Chapter 116: One Blade Severs a Mountain!

Wind thundered around the top of the television tower.

Joren stood with his blade lowered, looking at the eight fierce words carved into the steel plate.

Something that had been buried inside him for a long time finally seemed to break free.

The feeling was strange.

Like a seed forcing its way through frozen earth and seeing the sky for the first time.

A familiar blue panel appeared before his eyes.

[Final Edict recorded.]

Joren opened the details.

[Name: Final Edict]

[Description: This is no mortal technique. It is a declaration of war against every god and demon beneath heaven.]

[Demons are born from the heart, and severed by the blade. This Bladecraft does not merely cut flesh. It severs causality and breaks destiny. With this blade, all evil beneath heaven is measured. Whoever stands against me is a demon. Whoever becomes a demon may be slain.]

Joren read the lines slowly.

No numerical values.

Which meant no visible ceiling.

And every word carried the same brutal certainty.

This was what had emerged when his state of mind changed beneath the comprehension granted by [Peerless Blade Saint].

"Final Edict..."

He murmured the name.

[Heaven’s Sin] answered with a delighted hum.

Across its dark blade, strange gray white wisps began to flow through the existing patterns.

They looked almost primordial.

Like the first edge that had divided clarity from chaos when heaven and earth first separated.

Joren smiled faintly.

"Since I made it, I might as well see what it can do."

He turned away from the camp.

Far to the south, deeper inside the Fallen Zone, a black mountain range stretched across the horizon.

At least five thousand meters away.

Joren slowly raised [Heaven’s Sin].

"Sever."

The world went quiet.

Then space split.

A black fissure appeared in front of him and raced outward like a dragon tearing across the sky.

Air ruptured in its path.

Clouds opened cleanly.

Even the light around that slash seemed to bend.

Far ahead, the mountain range sat across the horizon like some enormous sleeping beast.

The invisible Blade Intent reached it.

For one brief moment, nothing happened.

Then the upper half of the thousand meter main peak shifted.

Slowly.

Almost gently.

It leaned to one side.

And fell.

Boom!

Only then did the delayed shockwave arrive.

The entire wilderness shook.

A violent blast spread from the mountain in every direction, hurling dust high into the sky until a massive mushroom cloud rose above the range.

Through the rolling debris, a trench thousands of meters long had appeared across the land.

Its depths could not be seen.

One blade.

One mountain, severed.

"So this is Final Edict..."

Joren studied the distant destruction and gave a satisfied nod.

And that had only been a casual strike.

If he truly went all out and layered his Talents on top of it...

Even a Rank Six expert might have to avoid that edge.

...

At the same time, twenty kilometers from the abandoned television tower, a black off road vehicle was racing along a wilderness road.

Screech!

The driver slammed on the brakes.

The vehicle spun halfway around and nearly slid into a ditch.

"What happened?"

Sable’s head slammed into the back of the front seat.

"Sir..."

The guard behind the wheel had gone pale.

One trembling hand pointed toward the horizon.

"Look over there..."

Sable frowned and followed his finger.

Then froze.

Far in the distance, part of the mountain range was simply gone.

Dust covered the sky.

Even from this far away, a terrifying force could be felt traveling through the earth.

Violent.

Destructive.

Domineering beyond reason.

That kind of power...

It did not feel human.

"This..."

Sable’s pupils contracted.

His voice came out slightly unsteady.

"With destruction on that scale... did a Rank Six beast emperor appear?"

"I knew it!"

"I fucking knew it!"

The first shock passed, and fear turned straight into anger.

Sable slapped his thigh, spun toward Manester and Kyo, and started shouting.

"Do you see that?"

"This is what your so called young hero has caused!"

"I told you the beast kings were setting a trap."

"I told you they were baiting him deeper!"

"And now look!"

He pointed toward the distant mushroom cloud.

"This is not just three beast kings anymore. There may be a Rank Six beast emperor involved!"

"That Joren... that idiot is probably already dust!"

Manester stared at the distant mountain.

For once, he had no answer.

That really was far too much.

Could it actually be a beast emperor?

His chest tightened.

He reached for the door.

Before he could move, Sable was already outside.

"Joren may be an incurable fool who brought this on himself!"

Protective force erupted from Sable as he shot toward the Fallen Zone.

"But the three thousand soldiers under him did nothing wrong!"

"I am an inspector from Highcrest City!"

"I will not stand here and watch those soldiers die for nothing!"

His voice faded into the distance.

A moment later, he was little more than a black speck disappearing through the yellow dust.

Inside the vehicle, Manester still had one hand on the door.

He stared after Sable for a second, then whipped around toward Kyo.

Kyo looked completely unhurried.

"Why did you not stop him?"

Manester slapped his thigh.

"If there really is a beast emperor out there, he is charging straight to his death!"

"And what the hell was that just now?"

"Did something happen to Joren?"

His thoughts were already tangled.

Joren surrounded by beast kings.

A possible beast emperor.

That mountain being cut apart.

None of it made sense.

Kyo calmly adjusted his sleeve.

His gaze passed over the distant mountain peak that had been sliced away.

Something complicated flashed in his eyes.

He hid it quickly.

"Manester."

Kyo sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Joren is not going to die."

Manester stared at him.

"What?"

"There is no what if."

Kyo looked toward the direction Sable had disappeared.

"And stop worrying about those beast kings."

"If I am right, all three of them are probably already dead."

Manester’s eyes widened.

He looked as though Kyo had just started speaking nonsense.

"What did you just say?"

"I said..."

Kyo watched Sable vanish into the distance, amusement creeping into his eyes.

"That kid broke through to Rank Five right there on the spot."