The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Chapter 73: The Time of Reckoning (4)

Dozens of massive water pillars surged upward, more than enough to flood Gourmet Street in an instant.

Heinz Schwarzenbeck’s ability to control such immense power with precision was impressive.

‘In terms of raw strength, he’s above me.’

The difference between a 7th-circle and an 8th-circle mage was no small gap.

However, Martin remained unconcerned.

‘Victory isn’t decided by raw power alone.’

He wasn’t boasting. Heinz, due to his age, couldn’t fully unleash his strength as an 8th-circle mage. Besides, even before his regression, Martin had already defeated Heinz once.

That’s why he had taken up this fight.

‘Even back then, I was only at the 7th circle.’

In fact, he had been weaker then since he hadn’t yet mastered the Arelia Swordsmanship.

‘I’ll ensure the same outcome this time.’

Martin resolved himself firmly.

Heinz, observing Martin’s expression, sneered.

“I’ll end this quickly, Young Master.”

Heinz aimed his sword confidently.

Rumble!

The dozens of water pillars split into countless streams, all rushing toward Martin. Each one vibrates intensely, infused with the light of an aura blade.

‘A powerful technique, but…’

Having faced it before, Martin knew exactly how to counter it.

He swung his sword through the air with terrifying speed.

Slash!

Golden trails emerged from his blade, weaving together like a net. As the water streams crashed into it, they all veered off course, scattering in every direction.

Yet, Heinz didn’t stop his onslaught.

‘He has more mana, but my output is stronger.’

Though Martin possessed an abnormal amount of mana due to the dragon’s curse, his innate ability was still stuck at the 3rd circle. In contrast, Heinz’s unique ability had reached the 4th circle.

With a clear advantage in certain aspects, Heinz pressed forward to exploit it.

Rumble!

The water streams grew fiercer, and their numbers multiplied.

Though Martin continued to swing his sword faster and faster, it became evident he was slowly being pushed back. The number of golden trails visibly decreased.

‘It seems I’ve won, Young Master.’

Confident in his victory, Heinz leisurely anticipated Martin’s next move.

At this point, Martin had two choices: either teleport to escape or launch a surprise attack, or manipulate the air to disrupt the water’s flow.

Heinz was confident he could counter either.

As he kept a close eye on Martin—

Whirr.

He saw the space around them distort.

‘Teleportation!’

Heinz’s eyes gleamed, and with a swift motion of his left hand, hundreds of water streams surged toward Martin, intending to entrap him.

But then, Martin’s face appeared much closer than expected.

Heinz had maintained a distance of over 100 meters to prevent any unexpected developments.

Yet now, the distance has shrunk to less than a meter.

‘Spatial Compression?!’

That was a technique famously used by Valdemar von Rustal—controlling the space between two points. It was known as one of the most complex skills within the realm of spatial abilities.

Even though Martin’s Spatial Domination was known to be the pinnacle of spatial abilities, Heinz hadn’t imagined he could master such an advanced technique in mere months.

This momentary lapse in judgment left Heinz in grave danger.

‘Damn it!’

Cursing inwardly, Heinz hastily crossed his arms in defense. Martin’s left fist, charged with the combined power of an aura blade and his unique ability Omni Distortion, was already hurtling toward Heinz’s face.

Crack!

Martin’s fist slammed into Heinz’s left forearm.

A sickening crack echoed, signaling that Heinz’s arm had fractured in a single blow.

But Heinz had no time to cry out in pain.

‘A battle can be decided in an instant.’

Martin seized the opportunity and unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.

Whoosh!

Martin swung his left leg like a whip, aiming for Heinz’s side.

Boom!

A loud explosion rang out as water splashed in all directions.

A shield of water had formed, barely managing to block Martin’s kick.

However, Heinz found no reason to celebrate. The shield, made with all his might, shattered from just one strike.

Martin smiled in satisfaction.

He had felt it before, but the sheer power was absurd.

‘As expected of Rothar Martial Arts!’

He could confidently say that mastering the Rothar Martial Art was one of the best decisions he had made since his regression.

“Hahp!”

Martin’s left fist shot through the air again, a brilliant golden light swirling fiercely around his arm.

Seeing this, Heinz felt his heart sink.

In this situation, neither defending nor dodging was possible.

Resigned to internal injuries, Heinz quickly activated his unique ability.

In response, a storm of water arrows materialized, launching themselves at Martin with deadly precision.

But that was all they did.

Boom! Boom!

Before the water arrows could even reach Martin, their paths deviated wildly, missing their mark.

Martin had manipulated the atmosphere with Omni Distortion, twisting space and compressing it into a protective barrier.

‘What good is having more power if you can’t gather it properly?’

The water arrows crashed into the nearby roads and buildings, destroying everything except their intended target.

In the meantime, Martin had closed the distance between them once again.

His left fist soared upward, aiming directly for Heinz’s chin.

Desperately, Heinz swung his sword down in a last-ditch attempt to block.

Shatter!

The sword, wrapped in Heinz’s blue aura blade, shattered into countless pieces. The fragments, still glowing with aura, scattered toward both of them.

But Martin didn’t care in the slightest.

As Martin’s spatial barrier shattered all of the fragments, Heinz recoiled in horror, leaping backward. The problem was, despite giving it his all, he barely managed to move a few meters.

“Martin Adalbert!”

Realizing he had once again fallen victim to Spatial Compression, Heinz cried out in desperation, crossing his arms hastily. Blue aura blades wrapped around his arms, and he reinforced them with a water barrier.

“Aaaargh!”

A pitiful scream erupted from Heinz’s mouth. At first, it seemed like the barrier might hold against the debris. But before long, it shattered completely, and Heinz was engulfed by the attack.

His already broken left arm couldn’t even maintain its form. Where his left arm should have been, only torn flesh and blood remained, pouring down his side.

Heinz screamed, his bloodshot eyes wide with agony.

“I will kill you, no matter what!”

Despite being bloodied and battered, Heinz protected his mana core with all his might. Summoning all the remaining water pillars, he turned them into a final, all-out attack.

Crash!

A massive tidal wave formed in the air, cascading downward. Heinz himself would be caught in the wave, but he didn’t care. His sole intent was to bring Martin down with him, even if it meant his own death.

Gripping his remaining right hand, Heinz charged forward to close the distance, trying to prevent Martin from teleporting away.

But regardless of his determination, it was a futile effort.

“You’ve made a mistake.”

Even when Heinz had both arms intact and wielded his sword, he couldn’t handle Martin. What could he possibly do now, with only one arm left?

Martin calmly twisted his body, raising the holy sword Karadyl and slicing down from above.

A golden arc flashed, cutting through Heinz’s right shoulder. The strike continued, carving a long gash across his chest.

“Aaaaagh!”

Heinz screamed again, and the force of the blow left him collapsing to his knees.

However, he still had one last glimmer of hope. The massive tidal wave he had summoned, now beyond his control, continued to fall due to gravity.

If that wave struck, Martin—whose physical abilities weren’t the strongest—surely wouldn’t survive.

“Heh. You think a simple water attack will stop me?”

Smirking, Martin swung Karadyl again.

A web of golden arcs shot out, disintegrating the tidal wave entirely.

At that moment, Heinz’s last hope evaporated.

“Heinz Schwarzenbeck. You betrayed your position as an Elder of the Adventurer’s Guild, operating in the shadows of the underworld. On top of that, you ran a slave market, which is strictly prohibited across the continent, causing untold suffering. Given your clear violation of the Imperial Law of Altaria, I hereby sentence you to death.”

“You have no right to do that, Martin Adalbert. The Adventurer’s Guild is strictly neutral. To deal with one of its members, a decision between the Guild and the Empire is required. You cannot simply—”

“What nonsense.”

Martin cut Heinz off mid-sentence.

Then, without hesitation, he kicked Heinz square in the head.

With a single, sharp cry, Heinz’s face slammed into the ground.

“You’re nothing more than a criminal who broke the law of the Empire. And besides, do you really think the Adventurer’s Guild will protect you after I hand over the evidence I’ve gathered?”

“You think you have any evidence?”

“And if I don’t? It doesn’t matter. I’ll just fabricate it. Once you’re dead, making up the details will be easy.”

Martin’s mocking grin grew darker.

Heinz’s face turned pale as he processed the unexpected response. But he quickly tried to regain his composure.

‘It’s not over yet.’

He still had one last card to play.

No matter how bold Martin was, once he heard this, Heinz was sure he’d spare his life, at least for a little while. In the meantime, the one he had trusted all his life would come and rescue him.

“I am the sworn brother of Nicholas von Royce. If I die, his wrath will descend upon you. Do you think the fallen Adalbert family can withstand the full assault of Marquis Royce?”

“Heh. How pitiful. After all this time, the infamous Crimson Reaper of the underworld is reduced to begging like this?”

“…”

“And for the record, I’ve already killed Nicholas’ stepson and grandson. Do you really think I’d hesitate to kill his sworn brother too? If I feared Nicholas in the first place, I would’ve spared the other two.”

“You will regret this.”

“That’s just wishful thinking on your part. Do you really think someone from the Adalbert family would give a damn about the Marquis Royce house? Not in the slightest.”

Martin unleashed his scathing words.

Then, he raised Karadyl and held it to Heinz’s neck.

“It’s common sense to be punished for your crimes, isn’t it? And you’ve betrayed the trust and hopes of so many. At least apologize to those who once believed in you, the ones who dreamed because of your lies.”

“An apology…”

That was Heinz’s final word.

With that, he closed his eyes for the last time.

Martin fell silent and, with a single motion, brought Karadyl down.

Heinz’s head rolled as his body slumped to the ground.

“This really is exhausting.”

Martin gazed up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

After exerting his full strength, there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache.

His eyes felt heavy from overwhelming fatigue, as if they might close at any moment.

Honestly, even standing was a challenge.

He was barely holding on because the job wasn’t finished yet.

Reaching into his coat, Martin retrieved a communication crystal and contacted Lucas Hoffman.

– Greetings, Young Master.

“How’s the slave market?”

– *We’ve completely taken control. We’ve successfully apprehended all the guests and administrators who were present.*

“And you’ve cleaned out the Dark King’s office?”

– *Yes. While there were plenty of documents, we couldn’t find any direct connections to Marquis Royce or anything revealing the true identity of the Dark King.*

“But we can still reveal who the Dark King really was, right?”

– That’s possible. By the way, what will you do about Mayor Jerome Metzelder? Even for you, it would be difficult to deal with him outright at this point.

“For now, lock him in solitary confinement. Make sure no one else can get to him. I have a few things I want to discuss with him.”

– It seems you’ve already prepared for this. Very well, I’ll finish the job on my end.

“Thanks. I’m counting on you.”

Despite his exhaustion, Martin smiled.

The northern purge was nearing its end.

Soon, he could turn his attention to the Imperial Capital without any lingering concerns.

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