Defying the Fate of Beheading-Chapter 542 - 300: The Thief Who Stole Extraordinary Power
[Location: Tino City · Saint Louis Academy]
"Huh? Lord Kulin, are you going as well?"
Louis said with some surprise, "Haven’t you rarely gone out in recent years?"
Kulin Sword Saint was also getting on in years, and with no hope of breaking through to legendary status, he had given up on grand ambitions and, you could say, come to terms with reality.
Now his main work was focused on cultivating the next generation of the Ense Empire.
Otherwise, even with the excellent treatment at Saint Louis Academy, how could they possibly enlist a Sword Saint to serve as one of their deans?
Kulin stroked his beard and said, "I also need to go out for a technical exchange, and it’s not just me, that rascal Jino is going too."
Louis was stunned for a moment, "Teacher Jino is going too? Being away for so long, wouldn’t it be bad to not stand guard at the Imperial Palace?"
Kulin shook his head and said, "It’s fine; this trip was anticipated. The Forbidden Guard is back, and the Emperor’s bedchamber will be entrusted to them for protection."
"The main force of the Forbidden Guard is back? No wonder the Imperial Palace felt livelier yesterday."
The primary duty of the Royal Guard is currently to safeguard the Imperial Palace and the security of Tino City.
In reality, however, the Royal Guard has been expanding significantly in recent years.
Because the Forbidden Guard, originally tasked with safeguarding the Imperial Palace, left only a few personnel on duty, while the rest went on assignments for the Emperor.
The composition of the Forbidden Guard is quite complex.
They are more a team of top-notch experts handpicked from various legions by the Emperor and trained personally by him, rather than an independent legion.
White Crow Legion, Dark Crow Guard, Royal Guard, Iron Guard, Wild Wolf Corps...
These teams, which cause a stir in the Ense Empire, never lack for talent.
However, talent is only the entry threshold for the Forbidden Guard.
In earlier years, the Iron Guard held the majority of positions in the Forbidden Guard with absolute superiority.
But now, with significant casualties, the personnel composition has changed.
Louis didn’t have much interaction with the Forbidden Guard.
After all, their true leader is the Emperor, not Beatrice.
Beatrice also hardly interferes with the Forbidden Guard’s matters, and Louis naturally followed the lead of his elder wife, not communicating much.
—Although Beatrice’s commands indeed can influence the Forbidden Guard.
Previously, over eighty percent of them had left the Imperial Palace, and Louis knew where they went.
They split into four groups, heading to the Gate of the Abyss, Fallen Shadow Nether Realm, Eye of Fear, and the Underground City.
The Gate of the Abyss is the main battlefield.
Each of the major legions is tasked with different regions.
The Fallen Shadow Nether Realm is mainly handled by the Dark Crow Guard.
The main force in the Underground City is the White Crow Legion.
The Eye of Fear is where the Wild Wolf Corps executes its missions long-term.
But the timing of the Forbidden Guard’s return from their missions is a bit coincidental, likely the Emperor’s intention.
In a normal situation, he should have known about it last night.
But then he was indulging in the pleasures of Beatrice’s company, oblivious to everything else, how could he have cared about the Forbidden Guard’s return?
Ah... in normal circumstances, Louis is usually career-focused and shouldn’t have forgotten about it.
But sometimes emotions aren’t within his control.
When engrossed in work, he truly loses track of time.
"Hey kid, stop daydreaming. Didn’t you want to master the invisible boundary? Hurry up and master it well, and give that brat Jino a good lesson."
"Alright!"
The invisible boundary is that peculiar domain where Kulin Sword Saint, without becoming a legend, could wield legendary power.
He had long begged and pleaded to gain the qualification to learn it, and nothing could stop him from learning the invisible boundary.
—Unless he was summoned by his elder wife.
...
"Whew~ whew~ this is more troublesome than I imagined."
Louis gazed at the invisible astral winds entwining his body and fell into contemplation.
The martial art Kulin Sword Saint used the most is his self-created ’Whirlwind Sword.’
It’s not an elemental swordsmanship that attaches a whirlwind to the sword, but rather, it describes the Sword Saint’s sword giving an oppressive feeling as if a hurricane were besieging the city.
Just as Louis used to describe his swordsmanship, perhaps limited by human physical limits, Kulin Sword Saint, unlike Teacher Jino, was not obsessed with the idea of overpowering might.
His sword philosophy is like a chessboard, precisely controlling and gradually pressing the opponent until they are completely surrounded.
To create this sense of urgency, his Whirlwind Sword must be ’threatening enough.’
It’s not about widespread damage.
Widespread damage means the force is relatively dispersed.
No matter how impressive the power seems, when facing an opponent far beyond oneself, techniques dealing widespread damage become insignificant.
The kinetic energy caused by a gentle breeze passing over a person is certainly greater than a mosquito bite.
Yet a breeze brushing by results in nothing, while a mosquito bite leaves a big bump.
The Whirlwind Sword is such a technique.
The source of power for the Nine Swords practitioners is blood qi, meaning that naturally, people with robust builds inherently have more blood qi of the same level.
However, when truly harnessed, the blood qi, stemming from life’s power, is exceptionally fierce and tumultuous.
This is inherently a good thing.
The source of a martial artist’s destructiveness lies in this tumultuous and dangerous power.
But tumultuous also means hard to control.
The life of a Nine Swords practitioner is a constant tug-of-war between making their blood qi more dangerous and tumultuous, and gaining control over even more tumultuous blood qi.
Ninth level martial tech ’Time Stop’ employs an indomitable will to remove the impurities in the blood qi and transforms the blood qi that radiates outward into a more pure essence of power that can be controlled.
