There was something different about the pirate captain when he got serious.
Bruh had just managed to dodge that treacherous feint using a burst of air, but Blood-Red Whiskey closed the distance with just a step, catching up to him again.
The pressure from his blade was contained, no longer giving Bruh any chance to leverage the air to dodge.
The heavy and powerful blade found an opening and struck hard on the shoulder of the knight’s heavy armor. CLANG!
Not caring for defense, the Guardian Knight held his sword in the Right Hoe Stance of the four basic stances and countered with a close-quarters charge.
Blood-Red Whiskey, as if anticipating this, retracted like a spring, stepping back half a step. Then, at the moment Bruh’s charge exhausted its momentum, he sprang back into action.
Blades clashed. With absolute speed and supreme strength, he shattered Bruh’s guard. Bruh staggered back several steps. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
It was only through his solid foundation in swordsmanship, his heavy armor, and the borrowed power of Storm’s Child that he could barely steady himself.
So strong, unnaturally strong!
Under the Guardian Knight’s helmet, his expression changed several times. He felt the man before him, though blurry-eyed, possessed a mind as clear as a mirror.
It was as if he could perfectly control both body and spirituality.
A single unit of his strength, in his hands, could produce the effect of three, even four or five units. It was as though there was a monster hidden within the human body.
This gap should not exist between a normal Second Order and First Rank Transcendent.
Moreover, Bruh had borrowed his lord’s Second Order core technique, yet he still had almost no power to fight back.
Watching the mist of whiskey slowly flow along the other’s blade, and perceiving the unique way he breathed, the Guardian Knight seemed to suddenly understand. He could not help exclaiming in shock, "It’s Flow State! Has your swordsmanship already reached the realm of Flow State?!"
Blood-Red Whiskey exhaled slowly. Visibly red light flickered at his nostrils, and the sound of blood flowing in his body was as intense as roaring steam.
An intense sense of danger kept pricking Bruh’s brow like needles.
It felt as if Blood-Red Whiskey’s sword could effortlessly cut through steel. Not even the knight’s heavy armor offered any sense of safety.
In that critical moment, two gunshots suddenly rang out from behind Blood-Red Whiskey.
The pirate captain, who had been about to lunge forward, turned around as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
With a flick of his sword, he used the slanted blade to deflect two bullets in an instant.
However, two longswords, following closely behind the bullets, prevented him from taking Bruh’s life.
Catherine, clad in shiny silver armor still damp with water vapor, led the charge.
Her Swift Sword, tracing the trajectories and algorithms of Marichevsky’s Circle from the Supreme Art, struck at his most vulnerable point beneath the ribs.
Byron, having activated Storm’s Child, seemed as if he could take flight, treading on the wind itself.
Previously, if asked about the idea of spiraling into the sky by stepping on one’s own feet, he would have called it absurd. But now, he too could perform such a heaven-defying feat!
The Frost in his hand transformed into a bolt of lightning, aiming for Blood-Red Whiskey’s head—a critical point the pirate captain would be forced to defend.
This core technique, in Byron’s hands compared to Bruh’s, could only be described as worlds apart.
The Guardian Knight, having narrowly escaped death behind Blood-Red Whiskey, spun his blade around and boldly thrust at his wide-open back.
The incredible tacit understanding cultivated from growing up together granted the three friends an effect far beyond the sum of their parts when they joined forces.
Even though the pirate captain was caught off guard by the clear and coordinated attack, he remained unfazed, even pleased by the challenge.
There was a crisp sound from all over his body as he suddenly curled into a tight ball.
In that instant, he dodged the simultaneous attack of the three blades. Then, using Catherine’s suddenly extended Swift Sword for leverage, he forcefully broke out of the encirclement.
Swordsmanship, timing, vision, strategy... A failure in any aspect would have meant certain death in such a dire situation.
Yet Blood-Red Whiskey personally demonstrated to the three what it meant to handle such a deadly situation with masterful ease.
It’s really the Flow State!
And he’s mastered it so well, perfectly controlling his mind and body. He can exert 100% of his potential. The commands issued by his brain are executed by his body with 100% efficiency. As long as the physiological structure allows, he can easily accomplish it.
Even faced with a three-versus-one, the later-arriving Byron and Catherine immediately felt as if they were facing a formidable adversary.
They were wholly convinced that this pirate leader, who had suddenly emerged to rob their territory, had clearly breached the Flow State—a realm desired by countless Transcendents but reached by few.
Strictly speaking, Flow State was not a transcendent ability but a profoundly mysterious spiritual realm.
Both Transcendents and ordinary people could potentially master it.
It didn’t originate from swordsmen but from a group of Ascetic Monks in the Church, who honored it with noble names such as Divine Revelation and Divine Inspiration.
To give an example, sometimes a person has a day off at home and does nothing but laze around all day, yet still feels tired as if they haven’t rested at all.
But sometimes, despite having worked all day, one may suddenly feel a surge of creative inspiration in the evening, unstoppable as if divinely assisted; this is a taste of nearing the Flow State.
There’s a vast difference between a disordered mind and one in harmonious order.
Many knew that there are five keys to achieving this state:
"First, focused attention and complete immersion; second, having a goal for which you are willing to pay the price; third, immediate feedback; fourth, because of total concentration, everyday trivialities are completely forgotten and blocked out; fifth, achieving a selfless state."
Because of the natural compatibility between swordsmanship, life-and-death battles, and these five key points, an exceptional number of swordmasters reach the Flow State.
Once one enters the Flow State, this powerful spiritual state can be applied not just to swordsmanship, but to all aspects of daily life and transcendent abilities.
In the hands of a farmer, a sword is not much better than a fire-poking stick, but in the hands of a skilled swordsman, it is invincible.
A Second Order Transcendent without the enhancement of Flow State was considered baseline; with it, they were at the peak.
Regrettably, although Byron and Catherine had both vaguely touched upon the edge of Flow State, they had yet to truly take that crucial step.
"Heh, I originally just casually picked a backwater place to make a quick buck, never expected to encounter a few experts. You are worth my, Blood-Red Whiskey’s, full effort."
Having drunk a whole bottle of strong liquor as his "staple food," Alfred’s wild side was fully displayed.
He pulled a greasy pig’s ear wrapped in oil paper from his coat, chewed it a couple of times, and swallowed it.
Then, he exhaled a hot breath, a product of his rapidly circulating blood, and his breathing pattern suddenly changed once again.
The power of every muscle, every layer of fascia, and every organ in his body was unified through the conduit of his breath.
When his breathing resonated with the Fischer Slash Sword in his hand, his whole being pounced like a ferocious tiger toward Bruh, the weakest of the three.
The moment their blades clashed, sparks flew. Blood-Red Whiskey’s sword unexpectedly shattered the well-crafted Bastard Sword with a single slash.
"Secret Sword Technique: Sword Listening - Mad Tempest!"
This was a Secret Sword Technique usable only by those who had reached or surpassed the Flow State. Although not a transcendent ability itself, its effects were comparable.
"Sword Listening" actually involved using the tactile sense in one’s fingertips to "listen"—to feel for weak spots in an opponent’s power. It had nothing to do with pig’s ears enhancing hearing.
But such matters of mysticism could not always be fully explained by science.
Byron activated the full empowerment of the Mad Hunt Legion. Especially with four Second Order Undead Servants enhancing his various attributes by half, his overall capabilities increased significantly.
He transformed into a fleeting shadow and barely managed to intercept the attack aimed at Bruh.
But in the ensuing fight, even though the three of them attacked together, it felt more like Blood-Red Whiskey alone was overwhelming all three of them.
In the distance, the Golden Deer’s crew dared not fire its cannons easily, fearing friendly fire. It would still take some time for the sailors from the three ships to land at the port.
Bruh was reduced to a human shield, barely deflecting the edge of Blood-Red Whiskey’s blade. Catherine’s Supreme Art, which could normally calculate everything, seemed inadequate before true Flow State.
Only Byron, with his almost unfairly fast speed, could truly keep up with his opponent’s rhythm.
He naturally bore the brunt of the pressure.
Flow State can be considered a simplified version of Breath of All Things, another advancement path for the Storm Knight. The only difference is that Breath of All Things can listen to and even control all inanimate and living things, but Flow State can only perfectly control one’s own spirituality and body. Even if it doesn’t reach the degree where one can use a stick to cut through steel, cutting through another’s sword with a sword poses no problem. If one can reach the second level, it would almost be equivalent to comprehending another form of Breath of All Things postnatally. Of course, even though I chose another path, my grasp of Breath of All Things is shallow, and I still can’t beat him. Being on the same track will only mean I get countered harder. I must think of a way.
Byron realized that although he had faced the Maelstrom and even tangled with Third Order Transcendents, his successes had been due to skillfully utilizing Hightins’ rules rather than his own true abilities.
Today, encountering Blood-Red Whiskey in the backwaters of the Tayman Archipelago, he no longer dared to underestimate the Transcendents from the Bantaan Archipelago.
In perilous circumstances, they obviously outclassed counterparts of the same rank from the Old Continent by a wide margin.
The sly treachery of the old Priest and the exquisite swordsmanship of Blood-Red Whiskey both left a deep impression on him.
Time ticked by. With each passing second, the pressure on Byron in the melee grew stronger.
Several times, he was tempted to use his Mad Hunt title ability—sacrificing all his Undead Servants to summon the full panoply of the Wild Hunt Knight.
But revealing his identity would simply not be worth the loss.
Moreover, in this chaotic battle, his swordsmanship was being relentlessly honed by an expert. It grew more refined, and he seemed to draw ever closer to that coveted state.
His figure became increasingly elusive.
After an indeterminate amount of time, just when the delicate balance became hard to sustain, a flash of enlightenment burst forth in his eyes.
"I... have understood it!"
Catherine, in perfect sync, immediately sensed that Byron was about to counterattack.
With a light cry, all the Mithril from her Silver Moon Bracelet surged out. Amidst a splendid display of silver light, it transformed into a... nineteen-meter-long greatsword.
The blazing white sword light, bitingly cold, instantly swept towards the pirate captain, whose face had suddenly turned pale.
At the same time, Byron, sword in his left hand, fiercely smashed a vial filled with white powder onto the ground with his right.
In the palm of his right hand, a whirlwind gathered the scattered powder, condensing it into a faintly white Storm Battle Axe, which he hurled with great force.
As Blood-Red Whiskey, caught in a pincer attack with no way to evade, met the axe with his blade, their clash erupted in a thunderous explosion.
A cloud of fluttering powder completely enveloped the formidable enemy.
Yes, in the nick of time, what Byron realized was not some Flow State, but...the true essence of swordsmanship!