Chapter Sixty-Eight: Ode

After revealing all the names of his sword moves, it was quite obvious that Qiu Bai intended to name his sword technique “The Ten Evils.” Unfortunately, despite his cleverness and an academic’s breadth of knowledge, it was impossible for him to recall all the details of the “Ten Evils.” Most of what he remembered he had actually gleaned from a well-known work titled “Wolf Children X and Maru” (also translated as “The Priestess’s Past Lives and Present”), so the result was that his naming ended up somewhere between one and three, rather than the full ten.

Nevertheless, his naming skills were still impressive overall—after all, without comparison, there is no disappointment. At least he had the self-awareness not to use more than five words for any move.

“There’s no killing intent in your attacks?” It was nearly ten seconds before Lucci finally accepted that he had just come close to being killed.

“I have no reason to kill you.” Qiu Bai released his grip on his sword and began to slowly retreat, step by step.

They were clearly engaged in battle, so why claim there was no reason to kill? Lucci found it difficult to understand. In truth, things were simple when viewed from a distance: Qiu Bai cared about victory or defeat, not about life or death. He merely wanted to test his own practical skills against Lucci.

“What do you think?” Qiu Bai suddenly asked, tilting his head and gesturing to the side.

Lucci’s gaze followed, and he saw not far away several corpses that had lain on the ground for a long time, their white bones visible through decaying remains.

“The weak, unable to resist power, inevitably meet this fate,” Lucci coldly declared, offering his evaluation of the fall of Flevance. The strong prevail and the weak perish—regardless of good or evil. This was his basic stance, and the very reason he had joined the World Government.

The World Government was the strongest, and thus could not be defeated.

Qiu Bai smiled at this response. “As I thought, we’re not the same. When I see this country, all I feel is sorrow and pity.”

Innocent people suffer death, poverty, and disease. When there’s no personal stake, an ordinary person’s first reaction on witnessing such tragedy is naturally pity. This isn’t excessive sympathy, nor a sign of being a “saint”—it’s simply that compassion is one of humanity’s most basic emotions.

It is only by having a concept of what’s “normal” that we can speak of “neuroticism” by contrast. Setting aside the flights of fancy, most of the time Qiu Bai was not so extraordinary, and so he regarded himself as an ordinary person.

In the end, he was different from the likes of Lucci, and he was grateful for that. At most, he was a bit eccentric—neither a monster nor a demon.

“My principle is not to kill my own kind unless I have reached the judgment and conclusion that it’s necessary,” Qiu Bai said. He had no fondness for killing; taking a life was his last resort in resolving a problem, and not something he would do lightly.

“Hypocrisy?” Lucci asked. Indeed, people who spoke such words were often accused of hypocrisy.

“Hypocrisy?” Qiu Bai echoed. He didn’t see it that way. Besides the so-called principle, he had another reason for restraining himself, as he had said before: he divided swords into “killing swords” and “non-lethal swords.” Only when it was absolutely necessary to kill would he use the former, and when he used it, it was always with lethal intent.

That was why his Damocles sword could only grow ever tighter, never slacken.

Of his seven sword techniques, if divided this way, “Killing Life” was the killing sword; all the others were non-lethal. The first six moves were concrete sword techniques; “Killing Life” was merely an intent—a heart set on killing. Two strangers facing off due to their positions, how could Qiu Bai feel a killing intent toward Lucci? So, naturally, he could not use “Killing Life.”

Looking into Qiu Bai’s eyes, Lucci suddenly realized he was telling the truth.

To restrain one’s killing intent, or even to be so calm as not to generate it at all, even at a moment of life and death—Lucci’s first reaction was not admiration, nor did he find Qiu Bai odd.

He simply thought: this man is truly dangerous.

“You’re a pirate, aren’t you?”

Perhaps this man would one day become a great threat to the World Government… Lucci had such a thought.

“I am.” Qiu Bai admitted his identity without hesitation.

“Our contest… I’ve lost. But unfortunately, the matters of the sea are not as naive as you imagine. Judging by your condition, it seems you can no longer use sword techniques, but I still have plenty of stamina, so…”

“It’s best if you die.” To strangle potential threats in the cradle was Lucci’s way. To “win” and to “survive” were two entirely different matters.

The two consecutive moves, “Yoshun” and “No Hail,” had indeed taxed Qiu Bai. If he tried to use sword techniques now, Lucci was right—he would be hard-pressed to do so.

“There’s nothing naive about this. I knew you’d do this. Just because I have no killing intent doesn’t mean you don’t. But let me correct you—I simply can’t use sword techniques, not that I can’t use a sword at all.”

“Uh…” This response left Lucci momentarily baffled, but then he understood the difference.

At that moment, Lucci suddenly heard a low, continuous, mechanical pounding. To describe it precisely, it was like the rapid-fire of an M197 three-barreled 20mm Gatling rotary cannon. If Lucci had studied U.S. military equipment, he would have found the sound familiar.

As for whether Qiu Bai was blessed by fortune or cursed by fate—there was no real need to investigate. Without question, he was blessed, and blessed in abundance.

Qiu Bai’s “Innate Domain,” when projecting continuously, only lacked the visual effect of those muddy, circular ripples surrounding weapons seen in “Treasures of the King.” Let’s leave it at that—otherwise, he’d start crying again.

So, to clarify, Qiu Bai was an ordinary person—an ordinary European, a typical European.

Now, behind him, a simple “Wall of Blades and Swords” had appeared, all their points aimed at Lucci.

Then, brilliant arcs slashed through the space between them. Qiu Bai began a relentless barrage without hesitation.

Damn, that talk about “never slaughtering my own kind as a principle” wasn’t even cold yet!

Well, now that he’d satisfied himself by winning with swordsmanship, he could let Lucci experience what true “output” meant.

Either you’re powerful enough to clear the field with a single strike, or at least you can make your barrage dazzling. That’s the basic standard for an output unit—otherwise, who are you trying to scare?

In truth, Qiu Bai was a genuine output unit, capable—at a stretch—of unleashing firepower on par with a Buster Call. Of course, dealing with Lucci didn’t require that level.

The reason he dared to fight so brazenly was simply because he had this “guarantee of safety”… it was a bit unfair.

“Either don’t strip at all, or strip completely. If you’re baring your upper body, you might as well bare the lower half too. Otherwise, how will you face the restless spirits of Flevance? Just baring your chest—either you get struck by lightning or bombarded by cannons. Think of this as justice on behalf of heaven,” Qiu Bai muttered to himself.

Lucci’s transformation had torn apart his shirt with his bulging muscles, prompting Qiu Bai’s commentary—but it was certain that the people of Flevance had no interest in Lucci’s lower half. They were all human, and all dead—why make things harder for each other?

By now Qiu Bai had retreated to a safe distance, so fortunately Lucci couldn’t hear his remarks. Otherwise, Lucci just might have taken off his pants on the spot.

Far too unfair! If Lucci had known he was this powerful, he would have run for it long ago instead of wasting time and energy on some pointless melee!

The original wielder of the “Innate Domain” had been a ranged fighter who loved close combat, but aside from weapon quality, once unleashed, it was really no different from the “Treasures of the King”—and, if anything, the former could even mass-produce counterfeit weapons.

As for Qiu Bai, the quality of the weapons was again top-tier. Whether or not he could blast open the defenses of the likes of Kaido was another question, but against Lucci, it was little more than monkey business.

The dense “rain of swords” erupted in bursts, leaving Lucci no choice but to dash and sprint for his life.

He could only barely dodge Qiu Bai’s attacks, moving farther and farther away with his “Shave, Shave, Shave.” As for using “Iron Body” to take the hits—please, he was just Lucci, not Diamond Jozu.

Under these circumstances, getting close to Qiu Bai was impossible. The nearer he got, the denser the barrage would become. It was no longer a matter of speed, but rather a question of whether he could withstand an endless onslaught.

And that was a problem no amount of speed could solve.