Chapter 71 - Hero’s Training (2)
When the place was built, he had driven Beorein Michael hard into making this training ground. A powerful magic was placed, and most expenditure of force shouldn"t even leave a dent. Of course, if Kairen made up his mind, he could destroy the place with his power. However, it was an impossible task if one considered Azell"s level of magical energy.
Havanz spoke.
“To be more precise, lightning fell.”
“Lightning strike? Are you saying he did this with an electrical attack?”
“I don"t mean it like that. Rain came down last night, and lightnings were falling. Sir Azell was. .h.i.t by a lightning.”
“…….”
Havanz had on an expression that indicated he knew his words sounded preposterous.
“It was after Sir Azell"s training session had ended. He was getting treatment inside the estate. However, he excused himself when the rain and wind started to rage outside. In the distance, the sound of lightning rang out. After a while, Sir Azell stood in the middle of the training grounds with his sword raised into the air, and the lightning struck him.”
“…so?”
“I thought Sir Azell had died. I ran to him in surprised. Please don"t ridicule me by saying I"m crazy. The lightning was surrounding Sir Azell"s entire body.”
“…….”
“Then he expelled the power in one go, and it parted the wall open. You can come see it for yourself. It sliced opened the wall, and the trees on the other side was all demolished.... It left behind a huge wound that’s about several hundred meter in length.”
“That"s impossible.”
Kairen let out a moan. There was a technique that allowed one to receive, control and emit the power of a lightning? A human who could do this existed?
The more surprising part was the fact that he had read a historical account of a human doing a similar feat.
Havanz spoke as he observed Kairen"s expression.
“I"m sure you are having the same thought as me. In fact, Sir Azell confirmed my suspicions.”
“What did he say?”
“Sir Azell named the technique as "Thunder Dragon"s Horn".”
“…….”
Kairen let out a low moan.
Thunder Dragon"s Horn.
It was a trump card technique used on the battlefield by the Hero Azell Karzark, who had defeated the Dragon Demon King Atein. His single strike had been something more than a lightning sent down by nature. The lightning was amplified to a much stronger strike. In the records, it was said he cut several thousand of the Dragon Demon army in half using this technique.
Of course, Kairen hadn"t believed the record to be true. He thought it was an exaggerated legend. He had also thought the part where Azell Karzark called down the lightning to use the Thunder Dragon"s Horn was a falsehood.
“Such an event happened right in front of my eyes. In truth, I thought the stories of my grandfather"s exploits told by my parent were mixed in with idle boasts. However... The "Thunder Dragon"s Horn" shown by Sir Azell was as it was described to me.”
“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d… I really am curious as to what his real ident.i.ty is.”
“I"m also very curious. If someone told me Sir Azell was the reincarnation of the missing Azell Karzark, I would believe it. That"s how I feel right now.”
“This is not going to work. I"m going to immediately...”
“If you are going to say you"ll come here immediately, then please don"t. It is the middle of the night right now. You will cause a lot of inconveniences.”
“…….”
“Up until a moment ago, Sir Azell was using another fresh method to torture himself. He fell over from exhaustion. I"ll tell him you"ll be coming here tomorrow morning.”
“All right. If you want me be patient, you"ll have to give a detailed account of what this fresh method of torture entails.”
“I"m getting thirsty from talking so much. I feel like drinking some good alcohol.”
“……I"ll bring some tomorrow. Stop getting cute with me. Hurry up and talk.”
“Understood. Today he…….”
Havanz spoke so much that he was worried he would have a hoa.r.s.e throat afterward. However, he faithfully gave his report as a spy.
3
Azell"s life at the Lance mountain estate was regimented.
He woke up in the morning at 6, and he carried out meditation and light training. Then he had breakfast at 7. After a brief break, he trained until lunch time where he took a brief break. After lunch, he trained until the evening when dinner was served at 6. After a brief break, he went out for a night training session. He finished all his training before 10, and he returned to eat a night snack. Then he would receive treatment. Afterwards, he did some light training before he went to sleep at midnight.
He slept for 6 hours daily.
If one considered Azell"s superhuman capabilities, the amount of time he slept was long. If Azell was leading a normal life, he only needed two hours of sleep to get similar benefits.
However, he was pushing himself to the edge, and Azell decided that was the minimum amount of sleep he needed. It had been about two weeks since he started this plan, and he was satisfied with the result.
Havanz spoke.
“Basically, he spend about 14 hours a day training. Moreover, it is a harsh training where he pushes himself within an inch of his life. He does it for 7 days a week.”
“It is impossible for normal people, but it isn"t impossible for a Spirit Order pract.i.tioner. ”
Kairen replied. A superhuman could handle a much more demanding schedule compared to a regular person.
“Still, he is keeping up such an unforgiving pace for 14 hours a day, and 7 days a week. It is frightening.”
Moreover, when Havanz told Kairen about Azell"s training method, it was so difficult that Kairen was suspicious as to whether the information was true or not. The level of difficulty in terms of technique and intensity was almost unbelievable.
“So where"s the young fellow at?”
The person, who posed the question, was Beorein. He couldn"t sit on his curiosity, so he had followed after Kairen.
Havanz spoke.
“He is probably running through the wild mountain like a madman. He is probably conducting his self many-to-one mountain warfare.”
“…self many-to-one mountain warfare? What the h.e.l.l is that?”
“He equips his clones with weapons and armors then he scatters them. As he runs through the mountain, he fights a many-to-one battle. Before the two of you arrived here, I confirmed his activities.”
“…….”
The self sparring had evolved into self many-to-one mountain warfare. It felt as if they were listening to some fantasy. Kairen and Beorein looked at each other, and they shared a strong empathetic feeling with each other.
Havanz took the two of them towards the training facility. First, he wanted to show them the remnants of the destruction caused by the "Thunder Dragon"s Horn."
“My G.o.d.”
Beorein almost let out a moan as he mumbled to himself.
The training ground was made by cutting into the side of the mountain. It had a diameter of 50 meter, and the training ground was steeply terraced. Moreover, it was surrounded by walls that was over 10 meters high. It was made akin to a castle wall. Moreover, this st.u.r.dy wall had been reinforced with incredibly powerful protection magic.
The wall had been split.
Kairen attentively looked through the uneven gap that had been created, and he mumbled to himself.
“That guy did this…….”
The impression was made two days ago, but they could still feel the trace of a strong magic.
Beorein spoke.
“If you told me this fellow was a magician disguised as a Spirit Order pract.i.tioner, I would believe it.”
“It seems magicians aren"t the only ones that can create destruction on a large scale.”
“No, I"m not talking about that. Try focusing on the flow of magic in the immediate surrounding. An unbelievable event is occurring.”
“Mmmm?”
Kairen gave a quizzical look, and he did as he was told. Then his eyes widened.
“What the h.e.l.l? The magic of the training grounds is being drawn outwards?”
“It seems it is the work of our friend. If one thought about it, the self many-to-one mountain warfare isn"t something he could maintain with his own magic. He used his authority over this facility"s Control magic to draw out the magic towards outside.”
“Is that suppose to be possible?”
“Until now, I didn"t think it was possible for a Spirit Order pract.i.tioner to do what he did. It makes me want to immediately get a hold of him and ask him how he did it.”
Kairen and Beorein elevated their bodies to get on top of the wall. They observed the remnant of the attack that stretch far beyond the wall. The two of them became speechless.
“…….”
“…Kairen. I want to ask you something.”
“What is it?”
“Can you do this?”
Kairen didn"t have an immediate answer to the question.
Across the split wall, evidence of large scale destruction continued along the ridge of the mountain. The trees that had been within the attack"s trajectory had been uprooted as it was destroyed and burned. There furrow about 2 meters deep. The more surprising fact was that the mark of the attack ended at around 500 meters. However, they presumed the attack had traveled much farther than that distance.
Beorein gave an estimate.
"If we a.s.sume the attack had followed across the terrain, the energy was released towards the sky.
“It split the peak in half.”
The peak of the mountain had really been cut in half, and one side had collapsed. Kairen observed the vestige.
“Mmmm. If we are talking about pure destructive power, I could probably do it.”
“Really?”
“However, the attack was very focused. I can"t guarantee it. In what way could a lightning be harnessed to be able to leave behind such a trace?”
Kairen had studied martial arts and Dragon Ridge arts for a span of a human lifetime. He wasn"t a magician, but he had become very adept at changing various elements into magic. He was able to cause a natural disaster in a very limited area.
Did a lightning really have enough power to leave behind this remnant? Was this really the power of this element? He didn"t have an answer.
Beorein spoke.
“I can see why he wanted a training ground where no friends and humans are nearby. Anyways, shall we go observe this thing called self many-to-one mountain warfare?”
Havanz led the two people towards Azell"s location.
“Huk, huk…….”
Azell was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess as he leaned against a tree. His heart pulsed roughly, and it was sending a signal that his body had almost reached its limit. However, Azell ignored this warning. He used the vibration caused by the pulse of his heart to generate a ma.s.sive amount of magic. He filled the magic into his Energy Pulse as it bolstered the vitality of his body.
This wasn"t really a smart thing to do. If he overloaded the system like this, he could use a great amount of power in the short term. However, it would ruin his body in the long term.
However, this was all within Azell"s calculations. He had to use various methods to push his body towards its limit.
At that moment, he heard a rustle from above his head. Azell moved his body without even looking up.
Pah-ahng!
The sword clashed against sword, and a sound of an explosion rang out instead of the sound of steel. The blue light exploded, and the surrounding trees shook noisily.
Azell was a beat late in finding his ambusher. His enemy was himself, who was wearing a mishmash of armors. The clone was a perfect replicate of Azell"s appearance. However, it didn"t have any injury or blemish. The clone gave off a very inhuman aura.
The clone immediately adjusted its stance, and it attacked him. It hadn"t just run towards him. It used a mental wave to confuse Azell"s senses, and a powerful lightning sword strike was swung towards him.
Pah-jee-jee-jeek!
Right when Azell parried the attack, another clone ran out from the rear thicket.
It had perfectly hidden its presence, so Azell didn"t realize it was there until it had approached a certain distance. However, he was able to use his vision and sound to pick out its presence.
Azell"s body moved fast like a streak of lightning.
CHul-koo-ruhk! Chul-kuhk!
Then the ownerless swords and armors fell to the floor.
Azell maintained his pose for a brief moment, and he suddenly spoke.
“If you do that, there is a chance you might be attacked, Duke.”
“Hmmm. I wanted to get in a blow, but you really have a nose of a dog.”
Kairen had hidden himself on top of a tree. After observing the situation, he was inching forward when Azell became aware of him.
“I"m not done with my training yet... Well, I guess I"ll have to end it here.”
Azell sheathed his sword. Then a magical wave started to flow out from various places inside the forest.
Beorein, who had been hiding at some distance, exclaimed in surprise.
“There are so many of them.”
Twelve clones walked towards Azell. They all looked like Azell, but they all had a perfectly expressionless face. They were becoming blurry now, and they were semi-translucent. One could see the surrounding through their bodies.
Azell spoke as they approached.
“It is tiring to carry around all these equipments. Let"s head on back first.”
Azell ordered the expressionless clones to pick up all the equipments left behind by the defeated clones. Then they returned to the estate. Beorein had on an expression that was akin to someone wanting to run towards the restroom. He wanted to ask questions, but Azell had said they would talk when they reached the estate. This had been turned into a trial of patience for him.