Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 116: Main Island

Kaiser exhaled softly, then attacked the old man. Surprise flashed in Pin-Man’s eyes. He immediately blocked and counterattacked.

Kaiser raised his sword to block the counterattack, but he was a bit too late. Yet—

Clang!

Somehow, his blade blocked something invisible. Distancing himself from the old man, he turned his blade slightly.

"Have you ever heard of a technique called ’hindrance’?"

Pin-Man paused, growing curious and alert.

"A technique, you say? It must be frightening too."

Kaiser shook his head softly. "No. It’s quite the opposite really."

Summoning the Glass String into his other hand, he held it gently.

"It is just a control technique used to limit a target’s movements. Nothing too complicated."

Smiling faintly, Pin-Man asked. "Don’t you think exposing this is stupid?"

"It doesn’t matter. Hindrance is inevitable."

As soon as his voice dropped, Kaiser lashed out with the string. Pin-Man reacted instantly, swinging his sword to cut it apart.

This was the best possible action, yet utterly predictable.

At the last second, Kaiser retracted the string, making Pin-Man’s sword cut through empty air.

Kaiser took advantage of that moment of disruption in his balance. He swooped in, smoothly carving a blade arc towards the man’s thighs.

Pin-Man adjusted his stance, raising his shin to block Kaiser’s blade. The attack was successfully nullified, but he wasn’t happy at all.

The thin string was already right before his left eyeball.

’Damn brat!’

He frantically leaned back, the string missing him by mere inches. Before he could regain his footing, Kaiser was already upon him.

Kaiser dismissed his sword and grabbed the man’s wrist. Pressing his thumb into a cluster of veins, he forced Pin-Man to release his grip on the thin sword.

"Brat-!"

He retaliated with a sharp kick, forcing Kaiser to disengage temporarily. Picking up his dropped sword, he struggled to tighten his grip properly.

"Don’t get agitated—yet."

Kaiser consoled him sincerely, then moved his hand quickly. The glass string coiled several times, forming a spinning lattice that wanted to swallow the hunched man.

"Grr."

Growling in anger, Pin-Man used his wind affinity to escape the snare, colliding with the railings of the bridge. Understanding that he could no longer handle Kaiser easily, he became serious.

’Eh?’ He suddenly blinked, feeling weightless. ’The... railings?’

He looked up, watching the bridge recede rapidly above him. Even as he was swallowed by the lightless abyss below, he failed to realize how he had fallen.

Kaiser immediately dropped to the ground, his adrenaline fading along with the danger.

His vision grew blurry, and every part of him screamed of pain and exhaustion. Even then, he still forced himself to stand. He glanced at the missing portion of the railing which had been cut by the glass string.

’Thankfully, he didn’t notice the trap I set and collided with the railing, thinking it’d hold him steady.’

Dragging his battered body, he summoned the Thunderhorn. Climbing onto its back, he quietly ordered it to cross the bridge.

Then, he went unconscious.

......

The Main Island was extremely large, spanning thousands of kilometers. It was divided into four different sections. The bridge Kaiser used was connected to the Southern Region.

This section of the Main Island stretched across a vast expanse of jagged cliffs and rolling highlands where storms never truly faded. Dark clouds gathered low above the land, flashing occasionally with distant lightning that illuminated the towering stone spires scattered across the terrain.

The wind was fierce and restless, sweeping across fields of tall, silver grass that bent and whispered under its force. Deep ravines split the earth in long, crooked lines, while the constant rumble of thunder echoed through the valleys like the breath of a slumbering giant.

When Kaiser regained consciousness, he was lying on the stony group, staring at the dark clouds above him.

’I survived. Yay!’

He thought flatly, then rose with a groan. The holes punctured into his body by the thin sword had healed, though he still felt prickling pain through his skin.

’Thunderhorn must have been forcefully dismissed after I ran out of essence.’

His crystal core was totally dry, though he could feel essence flowing into him at a very slow pace. Crossing his legs, he summoned his storage relic and brought out a few soul crystals to replenish his essence.

Within half an hour, his essence had recovered by half, enough to sustain him in combat. Stretching his arms, he stood up and looked around.

He was standing on a rocky elevation, the ground being some distance away from him. It was nighttime already, but the lightning flashes in the dark clouds subtly illuminated the surroundings.

"The Southern Region?"

His eyes suddenly narrowed, spotting a dark silhouette crawling in the distance. It was probably a beast—nothing too significant.

He ignored it, choosing to check on his stats again.

[Kaiser Solace]

[True Identity - Beyonder]

[Ability - Freedom]

[Ability Rank - Error]

[Affinity - [Darkness] ]

[Realm - Awakened]

[Rank - 1]

[Soul Trait - [Eyes of Sequence] ]

[Trait - [Cursed Voice] ]

[Relics - [Unremarkable Sword] [Asura Vest] [Nameless Fang] [Virtuous Sorrow] [Glass String] [Wraith’s Venom] [Pin Blade] ]

[Shadows - [Cursed Knight] [Bottom Arachnid] [Thunderhorn] ]

’Hm? I got the pin blade. Looks like that old man died down there.’

He summoned the weapon, a thin silver sword manifesting into his hand.

Its hilt was made from wood, but the blade, as thin as a finger, seemed to be made of some mysterious lunar metal. It felt weightless, but Kaiser could already sense its sharpness. It was exactly the same from Pin-Man.

’It has to be an Evolved Relic, right? But of what tier?’

Curious, he checked out the weapon’s stats.

[Pin Blade]

[Rank: Tier III Evolved Relic]

[Function 1: Any punctured wounds made by the blade bleeds more profusely]

[Function 2: Augments the wielder’s speed]

[Function 3: Erases the presence of its wielder]

[Memory: A blind princess, broken and discarded by her family, carves her way to the throne using a thin sword. Before her, all forces bowed] 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

As he read the memory, an image flashed in his mind. A blindfolded princess sat atop a throne, her royal robes stained with blood. Beneath her, several bodies lay lifeless, their opened eyes wide with terror.

’A princess...? Really?’