F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 286: Built Different

Skylar’s eyes flickered.

Then, in an unconcealable, hurried motion, he angled his Jikdo while stepping to the side. A piercing clang rang as he was sent skidding back.

But Baldric wasn’t done yet.

Like a thrashing wheel, he touched the ground, then rolled back towards his tyrannical foe, but in contrast to his image, Skylar moved gracefully.

The Sky Prince jumped, bending his knees mid-air, placing his sword beneath his foot...and proceeding to skate through the air. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The moment he dodged the follow-up and confirmed that Alopecion was coming to a stop, his sword flew back to his hands, and his feet met the ground elegantly like a senior, eastern immortal that has descended from the peak of some cloudy mountain to tell a junior he was courting death.

But with a playful smile on his face.

"Tch." Baldric clicked his tongue, dissatisfied at the results of his surprise.

After all his sacrifices in the previous matches, all he would get is information about one of Skylar’s abilities?

Granted, this ability was probably his Innate Sword Skill, so perhaps everything was worth it?

In any case...how could he have expected that Skylar could f*cking fly?

Had the bastard stayed on the ground, he could’ve just continued rolling on him until the speed was too much for Skylar to handle.

"Why, what a nice surprise, Baldric Baldemar. You’ve hidden yourself quite deeply. I wonder, is that death from the hands of a B-ranker also a part of your grand scheme?" The Sky Prince "generously praised" and asked with a tone that was half-mocking, half-sincere.

Baldric clenched his jaws.

His opponent already knew the answer to his question, but still asked him publicly anyway. A clear provocation tactic to make him lose his cool.

"Hmph." He only snorted in reply, neither confirming nor denying.

He could at least take this chance to use the benefit of the doubt to clear his name.

Or so he thought...

"Hahaha, I’d take that as a no," laughed Skylar half-mockingly. "Also, let me guess. Glorious Recession isn’t your Innate Sword Skill?"

"Enough talk!" snarled Baldric. He wasn’t as hot-headed as his father, but his hairline wouldn’t have been receding this early for nothing.

In the next moment, he rushed again, a plan in mind.

The Sword Skill the Sky Prince had been using seemed to still be on cooldown. So, the two top-rankers compared notes in swordsmanship.

Alopecion’s arm thundered upon Skylar, who, with his signature playful smile, masterfully stepped forward at the perfect timing, angling his jikdo diagonally and guiding his foe’s falchion to the ground.

But Baldric knew better than to attack without making his swings compact.

He was able to recover his balance fairly easily, barely avoiding the Sky Prince’s approaching eastern blade.

The tip grazed his right cheek.

However, the balding S-ranker didn’t pay it too much attention, focusing on counterattacking instead.

His falchion flashed twice, calling upon a straight line of thundering sword wave, which Skylar easily dodged by air-skating in a curving path, then using the momentum of his crashing descent to strike at Baldric.

The balding S-ranker snorted, his sword crackling with deep-purple thunder. His arm muscles bulged as his falchion lashed out like lightning.

Steel sang, then a mini explosion rumbled across the arena, eliciting gasps from the eyes.

In the next moment, the clanging chorus played intermittently inside the thinning smokescreen.

What the crowd saw as it completely vanished made their eyes go wide in horror and disbelief.

Alopecion, who had revived the hopes of those who bet on him, was now riddled with minor to moderate wounds, red cubic particles crawling out in considerable volumes.

What happened?!

They looked even just a few seconds ago, but now, the S-ranker was suddenly gritting his teeth and had opted to make some distance.

Meanwhile, the Sky Prince had the same playful smile on his face. He clearly did not see Alopecion as a threat.

The young Baldemar was naturally infuriated.

But what could he do against such unfair abilities? Gritting his teeth in envy and frustration, he raised his sword to the skies, as if calling upon the will of the gods and goddesses of thunder.

He then stabbed his falchion on the ground, summoning hundreds of sword manifestations, this time all crackling with thunder snakes, waving forth, as though hundreds of small, spy-hopping dolphins.

There would’ve been no escape.

Unfortunately, Skylar could fly, and that was what he did, simply riding his sword to avoid the Glorious Recession.

But this was still according to Baldric’s plan.

The moment his foe flew, his eyes flashed a cunning glint. His falchion once again called upon thunder.

However, this time, the element only snaked along the blades, thrashing violently from time to time and sending broken shards of the stage floor flying to the side and smoke dust billowing.

Baldric then slashed at his flying foe from afar.

The thunder, roaring at the heavens, snaked from Alopecion, redirecting its thrashing fury towards the airborne prince like a whip.

Skylar’s brows rose, as if impressed. Still, the Sky Prince’s control of his flying sword was superb, and he avoided the lashing lightning with moderate effort.

There were a few that could be considered close calls, but even those would be stretching the term.

Baldric wasn’t disheartened, though, preparing himself for one last, all-out attempt. Calling upon the lightning to do his bidding was Alopecion’s Innate Sword Skill.

Unfortunately, he was not an Aetherborn, and stamina was not as ideal a catalyst as mana.

He was running out fast.

However, the balding S-ranker had enough for one last attempt. Also, Skylar was probably paying a huge price, too, flying on his sword like that.

Perhaps he would catch his infuriating foe at a great time?

As wind and lightning danced across the main stage, the end crept closer, and closer...and closer still.

The Sky Prince sailed the skies gracefully as though he knew it by heart and was deeply connected to it, skillfully evading its fury.

Then it happened.

Baldric once again spun faster and faster, until he turned into the familiar wheel of blade, but a thundering one this time.

He rolled forth, seemingly having no targets, yet one of every five thrashing lightning seemed to always strike at the airborne prince.

Then, every time he reached the end of the stage, he would turn, rolling faster with each passing second as though a miniature calamity.

Skylar was stuck dodging the lightning bolts while the lightning blade wheel gained momentum and devastating power beneath him.

The question was: how would Baldric reach the prince of the skies?

The balding S-ranker answered the question in everyone’s minds shortly. Thundering Sword Manifestations suddenly emerged from the ground, forming a crude blade ramp.

Alopecion’s momentum and built-up power were so overwhelming that his own Sword Skill broke almost immediately...but not before launching him to the air.

"Be humbled, Skylar Ashwind!!" roared Baldric as his trajectory matched and would soon cross with his flying foe’s.

The Sky Prince seemed surprised for a moment.

However, in the next, a cruel grin flashed in his face.

"Fine, then, Baldric Baldemar. Since you’re so adamant in trying me, I’ll show you just how different you are from the likes of me."

After the bold declaration, Skylar...actually retrieved his jikdo, allowing himself to freely fly through the air and inevitably meet the raging blade wheel of thunder.

He then assumed the stance everyone was familiar with.

The crowd’s eyes widened in bewilderment and disbelief.

’He’s doing that again?!’

It had failed the first time, had it not?

Nathalie, meanwhile, summoned calamities through the passion-emboldened, flaming-hot poetry coming out of her mouth, keeping up blow by blow.

Soon, the climax unfolded, and Skylar showed Baldric how the two of them were different.

The raging blade wheel of thunder closed in fast, but even then, the Sky Prince would lash out with his jikdo in the same swift, almost unseen manner, but this time in irregular intervals.

He drew his sword a total of seven times.

Then, the moment the calamitous wheel reached him...it fell apart in eight, clean yet uneven pieces.

Skylar was already back to skating the skies before everyone could recover their wits.