Boundless Cultivation-Chapter 56 - Can You withstand My Attack?

Alaric barely managed to dodge Therin’s strike. The sword slammed into the ground and shattered it into a deep crater. He is much faster than before. Alaric prepared his layered mana shield. That power-boosting skill is no joke.

He kept evading the sword strikes by the barest of margins, even channeling as much mana he could into his [Zen Flow] and [Mana Strengthening] skills. Once again, Alaric was tempted to cycle his root chakra to match Therin’s power-boosting skill, but he decided to try something else.

Therin’s blazing hot orange sword gouged through his mana shield—reinforced by multiple layers of pliable mana—like a hot knife through butter. He pursued Alaric and slashed his sword as if he were a predator who had locked onto its prey.

Alaric avoided the grey energy that surrounded Therin. It felt invasive and poisonous to his senses. Not like a real poison but something that sapped away his energy. He used [Mana Scrambling] and discharged a pulse of pure mana to create an opening, but it failed to work as expected.

The pure mana pulse successfully parted the grey energy surrounding his body but faded before it could unravel the body armor that covered Therin’s body. Thus, Alaric couldn’t risk closing the distance and hammering him with his mana gauntlets.

He launched a few mana projectiles, but they failed to penetrate his body armor. Moments later, the grey energy refilled the opening in Therin’s defense created by Alaric’s earlier attack.

There is no other way. I have to keep my distance and attack him from afar. Alaric continued to fire mana projectiles at Therin while evading him, but it didn’t slow him down at all. When he finally created some distance, Therin unleashed white-hot arcs of sword slashes that prevented him from mounting a counterattack.

“Why are you retreating, Alaric?” Therin barked. “What happened to your confidence?”

“Looks like we’re at a stalemate,” Alaric smirked in an attempt to prod at his ego. Therin had good self-control. He refrained from unveiling his true power during his battle with Rowan to avoid exposing his most powerful cards before his opponent.

When Alaric exhibited his [Mana Blast] and [Mana Scrambling] skills, Therin finally unleashed his full power. However, now, with his power-boosting skill running, he was losing his grip over his self-control.

He was intoxicated by power and assured of his victory. It’s a major drawback he would have to consider when facing powerful opponents.

So when Alaric made that remark with a casual smirk, showing no fear, it had the intended effect on Therin. A vein bulged in his forehead, and his eyes looked as though they would pop out of their sockets.

“Stalemate?” Therin roared in disbelief. “Then allow me to end the fight with this next move.” He clenched his sword in both hands, assumed a new stance, and aimed his sword toward the ground.

Suddenly, the blade began to radiate anew with a fiery orange glow and gradually started turning crimson.

Alaric could sense the heat radiating off Therin’s sword even from this distance. He is amassing energy for a final attack. Alaric smirked. His plan had succeeded. Now, he had enough time to attempt what he intended.

He released his hold on the [Vital Mana Flow] skill and [Mana Strengthening] skill. Instead, he fully concentrated on simultaneously wielding the four skills — mana shaping, mana shield, mana blast, and mana scrambling.

Even a fully powered mana blast wasn’t enough to breach Therin’s defenses. And the mana scrambling pulse wasn’t potent enough to inflict any real damage on its own. However, what if he combined the two skills? There was a slim chance to pierce through Therin’s defenses if he could pull it off perfectly.

While Therin was gathering power for his final strike, Alaric made his final preparations too. He cupped his palm and compressed an immense amount of mana, forming a blue sphere of energy.

Next, he employed his [Mana Shaping] and [Mana Shield] skills to encase the condensed mana with a layered mana barrier, containing it within. This would serve as the payload of his attack.

He cradled the payload in his palms and charged up a condensed disruptive pulse before unleashing it from his hand.

Before the disruptive pulse could radiate too far, he immediately cycled his solar plexus chakra and enveloped the entire construct with another layered mana barrier, striving to confine the concentrated, volatile disruptive mana within it.

The mana scrambling pulse was effective for catching opponents off guard at close range. However, since it radiated from the point of origin uniformly in all directions, it wasn’t that effective at mid-range to long-range. As the mana scrambling pulse expanded outward, it diffused and diminished in potency.

Thus, he simply couldn’t blast a mana-scrambling pulse at his opponents. At least for now.

Alaric had experimented with discharging a mana-scrambling pulse inside a barrier he formed on his palm, and so far, it hadn’t yielded effective results. The pulse devoured all mana constructs, including his own.

However, he had discovered that cycling a bit of solar plexus energy was enough to delay the deterioration of his mana constructs. Now, he sought to integrate all his knowledge into this next attack.

Even now, the second layer of concentrated disruptive pulse gradually eroded the layered mana barrier that contained it. However, he only needed to maintain the construct long enough to deliver the payload.

The entire process was highly inefficient and drained half of his remaining mana. But at this moment, Alaric had no other choice.

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The heat in the surrounding area peaked as Therin completed gathering energy for his final attack. He roared and swung his sword, unleashing a vast, blazing hot crimson arc of energy. It was impossible to evade.

Alaric didn’t deploy his payload yet. If he released it now, the two attacks could simply negate each other. No, he had a strategy. He cradled the payload, shielding it with his body, and braced for impact.

Here it comes. The crimson arc of hell approached him swiftly, promising devastation. Alaric didn’t summon his shield—it wouldn’t withstand such a powerful attack. Instead, he drained the remaining half of his mana to forge the densest disruptive pulse he had ever attempted.

Moments before the blazing crimson arc reached him, Alaric unleashed his hold over the disruptive pulse. His entire body radiated with a luminous white corona for a moment before the scorching crimson arc crashed into it.

He was completely out of mana, but the condensed disruptive pulse held for a few seconds, keeping the crimson arc at bay. He stood like a boulder in the path of a river’s flow, splitting it in two, utterly unshaken by the chaos around him.

Therin’s final attack wreaked havoc in the surrounding area, but it proved utterly useless in harming Alaric. Unfortunately, the attack packed far more energy than Alaric’s final disruptive pulse. He could already sense it fading.

Although it had managed to weaken Therin’s final attack, it couldn’t shield Alaric completely. Just as the last remnants of the disruptive pulse dissipated, Alaric hurled the mana construct containing the payload toward Therin.

The remaining fragments of the blazing crimson arc reached Alaric’s body and ravaged it. His flesh shredded, skin charred, and bones fractured. Numerous wounds erupted across his body, drenching it in blood.

Alaric gritted his teeth and dropped to one knee but refused to yield. He bellowed and cycled his sacral chakra and heart chakra to absorb the pain and continuously heal his body. Even when utterly drained of mana, he could rely on the purified energy of his chakras.

The moment stretched on for eternity, but it was finally over. He was bloodied, battered with fractured bones, scorched skin, torn flesh, and utterly drained. His face was a swollen mess, and one of his eyes completely ruined.

Still, a spark of exhilaration ignited in his chest. He had endured the best Therin had to offer. Alaric grinned and fixed his remaining eye on Therin. Now, let’s see if you can withstand my attack.

***

Therin’s whole body trembled, and he was utterly exhausted. He had funneled every drop of mana he could muster into his previous sword slash attack. And yet, Alaric had survived.

He was bloodied and battered, but he wasn't out of the fight, refusing to surrender. In fact, it appeared Alaric had launched his final attack as well.

How is that possible? How is he so strong while still being only at Tier 1? No matter how much he scoured his thoughts, he couldn’t find an answer.

Therin had believed he was fully prepared to compete in and claim victory in the regional tournament that year. His goal was to attract the attention of a scout from a prestigious guild. For that, he had trained relentlessly, day and night.

His bloodline bestowed him with a good affinity for metal. It wasn’t the strongest affinity nor the most potent, but it was sufficient to chase his dreams. He had believed only Rowan was a match for his strength in the entire city among their age group.

But the gap wasn’t much. To gain a decisive advantage, Therin had hounded Sir Baldwin for a long time until he finally heeded his request. Therin already possessed superior defense due to his metal affinity.

However, when Sir Baldwin instructed him in the art of empowering himself with an Oath, he attained a tremendous power boost in a short period.

Therin had been anticipating a showdown with Rowan for a while now, eager to defeat him undisputedly.

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However, his rival had also advanced in power, and Therin was hesitant to unveil his strength before Rowan did. In the end, neither of them exposed the true extent of their abilities during their fight.

But it was different with Alaric. He grated on Therin’s ego. Especially that smile, which he longed to wipe off his face. He couldn’t fathom how Alaric had managed to defeat Rowan yesterday, not until today’s match.

Initially during the match, Therin was fully confident in his [Metal Shroud] skill, which enveloped his entire body with a layer of resilient metal armor. Coupled with the power of his bloodline, it could endure nearly any attack a low-grade Tier 2 could unleash upon him.

It was proven by the fact that Rowan hadn’t been able to breach his body armor. However, Alaric wielded some type of mana skill that simply disintegrated the mana holding the armor intact and created an opening.

It was then that Therin realized for the first time that Alaric wasn’t an ordinary kid.

Still, he wasn’t intimidated. When Alaric hurled that terrifying ball of mana, he simply mentally recited his oath and activated his defensive oath skill—Iron Bulwark.

“I shall not falter, nor shall I yield. Let every strike break upon me like waves against stone.”

And, as expected, Therin had survived the collision. After that, he mentally recited his second oath and unleashed his offensive oath skill—Knight’s Resolve.

“To uphold my honor, I shall defy all limits—even if it means borrowing strength from tomorrow.”

Oath skills were a double-edged sword. One had to remain resolute in their oath; otherwise, they would receive a backlash. And, oath skills couldn’t be activated in all scenarios, only when someone challenged that oath.

Finally, these skills were the hardest to master. Despite these restrictions, oath skills were immensely powerful.

Still, Alaric somehow managed to dodge his strikes and retaliate. It was far more potent than expected, but he had withstood it. This time, Therin was certain he would witness fear in Alaric’s eyes.

But instead of fear, he saw him smirking. Alaric even taunted him. Therin simply couldn’t tolerate it anymore and unleashed his most powerful attack. He was fully convinced that this final strike would defeat Alaric. Yet, fate had other plans for him.

A cold fear gripped his heart when he witnessed the mana construct that Alaric flung at him, gliding toward him at tremendous speed. Therin had already experienced its power, but this time, the attack felt slightly different.

Sir Baldwin had cautioned him about pushing the oath skills too far, especially the second one.

Borrowing strength from his future self meant crippling himself in the future. He had no idea how many days, weeks, or even months it would cost him if he kept using its power. But he had no other choice.

Alaric was younger than him and he had withstood Therin’s full-power attack. Now, his eyes gleamed with a question - Can you do it too?

Therin bellowed and empowered himself with [Knight’s Resolve]. Then, he poured every ounce of mana into [Iron Bulwark]. Yes, I can. I’ll show you.

He drove his shield into the ground, crouched behind it, and steeled himself for impact. The shield expanded to four times its size, shrouded in deep grey energy, prepared for the oncoming attack.

It will be just like last time. I just have to hold on until the power fades from the attack.

However, when the swirling, layered ball of mana smashed into his shield, he experienced something completely different. The outer layer of the mana construct burst, and Therin immediately felt the power drain from his [Iron Bulwark] skill.

The ball of devastation tore through the grey energy surrounding his shield and made contact. Unlike last time, Therin didn’t just feel the impact rattle his bones. It completely shattered them and launched his whole body dozens of meters back.

He witnessed the sickly ball gouge a hole through the shield and his body, triggering a massive explosion behind him before he lost consciousness.