CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 594: Tree

A lightning-fast katana blade screamed through the air toward Asher’s shoulder. Though he hadn't heard the warning hiss of the air, the blade manifested as a blur. Normally, he relied on this method to detect strikes moving too fast for his Omni Perception, yet here, he had only managed to catch an ephemeral glimmer via his Star Energy Sense—a faint, almost invisible spark that barely registered, yet provided just enough notice of the imminent threat.

Asher’s rapier lunged upward to intercept; the moment their steel kissed, shockwaves of air exploded outward like a bursting balloon. The atmosphere warped in violent, layered distortions, as if the very fabric of space were being pulverized by the collision.

The sheer weight of the strike slammed into Asher, causing his hand to tremble. Beneath his feet, the ground buckled, spiderwebbing with deep fissures as the earth failed to support such concentrated, immense pressure.

Asher’s violet eyes locked onto Debro’s calm, obsidian gaze, which seemed directed at him with cold pity. Ignoring the insult, Asher acted. His grip tightened, muscles straining until veins corded along his arm; channeling power from the depths of his Dantian, he shoved the blade aside, redirecting the momentum through precise movement.

Sans a moment of hesitation, he thrust toward Debro’s throat with the velocity of a bullet train. The strike was crisp and lethal, yet Debro remained unfazed. Even with his katana pushed aside, the man’s reaction speed eclipsed all of Asher’s expectations. Debro simply retracted his blade, blocking with its flat side with an ease that suggested such harrowing speed and force were mere trifles to him.

Metal shrieked as a shower of orange sparks detonated in a brilliant, fleeting display. The clash echoed across the battlefield like a shrill, piercing cry. Asher did not falter. As Debro blocked, Asher transitioned instantly into another strike, his rapier trajectory shifting into a precise slash toward Debro’s thighs, aiming to cripple his movement and seize the tempo.

Debro’s eyes darted toward the incoming strike, and his katana, angled downward from the previous parry, dove instinctively to intercept. He executed the block with the effortless grace of a master correcting a student, his movements devoid of excess or hesitation.

Asher refused to stop, think, or plan; he simply poured his attacks into a rapid-fire sequence. The moment the second blow was checked, he launched a third. With a thunderous boom, the earth beneath him disintegrated as he kicked out, his right leg whistling toward Debro’s neck with devastating force.

The air collapsed as Asher’s foot breached the atmospheric barrier, churning the sky into a turbulent shockwave. Yet, Debro raised a hand to block, mocking the intensity with his casual demeanor. The concussion of the air at the collision point was deafening, but Debro showed no sign of impact, remaining completely unshaken.

Asher did not slow down, though Debro’s hand suddenly clamped around his ankle in a crushing grip. Finding his leg trapped, Asher didn’t falter; he launched his body into the air, using his seized leg as a fulcrum to drive the sole of his left foot toward Debro’s chest in a brutal, stomping assault.

Debro offered a faint, amused smile. Rather than standing his ground, the man dodged to the left, retaining his iron grip on Asher’s ankle. Mid-dodge, he rotated his frame with absolute control and flung Asher away as if he were nothing more than a stray pebble.

Asher flew backward like a broken kite, his body piercing the sound barrier and leaving a trail of sonic booms that rumbled like distant thunder. Reclaiming his composure mid-flight, he swung his rapier upward, unleashing a sharp, lethal arc of power.

A massive silver sword flash erupted from the weapon, streaking across the three-kilometer gap toward Debro in an instant—a streak of condensed destruction. Debro didn't retreat; he met the assault head-on, his own blade flashing upward to release a sliver of condensed energy.

The world shook as the two energies collided, releasing a violent shockwave. Silver sword flashes interwove like threads of ruin, slicing everything in their path into nothingness. Dust billowed into the sky, shroud-like, while the ground below was etched with deep, artistic, and terrifying grooves of sword-Qi.

Asher propelled himself forward. His speed hit its zenith, the world blurring as his entire focus narrowed to a singular point: Debro. Closing the gap, he unleashed a barrage of a thousand thrusts, each elegant, efficient, and devoid of wasted motion—the absolute zenith of rapier mastery.

If Lily Of The Abyss were here, she would see her greatest dream realized—the pinnacle of disciplined Cultivation and the pursuit of perfection standing manifest.

While the katana was not built for the thrust, Debro wielded it as such. His own blade darted forward, meeting Asher’s strikes in an exchange of matching speed and intensity. Every collision caused the air to rupture, and space itself rippled like a disturbed pond, unable to maintain its integrity under their dueling power.

A nearby tree crumbled under the sheer weight of their auras. Asher spun, utilizing the falling trunk as a projectile, kicking it toward Debro with explosive force.

Debro didn't grant the timber a second glance; a mere look shattered the wood into a rain of splinters. Yet, in that window of distraction, Asher had already blinked out of existence, reappearing beside Debro to strike at his ankle like a venomous viper.

Debro’s eyes tracked the movement. With calm calculation, he stepped back and lifted his lead foot, allowing the rapier to pass inches beneath him without straining a single muscle.

Asher surged into a fluid follow-up, his rapier erupting upward toward Debro’s jaw, the air whistling as the blade’s velocity scaled higher still.

Debro mirrored the motion, head snapping back with the graceful negligence of a ruler, his timing flawless and his composure an insult, commanding the rhythm of the battle as if it were a simple stage performance.