Chapter 1305: Eternal Flame
Bright fire ignited into the swords of the Rebornians. Their light was enough to illuminate the entirety of the dark cavern, as if a miniature sun had appeared.
Levi, Theresa, and even the Magical Monsters had to shy away from the illumination of the Rebornian’s flames. Their power coursed through the ground itself, creating a slight tremor that went with the same beat as the flow of flames.
"Ha!" The first Rebornian battalion marched forwards, meeting the Magical Monsters head on.
They swung their swords forward, courageously, undauntingly. The flames that their swords conjured were wide and overbearing. And because of that, a literal bulwark appeared in front of the Rebornian army.
Made out of these flames, the Magical Monsters found themselves burned at the very same moment they tried to bash their way through inside the Rebornian army.
"First form! Eternal Defense of the Phoenix!"
It was at this point that Levi and Theresa stared at the conjured bulwark with mesmerized eyes.
There was something about this wall. Something powerful, something familiar, that was tickling something on the back of their head. They’d seen this before. Where had they seen this before?
It wasn’t until Caliburn suddenly laughed out loud did they wake up from their stupor.
"HAHAHA! Magnificent!" Caliburn shouted. "Our little juniors have done well for themselves, haven’t they?"
"You are correct, Patriarch," said an elder Lionheart beside Caliburn. "They need a little more practice before they reach perfection, but with the amount of practice they had, this isn’t bad at all."
"We’ll give you a reward once we get back!" said another elder.
Theresa put the two and two together. That wall was a manifestation of the Eternal Flame Swordstyle.
She wasn’t able to realize it immediately. After all, she knew that the Lionhearts had only recently become allies with Reborn.
Yes, she’d been told that Caliburn taught them their sacred swordstyle. But she would have never thought that the Rebornian army would be able to use it already!
That flaming bulwark was an impenetrable wall! Even those Nascent Spirit-level Magical Monsters were of no use!
The monkeys that tried to scale it would find their paws burned down to the bones before they reached the top.
Even the winged creatures could not get over the structure. Somehow, the temperature above the wall was even hotter than the flames itself! They’d get turned into fried chicken within seconds!
Seeing this impossible sight, the adventurers watching from the side couldn’t help but express their doubts.
"This is unbelievable. Aren’t those Rebornian soldiers only in the Body Formation realm? How are they able to defend against those magical monsters?"
This was answered by a wizened veteran who knew more about the art of war than most.
"This is the power of an army. Individually, these soldiers will be torn to shreds by these magical monsters. But together, their powers are added up to reach heights that are equivalent to a Nascent Spirit cultivator.
Some say that 5,000 well-trained soldiers is equivalent to a Nascent Spirit cultivator."
The adventurers turned silent upon that realization. A few seconds later, someone barked up a new question.
"But that still isn’t enough to fight against 50 of those Nascent Spirit magical monsters!"
The veteran adventurer nodded. "Normally, yes. But this Rebornian army had learned the Eternal Flame swordstyle of the Lionhearts.
If an entire army used this swordstyle, their strength will not be added up together, but multiplied instead. Now, 1,000 soldiers will be equivalent to 1 Nascent Spirit cultivator.
That is the reason why the Eternal Flame swordstyle is sought after by everyone in the world–even the Conglomerates."
This fact was very clear to both Levi and Theresa. They watched the Rebornian army with awe and a bit of jealousy in their eyes.
They were showing the very strength of the Eternal Flame sword style!
Meanwhile, the Rebornian army continued their defense.
The 2nd battalion separated from the main body. They split into two, going off into a flank on the Magical Monsters.
"Second Form: Pincers of the Phoenix Claws!"
Their swords erupted in flames. This time, their fire was a little less brighter than the 1st battalion. However, it was sharper. The flames looked like it could cut something.
Suddenly, large tridents manifested next to the bulwark. Numbering in the hundreds, these weapons began to prod the magical monsters from the side, causing tremendous damage on the horde.
The creatures winced and pulled back. They didn’t bleed. The flames from the trident cauterized the wound the moment they were inflicted.
"It’s so hot!" said one of the adventurers.
Even though they were so far away from the thick of it all, they still felt the extreme ascent in temperature.
This was all because of the Bulwark and the Tridents. Their flames compounded upon each other, turning the entire cavern into something hellishly hot.
With these two Sword Forms, the Rebornian army was able to withstand the first onslaught of magical monsters, causing the creatures to retreat for a moment and assess their situation.
But it seemed that the Rebornians weren’t going to let this opportunity go.
Michael appeared from behind them, floating in the air with a calm look in his face.
The flames seemed to make his golden hair glow even more ethereally.
He then took out his Spatial Ring and unleashed everything inside.
Frozen lotus petals appeared in the air. There were hundreds of them. Their cool, blue aura was somehow able to overpower the heat coming off of the Eternal Flame swordstyle.
In fact, they seemed to make the soldiers’ flames weaken entirely!
This was the Ice-Petals of the Frozen Lotus.
And it was the antithesis of the Eternal Flame Swordstyle. It was the very thing that could extinguish their flames.
Frost permeated the entire cavern, creating a thin layer of ice everywhere.
The Bulwark was not able to avoid its fate. Ice formed all over its surface, freezing even the flames into nonexistence.
The tridents, on the other hand, froze in mid-air, before the cold seemed to have turned it so brittle that even a small gust of wind had shattered them into pieces.
Caliburn smiled. "Yes! Death is not the end! It is only the beginning for the Eternal Flame!"