exchange magical energy and strength with each other, making them indistinguishable from one another.
Not only did this allow for abilities like mental communication, spiritual resonance, mutual support, and extreme synergy, but the more participants in the combined attack, the greater the power it could unleash.
It was a Special Swordsmanship, rare and precious.
However, the requirements for practicing this swordsmanship were high and extremely difficult.
Practitioners must have a certain level of mutual understanding and connection, such as blood ties or spiritual bonds, and they must be completely open with each other. Even a slight gap in trust could prevent them from practicing this swordsmanship together.
However, since the Letto brothers were born triplets, their connection was undoubtedly very strong.
Having relied on each other since childhood, they naturally had the trust and understanding required to master this swordsmanship.
Riezel nodded and then shared his thoughts.
"Since magical energy and strength can be exchanged and merged, why do you split them evenly to achieve this so-called balance?"
Riezel's question caused the Letto brothers to pause in thought.
Wasn't balance a good thing?
After balancing, their strengths became perfectly aligned, which should make their coordination and combined attacks even more effective.
Pondering seriously, the Letto brothers considered their approach and saw no problems.
Seeing their confusion, Riezel gave a suggestion.
"What I mean is... you could concentrate all the magical energy and strength on just one of you, combining the strength of all three to achieve a great enhancement. In this way, the one with all three combined powers might truly attain the strength of a Sword Saint."
Riezel's suggestion made the Letto brothers' hearts tremble.
It was truly a possibility they hadn't even considered.
After all, they were used to sharing everything and acting together. Even a single loaf of bread was divided into three pieces, and even a single sentence was completed by all three of them.
Because of this, they had never once thought of concentrating everything on just one of them.
Riezel's suggestion had truly enlightened them.
"Thank you—"
"For your—"
"Guidance."
Saying these words, the Letto brothers respectfully bowed to Riezel.
Riezel didn't respond but turned to the other swordsmen present, watching as their initial reluctance turned into surprise and then into eager anticipation.
Seeing this, Riezel couldn't help but smile.
In truth, the reason he had given the Letto brothers guidance was precisely to achieve this outcome.
If these swordsmen knew that good performance could earn them the advice of a Sword Saint, they would surely be thrilled and feel a renewed desire to challenge him.
Especially after he fully showcased his capability, no one doubted his status as a Sword Saint anymore.
In this way, perhaps more people would seek him out in the future, becoming his farm for excelia.
"Alright."
Riezel created another sheathed sword using the Structure System Magic and, like a farmer about to harvest a bountiful crop, smiled at the swordsmen present.
"Next."
