"Bang!"
The shocking sound of swords clashing echoed wildly around the entire execution ground, the destructive power almost completely destroying the fragile execution ground, tearing it to pieces.
When the deafening sound finally subsided, standing in the center of the dust-covered battlefield were Shirou, holding Excalibur, and the Water God, with her golden sword.
In that brief clash, the two could be said to have fought to a draw.
Despite Shirou using the strongest Holy Sword, Excalibur, he still couldn't break through Water God Reida's defense, her Water God Style swordsmanship blocking the attack.
This shows just how incredible Water God Reida's skill is.
Shirou, with Excalibur, could already overpower Alexander, the third North God wielding the Dragon King Sword. But against Water God Reida, even though the golden sword in her hand might not be a simple weapon, it was definitely not on the same level as Excalibur and the Dragon King Sword. Even so, Shirou still couldn't break through the Water God's defense.
"This is quite a unique weapon..."
The Water God looked at the golden Holy Sword in Shirou's hand, praising it with admiration, "It possesses absolute purity, yet is full of power and destruction. Even the Millis Church's Holy Sword doesn't have radiance like the sword in your hand."
"Your sword isn't bad either."
Shirou responded quietly, having noticed when he was using Excalibur against the Water God that, while there was a difference in strength between them, the difference in their weapons wasn't that great.
At least, even with Excalibur, Shirou didn't create an overwhelming situation like he did when fighting North Emperor Aubel.
"This old one's sword isn't exactly a famous sword."
Water God Reida smiled, shaking her head, "But you're not wrong, it's definitely not a simple weapon. Because the first owner of this weapon was the first Water God, the creator of the Water God Style."
"The first Water God's weapon?"
"That's right. When the first Water God first used this sword, he was just an ordinary adventurer. When he became an adventurer, embarked on a journey, and left his village, he spent all his wealth to have a blacksmith forge this sword, and he used this weapon to slay great demons in the sea and fight against world-ending crises."
Water God Reida stroked the golden sword in her hand with emotion as she spoke, "Later, the first Water God became famous, and this sword also became a symbol of the Water God Style. Every new Water God receives this sword as their inheritance. Although the first Water God didn't even give this sword a name, leaving all subsequent Water Gods to call it the Nameless Sword or the Golden Sword, every generation of Water Gods has followed the tradition of passing down the weapon, until now."
"Of course, because it's a mortal's sword, it has been broken countless times as it followed the first Water God and the Water Gods of each generation. But every time it was repaired, the Water Gods of each generation would put in the best materials they could find, constantly refining, forging, and improving it, until the sword's radiance changed, even showing this golden color now."
"Of course, no matter how the material changes, the essence of the sword will never change. It's still just an ordinary sword that left the adventurer's village with the young first Water God, nothing more."
Hearing Water God Reida's story about the golden sword, Shirou was slightly moved.
As a blacksmith, he fully understood the central theme of the Water God's story and realized why the Water God was able to block his Excalibur with that sword.
He couldn't help but express his inner feelings, saying, "Weapons are like people. As long as they can withstand the winds of time, they will become more refined with the passage of time, until they completely transform, reaching an incredible height from a mortal state. So, that's definitely not an ordinary sword. Even if the materials are ordinary, the wielder has infused it with a new soul, making it a Servant's sword with legend and soul."
"Servant? That's a really interesting way to put it."
Water God Reida acknowledged Shirou's words, nodding slightly, "You're right, swords are like people, they grow with time. At the same time, swords are even better than people. Compared to humans, who gradually age, even turning to dust and dying, swords only need to be thrown back into the furnace and recast to become even stronger."
"Water God, you're wrong. Humans are the same in terms of becoming stronger."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"When a sword is thrown into the furnace and recast, even if logic dictates that the recast sword is still the same sword, it's actually a second-generation weapon. Although humans age and even die, they can pass on their knowledge and skills, allowing the next generation to have a higher starting point and a broader perspective. Therefore, later generations can stand on the shoulders of their predecessors, becoming stronger without having to start over."
Shirou carefully considered his words, slowly saying, "So, it's actually the same. There's no essential difference between people and swords. They both accumulate and refine, becoming stronger little by little over time. You are undoubtedly the best example of this, Water God. You are definitely the strongest Water God Style inheritor to date."
"Hehe, the strongest Water God Style inheritor, huh? Even if you praise this old one like that, I won't go easy on you."
Water God Reida laughed heartily, seemingly very satisfied with Shirou's argument, "However, you're right. Although time makes people age, turning them into dust, knowledge, experience, and skill can be passed down to future generations."
The moment Water God Reida said these words, she instinctively glanced in the direction of Isolte, as if she had something to say to that disciple.
But in the end, she didn't say anything, instead turning her gaze to Shirou, saying seriously:
"This old one is already very old. My only thought is to pass on my swordsmanship to someone capable of inheriting it. I thought I would never have this opportunity in my life, and at best, I would record this strongest Water God Style swordsmanship to see if someone capable of inheriting it would appear in the next hundred years. But now it seems, perhaps you are the one most worth anticipating."
"This..."
Unexpectedly, the Water God would place her hope of inheriting the Water God Style on him, an enemy.
Before Shirou could respond, he noticed the Water God making a completely different movement than before.
First, the Water God still held the sword vertically in front of her chest as before, and the way she straightened her back didn't show at all that she was an old woman over seventy.
Unlike before, this time, while performing the swordsmanship, the Water God recited the names of the moves she was using, as if giving one-on-one instruction.
"First is Still Water, freezing the wind, turning it invisible."
"This is one of the Water God Style's ultimate techniques, the Sword of Still Water."
As the Water God spoke, the wind completely stopped on the scene. Not only the wind, but even the fluttering dust seemed to be constrained by gravity in an instant, falling to the ground and disappearing.
Shirou was also a Water Saint and could use the Water God Style's ultimate technique, the Sword of Still Water.
This was the only Water God Style ultimate technique he knew, but he was far from reaching the Water God's level. It was simply impossible to stop the raging wind on such a large scale.
And the Water God's movements didn't end there.
She quickly pressed the tip of the sword down, her whole body as if turning the sword upside down, her wrist not using any force, letting the sword hang silently in place.
"Then is Breaking the Void, cutting across space, tearing apart the storm."
"When the Sword of Still Water and the Sword of Breaking the Void are combined, what appears is a swordsmanship domain of horizontal cutting and slicing. Wherever the barrier passes, it kills people invisibly."
The Water God silently demonstrated the movements, which resulted in the kind of swordsmanship that had easily pierced Shirou from a distance of a hundred meters.
This turned out to be a combination of two Water God Style ultimate techniques.
Further increasing Shirou's admiration for the current Water God's creativity.
However, what the Water God wanted to show was definitely not just this kind of thing. After showing the two ultimate techniques, she silently raised the sword high above her head.
The Water God's action of raising the sword above her head was completely different from the action of North God Third Alexander raising the Dragon King Sword above his head.
This was not only because the Water God's sword was a one-handed sword, while North God Third Alexander's Dragon King Sword was a two-handed sword, but also because the aura and demeanor of the two were completely different.
When North God Third Alexander raised the Dragon King Sword above his head, he showed an unshakable pressure and an explosive force as if he was about to unleash a terrifying storm.
In contrast, when Water God Reida raised the sword above her head, it felt like gently plucking a thread. As her fingers rose and fell, the thread continued to spread, finally instantly enveloping every inch of space around her.
"The Sword of Cutting Rain, this is the third ultimate technique I have mastered."
"Like the pattering of raindrops falling to the ground, thousands of water droplets depart from one point, flow into rivers, lakes, and seas, and finally return to the original one. The original intention of this swordsmanship was to construct the only defense with the force of a storm. Using attack as the ultimate means of defense, the talent of the first Water God is indeed admirable."
Water God Reida lamented the Water God Style ultimate techniques created by the first Water God as she silently made a move, slowly drawing a huge arc with the sword in her hand.
When Shirou saw the Water God's movements, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Because he suddenly realized that the moment the Water God moved, clear sword marks appeared in every inch of space around him, every area where he could set foot.
Shirou felt as if he had instantly fallen into a huge spider web, with absolutely no space to escape. The Water God was like the only hunter in that spider web, her scrutinizing gaze looking at him like a prey that could be easily pinched to death, as if she had already foreseen his ultimate death.
"This is..."
"This is the sixth Water God Style ultimate technique created by this old one, a Water God Style swordsmanship personally created from the fusion of the first three ultimate techniques!"
Water God Reida said calmly, "It is a domain barrier called Taking Away the Sword World. As long as you are within this barrier, no matter where the opponent is, whether in front, behind, left, right, above, below, in any direction of the three hundred and sixty degrees, my sword can reach you instantly."
"Taking Away the Sword World... There's actually such a technique."
"This may be this old one's talent, or perhaps this old one is too focused on the Water God Style's techniques. When I was young, I already felt the Water God Style stagnating. For hundreds of years, this school of swordsmanship has always been limited to the five techniques created by the first Water God, but no one thought of going beyond the first Water God to take it a step further."
Water God Reida said emotionally, "So, this old one made an attempt, trying to surpass the limits of the first Water God. After I learned the three ultimate techniques, I never studied the other ultimate techniques again, because I know the truth that it is better to be proficient in a few things than to be mediocre in many things. I chose to limit my talent to the three ultimate techniques, and then study these three ultimate techniques to the extreme."
"Through my efforts, what I finally reached was this technique called Taking Away the Sword World. Because the Water God Style is ultimately a technique focused on defense, the ultimate goal of this move is not to kill the opponent, but to strip away the ability to move from everyone within the barrier domain. No matter how tricky your position is, as long as you are within the range of the domain, you can absolutely forget about moving half a step."
As she spoke, Water God Reida seemed to give a demonstration.
It was a North Saint who was located on the high platform. He was originally Darius's accomplice, but he began to consider switching allegiances because of the defeat of the Darius faction.
He had been staying on the scene without leaving, aiming to find an opportunity to intervene in the battle between the Water God and Shirou. As long as he could participate in this duel, whether he killed either side, the winning side would probably be grateful to him, and thus be valued by Ariel or Darius.
That was what he thought, so he stubbornly waited until the battle reached this stage.
He thought that the opportunity to make a name for himself was right in front of him. Whether it was the Water God Reida or Shirou, the seventh strongest, killing either one would be a huge achievement for him.
But as soon as he took a step, a slash that he couldn't see when it had happened had already appeared behind him, cutting him in two with a single blow!
"Ahhhhh!"
A dignified North Saint, who was also a Saint-level powerhouse, died even worse than an ant.
He died miserably on the side of the road.
This scene made everyone in the audience widen their eyes, realizing that the "Taking Away the Sword World" that Reida mentioned was definitely not just for show.
Shirou also clearly felt the oppressive force emanating from the Water God's technique. He felt that all his actions were completely restricted, with a blade on every part of his body. Once he deviated even a little, he would be completely pierced by the blade that appeared out of nowhere!
At the same time, the Water God herself seemed to be able to move freely in the Taking Away the Sword World. She slowly walked towards Shirou step by step, raising the golden sword in her hand, wanting to get closer and then directly kill Shirou.
Naturally, Shirou couldn't allow the Water God to get close.
But he also had no ability to resist the power of this Taking Away the Sword World.
Shirou now understood why the Dragon King so emphasized that he must master the power of Unlimited Blade Works in order to defeat the Water God, and why the Dragon King was so sure that as long as he mastered Unlimited Blade Works, he would be able to defeat the Water God.
Shirou didn't understand the reason before, but now that he had seen the appearance of Taking Away the Sword World, he completely understood!
Only Unlimited Blade Works could contend against the Water God's Taking Away the Sword World!