Chapter 86: Conqueror's Haki Infusion
Noah wanted to test his various abilities after attaining godhood.
As for an opponent, Scáthach was indeed the best candidate for testing his capabilities.
After all, Artoria always held back when sparring with him, and other knights had similar issues—even White was no exception.
Noah had originally planned to seek out one of White's avatars for testing, but he never expected Scáthach to proactively challenge him.
No reason to refuse.
Since Scáthach was strong enough and wouldn't hold back even in practice.
Therefore.
No reason to refuse!
Watching Scáthach brandish her pair of crimson spears and charge at him, Noah met her head-on.
Scáthach's assault remained as ferocious as ever. As she advanced, her momentum shifted with her center of gravity, unleashing a curtain of attacks as dense as rainfall straight toward Noah.
Noah could tell that since their last encounter, Scáthach's "spear curtain" had undergone targeted enhancements.
If her previous spear curtain resembled a curved, gaping maw designed to ensnare opponents, her current version was truly like a downpour—erratic in trajectory, varying in intensity, seemingly chaotic yet concealing lethal intent.
To draw an analogy, it was like hiding cone-shaped hailstones within a heavy storm, any one of which could crack a skull.
Against weaker foes, her former spear curtain would have been optimal.
But against Noah, whose core philosophy was "cutting through rain to reveal the rainbow," such a predictable formation was clearly inadequate.
This irregular pattern made it harder to dissect and left fewer openings.
In pure martial terms, that's how it should be.
However, as Noah faced the oncoming spear curtain, his Observation Haki continuously activated.
It wasn't that Scáthach's movements slowed; rather, he could distinctly perceive the direction, force, and threat level of each strike.
As if... the seasoned veteran's instinctual sense of danger had materialized into a fifth external sense, independent of sight, hearing, smell, or touch!
Truly miraculous.
Because Noah could clearly gauge the threat of Scáthach's attacks, he responded in a way she never anticipated.
He switched the Holy Lance to his left hand, gripped Caliburn in his right, and his gaze pierced straight through the dense spear curtain to lock onto Scáthach herself.
Like a mad dog, he tore away everything in his vision except the target!
It was as if the spear curtain simply didn't exist to him.
So...
————He directly crashed through Scáthach's spears with his own flesh, thrust out his left hand, and leveraged the Holy Lance's reach to forcibly pull Scáthach toward him through her own barrage.
Then, using this bizarre method to interrupt Scáthach's attack, Noah directly swung the already fully-arced Caliburn straight at Scáthach's head!
Clang!
Even Scáthach, whose combat state was rarely affected, was visibly disrupted by Noah's sudden, unconventional move.
Facing Noah's assault, she could only retract her twin spears, slightly adjust her grip on the shafts, and cross them in an X-shape at the optimal point of force application.
Noah's sword slammed directly into the crossed spears.
As the sword and spears clashed, Noah narrowed his eyes, and Caliburn's blade was instantly coated in a steely, gleaming black—Armament Haki.
And then...
Haa—!
A low roar escaped Noah's lips unconsciously. Just as the Armament Haki-coated Caliburn was about to make contact with Scáthach's crossed spears, crimson lightning flickered across the pitch-black blade.
Even before Noah's sword touched Scáthach's spears, an invisible flame seemed to ignite with his motion, striking Scáthach's defensive stance first.
Bang!
After blocking this attack, Scáthach, who had intended to use the downward pressure to counterattack at close range, froze.
Because with Noah's strike, his terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted at that very moment!
In that instant, the overwhelming willpower made Scáthach's vision darken, and even the flow of Magecraft within her stalled. Enveloped by this will, Scáthach felt that for at least a brief moment, both her thoughts and Magecraft circulation had completely halted!
Hmph!
—This attack wasn't just physical; it carried a mental assault as well.
And...
Such a refined mental strike!
Forcing one's will through a direct attack, executing both physical actions and mental intent thoroughly in a single lifetime... How domineering!
Scáthach had encountered many mental assaults from Magecraft, but this was the first time she had seen a mental attack technique so perfectly suited for a warrior!
Moreover, this move didn't just add a mental attack characteristic to the technique; that incredibly domineering will clearly enhanced Noah's strike as well!
When that sword descended, Scáthach felt as if the weight of the entire world was crashing down upon her!
Such a heavy sword combined with the oppressive, suffocating sensation of sinking into the abyss under terrifying intimidation... What a powerful blow!
Impressive.
Indeed, after acquiring Armament Haki, this was another technique Noah wanted to test—Conqueror's Haki Infusion!
Noah's Armament Haki hadn't undergone a qualitative change, but after being deified, its amplification was considerable.
His Conqueror's Haki, however, had undergone a qualitative transformation.
If he were thrown into the world of pirates now, whether he had the strongest Armament Haki was unclear, but he undoubtedly possessed the strongest Conqueror's Haki.
A waste.
With such Conqueror's Haki, it would truly be wasteful not to perform Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
And after executing Conqueror's Haki Infusion, Noah was clearly very satisfied with its power.
He was so satisfied that he had even held back moments ago.
Otherwise, the instant Scáthach lost focus and her magical energy ceased flowing, Noah's sword would have descended directly, splitting her in two on the spot!
And Scáthach clearly realized this as well.
So after Noah showed restraint, she didn't seize the opportunity to attack. Instead, she used the force of their clash to extricate herself from Noah's attack range.
Watching Scáthach do this, Noah didn't pursue or continue his assault, but silently waited for her.
After retreating some distance, Scáthach adjusted the grip on her twin spears... or more accurately, she shifted her center of gravity entirely downward, exerting tremendous pressure on her legs. It was like compressing a spring before use to test its resilience—similarly, Scáthach was allowing her legs to briefly adapt to this sensation.
Then, Scáthach's battle intent of 0.4 erupted once more alongside her increasingly frenzied smile.
"Come on, Noah. Even if you've become a god now, there's no need to hold back—because..."
As Scáthach spoke these words, Noah's Observation Haki screamed with intense danger.
In the brief future he foresaw, Scáthach's figure appeared before him in the very next second, entering the inner defensive circle where his left-hand spear couldn't generate power!
So Noah immediately switched the Holy Lance to his right hand and Caliburn to his left.
The moment Scáthach materialized, Caliburn—capable of rapid retraction—coordinated with the Holy Lance's tip, which could swiftly rotate from behind Noah to his front. Together, they blocked Scáthach's strike, which was so fast it could deceive even a god's eyes and could only be captured by Observation Haki... or more precisely, by the future-predicting aspect of Observation Haki!
Clang!
As the sound of clashing metal rang out, the latter half of Scáthach's sentence—far slower than her speed—finally drifted over:
"...I've killed quite a few gods already!"
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