At the same time, on the top floor of a high-end hotel, in a parlor room...
At this moment, the parlor room was occupied by a group of high-ranking members of the Copper Black Cross.
Without exception, they were all gathered in front of a large LCD television, watching the scene being broadcasted on the screen.
Upon closer inspection, the screen displayed a forest that had turned into a battlefield.
Within the forest, two swordsmen were fiercely clashing, weaving through the woods while their silhouettes interlaced at astonishing speed, causing sword flashes to fly and dirt and stones to scatter.
Wherever the sword light and blade shadow passed, trees fell in swaths, and the ground was split open by silver slashes and black sword light, causing countless cracks and sword marks to spread across the land. Trenches and ravines appeared one after another, gradually destroying that forest.
The intensity of the battle was like a myth come to life, a calamity returned—a scene so spectacular and so deeply stirring.
"Gulp..."
Someone audibly swallowed, and that sound was particularly conspicuous in the otherwise silent parlor.
By rights, this should have been considered extremely rude behavior—at least for these self-proclaimed knights.
But whether it was Erica or the others, no one had the mind to care about that right now.
They only stared at the screen on the LCD TV, watching the intense battle that caused the forest to wail and the earth to collapse, their eyes and faces filled with shock.
"This—this is a battle between Campiones?"
"Such overwhelming power...!"
"Too terrifying! The forest is being destroyed!"
"I can’t believe this is the result of swords clashing..."
"I—I can hardly keep up with their speed. I can’t even see their swords...!"
The group couldn’t hide their astonishment and began discussing amongst themselves.
These people were not ordinary knights. They were sent by the Copper Black Cross only after Kaiser had slain two Heretic Gods and after Doni had arrived in Sardinia.
Among them, some were Great Knights like Erica, while others were magi or high-ranking members of the Copper Black Cross with status not inferior to a Great Knight. They were all knowledgeable and well-experienced—far beyond ordinary standards.
However, at this moment, watching the scene displayed on the screen, watching the battle between those two young men—these people of high status within the Copper Black Cross, and even within the entire Milan magic world, were all without exception immersed in indescribable shock.
"That our Italian King, the leader of the entire Southern European magic world, possesses such sword skill and might—I’m not surprised."
"That’s the King of Swords, the world’s strongest swordsman. A warrior among warriors who can slay gods with only a sword. It would be strange if he didn’t have such a level of mastery."
"But I didn’t expect that the new King who just recently emerged in the East would also possess swordsmanship of this level!"
"Wasn’t he an ordinary person before becoming a Campione?"
"The intel we collected must be wrong!"
That last statement—Erica agreed with it as well.
After witnessing Kaiser’s battle, Erica had a feeling—that the world’s understanding of Kaiser was mistaken.
Such swordsmanship, such technique, could absolutely not have been forged by an ordinary person.
Moreover...
"What’s with that black sword?" Googlᴇ search N0veI.Fiɾe.net
"To be able to clash so fiercely with a demon sword that severs everything without being destroyed..."
"That’s definitely some kind of divine artifact!"
A so-called divine artifact is an item inscribed with heavenly wisdom or mythic power.
They essentially originate from mythology, from those well-known legends—things of the same nature as gods.
They are like gods manifested on earth in the form of objects, each possessing extraordinary wisdom and mystery.
Though merely tools—items—they were sometimes even more powerful than the gods themselves, or even more famous than them.
Like the Gungnir—the Eternal Spear—even the gods could not match its might. Its legend of always hitting and always winning is known worldwide. To slay a god with it is no difficult feat.
Though there are weaker divine artifacts, even the weakest among them are beyond comparison with human-made creations.
Human creations generally cannot threaten gods, but divine artifacts have such potential.
But what makes a divine artifact a divine artifact is that it is a tool used by a god.
Even if a powerful divine artifact were to fall from myth or ancient times into the modern age and be obtained by people, it’s not something that can be used so easily.
Some divine artifacts simply cannot be used by humans. Some, even if usable, require a certain price to be paid. Some have extremely harsh usage conditions...
In short, for humans to wield divine artifacts freely—it is no easy task.
And yet, Kaiser seemed to be wielding a divine artifact capable of standing against the Italian King of Swords in a head-on confrontation. This was undoubtedly extremely important intelligence.
"Could that be the weapon this King used to slay gods?"
Someone posed such a conjecture, believing that Kaiser had become a Campione precisely because he wielded such a powerful divine artifact.
Erica did not join in on their discussion. She only stared intently at the screen, unblinkingly watching the battle.
She was also a knight—a knight whose swordsmanship was not weak. But compared to the two before her, Erica suddenly realized that the sword skills she had always taken pride in... were actually nothing much.
"Just what kind of training does one have to go through to obtain swordsmanship on such a divine level?"
Erica pondered this question.
In such a moment, Kaiser and Doni were still fiercely battling, the situation becoming increasingly heated.
"Rumble rumble..."
That forest not far from here let out a sound like the earth shaking, gradually moving toward destruction...
...
"Clang!!!"
Amidst the swirling dust from storms and shockwaves, Kaiser and Doni charged at each other like two war chariots. Then, with a thunderous clash, black demon sword and silver demon sword collided heavily.
The clash of steel on steel produced a ringing sound, sparks bursting forth like flames. The impact in that instant not only shattered the ground beneath their feet, but sent countless stones and gravel flying—making the very world seem to cry out, trembling all over.
"Boom!"
Doni had completely entered a frenzied state. His face wore an expression of extreme excitement, silver arm raised, silver sword slashing downward. The slash tore through the air, shattered the earth, forming a magnificent blade of sword energy slashing toward Kaiser.
"Swish!"
Kaiser didn’t choose to take it head-on. Instead, he used Shunpo, his figure vanishing like a mirage. He only reappeared when the sword energy split the ground, darting in front of Doni, his Ser-Veresta glowing with high heat, transforming into a flash of slashing light.
"Clang—clang—clang—"
Kaiser struck three times in a row—targeting Doni’s head, shoulder, and waist. But Doni rotated his silver arm, using the smallest, shortest movements to bring his sword to meet Kaiser’s, easily deflecting each strike.
Kaiser didn’t relent. His slashes came like a storm, one after another, with trajectories sometimes clear, sometimes elusive—bright then dim, strong then weak, fast then slow, straight then curved—dazzling and hard to follow.
"Truly impressive!"
Doni laughed as he effortlessly displayed swordsmanship not inferior to Kaiser’s. The silver sword in his hand moved as if it were alive—sometimes snaking like a serpent, sometimes straight like a spear—utterly at ease and unrestricted.
Yet it was this seemingly unstructured, formless swordsmanship that managed to block all of Kaiser’s storm-like slashes.
"I thought that, aside from that martial arts King of China, there was no one else in this world who could match me in swordsmanship. I never expected my new compatriot to also be a master of the sword. What a pleasant surprise!"
Doni’s voice brimmed with joy, his expression one of absolute delight.
"Coming to Sardinia was definitely the right choice. Being able to meet you, brother, is such a blessing!"
Doni laughed loudly as he swung his silver arm, releasing the power of the demon sword without restraint. Each slash became a blade of energy that could split the land, raining down toward Kaiser.
"I’m not nearly as happy as you are!"
Kaiser poured a massive amount of Magical Power into Ser-Veresta, causing its blade to swell in size.
"Boom!!!"
As the massive black sword swept across, all the sword energy was sliced in half. Even the trees touched by the massive black sword light collapsed and vanished, raising thick dust and storms.
"Don’t try to fool me, brother!"
Doni grinned, suddenly launching a charge, darting toward Kaiser like a bullet.
"You’re clearly enjoying this too!"
Saying so, Doni slashed down with his sword, striking Ser-Veresta and sending Kaiser flying.
Feeling his sword arm go slightly numb, Kaiser immediately stared at Doni and the scene around him.
There—nearly a hundred rune-like symbols had appeared at some point, rising and falling around Doni’s body as if guarding him.
Those were Nordic runes—the sign that Doni had activated his second Authority.
Salvatore Doni, the new-generation Campione born just four years ago, possessed four Authorities—but only two with known origins.
One was the silver arm taken from Nuada, the Celtic god-king. The other was Protection of Steel, taken from Siegfried, the dragon-slaying hero of Norse mythology.
It was an Authority that granted the user’s body the hardness and weight of steel, used to protect oneself.
With this Authority, Doni effectively possessed a semi-immortal body. Even if struck by lightning or bombarded by gunfire, he wouldn’t suffer any injury.
Once steelified, his body was not only incredibly hard, but its massive weight could be used offensively—yet his movements wouldn’t be slowed at all. It was a power that enhanced both offense and defense.
Furthermore, his steel body meant Doni didn’t need oxygen or food—he could survive underwater or in a vacuum for years, even fake death to avoid fatal attacks. His survival capabilities were maxed out.
After realizing Kaiser’s physical strength was terrifying and that he couldn’t clash with a mortal body, Doni had activated this Authority without hesitation.
Relying on this Authority, Doni could confront Kaiser’s superhuman physical power. Otherwise, with Kaiser’s current strength, he would’ve already been cut down in one strike.
Combined with the silver arm that granted any weapon the ability to sever all things, even Ser-Veresta’s heat-infused slashes were blocked.
Both men possessed the power to sever all—and when that power clashed, neither could gain the upper hand. It was like the legendary Four-Colored Demon Swords that canceled each other out when meeting due to their all-penetrating attributes.
Of course, Ser-Veresta now was far stronger than those Four-Colored Demon Swords back then.
It could stand against the Severing Silver Arm. It could cleave through Verethragna’s divine form. That already proved that the current Ser-Veresta had the qualifications to contend with divine powers—a weapon worthy of being called a divine artifact!
It was his first companion—a weapon that had followed him through countless battles, rising with him to this very point!
Doni was right—Kaiser was indeed enjoying himself a bit, because he truly felt his own growth, and also the growth of Ser-Veresta!
His ability to match Doni in swordsmanship was proof of that as well.
Because Doni’s swordsmanship had already reached the realm of the divine—a technique only a Sword God could wield.
For Kaiser to stand against him with sword skill meant Ser-Veresta too had reached the divine realm—only then could he, with his Authorities, bring out divine-level weapon mastery and divine-level sword techniques.
"I really want Kirin and Claudia to see how strong we’ve become now."
Kaiser suddenly had that thought.
And then... a silver sword wrapped in terrifying Magical Power suddenly appeared before him, slashing at him.
"Don’t lose focus, brother! Let’s keep going with a proper fight!"
Doni shouted, his silver sword flashing like light, his strike like thunder, slashing toward Kaiser’s head in an instant.
"Splurt!"
Kaiser, standing there, was instantly cut in half by the silver sword—but no blood sprayed. Instead, like a mirage, he suddenly vanished.
"Swish!"
Kaiser reappeared behind Doni using Shunpo.
"Boom!"
The black demon sword slashed at Doni’s back like striking a steel ball, roaring as it blasted Doni away.
"Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom—"
Like an iron ball, Doni flew out like a rocket, crashing through tree after tree, finally smashing into a Nuraghe and reducing it to rubble.
Smoke and dust billowed up. Fragments of stone rained down, burying the King of Italy beneath them—never to be found again...
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Author’s Note: Hey guys, checkout my new book Reborn as Superman’s Son, Destined to Be Homelander
Please add it to your library and leave some powerstones!
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