The Mech Touch

The Cloudstrider Sword School was a sword school founded by an expert pilot who excelled at piloting light mechs.

Unlike many other sword styles, the Cloudstrider Sword Style did not center around the manner of attack. Instead, its starting point was mobility.

In other words, the usage of the sword came secondary to how to move on the battlefield!

The Breeze Steps that Ivan Reid had consistently demonstrated up until now could be performed without ever swinging the sword. Through some unknown means, Ivan's will surrounded his body and began to distort his body and the immediate environment in a way that allowed him to run faster without the aid of any special equipment.

This was incredible! Ketis and the Swordmaidens completely didn't expect that sword initiates were capable of channeling so much power. They were completely unlike expert candidates, who merely became a lot more skilled at piloting mechs but weren't capable of doing anything extraordinary.

As the hurricane rush swept over Ketis, her suited body stepped back again and again in order to bleed off the kinetic energy that had collided against her. She completely didn't expect that a light and airy sword style could deliver such a solid impact!

A clattering sound echoed in the air as Shiva disgracefully landed on the arena floor.

Ketis failed to maintain her hold over her weapon!

Such a loss was not only shameful, but also a sign that she was outmatched. It was not easy to wrench a sword away from its wielder, but Ivan did so in an overpowering fashion!

After losing her weapon, Ketis panicked a bit. She was keenly aware that the loss of her weapon left her open to follow-up attacks. Even if Ivan needed to recover from his great exertion, his speed was beyond her capability to defend against!

Fortunately, she possessed another weapon.

She never chose to leave her upgraded CFA greatsword behind even as she became more accustomed to wielding Shiva. The latter may be a powerful tool, but the former was always the weapon that accompanied her life!

Since she received it as a reward from the Starlight Megalodon, she had already fallen in love with it. The large weapon built with outdated first-class materials and design principles might not seem much to an organization as powerful as the Common Fleet Alliance, but to a small figure like her, it was like the weapon of a god!

Through several different battles, its blade had tasted the blood of pirates and other scum. With each fight, she grew more intimate with the weapon.

A major change happened when Ves incorporated the greatsword with a layer of Unending alloy. The mass, balance and dimensions of her weapon had changed. It couldn't be helped as Ves and Ketis didn't possess enough high-end equipment to make a more thorough modification of the weapon.

Even so, such a problem did not deter Ketis. She patiently relearned how to fight with her transformed weapon. Soon enough, she was able to wield the larger blade with as much proficiency as before. In fact, with the help of all of the candies she digested recently, her stronger physique allowed her to wield the heavy weapon with greater ease and fluency than before!

As soon as she finished drawing out her CFA greatsword, she felt as if she had finally returned home after enjoying a long vacation.

The exotic Shiva and its accompanying Annihilator Sword Style may have given her the power to annihilate anything, but she never felt she was meant to fight this way.

The greatsword had always been the Swordmaiden weapon of choice. Ketis was no different in this regard. The greater heft and reach of her favorite weapon quickly grounded her, allowing her to clamp down her panic and regain her composure.

No matter what, a Swordmaiden should never lose control! Negative emotions such as fear, panic or confusion only made her muddle-headed. They should never be allowed to dominate her decision-making!

Seeing that an imminent attack wasn't coming, Ketis forcefully calmed herself down and kept an eye on her opponent.

The man's attention wasn't even on her anymore. He had distanced himself from her just so he could raise his arms to greet the well-wishes of the crowd!

"You go, Ivan!"

"Teach her a lesson!"

"Take away her other sword before you force her to kneel!"

"Cloudstrider! Cloudstrider! Cloudstrider!"

Ivan's dazzling performance not only caused the audience to cheer him on, but also served as a great advertisement for the Cloudstrider Sword School!

Just like Ketis, Ivan not only fought for himself, but also his organization. His actions confirmed with his goal of promoting his school. This was why he foolishly did not seek to eliminate his opponent straight away, but sought to draw out the uneven duel in order to milk its publicity value to the greatest extent!

Ketis had a hard time repressing her anger as she realized how much her current foe looked down on her. In Ivan's eyes, she was not a qualified opponent at all. The disparity in strength was so great that her only use for him was to serve as his foil in front of the citizens of the Heavensword Association!

Even though this kind of approach was foolish to the extreme in an actual battle, Ketis had to admit that the Cloudstrider head disciple had the luxury to treat her with contempt.

"Have you understood the might of the Cloudstrider Sword Style?" Ivan teasingly asked.

Although he ostensibly posed this question to Ketis, his words were actually directed towards the audience in the arena and those watching at home!

Trillions of Heavensworders had just witnessed a dazzling spectacle. Up until this point, the seeded competitors never encountered an opponent that was strong enough to merit so much effort.

They were only scheduled to meet each other in the later stages of the tournaments, so it was quite hard for them to stand out before that time. Ivan actually felt fortunate that he was able to bump into a dark horse as strong as Ketis so early. With the timing advantage of this match, he became assured that he would become the first sword initiate to truly stand out from his rivals!

Though Ketis felt contemptuous at Ivan's approach, his strength could not be denied. As a swordswoman, she did not wish to lie even if doing so would play into her opponent's intentions.

"Your sword style is considerably more comprehensive than I realized."

"Our Cloudstrider Sword School is an institution that has existed for over a century." Ivan grinned with satisfaction. "Three generations of expert pilots and swordmasters have successfully mastered our sword style. Not only that, each of them has expanded it with their own insights and techniques."

Ketis was glad that Ivan chose to hold an exposition instead of finishing her off. With each second that passed, she was able to recover from her earlier ordeal. She knew she had to center herself and enter into a more focused state in order to pose a challenge against the sword initiate.

"The founder of our school excelled at mobility. He created our sword style and quickly brought it to prominence due to his novel movement techniques. Our second swordmaster sought to combine the strengths of the Cloudstrider Sword Style with defense. He introduced several useful techniques that combined defense with evasion. Our third swordmaster saw that our style lacked offense so she created several offensive techniques that leveraged momentum."

"That sounds messy. If different swordmasters keep focusing on different aspects, won't the Cloudstrider Sword Style turn into a bloated and mediocre method?"

Ivan barked a laugh! "Hahahaha! We are not novices who play at wielding swords. We have some of the best and most insightful swordmasters in our school! They are more than wise and restrained enough to respect the original form of our style. While our Cloudstrider Sword Style is not the fastest, sturdiest or deadliest available in our state, it is definitely one of the most comprehensive fighting methods that you can learn! Among all of the agility-oriented sword in our state, only ours is compatible with most swordsmen! There is always something for everyone, so the risk of making the wrong choice is also the lowest!"

This was one of the most important reasons why the Cloudstrider Sword School had become one of the most popular ones in recent decades. As long as any mech pilot or swordsman emphasized mobility, their fit with the sword style would always be sufficient.

Other sword styles that pursued the extreme of speed or evasion were different. Someone might be good at sprinting but relatively bad at making agile movements. If such an individual joined a sword school that mainly sought to enhance evasion, then the swordsman would have a very bad time!

No swordsman wanted to waste years or decades of his life on training the wrong sword style. A bad fit could easily delay their progression to the point where the path to becoming a sword initiate or swordmaster would be closed!

Therefore, even if the Cloudstrider Sword Style was surpassed by many other sword styles in specific areas, its comprehensiveness attracted lots of different swordsmen who did not exactly know their area of excellence and were too afraid to take a gamble!

With all of this positive development, the Cloudstrider Sword School's situation was completely different from that of the Annihilator Sword School. The former had multiple swordmasters who could each continue to build upon what their predecessors had accomplished.

A sword style didn't have to be static. They changed depending on different circumstances. Just like how Venerable Dise sought to enrich the Swordmaiden Sword Style, every other strong practitioner yearned to expand on the legacy they learned so that their contributions would also be passed on to the generation!

Ketis recognized the ambitious glint in Ivan's eye. She still needed time to regulate her body and sort out her messy mind, so she decided to keep playing her expected role.

"I guess you wish to become the fourth swordmaster to expand upon the Cloudstrider Sword Style."

"Exactly! I have trained patiently since my youth. I have trained in every move to a satisfactory level of proficiency. Even though I have yet to mastered any of my sword style's techniques, there is no one in my school who can make use of all of the possibilities. Only by doing this will I be qualified to expand on my sword style!"

"What do you hope to add to the Cloudstrider Sword Style?"

Ivan smirked. "Ah, that is a question that I shall answer at another time. Have you enjoyed the reprieve that I have given you? Did I give you enough time to regain your composure? I don't want you to collapse too easily. It would be so boring for me to take advantage of your weakness and send you packing from this festival so soon!"

The audience laughed. They did not think that there was anything wrong with his behavior. Instead, they approved of it! They were fully accustomed to theatrical performances in the arena!

All of this made Ketis more contemptuous of the Heavensworders. They all claimed to embody true swordsmanship, but their obsession with holding so many tournaments had long put them on a crooked path.

Still, her views weren't necessarily correct. Without the strength to back up her assertions, there was no point in feeling smug about her superiority!

She gripped her greatsword tighter. She had always wanted to fight against a true opponent with her personal weapon. She had never fought with it after its latest upgrade!

Her battle intent rose and her affinity with her weapon rose. Sharpie had turned back into its original form, so Ketis felt more attuned than ever with the sharpness of her long and deadly blade.

Compared to a second-class weapon like Shiva, her CFA greatsword was vastly superior!

Ivan sensed something different in Ketis. He became a bit serious.

"Do you know what the motto of our sword school is?" He asked as he started to step forward with light but swift steps.

"No."

"Then let me illuminate your ignorant mind."

The breeze around him turned into a hurricane as he replicated his earlier charge!

Ketis immediately felt the threat. Even if she wielded a larger weapon this time, she could not guarantee she would be able to fend off the incoming attack.

"As light as a cloud, as heavy as a storm!"