"We'll see how long you can keep that arrogance," Aurelius said coldly as a gale of wind burst from his sword.
Izroth kicked off his back foot and created so distance between himself and Aurelius.
At the sa ti, a vortex of wind several ters wide began to swirl around Aurelius.
"Windstorm Fourth Style: Restless Cyclone!" Aurelius roared as he swept his sword down before him.
When he perford this action, the wind vortex instantly expanded in all directions.
Every place the wind vortex passed beca riddled with deep cuts as the ground in its path was completely destroyed.
In addition, almost imdiately after he launched his attack, Aurelius shifted his stance as a mixture of the lightning and wind elents converged at a point above his head.
Bzzzt...!
Several waves of violent electricity discharged from the mixture of elents as the Storming Bulwark that encompassed Aurelius seed to grow in strength.
"Windstorm Third Style: Storm Chaser."
The mont Aurelius spoke, the elents of lightning and wind above his head sped into his sword as the two beca one. He stomped his foot on the ground while he simultaneously drove his sword into the earth.
Rmmmmble!
When Aurelius' sword entered the earth, it felt as though the entire outskirts of the Netherly Shadow Fields started to tremble.
Then, out of nowhere, several twisters materialized. Each of the twisters had strong winds that could easily slice through tough tals. In addition, there was a powerful source of lightning flowing throughout its core.
Every ti the twister completed a full rotation, which roughly took less than half a second, it released a terrifying bolt of lightning that contained a heavy sword intent.
...
anwhile, with the sudden arrival of the intense tremors and the atmospheric changes, the soldiers under Aurelius looked on in awe and fear.
"Is this the Pri Eques' true strength?" One of the soldiers comnted as he struggled to keep his balance due to the trembling earth.
"How could the Pri Eques of our Order be weak?"
"But, it looked like he was in a tough spot just a second ago..."
"Hey, don't be an idiot. Our Pri Eques was probably just playing with that guy. Now that he's serious, that guy doesn't stand a chance."
Despite the hectic environnt, the soldiers casually chatted among themselves.
After they witnessed Aurelius' power firsthand, their confidence rose to a new level. Having a Pri Eques like this, was there even a need for them to be concerned over the outco of this fight?
Vincent glanced over at the soldiers, who relaxed their guard.
"We are not here for a ti of leisure! Keep your wits about you!" Vincent scolded with a visible look of disappointnt in his eyes.
After his stern words, the soldiers stopped their casual chatter. But, several of the soldiers present seed displeased with how Vincent spoke to them.
"...Tch, he's just from a minor noble house that serves the Windstorm family. If it wasn't for the Pri Eques, then..." One of the soldiers muttered under his breath.
The soldiers who followed Aurelius were all from higher-standing noble families of the Tempest kingdom. After all, not just anyone could be by the side of soone from the Windstorm family.
However, Vincent was different from the rest of them. He ca from a minor noble family that served under the Windstorm family for many generations.
That minor noble family was nothing special. It had no sort of political power. Furthermore, its combat potential was not particularly high compared to others of similar standing. But, it was still not a family that could be touched, thanks to being under the Windstorm family.
Vincent returned his gaze to the battle ahead. He furrowed his brows as a frown soon found its way onto his face.
...
After Aurelius used the Windstorm Third Style: Storm Chaser and Windstorm Fourth Style: Restless Cyclone, the battlefield had beco a total ss.
The earth had been leveled and scarred. There were also nurous burn marks from the lightning thrown out by the twisters, while any resemblance of nearby plant life had been decimated or damaged beyond regrowth.
The twisters conjured by Aurelius lasted for nearly ten seconds before finally dispersing. At the sa ti, the wind vortex also vanished as the atmosphere began to revert to its previous state.
Aurelius swept his gaze over the aftermath of his destruction with a grin.
"In terms of raw destructive power, the third and fourth styles are ranked the highest among the Windstorm Sword Styles. Combined with the Storming Bulwark, there is no way that arrogant bastard could have survived." Aurelius said to himself.
After he scanned the surroundings thoroughly, Aurelius was unable to find a single trace of Izroth.
But, even after destroying Izroth, Aurelius still felt annoyed whenever he rembered that carefree look on his face.
"Didn't you say my family's swordsmanship was useless against you? Weren't you speaking so boldly not long ago? Now, look at you! You've beco nothing but the dust beneath my feet! Hahahaha!" Aurelius laughed mockingly.
Ranazera released a small sigh as she watched everything that unfolded.
"Second brother, what is it that you saw in such a person?" Ranazera thought to herself with a troubled expression.
She then uttered to herself, "Even after all this ti, I still cannot grasp what went on through that head of yours. Second brother... Did I not make the right choice...?"
Ranazera always struggled to understand her brother's intentions. But, ever since Izroth told her of his encounter with Robinarzin, she felt as if she had finally started to get a grasp on it. Unfortunately, the feeling was transient.
This battle, the war, the current state of her Tempest kingdom... Even now, the sixth princess still held her doubts and suspicions about it all.
However, among all that doubt and suspicion, there was sothing that bothered her. It was constantly gnawing and scratching in the depths of her mind during her whole journey with Izroth. But it was not until the mont he disappeared that Ranazera experienced a strange sense of emptiness.
Obviously, the two were by no ans close. They could not even be considered acquaintances, let alone friends. Nor did she abruptly develop romantic feelings toward him. Not to even ntion the fact that he was soone from an enemy kingdom who captured her against her will.
But still, despite all that, there was an emptiness present. Though it was not as though Ranazera was oblivious to the cause.
That gnawing and scratching in the depths of Ranazera's mind ca from so words Izroth had previously said to her.
"I may have close ties to Amaharpe, but the side I stand on is that of the Mortal Realm."—these were the words that stuck to Ranazera.
However, the words alone were not enough for it to dwell on Ranazera's mind for this long.
The tone of his voice, the look in his eyes, his deanor—all of it revealed soone who ant what they said wholeheartedly. There was no veil of lies or false niceties, only a simple truth that was solidly stood by.
In truth, a part of Ranazera was envious of Izroth's straightforward nature. As a princess of the royal family of Tempest, she always dealt with people who were deceptive and untrustworthy. They either wanted sothing from her as a princess of the royal family or because of her ties to the people of Tempest.
That's why eting soone like Izroth, who did not speak half-heartedly, was a nice change of pace. But was that really all there was that bugged her?
No, there was sothing more. Ranazera realized that sowhere along the way, she, too, had been sucked into that world of deception and lies. Everything that Tempest did, she told herself that it was necessary for the greater good. But she knew that was a lie. Even with the little influence and popularity that she had, it was always about doing what was expected of her by the royal family.
Though was that really the correct choice? This question had been on her mind ever since she heard of her second brother's "defection" to Proximus.
Her second brother was soone once loved by the people of Tempest. Now, his na was being used as a curse, and the bla for the war beginning had been shifted to him. All because he tried to do what he believed to be the right thing.
"My second brother knew the potential consequences of his actions, yet he still chose to follow his heart. I... Can I at least take a step forward in my own direction for the greater good that I believe in...?" Ranazera thought to herself as she clenched her fists.
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