Bastian knew that at times like these, it was best to strike whist the iron was hot. Without a moments delay, he picked out his targets let the swords fly. With a flick of his hands, the four swords left his hands and flew straight into the throats of four unsuspecting warriors. All of whom were not of the water attribute.
Bastian not only knew how to use a sword, but he knew very well how to defend against one and how to disarm someone of one. That was the knowledge he had used against the first four water attribute warriors he had killed.
Each swordsman has a particular style, and gain different insights into the Dao of the Sword. Kenshin was someone who focused on using multiple swords at once. His style often required him to throw swords away; so as to not waste a chance Kenshin was quite well versed in the art of throwing any blade, from daggers to long swords.
Throwing four swords simultaneously was as easy as stretching for Bastian. Such a feat, to warriors who didn't even know what the Dao was, would be inconceivable, thus no one was prepared for such an attack. Not to mention everyone was still trying to understand what Bastian had done before.
Just to be safe, Bastian had aimed at warriors without the water attribute, because they had a slower movement speed, and he wanted to face the water attribute warriors in direct combat because most, if not all, used swords.
His four swords had especially targeted two warriors with the earth attribute and two with the wood attribute. There were still 4 more middle to lower warriors with the earth attribute according to Bastian's e-vision, but the wood attribute warriors were tricky due to their self-healing attribute and had to be taken care of immediately.
They were also in a forest, an environment that favored wood attribute warriors, so Bastian wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Without further delay, Bastian sprinted toward the nearest batch of water attribute warriors.
The more powerful warriors, particularly the six who were at the top of the Fighter stage, had stopped moving, in order to observe Bastian for a bit longer. After seeing his earlier performance, they were forced to reevaluate him.
Bastian was quite happy with this arrangement, and had no problems dispatching the weaklings first. As per his plan, he headed for the water attribute warriors nearest to him.
There was a group of 7 water attribute warriors near to him. After seeing his previous performance, they had gotten weary of Bastian, but the jingling noise made by the pebbles inside the pouch on Bastian's waist was like a war drum terrorizing their ears.
Within that short instant, they decided to do what they had been doing their entire careers as warriors; gamble with their lives, and quite the gamble it was. If they succeed, glory and fame awaited them, if they lost...
Gritting their teeth and steeling their resolve, the seven warriors ran toward Bastian shouting at the top of their lungs. The shout was more about reassuring them than it was about intimidating Bastian.
As far as Bastian was concerned, he remembered an old phrase he had once heard in his previous life.
Life is a choice, death is a decision.
Indeed, these men, due to their greed, had decided to end their lives. Bastian had no qualms with facilitating their demise. Their emotions had clouded their judgement even tactically. Instead of attacking in formation, they attacked haphazardly, going toward Bastian in an uneven single file.
Their collision with Bastian held no suspense. Each time a sword was taken from the hand of its owner, then it would be used to behead the owner, and afterwards in a flash it would be thrown, resulting in the death of the remaining four earth attribute warriors. Bastian used the swords from his fifth and sixth victims to kill some nearby water attribute warriors.
The last sword was used as a test. Bastian threw it to one of the fire attribute warriors who were observing him from a distance. She was one of the six who were potential threats to him.
The sword was stopped less than a centimeter from her face, but it was not by her. Instead it was by a hand covered in earth qi, which belonged to a serious looking man standing next to her.
Ruka realized that she was a hair's breadth away from death and staggered backward, something she had not done in a very long time. Mark broke the sword in his grip and kept looking at Bastian. Earlier on, his eyes had been filled with greed, for the pouch on Bastian's waist, but now, his eyes showed only bloodlust.
Bastian frowned when he saw what Mark had done and the look in his eyes.
As far was Bastian was concerned, the girl wasn't impressive. Although he had caught her off guard, Bastian quickly calculated in his mind that he would be able to take care of her if they were to fight.
Strapped to her waist was a rapier, which he had no doubt that he would be able to take care of. Her reaction speed was also subpar, so Bastian stopped caring about her existence.
Mark on the other hand was a different story. Mark was an earth attribute warrior. Their reaction speed was supposed to be one of their weaknesses. Yet he was able to stop the sword in time, a sword thrown by a person who has insights into the Dao of the Sword.
This pointed toward Mark being a very troublesome opponent, especially considering the fact that Bastian still had a few people to take care of.
Mark was the type who tried to avoid showing his emotions externally, but when he was angry, he always acted quickly.
Without a moments' hesitation, Mark condensed his qi. Bastian's face changed the moment this started happening, because his e-vision saw a change in the qi around Mark.
Mark had no weapon on him, so Bastian saw him as quite the headache. A warrior without a weapon at that level of skill usually meant one thing, a Martial Technique. Warriors at this level who specialized in hand to hand techniques barely got involved in death matches, and if they did, they would learn how to use a weapon, fast.
A bow made of flames suddenly appeared in Mark's hand. The bow itself was plain and simple, but its presence was still imposing. The entire area within ten meters of Mark was becoming hot.
Even Ruka, who was traditionally a fire attribute warrior, had to step away from Mark. Almost very warrior on that scene could not help but show a look of surprise when the saw the bow.
An earth attribute warrior using a bow made of flames would no doubt surprise most warriors. Bastian included. The only person who didn't do anything was Kenshin. His face only had a slight frown with one thought entering his mind once he saw the bow.
This will be troublesome.
...
Bastian, like most human beings, was not fond of pain. He dreaded it. A harsh surge of pain struck him, it was the worst pain he had ever felt. Mark's flaming arrow only struck one spot but the pain instantly attacked every part of his body. Bastian had experienced, without a doubt, the most excruciating pain he had ever felt.Almost every movement he made caused him to grit his teeth. He wasn't sure how deep the damage was, but he was sure that one of his ribs had been broken. A sharp pain in his abdomen that made him want to scream was the only reminder he needed to realize one important fact, a fact that he not noticed due to his own negligence.I could die here...Angry at himself for being so careless, Bastian decided to take action. After standing up, Bastian examined his surroundings. He looked forward and saw the trail of destruction left behind by his body. Broken trees with trunks as think as cow's body were snapped in half as if they were tooth picks.
The might of late stage Foundation Building Cultivators was truly astonishing. Teachers and Scholars were feared throughout the Sovereign Continents as powerhouses. Not to say there weren't more powerful cultivators.Cultivators who were above the Foundation Building realm, rarely took part in matters of the continent itself. Or to be more accurate, matters that the public knew of. The continent was so large that it made sending and receiving information across it extremely difficult. For commoners, low ranked nobility and the majority of the populace, word of mouth and letters were the most reliable means of long distance communication.Sebastian Tirius himself was from a very powerful noble family. Due to this, he had been in contact with many powerful cultivators. Yet, despite the power and knowledge that was at his feet, the young Sebastian never took an interest in matters of cultivation. The only information he knew was what his family had forced him to learn.
The might of late stage Foundation Building Cultivators was truly astonishing. Teachers and Scholars were feared throughout the Sovereign Continents as powerhouses. Not to say there weren't more powerful cultivators.Cultivators who were above the Foundation Building realm, rarely took part in matters of the continent itself. Or to be more accurate, matters that the public knew of. The continent was so large that it made sending and receiving information across it extremely difficult. For commoners, low ranked nobility and the majority of the populace, word of mouth and letters were the most reliable means of long distance communication.Sebastian Tirius himself was from a very powerful noble family. Due to this, he had been in contact with many powerful cultivators. Yet, despite the power and knowledge that was at his feet, the young Sebastian never took an interest in matters of cultivation. The only information he knew was what his family had forced him to learn.
Bastian's attempt to affect the minds of those present had gone well. Mark's quick response however made things more difficult. The warriors became afraid of Bastian, that was evident, but they were even more afraid of Mark. Even as a quasi-Teacher, he was still far more powerful than all of them combined. Mark decided to harness that fear and use it to his favor.Mark's objective was to use these warriors to test Bastian. There were still quite a few warriors that were supposed to be able to get Bastian to act. At that moment Mark wanted to know as much about Bastian as possible."Everyone, attack the boy now. Either you die by my hands, or you take a chance and fight him. I give you 10 seconds to decide." As Mark spoke, his eyes were filled with cold killing intent, he no longer saw the people around him as fellow warriors but as tools for him to do as he pleased. Such was the fate of the weak; the strong could do what they wanted with them.As warriors, as gl
Face was an important factor for those who lived in the Sovereign Continent. For cultivators, especially warriors, face was even more important. Mages were more liberal in their behavior and would often resort to any means to win a battle. Warriors on the other hand, did not have such a luxury.By the time Ruka had come to, Bastian had already wiped out every warrior before her. To Bastian, most of the battles that day were like a blur. He had fought for so long and had fought so many battles that he was then essentially fighting on a subconscious level. He was still clear headed but he had realized long back that Kenshin's experience was more effective, the less he thought about it.It was similar to walking. If one had to think about where one would place his or her foot consciously with every step one took, then walking would be a very arduous process. Bastian already had Kenshin's experience, so the process was already somewhat familiar to him. All he had to do was
As Mark and Bastian's battle raged on in the forest, Kenshin silently observed the battle. He had kept his word and had not interfered. His face was as stiff as always but he was quite impressed by the progress Bastian had made throughout the day.A body that has awakened from such a powerful beast's bloodline is truly remarkable. Bastian's rate of improvement is truly astonishing.At the beginning, Kenshin had no intention of helping Bastian improve himself but as time went on; Bastian's memories cemented themselves into Kenshin's mind. At first this was a bit tricky, due to the fact that Bastian's perspective was also included as well.If Kenshin had been a weak minded person, he would have suffered from a mental disorder.Overtime Kenshin realized that he liked Bastian's character. Things like the fact that he came from another world did not matter much to Kenshin. What mattered to him was Bastian's personality.He is wise, and humble, intellige
"You are only delaying the inevitable! Stop running like a coward and face me!" bellowed Mark as he chased after Bastian's figure frantically. "It's not running. It's a strategic retreat." said Bastian with a snicker.Mark had grown tired of chasing Bastian. For the past ten minutes, he had covered countless meters going for Bastian, only to have the latter dodge him at the last moment. He felt like someone who was about to eat, only to have their meal taken right in front of their eyes.Mark was a patient man but this was pushing his limits.He won't be able to keep this up for long, I've almost got him. I don't know why he is also becoming faster, but my rate of improvement has become faster than his. It is only a matter of time before I end him!At first, the two were both improving but Mark's rate of improvement became higher than Bastian's at some point. With every second, with every movement, Mark was consolidating his cultivation base and getting u
Bastian had a unique perspective in this world, in regard to what magic and martial arts were. To him, science was attempting to understand the laws of nature and using them to your advantage. Whereas, cultivation was attempting to bend these laws, or perhaps even break them.Things like creating water, compressing it to no end, being immune to fire, flying and many more, all things that earthen science hand deemed impossible. Bastian himself knew that his body was unusually strong and steady. Yet at the same time, it was not heavy. His skin was much tougher than usual, yet it was soft to the touch.Countless contradictions made Bastian come up with one conclusion, that he could never truly understand everything. Thus, he would do the next best thing, which was, to use what he understood and just go with it.An example of this was pressure magic itself. Normally, if one wanted to create a tornado, a sufficient amount of mana would be needed. A Novice could not c