Ch-293. **Heaven and Earth Genesis**
—
Softness overcomes hardness.
Half true—and half false.
Strength has no limit, but softness does.
Moreover, sustaining softness requires far more effort and exertion than maintaining strength.
Wilhelm’s swordsmanship was exactly that.
After dominating a domain, he reversed and exploited the opponent’s power.
*Absolute strength exists, but absolute softness does not.*
If you strike and shatter, you wear down.
Using an opponent’s power is indeed the supreme martial art of countering great force with little strength—but to perform even a single reflection demands concentration beyond imagination.
Worse still, it uses joints in unnatural ways; continue fighting like that, and in the end, no matter what it is, it will wear away and disappear.
But what about himself?
Limitless strength.
The more he strikes, the stronger he becomes.
That is why he is certain of victory.
And there is more.
*He isn’t moving much. No—he can’t move.*
They had exchanged only a single clash, but that was enough.
Despite having opportunities to inflict far greater damage, Wilhelm had merely shaved his skin.
That meant Wilhelm was deliberately restraining any movement beyond the area the opponent entered.
In other words—
*Counterattacking. He is focusing every ounce of attention solely on that.*
He does not move.
He never did from the start.
He merely counters whatever comes at him.
Sansha, who poured everything into his attack from the outset, had in effect chosen death himself.
But then—why?
Why, despite possessing such overwhelming ability, was Wilhelm doing nothing but *countering*?
“Are you not accustomed to moving this body?”
“…….”
Wilhelm did not answer.
Because it was not wrong.
Though he had secured ten hours of movement by combining Park Hyun-myung’s body, ten complete Golden Scales, and Karas’s divinity—
*It’s insufficient.*
Moving another person’s body was no easy task.
Even for Wilhelm.
Especially without a single piece of his usual equipment.
This was not a proper resurrection.
Everything was lacking—nothing was complete.
Though the Golden Scale had transformed his appearance into Wilhelm’s, in the end this body was still not his own.
Perhaps that was why.
More than anything else, it was insufficient.
The body could not keep up with the will.
Subtle differences in height, in muscle composition, in neural transmission speed—
It was not enough to execute his ultra-precise swordsmanship.
*No. That’s just an excuse.*
Wilhelm shook his head.
All of that was nothing more than an excuse.
That damned god had moved Wilhelm’s own body as if it were truly his.
Without a single mistake, he had carried out countless feats flawlessly.
If he could do it, then Wilhelm could as well.
He did not need that damned god’s help.
“I will give you time to adjust. I too wish to fight you at your best.”
“I don’t need it.”
Wilhelm rejected Raiga’s offer outright.
This level of adversity was not even worth calling adversity.
Then Wilhelm raised his head and looked straight at Raiga.
*The Empire’s First Sword.*
He had long known Raiga’s reputation.
The greatest contributor to expanding the Empire’s territory through Abyss exploration, always mentioned in the same breath as Wilhelm himself.
He, Wilhelm, and everyone watching this fight all wondered the same thing.
Who is stronger?
Who is the strongest?
“Then… it can’t be helped.”
Whoosh!
Kuuuurrrrr!
The red aura dwelling within Raiga erupted like a living volcano.
“Second Gate—Open.”
The First Gate grants tyrannical power.
The Second Gate gives rise to speed like light.
But it did not stop there.
Hoooooong!
“Third Gate—Open.”
The surging energies that had risen like a volcano were drawn back into Raiga’s body.
The opening of the Third Gate creates the hardest body in the world.
In this state, Raiga is close to invincible.
He could slaughter even the lords of the Abyss indiscriminately.
Kraaaak!
As he compressed his body, muscles packed with a crushing sound—
Piiing—!
In a fleeting instant, Raiga vanished.
But even that was only for an instant.
Baanng!
Raiga’s sword disrupted Wilhelm’s stance.
The blade vibrated at high speed, aiming straight for Wilhelm’s neck.
Sssiiik!
Blade met blade, producing a chilling sound.
Wilhelm tried to counter even this force, but countering a sword moving with ultra-high-frequency vibration was by no means easy.
Even if he did counter it, striking Raiga’s body would be impossible.
Instead, only his own stamina would wear down.
Still—being able to receive it at all was astounding.
No one had ever endured Raiga’s blade after the Third Gate had been opened to this extent.
Enduring Raiga’s speed itself bordered on a miracle.
A smile crept onto Raiga’s lips.
*Let’s see how long you can endure, Wilhelm.*
*
*
—Can you see anything?
—No… I can’t see anything.
—It looks like Wilhelm is getting pushed back.
—Was Raiga really the strongest?
The community exploded once again.
A clash between Knight Kings.
No one could predict what would happen next.
But as time passed, Wilhelm seemed to be pushed back little by little.
Soon, posts defending him began to appear.
—Of course he’s being pushed back. Raiga is in peak condition, while Wilhelm doesn’t even have a single piece of his usual equipment.
—Oh right. All of it was dismantled and displayed in the Golden Scale shop, wasn’t it?
—He’s not getting any collection bonuses from unique-grade gear. Of course he’s weaker.
—Then how many uniques is Raiga wearing?
—At least five that we know of. Probably more.
—Damn, that gear advantage is insane.
—Gear advantage can’t be helped.
—But isn’t it even more impressive that he’s evenly matched despite that?
The presence or absence of unique-grade equipment has a tremendous impact on combat.
If the disparity is overwhelming, there are limits to overturning it through pure skill alone.
—No matter what, I’m rooting for Wilhelm.
—Wilhelm, the man who led the Grand Expedition alone when everyone tried to stop him.
—Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone in Pangaenia as honorable as Wilhelm.
—I thought he was Phantom’s sub-character… but wasn’t Wilhelm the very foundation of the Phantom faith?
Phantom—the being everyone wondered about.
At the center of the legend that Phantom became stood Wilhelm.
Had the Grand Expedition succeeded, it would have been a legend told for eternity.
Yet then, as now, the only one who advocated and carried out the expedition into the Demon Realm was Wilhelm.
The one who recognized the danger of the Demon Realm and stepped forward with courage.
Many players felt guilty toward the man who had charged ahead at the risk of death.
—If we’d known it would become reality instead of just a game…
—We wouldn’t have treated finding Phantom or sabotaging Wilhelm as content.
—I’m sorry, Wilhelm.
Had they known monsters would be summoned to Earth and demonkind would invade, they would never have done such things.
Hunting characters thought to be Phantom’s alts.
Or sabotaging Wilhelm’s trials.
They would have done none of it.
Instead, they would have joined his courageous challenge.
But back during the Grand Expedition, Pangaenia was, to them, nothing more than an unusual game.
Everything began only after the expedition ended.
—Wilhelm! Win!
—Don’t lose!
And so, one by one, people began to cheer for Wilhelm.
*
*
Blessings gather.
Divine protection accumulates.
Little by little, the trickling stream became a raging torrent.
《User ‘Tonight’ cheers ‘Wilhelm’ with ‘Fragmented Golden Scale (50m)’.》
《User ‘Tustans’ cheers ‘Wilhelm’ with ‘Fragmented Golden Scale (1h)’.》
《User ‘funeral’ offers
‘Wilhelm’ with ‘Fragmented Golden Scale (3h)’.》
《User ‘Hyunjun’ cheers ‘Wilhelm’ with ‘Fragmented Golden Scale (21m)’.》
《User ‘Beast’s Heart’ cheers ‘Wilhelm’ with ‘Fragmented Golden Scale (2h)’.》
……
……
Messages poured in without end.
In an instant, a thousand hours’ worth of *Fragmented Golden Scale* was gathered.
And as that time accumulated—
《According to ‘Memory of the Soul,’ the form of equipment is temporarily summoned.》
《1,000 hours of Golden Scale fragments materialize ‘Path of Light’.》
Fwoooosh!
The shape of the sword changes.
*Path of Light.*
The very sword Wilhelm had once driven into the Demon King’s heart.
Though it was merely a temporary form shaped from Golden Scale fragments, it was more than enough.
At the very least, it would last for the ten hours needed to climb the tower.
*Now I can finally move properly.*
As he grasped the familiar sword, his movements became natural at last.
Controlling his body grew easier.
Will and body were becoming one.
Of course, perhaps this change was not due to blessings alone.
They were truly cheering for him—for *Wilhelm*.
Perhaps that was why.
Only now did it feel like he could finally unleash his true swordsmanship.
*Heaven.*
The *Heaven* of Heaven-and-Earth Genesis.
Swordsmanship that dominates the domain and controls the opponent.
But that was not all.
It is the ability to read the opponent—to become the opponent.
*Earth.*
The *Earth* of Heaven-and-Earth Genesis.
Swordsmanship that resonates with and nullifies all attacks.
But again, it is not merely about negating attacks.
Becoming the opponent, resonating with everything they are, and understanding them—that is its essence.
*Open.*
The *Open* of Heaven-and-Earth Genesis.
The sword that opens the world.
Transcending the opponent’s space and everything else, one becomes the center of the world itself.
From this stage onward, one can communicate with all things around them.
In other words—one becomes a god.
And then—
*Wall.*
Once more, the world is created anew.
*
*
From the moment *Path of Light* materialized—
Wilhelm’s movements, presence, everything about him changed.
But the most definitive change was—
*Swordsmanship.*
The path the sword takes.
The path itself was unchanged.
Yet the might imbued in the sword was different.
The rank of the blade—Wilhelm’s very existence—
Everything had changed.
“…What is this?”
There were no openings. No attack worked.
He was being read.
Everything was being read.
Was this what it felt like to be stripped bare in broad daylight?
As if seeing the future, Wilhelm predicted every path Raiga would take.
But that was impossible.
Wilhelm was resonating with him—perfectly.
*Is this bastard insane?*
A curse nearly escaped his lips.
To resonate with an opponent is to understand the opponent completely.
Yet it is said that even a drop of water’s path in the world cannot be fully known.
To fully understand another human—something even gods cannot do.
Unless one abandons oneself and devotes every ounce of consciousness to understanding the surroundings at all times—
And even then, the mental burden would be transcendent.
Impossible unless one were a being composed purely of mind—
A being without a body, or one that never moves its body at all, spending an eternity simply understanding the world.
Therefore, this thing was not normal.
This thing—Wilhelm—
“Guh…!”
He was being overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed.
He—the Empire’s First Sword.
The man considered the greatest among all Fang successors.
The more their blades collided, the more he felt a wall.
Impossible.
How could another understand and dismantle the swordsmanship he had honed for his entire life?
If that were possible, even the word *genius* would be insufficient.
Only someone who had exerted even greater effort than himself could do it.
But anyone who had put in such effort should naturally be attached to themselves.
They should never be able to resonate completely and perfectly with another.
…Twisted.
This man—Wilhelm—was twisted to a terrifying degree.
*Fourth Gate—Open.*
At last, Raiga opened the fourth gate.
From here on, a single mistake could lead to self-destruction.
Power capable of killing even gods.
Opening the Upper Dantian granted divine power and the ability to read all phenomena.
But—
*I can’t… win?*
He looked around.
Darkness.
He had already been devoured by Wilhelm.
Without realizing it—somewhere in that same fleeting instant when their blades first met.
Still, it was not over.
One final gate remained.
The Fifth Gate.
If he opened it, though his lifespan would be drastically shortened, he might win.
Yet Raiga shook his head inwardly.
His entire body trembled.
He raised his gaze and looked at the towering wall blocking him.
This swordsmanship—
Wilhelm’s sword—
Had not yet revealed everything.
It was not a blade containing all that Wilhelm was.
And yet—
*It has surpassed my sword.*
…He could no longer deny it.
Isabella’s words had not been wrong.
He finally understood why she had answered without the slightest hesitation when asked who was stronger.
Knight King Wilhelm.
This man—
He is the strongest.
Only foolish question something that revered as legend, just like how people took lightly of four calamities