Divine Sword Art System

Chapter 14. Invincible Power

It was a short distance to Stratham Town. He could see rows of houses damaged by the war through the forest's trees. Tobias stopped his brown horse as he looked around the area.

He dismounted with his right hand clutching his black sword. Tobias did it for no reason. His warrior instinct told him that this area was surrounded by Valcke's troops.

"Get out," Tobias said.

What he guessed was right, ten Valcke troops came out from their hiding place. The ten men spread around Tobias until they formed a circle and surrounded the young man.

"You must be one of the reinforcements!" said one of them.

Tobias was silent. He held his black sword with both hands, alert with a strong stance. The threat this time was real enough for Tobias. If he failed to fight them, he would be killed.

"I'm not an army of reinforcements. I came to Stratham to find my family!" Tobias moaned.

Hearing Tobias' words made the ten soldiers surrounding him laugh out loud. They thought the young man was a madman looking for his dead family. There was not a single living townspeople in Stratham.

"If you want to meet them, I'll be happy to help you!" said the soldier, running towards Tobias while raising his sword.

Not just one, but all ten of them began to attack simultaneously. Tobias could read the direction of their attacks, the swords intended to cut off his head. The young man wasn't going to let that happen.

[Myurajin Moon's Second Technique: Moon Constellation]

Tobias' sword again glowed bright white, the technique he used allowing his legs to move as lightly as cotton. The increased attack speed made it difficult for Valcke's soldiers to keep up with Tobias' attack rhythm.

"AKH!"

Tobias thrust his black sword through the gap in the armor worn by the Valcke troops. Tobias targeted only three areas: the neck, between the shoulders, and behind the knees. Tobias managed to get the first thrust into the soldier's neck, making one out of ten soldiers fall into a seizure.

Seeing Tobias' unusual ability made Valcke's troops tremble with fear. They weren't the troops who fought on Stratham's bridge, so they wouldn't know Tobias' strength.

Each attack caused a small explosion until the seventh attack. Tobias continued to move his feet at lightning speed causing many troops to be injured. The young man targeted the Valcke soldier's neck.

After the seventh strike, a large enough explosion occurred to cause Tobias' stab and cut wounds to open wide and burn. They groaned in pain until they bled to death.

"No way. I've heard his name from other soldiers," said one of Valcke's troops.

"He's the best sword user, even killed thirty men at the Stratham Bridge battle," he continued.

"I don't care who he is! He's already killed our friends. We have to stop him before he kills more," snapped the fellow soldier, starting to speed off with both hands gripping his sword tightly due to the anger in his heart.

Tobias remained silent as the three of them charged back with reddened eyes. Anger had filled their heads, making Valcke's attack more predictable.

"I don't have time for this," Tobias said firmly.

He held his black sword tightly, preparing to use his Myurajin sword technique.

[Myurajin Moon's Fourth Technique: Moonlight Luster]

Tobias jumped back with his right hand pulling out his black sword. Now, the tip of the blade was aimed at the three troops. The blade again glowed brightly, and Tobias thrust the tip straight at them, creating a thousand shadow sword thrusts with a rapid attack intensity that could not be evaded.

The attack caused their helmet to fall off, their armor to be broken, and cuts to be made all over their bodies. Just before reaching Tobias, they had fallen unconscious.

[Announcement!]

[Cultivation level increase!]

[First Stage: Mortal Descent]

[Mastery: Level 2]

[Description: Increased attack +3. Only active when using the Myurajin Moon Technique]

Suddenly a blue panel filled with notifications appeared in front of Tobias, something he hadn't seen in a while. Written in the blue panel, he had increased his cultivation level in the first stage, Mortal Descent.

"Did my speed disappear too, Amu?" asked Tobias, curious.

[Advantages that have been gained in previous levels will not disappear, Master]

"So, my speed and attacks increased as my cultivation level increased?" asked Tobias.

[That's right. As your stage and level increase, you will become invincible]

"That's interesting. This system will really help me find Akihiko," said Tobias.

[Cultivation level increase is not only obtained by fighting or killing but also by doing meditation]

[However, increasing the cultivation level with meditation requires high concentration. You must learn many things before doing that]

"Alright. For now, we'll focus on saving my family in Stratham," Tobias replied.

No more blue panels appeared. Tobias stepped closer to his horse and rode away quickly, leaving the soldiers' bodies in the middle of the forest. Realizing that Valcke's troops had reached a point close to the village border made Tobias quite sure that Stratham City seemed to be fully controlled by Valcke.

But there was no turning back. A knight must take the path he said he would. Given the situation, he was going to Archibald's residence to search for the whereabouts of his family, whether they were still alive or not.

The location of Archibald's residence in the city center meant that Tobias could not simply go there unless he wanted to open a direct confrontation with Valcke's troops. Tobias chose a roundabout way through the plantation area behind Archibald's residence.

Tobias was forced to leave his brown horse in the forest, hooking the saddle rope to prevent the horse from running away. The only way he could get there without being spotted was on foot.

The young man took the path to the left that led north. He knew this route because of his journey with Giselle to the village in the north. Tobias still remembered this road passing behind Archibald's residence.

"Will the Great General be here?" asked one of Valcke's soldiers, walking alone with his companion.

Tobias hid among the ruins of the destroyed house. The young man caught a glimpse of the Great General's name, but he had no idea who the Great General they were referring to was.

"Of course. The small kingdom of Equestria is so easy to defeat. Victory over Equestria will make the Great General so appreciated by the King," replied the fellow soldier who walked with him.

The two of them began to walk away, leaving where Tobias was hiding in the ruins of the house. From a distance, Tobias could see Archibald's residence. It looked still intact and only suffered minor damage.

With his sword still gripped tightly, the young man walked quickly with stealthy steps. He arrived at the fence of the back wall of the Archibald residence, which had a height of 2.5 meters.

"This wall is too high," Tobias replied, looking for a way to enter the residence.

The young man's eyes were drawn to a wooden table near the wall. He brought the table closer to the wall so Tobias could pass through. Feeling no more difficulty, the young man was now fully inside the Archibald Residence area.

[Magic Skill: Scattered Fire Arrows]

When he was about to step near the house door, Tobias was surprised to find a fire arrow magic attack directed at him. Because of the arrow's attack speed, Tobias preferred to avoid it rather than neutralize it with the sacred sword skill.

"I didn't think there were survivors in this city," said a man, coming out from the room's balcony with two people with him.

"Soldiers! Surround him!" the man said, making Tobias' position completely difficult at the moment. Dozens of soldiers surround him, leaving him with no chance of escape.

"I'm not willing to waste my mana fighting him. You guys, arrest that intruder!" the man ordered, going back inside the house while giving orders to Valcke's soldiers, who were surrounding Tobias, to arrest the young man.

[Myurajin Moon's Sixth Technique: Moonlit Lunatus]

Tobias grasped his sword and twisted his body with the sword swinging. The sword swing Tobias made created a sickle-shaped sword swing that would deflect or injure anyone who approached him.

Valcke's troops, who didn't know the technique, dared to approach Tobias, but before their swords reached Tobias' neck, their armor shattered into pieces, plus several cuts on their chests and bodies.

Not just one, but many of Valcke's troops who didn't know, were also injured with their shattered armor. Seeing the incident made many of Valcke's troops confused. One of the soldiers even went to meet the magic wielder's man saying that Valcke was a magic user.

But it wasn't magic at all. Tobias strengthened his legs and arms to perform the attack. Myurajin Moon's sixth technique caused Tobias to see the enemy's attacks at a slow speed, so to the soldiers, Tobias looked like he was standing still in a circle.

"What? That's impossible!" snapped the magic-using man, returning to the room's balcony and unleashing the same attack on Tobias.

[Magic Skill: Scattered Fire Arrows]

From his magic circle, dozens of fire arrows were aimed at Tobias, causing the Valcke troops near Tobias to instantly walk backward.

[Sacred Sword Skill: Dark Dimension]

Seeing the attack of fire arrows pointed at Tobias made the young man start thrusting his sword into one of the fallen armor. He immediately threw the armor pierced by his sword into the sky, causing a black ball to appear and absorb the magic energy raised by the magic user's man.

Tobias's ability was amazing, as well as flawless. If they were to force their attack, then the possibility of them dying from ignorance would be quite high.

"What are you looking for here?!" demanded the male magic user, breaking out in a cold sweat of fear.

"I'm looking for my family, the Archibald Noble Family," said Tobias.

"Archibald? None of the Archibald family is alive except for the girl with the high posture," the man replied, making Tobias widen his eyes.

"Your strength is amazing. I'm giving you two choices. Let's say we're negotiating," he continued, Tobias listening to his explanation.

"Go to Langdale and we won't hurt you, or die here trying to find your family's remains," the man insisted.

He realized that Tobias's strength was not something Valcke's soldiers or himself could fight against. The man was worried that if Tobias became angry, it would have a negative impact on Valcke's troops in this city. He thought that only the Great General could defeat the young man.

So, he would let Tobias go as much as possible so that no more Valcke troops would die.

Tobias thought that if he had trouble finding his family here, the only last thing he could do was meet with Giselle and ask her directly.

"Alright. I accept your first offer."