The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

“They’re coming—!” the Green Dragon knight shouted as he saw the mud soldiers surging from beneath Cybele’s feet, commanding the forces around him.

They were facing monsters that could close the distance of several kilometers in just a few minutes. If they wasted even a second, they would lose the opportunity to respond effectively.

“Activate the defense barrier! All Titan gunners, board the train and prepare to take fire! Report as soon as you have reloaded!”

“They’re advancing too fast! At this rate, they’ll reach the barricade before the third volley!”

“Don’t let Cybele get anywhere near the train!”

“The engraved magic circles and the barricade are deteriorating!”

Vulcanus was a Wraith King who pushed ahead with his overwhelming size and heat. All Wraith Kings possessed outstanding powers, but none were as threatening as Cybele. Even if she didn’t win, just coming into contact with the Barricade Train would cause catastrophic damage.

Leonard felt Cybele’s murderous intent targeting him from afar.

A living unique trait… No, it’s even more dangerous than that.

The power of the Wraith Kings could interfere with the conceptual realms themselves. For example, Vulcanus’s ability, Meltdown, wasn’t simply about extreme heat—it was the manifestation of the concept of melting anything, the heat being merely a secondary effect.

Cybele’s power of Decay worked in a similar way. It embodied the concept of decaying anything, allowing her to break down not only organic matter but also inorganic materials, and even disrupt magic arrays. Against the Barricade Train, this was far more effective than mere heat, wind, or poison.

Dudududududu!

Unlike living beings, the mud soldiers didn’t need to breathe or rest. Their relentless full-speed sprint made them seem impossibly fast, even to the soldiers watching from atop the train.

However, the people aboard the Barricade Train were far from ordinary. They could intercept the mud soldiers, who were charging at twice the speed of a galloping horse.

“Fire! Blast them all away!”

At the commanding knight’s order, the Titans fired simultaneously. The cannons they carried, mounted on machines over five meters tall and weighing dozens of tons, had devastating power. With the magic circles engraved on the inside of the barrels also activating, the power and fire rate of the shots surged to several times what could be achieved with mere gunpowder.

The iron giants, which normally could fire dozens of shots without moving, had to take a step back from the sheer recoil after just one shot.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Nonetheless, the shells, flying in a nearly straight trajectory rather than an arc, exploded upon hitting the ground, shattering the mud soldiers in their path. Despite being creatures born from the power of the Wraith Kings, normally resilient to most attacks, the bombardment was working.

Even those that managed to dodge a direct hit were knocked back by the shockwaves, their full-speed charge disrupted. And the next volley shattered them, slowing their advance even further.

The relentless and precise assault had succeeded in halting the chaotic rush of the mud soldiers.

But they’re still getting closer, Leonard noted, his Dragon Eyes catching even the smallest details.

The firepower unleashed from the Barricade Train was impressive, but no matter how many times they pushed the enemy back, the waves of mud soldiers kept coming. Reloading, aiming, and firing took time, no matter how optimized the system was. Meanwhile, the mud endlessly regenerated.

“Damn it! Activate the shockwave magic array!”

The knight commanding the artillery squad reached the same conclusion as Leonard and ordered a magical strike to give the overheated cannons a moment to cool down.

The mages inside the train activated the corresponding circuits, causing a blue glow to envelop the train’s outer walls. Then, Impulse Wave, a Class 6 physical spell, was unleashed. Though restricted to this area, it consumed an enormous amount of mana.

Rumble...!

The shockwave burst forth from the train, blowing away all the mud soldiers in its path and kicking up a massive dust cloud. In an instant, a gap of several hundred meters opened up between the train and the enemy.

However, the dust cloud that followed now obscured their vision, making it harder to aim with precision. What should have been a five-second window to prepare for another bombardment stretched to ten seconds.

Five seconds might be insignificant in a regular battle between armies, but it was another story when fighting a Demigod Tier monster.

—■■, ■■■■.

As if mocking the expedition team’s futile efforts, Cybele emerged from beyond the dust, now only a kilometer away from the Barricade Train. Instead of sending more mud soldiers, she decided to approach herself.

At that moment, Leonard jumped down from the train.

Five Elements and Six Divinities Arts

Crimson Crow Sun

Light Burning Heat Stride: Explosion

Stone Fire Flash

Without touching the ground, Leonard kicked the air with a thunderous clap, as if striking it. Then, with a loud boom, he shot forward, instantly breaking the sound barrier and crossing the kilometer gap in an instant.

The moment he entered the zone of decay, even the air around him felt rotten, making it impossible to breathe. Without wrapping himself in celestial energy, the decay would have reached his flesh through his eyes and skin.

Fighting Cybele, the Wraith King of Decay, meant accepting this harsh disadvantage. Even though she was just standing there, Leonard’s strength was constantly being sapped away.

Is she maintaining her unique trait over a wide area? How annoying.

Cybele’s expression twisted with anger, seeing how Leonard didn’t succumb to her domain. Her eyes flared even more intensely, and the swamp area beneath her feet began to stir.

An unknown attack was coming.

Northern God Style

Universal Suppression Technique

Cold Snowfall of Winter

There was no time to project the image of Xuanwu. Thanks to the celestial energy, Leonard was able to shorten the activation time, and his blade extended several meters, its dark augmented energy scattering as he slashed at Cybele.

Offense was the best defense. Not knowing what her next move would be, he aimed to force her hand by attacking first. His blade, infused with the unique trait of Suspension, scattered into countless fragments, cooling the surrounding air and freezing all the moisture in the atmosphere.

A blizzard swept across the entire area. His augmented sword energy was divided into hundreds and thousands of ice shards, freezing everything it touched within the range of his attack.

The bodies of the mud soldiers crawling out of Cybele’s swamp hardened until they became completely rigid, losing all fluidity.

■■■■■…!

Only Cybele remained unaffected by the Cold Snowfall of Winter.

The Northern God Style didn’t work?! No, wait… It’s freezing and then decaying, over and over!

Upon closer inspection, the surface of Cybele’s body was repeatedly covered in frost and then returned to its muddy state. This was evidence of the constant clash between the binding power of the Cold Snowfall of Winter and the Decay authority. As a result, Cybele’s movements became stiffer than before as she raised her arm and pointed her finger at Leonard.

A chill ran down Leonard’s spine as he instinctively sensed danger. Retrieving his sword, he quickly took several steps back. The power of the Cold Snowfall of Winter was weaker than expected, and he knew he had to break this stalemate.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!

Moments after Leonard moved, the ground where he had been standing began to shake. The surface eventually cracked, and something massive shot up from beneath, tearing through the earth like a giant pillar. Any adventurer familiar with desert creatures would recognize the shape of the monster.

A sandworm?!

Though its body was made of a dark, muddy substance instead of the typical sandy mucus, its appearance was unmistakable. It was a sandworm.

Cold sweat ran down Leonard's back. Had he hesitated even a little, he would’ve been swallowed whole by the sandworm’s gaping maw. This was on a whole other level than a mere mud soldier created in the spur of a moment. Even in a battle between Demigod Tier beings, this was a weapon meant to be used as a trump card.

The sandworm’s massive head, towering as high as the Barricade Train, gleamed with a violet glow.

One Origin Five Elements Sword Art

Southern God Style

Single Swing Sweeping Annihilation

Calamity Extinguishing Flame

Even though it looked like a Sandword, there was no guarantee that this creature’s abilities and fighting style were the same. Relying on uncertain information to battle an unknown enemy would be a foolish move.

To defeat a stronger opponent, one would have to penetrate their defense before they managed to unleash their full strength.

The celestial energy swirling around Leonard intensified. A small flame ignited at the tip of his jet-black sword. It was just a feeble flicker, but the power within it made Cybele flinch and wave her hand frantically in panic.

At her urgent command, the sandworm twisted its massive body, attempting to slam its head down upon Leonard.

However, Leonard’s sword thrust forward, piercing through the enormous sandworm. The attack completely tore through the power of Decay and the strength it wielded as a servant of the Wraith King. Then, the Calamity Extinguishing Flame began to burn, using the corruption within as its fuel.

It was a flame that devoured everything, a force of destruction that consumed the creature’s massive body, its life force, and its regeneration abilities, rendering them futile. This was the flame of doom that had felled the giant beast, Moby Dick, in a single strike.

KWAARRGGHH?! KWAARGGHHH!?

Despite being neither fully alive nor dead, the sandworm writhed in agony, as though it could feel the unbearable pain of having its very existence incinerated.

The creature smashed its head into the ground in various spots, desperately trying to extinguish the fire consuming it from the inside. It twisted and contorted violently, almost to the point of breaking its own body, but it was all in vain.

Perhaps Cybele could withstand something of this magnitude, but the sandworm lacked the strength or status to do so.

Having forgotten Cybele’s orders, the sandworm kept rampaging until it suddenly swelled up like a balloon and exploded, like a rotten tomato bursting.

BOOOM—!

Witnessing this, Leonard was filled with a sharp, deadly sense of unease. Those affected by the Calamity Extinguishing Flame were supposed to be reduced to ashes, not explode in such a fashion.

It couldn’t have been his attack that had caused the sandworm to explode.

■■■.

For some reason, Leonard suddenly felt like he knew what Cybele’s words—or rather, those strange noises—meant.

She was speaking to him.

Got… you? Leonard murmured in his head.

As that thought crossed his mind, hundreds of the sandworm’s remains began to melt. Each fragment spread, creating rotting swamps that contaminated the ground within a radius of several meters. In an instant, the surrounding area became Cybele’s domain.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Leonard’s Dragon Heart pulsed at an unprecedented rate, sending him a clear warning: If you don’t escape right now, you will die. Someone of your level can’t make it out of here alive.

Even though the repeated use of the Northern God Style and the Southern God Style had drained some of his strength, the celestial energy circulating through him kept him from being immobilized.

Leonard swiftly took to the air, aiming to accelerate further by channeling his internal energy.

■■■■■■!!

Cybele let out a distorted laugh, which sounded like something was being torn apart, and then raised both of her arms. With a chilling voice, she declared Leonard’s doom.

■■!

After she shouted what most likely meant “Die!”, the entire swamp, which had encircled the area, rose as if to swallow him whole. It was like a black shroud being lifted up from the ground. It surged upward, threatening to engulf both Leonard and Cybele.

Surging from all sides—front, back, left, right, and below—the darkness enveloped the world, as if it had become a pitch-black night sky. There was only one direction left to escape: upward.

However, Cybele’s power was closing in much faster than Leonard’s ascent.

Is there really no way to escape from this?

The chase between Leonard, who was rising at maximum speed, and the swamp, which pursued him from below, was happening so fast that even perceiving it a thousand times faster than normal wouldn’t help at all.

Seeing no way out, Leonard gripped his sword tightly and looked down. The swamp of Decay yawned like the mouth of an abyss, ready to swallow him whole. There was no doubt—if he fell into it, that would be the end.

Should I use the bracelet now?

It seemed like a life-or-death situation, but in reality, he knew he could easily escape if he just summoned one commander to aid him.

Wade could outmaneuver or overwhelm the swamp, Audrey would smash through it head-on, and while he hadn’t seen Uluka’s full strength, Grace could likely sweep the entire swamp by herself.

As such, Leonard decided to fight it out. If he could survive this predicament with just his own strength, it would be a meaningful experience in breaking through his current limits.

I have only one chance. To survive Cybele’s large-scale attack, I need to use a perfect counter.

Blocking with the Northern God Style would just result in his defense being consumed, slowly rotting away, and the Southern God Style wouldn’t fare much better. Even if he overwhelmed her briefly, she would capture him before he could escape.

Using the Western God Style to slice through and escape seemed plausible, but without knowing the swamp’s regenerative power, it would be a gamble.

Sigh… I guess it comes down to using the concept of wood overcoming earth.

Standing mid-air, Leonard narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the approaching swamp. He raised his sword into an upper stance, channeling the Azure Dragon Qi.

The Azure Dragon summoned from his Mindscape swelled as it absorbed the celestial energy surrounding Leonard, growing even more powerful. Though limited to this one strike, it reached a power great enough that not even a knight commander could disregard it.

The apparition of the Azure Dragon, larger than usual, coiled around Leonard as though he were its cherished pearl.

Eastern God Style

Authority Nullification Technique

Rightful Return

Even though it had been corrupted by Nidhogg’s[1] poison, Cybele’s inherent element was earth. As such, the Azure Dragon, which was a manifestation of wood qi, was her natural counter.

Just as the swamp reached him, Leonard met it with a swing of his sword, its blade glowing with the brilliant blue light of Azure Dragon Qi.

1. In Norse mythology, Nidhogg, traditionally also spelled Níðhǫggr, is a dragon who gnaws at the root of the world tree, Yggdrasil. ☜