Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 746: Chapter 605: Liberation_1

Divine Blade: Wrath and Hatred.

Its weight was a constant: three kwan, five catties, one tael, and six tiny scruples—unchanging.

In its normal state, the blade was six feet long. However, according to the wielder’s will, it could freely extend anywhere between four inches and one hundred nineteen feet, three inches, and one-tenth of an inch—quite convenient.

It was indeed the perfect item for home or travel, for killing or robbing, the essential gift for friends and relatives.

The recipients usually burst into tears of excitement.

Just like now.

Raymond had already shed tears of grief and anger.

After piercing his opponent’s body like thunder, it quickly retracted, returning to Huai Shi’s hand at the length of a common saber.

Indeed, this was the best.

Regrettably, the subtle touch transmitted through the Sword Blade didn’t manage to pierce the heart.

The hidden trump card was exposed at the very last moment.

It probably passed between the lobes of the lungs, causing a penetrating wound. However, the organs were not damaged, which was no big issue for Sublimators.

It was a pity that Raymond, somewhat panicked, covered his wound and missed the chance to counterattack.

Soon he realized this was the Simulated Classroom, and there was no need to worry about the Curse within him leaking out. He shook his head in self-deprecation and relaxed.

But his eyes continued to well up with tears.

Completely uncontrolled.

Because the pain he felt was not from the blade’s wound, but from the infection brought about by the venomous Source Substance spreading through his chest.

It wasn’t the Grudge within Huai Shi’s Source Substance, but some kind of natural chemical reaction.

A pain left over from the past.

He’d been a motherless child, wandering the borderlands. He’d faced life and death for many years with no good outcome. To save his partner, he even became a ’second fifth.’ Yet, his own days were numbered; he was about to die, still burdened with an overwhelming debt that forced him to remain in the Ivory Tower, toiling away. He finally took a break for a trip, only to return and find someone trying to hack him with a sword.

Such a life, how shameful, how hollow, how meaningless.

Birth, aging, sickness, death—living is truly too painful.

Wanting to die.

Wanting to throw himself in front of that blade without a second thought... to let it splendidly end his life, as if it were performing kaishaku for a samurai, taking his head with final dignity.

To be done with it all.

Wanting... release!

When Raymond finally came to his senses, the tearful eyes he turned towards Huai Shi were filled with shock and wariness. ”Where did you get such a sinister thing?”

Huai Shi looked down at the sword in his hand and thought for a moment. ”Someone gave it to me. Do you like it?”

Like it.

Completely love it to death.

Literally—he loved it to the point of wanting to die.

”You actually forced a middle-aged man to recall his own dark past!”

Raymond raised his hand, ignoring the tears streaming down his face, and wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth. ”Daring to use such a despicable thing on a lowly corporate drudge, are you ready to pay the price?”

Although his lips still bore his usual casual smirk, his gaze had turned tranquil, as solemn as iron.

Without a doubt, he had gotten serious.

Huai Shi gave it some thought and said seriously, ”If I’ve caused any offense, I can apologize.”

”No need, because you are about to regret it.”

Under a blanket of fervor, Raymond, glowing red-hot, flashed a bloody grin. His blood vaporized into a rising mist, and suddenly, he was up close!

Metallic light and a hurricane swept across.

Roaring Outburst.

It was like an angry heavy truck barreling head-on, a hurricane in its wake, crushing walls, impediments, and all unworthy things, grinding them to dust.

Huai Shi slid back over ten meters, the Divine Blade: Wrath and Hatred in his hand trembling unceasingly. The webbing between his thumb and index finger split, threads of blood seeping out.

Yet, it wasn’t over. Raymond’s assault didn’t pause for a moment and was upon him again.

The Axe Halberd thrust forward.

Huai Shi, leaning back, dipped incredibly low, then, following the contraction of his muscles, surged forward like a coiled spring, brushing past the Axe Halberd.

Yu Step, Center-Stab!

My blade is caught!

The iron ball covered in barbs flung out with its chain, twining around Huai Shi’s Sword Blade and yanking brutally. The sudden burst of power threw the blade off course.

Raymond, one hand on the Axe Halberd, produced a set of Shackles with his other hand, using them to bind Huai Shi’s counter-attacking sword.

At extremely close range, he smiled at Huai Shi.

”Let me show you the prowess of the War Dogs during feeding time!”

As he spoke, he raised his forehead and, like an Iron Hammer, smashed it forward. It hit Huai Shi squarely on the head, momentarily darkening his vision.

But the Divine Blade: Wrath and Hatred had already broken free. It shattered the iron chain. In that complete darkness, guided only by the sound of the wind, it sliced the Axe Halberd in Raymond’s hand in two.

The hefty weapon split in half from the center.

When Huai Shi opened his eyes, however, Raymond had already drawn a brand-new weapon from the Simulated Classroom—a familiar shape, identical to Avery’s: the Teutonic Great Sword!

With the Heavy Sword in hand, Raymond’s aura became even more ferocious.

In his Blood-Burning State, the sword blade was raised high, chopping down toward Huai Shi’s forehead!

”—Justice descends from the heavens!”

Steel crossed in mid-air, grinding against each other. The sparks that burst forth illuminated the pupils of both men.

The hurricane roared past, and then, everything returned to silence.

A sudden stop.

Huai Shi’s right arm, severed by the Heavy Sword, fell to the ground. But instead of his skull being crushed as expected, the blade that had penetrated Raymond’s forehead remained lodged between blood and bone.

Third round: the outcome was clear.

The Simulated Classroom reset.

Yet the danger of that last moment lingered in Huai Shi’s body, not yet dissipated.

He had underestimated the threat Raymond posed in his enraged state and had almost been taken out by a combo.

Although Raymond’s speed and strength had improved qualitatively in his Blood-Burning State—similar to a power burst—that well-honed barrage of strikes was flawless.

He stood firmly on unbeatable ground.

The worst outcome would have been mutual destruction, at most.

If the blade couldn’t freely extend and retract, even his speed in the Overload State wouldn’t have been enough.

In his daze, he almost thought he was facing old Avery, the ’Non-Heaven’ who had walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

With the reset, Raymond reappeared twenty paces away. He pleasantly cracked his neck and remarked softly, ”Ah, I haven’t had such a thrilling fight in a long time... It’s rare for me to feel this excited. You wouldn’t mind if I increase the difficulty a bit, would you?”

”Please do,” Huai Shi nodded.

Raymond then scrolled through the preset list in the Simulated Classroom. Before long, a complete set of heavy Iron Armor covered him, including his face.

The thick Iron Armor still bore the marks of sword slashes, with overlapping stains of blood turning blackish-red.

A Round Shield was fixed to his right arm. However, the Eye of Nightmare emblem on it had been scraped off by a Sharp Blade, leaving only the faint outline that once represented the Dragonborn Knights.

From the majestic Lion Helmet, two streams of fiery breath were slowly exhaled.

A pair of emerald eyes opened, filled with mirth and ferocity.

Undoubtedly, having returned to his prime and shed the Curse’s influence, this body felt so light it was like a dream.

”I really miss this youthful feeling.”

”Come on, class is in session, Teacher Huai Shi.”

He moved his neck freely and gestured with a hand toward his opponent. ”The students are watching, after all. Don’t hesitate too long.”

”Are you being so cooperative?”

The Blade of Resent in Huai Shi’s hand quivered, shaking off the remaining blood.

After a moment of thought, he finally lifted his head with a smile.

”Then this lesson will be about ’Piercing Armor’.”

The Overload State activated.

He executed Yu Step, and amidst a roar, the Blade of Resent, now massively increased in scale, whistled forth!

「One hour later.」

The violent collisions in the Simulated Classroom finally ceased.

When the simulated scenery dispersed, both men were covered in a fine sweat.

It had been a vigorous and invigorating sparring match and duel.

However, as the fight progressed, even in a simulation where death held no fear, there was little to gain by continuing. Thanks to Raymond’s cooperation, Huai Shi had fully grasped the effects of the Divine Blade: Wrath and Hatred and its various parameters.

As for the subsequent synergy between the Soloist’s Stigma and the Blade of Resent, and the deeper layer of hidden Transformation it enabled, Raymond flatly refused to be a target any longer.

Being struck by the blade forced him to recall his own dark past; the resulting mortifying and powerless sensation of shame was unbearable.

For an enemy, the blade’s effects were truly despicable.

Young people with little experience might be less affected. However, the more worldly and experienced a person was, the harder they found it to resist the despair that accompanied aging, illness, and the approach of death, and the more they longed for release.

After being cut, the sensation one felt was not Grudge, but a desire for death.

If Raymond’s perception wasn’t mistaken, the blade probably also possessed an effect that devoured Source Substance. Its true target, however, was the Stigma itself—it was merely that in the Simulated Classroom, the Stigma data was fixed and thus could not be affected.

That blade is alive. He was certain of this, absolutely certain.

To this, Huai Shi did not demur.

When he waved his hand, dismissing the Blade of Resent, its steel form disassembled into countless iron feathers, which returned to the Buried Sacred Place.

Through forging and smelting, that iron-bound despair had been instilled into the entire Crow Flock. It was borne collectively by them, and thus, the Blade of Resent had become the embodiment of the Crows.

Their shared origin made this integration so seamless.

Now, the vicious blade was the Crow Flock’s talons. It followed their instinctive craving for evolution, imbued with an insatiable hunger and greed, even daring to feed on Disasters and miracles...

This was the gift the Sun Caster had left for Huai Shi.

As long as he accepted the legacy of the Forgers, a grand path lay ahead of him.

The only problem was...

Huai Shi scratched his head, feeling a bit lost.

Where the hell am I supposed to find so many Sublimators and Solidifiers to feed them?