Chapter 106: The Infinite Sword Technique Unleashed

The so-called Wind Demon is an underground labyrinth of uncertain location—some experts even speculate that it might be a mobile dungeon. Because it cannot be purged, this dungeon has developed into a civilized society. Every few years or decades, it dispatches a massive army to invade the outside world.

In truth, this army is the product of internal strife, forced out by defeat within the dungeon’s own society. These monsters are well aware that the outside world is hostile to them, so they fiercely compete for resources inside the dungeon and stubbornly refuse to emerge.

The dungeon’s level should be between B and A. Initially it was likely B, but after countless years of evolution, it may have advanced to A. At least, during the calamity thirteen years ago that Li Mei experienced, bosses of A-level strength had already appeared.

Li Mei immediately increased the airship’s speed to its maximum, heading toward Bal Island. They had to alert the island’s inhabitants about the impending demon disaster so they could prepare. Bal Island serves as the frontline base against the Wind Demon calamity, maintaining a large-scale defensive barrier year-round. However, activating such a barrier requires time.

“That thing moves fast—probably… about an hour to reach Bal Island,” Zhao Tianhe calculated silently. “And the naval defense forces don’t seem to be involved with it?”

“This is no time to be tangled up with the naval defense issue,” Li Mei shook her head. “We must activate the island’s barrier as soon as possible, or the entire Golden Coast region will be doomed!”

“Alright…” Zhao Tianhe nodded.

Yet, in the distance, a vague figure hovering in the air sighed, “Honestly, I thought wiping out the naval defense forces would solve things. But now two more have come to their doom, hastening the Wind Demon’s discovery. This won’t do… Once the Great Battlefield Barrier is deployed, Saint Rose Port will be absolutely safe, and the actions of Number Seven will definitely be exposed.”

With that, the blurry figure slowly expanded, forming a colossal humanoid shape, then transformed into a raging whirlwind that blew toward the airship carrying Zhao Tianhe and the others.

Inside the airship, they were struck by a dizzying force. The whirlwind slammed the vessel, flipping it over more than a dozen times before it crashed violently into the water.

The hull cracked under the immense force, seawater pouring in rapidly. Li Mei’s head struck the wall, bleeding profusely but she remained conscious, stubbornly casting underwater breathing, protective spells, and healing magic for the others.

Zhao Tianhe and another released a first-level water-assisting spell called Swimming Fish Technique, reducing water resistance and increasing their swimming speed.

They left the shattered airship, sensing the violent airflow above the surface and noticing something unnatural about it.

“What’s going on? It feels like an elemental creature…” Zhao Tianhe murmured.

Suddenly, the giant air elemental reformed, shaping itself into a massive fist of swirling wind.

“Sorry, but you must die,” a loud voice echoed through the water.

“What is that?!” Zhao Tianhe shouted in terror.

Li Mei froze. Her elemental perception far surpassed Zhao Tianhe’s, so she knew exactly what that was.

“An eighth-level spell, Hurricane Avatar! An eighth-level mage with the Wind Element Lord talent!” Her expression twisted in disbelief. She understood the implications.

The so-called Wind Element Lord talent refers to those born with over 100 affinity points for wind elements—rare prodigies. Only such people can cultivate wind element avatar spells of at least sixth level.

Once an avatar spell is unleashed, the mage, already powerful and intelligent, merges with a terrifying elemental form, exponentially increasing their strength. Their survivability, attack power, and agility surpass those of ordinary mages of the same level by at least tenfold.

“Impossible! Why would such a grand mage attack us?!” Li Mei’s mind went blank; tears mingled with seawater as she lost all ability to think.

“Eighth-level spell…” Zhao Tianhe was stunned, too. Though he didn’t fully grasp the meaning of Hurricane Avatar, he had seen Jellos cast seventh-level spells and thus knew the immense power an eighth-level spell possessed.

The hurricane’s massive fist slammed into the sea with the force of billions of tons, pushing aside hundreds of square meters of water and creating towering waves dozens of meters high.

Yet, to the elemental, this was merely a normal attack.

Zhao Tianhe grabbed Li Mei’s frightened right hand, sensing the terrifying spell that was about to pulverize them. He had already made a decision.

Boom!

The towering waves dispersed, but the hurricane avatar was no longer in place.

Zhao Tianhe and Li Mei vanished beneath the waves.

A faint, flickering ring of fire danced on the water’s surface.

I am the bone of my sword.

“What is this?” The hurricane avatar stared in shock at the eerie crimson earth and sky around it, and the enormous, strange gears looming overhead.

It felt an overwhelming sense of restraint, as if the entire world rejected it. The hurricane avatar’s spell began to falter.

Steel is my body, Fire is my blood…

A deep, ancient chant echoed through the air.

“Didn’t expect it to be used so soon…” Zhao Tianhe stood, feeling immense changes surging within him.

The Unlimited Blade Works Noble Phantasm had been activated. That terrifying power expanded around Zhao Tianhe as an innate barrier, tightly linking the internal Hero System energy matrix with the barrier itself.

At this moment, the entire Unlimited Blade Works felt like an extension of his body. He could sense every shift, the position and strength of each sword, and the information contained within.

Red lines, resembling circuit board traces, appeared across his body, pulsing with red electricity. His eyes turned an eerie rust color, and his hair stood on end, whitening strand by strand.

I have created over a thousand blades.

Creak, creak...

As he moved, his bones emitted metallic sounds, like swords clashing against sheaths—as if his body contained countless sheathed blades.

Unknown to Death, Nor known to life...

“So that’s how it works—you can deploy the barrier first, then recite the incantation,” Zhao Tianhe realized, gazing at the giant gears above. His pupils morphed into cogwheel shapes.

At this moment, a strange sensation washed over him.

‘Is this really Unlimited Blade Works?’

Have withstood pain to create many weapons.

The system’s notifications rang out nonstop as the barrier expanded.

“You gained ‘Lord of the Sword in the Lake (Pseudo)’ bonus: +1 to all attributes.”

“You gained ‘Lord of the Sword in the Stone (Pseudo)’ bonus: +1 Strength and Agility.”

“You gained ‘Lord of Ganjiang and Moye (Pseudo)’ bonus: +1 Base Defense and All Resistances.”

“You gained ‘Lord of Yuchang Sword (Pseudo)’ bonus: +2 Agility.”

“You gained ‘Lord of Muramasa (Pseudo)’ bonus: +3 Strength.”

“You acquired Dual-Handed Swordsmanship proficiency.”

“You acquired Swordsmanship specialization.”

“You acquired Dagger specialization.”

The flood of attribute and skill enhancements instantly transformed the frail Gatling mage into a melee berserker! Of course, these boosts lasted only while Unlimited Blade Works remained active.

“No wonder Shirou Emiya could spar with Gilgamesh. So that’s how it is…” Zhao Tianhe had no idea what true Unlimited Blade Works felt like, but now he had only one impression: it was addictive.

Yet, those hands will never hold anything.

An air bullet struck Zhao Tianhe’s head, sparking brilliantly.

His head jerked back, but his body stood as if nailed to the ground. Blood trickled down his forehead, but the blood turned into iron flakes as it fell. The skin around the wound shimmered metallically, revealing a strange sharpness before healing instantly.

So as I pray...

Unlimited Blade Works!

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

Startled, Li Mei snapped back to full awareness as a battered greatsword beside her trembled violently, radiating intense murderous aura as if eager to be drawn and unleashed on the battlefield.

“Something’s wrong, something’s very wrong…” Zhao Tianhe watched the wind lord mage shrink rapidly into human form, but his attention was elsewhere.

He could sense that Unlimited Blade Works was only a fragment of something much larger—the massive gears represented just one link.

Suddenly, he thought of another famous innate barrier: Caesar’s Royal Army.

While Shirou Emiya, as a mage, having the ability to cast an innate barrier was rare but plausible, why would Caesar deploy the Royal Army?

“Responding to a summons…?” Zhao Tianhe suddenly grasped something and smiled. “So it’s like you’re ‘responding’ to me as well… But who are you? Even you don’t remember who you are, do you?”

Elsewhere, the wind lord who had launched a probing attack now appeared as a handsome man in a dark purple suit. He gazed at Zhao Tianhe and spoke slowly, “A spatial barrier with rule effects? Fascinating. I can’t even control the air here… Instead, this place is corroding my body.”

“Zhao Tianhe? Is this what they gave you after the Royal Capital incident to keep you alive? You really are special…” The man smiled with interest. “A portable spatial barrier—this must be a relic of ancient divine magic. Hahaha! To see this here is truly worth the trip!”

“Wind’s Child Wei Luan?!” Li Mei, looking as if she’d seen a ghost, pointed at the man. “You… how could you do this? You’re one of the rare geniuses in recent decades who broke the S-rank limit to become an S+ hero in human form! How could you do something like this?! Such a thing…”

“Oh? You know me?” Wei Luan laughed bitterly. “I never thought I’d become a traitor to my fans… but I have no choice.”

Bang!

A shadow flashed before Li Mei, sparks flying from violent clashes.

She fell, stunned, as an invisible shockwave dissipated and a jet-black greatsword appeared before her.

Wei Luan had just unleashed a silent supersonic air bullet, but Zhao Tianhe detected and blocked it.

Screech, screech, screech...

Countless broken longswords, shortswords, and greatswords rose from the ground into the air. Red sparks flickered along their blades as the damaged swords instantly transformed into elegant, imposing weapons radiating unique auras.

Thousands—perhaps tens of thousands—of swords blotted out the sky.

Li Mei watched, even more shocked than when her idol had once tried to kill her.

She knew Zhao Tianhe was strong, but this was beyond strength; this was blatant cheating!

Wei Luan eyed Zhao Tianhe as golden sparks flickered around him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rocked Zhao Tianhe’s body, shaking him violently, yet his feet remained planted firmly.

The invisible air explosions had reached the destructive power of eighth-level magic, with no energy wasted, showcasing Wei Luan’s mastery over his spells.

But Zhao Tianhe, enhanced by countless attributes, was now part of Unlimited Blade Works, his power exceeding even that of the original spirit, Shirou Emiya. If one had to compare, he was a fusion of Emiya and his alter ego, rivaling top-tier heroic spirits.

The intense heat and pressure could only strip away some iron flakes on him; his recovery outpaced the damage.

Meanwhile, the sky-filling swords rained down on Wei Luan, but his air shield held firm, only rippling under their impact.

The dense swords covering the shield made Wei Luan resemble a sea urchin. Even blades on the level of the pseudo Lord of the Sword in the Lake could only penetrate a few centimeters.

Invisible air blasts clashed against Unlimited Blade Works!

Leveraging the innate barrier’s power, Zhao Tianhe fought the terrifying eighth-level grand mage to a standstill.

“How interesting. Are you also connected to the Royal Capital affair?” Zhao Tianhe pressed forward despite the air explosions shaking his upper body, his legs unwavering.

His body was no longer flesh and blood but a conceptual aggregation of countless swords, tens of times tougher than steel.

Electric sparks and circuit-like patterns danced in the air around his right hand. The next moment, a familiar greatsword materialized in his grasp.

Pseudo Lord of the Sword in the Lake projection created!

Wei Luan watched as the ever-trembling swords in the air shield slowly advanced, one pale gray, conical longsword less than five centimeters from his chest.

“So what if I am? What if I’m not?” Wei Luan smiled at Zhao Tianhe.

“Now, you intend to send the demons to attack Saint Rose Port, don’t you?” Zhao Tianhe’s expression was calm.

“...” Wei Luan remained silent.

“Fine, I understand.” Expressionless, Zhao Tianhe raised the pseudo Lord of the Sword in the Lake. Golden light rippled like waves across the blade.

A vast flow of mana poured from the innate barrier through Zhao Tianhe into the sword. Within several kilometers, faint golden glimmers appeared.

“Though this sword is illusory, this heart remains true. Unlimited Blade Works, Steel-Cutting Sword, activate!”

Zhao Tianhe lifted the holy sword high, surging waves of light bursting forth.

“Hahaha! No more playing around!” Wei Luan laughed and ceased the utterly ineffective air explosions.