Chapter 256: Inside Zahn’s Trap

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.

There was no bright flash.

No loud explosion.

Not even a visible wave of energy spreading through the chamber.

But Holden immediately felt the difference.

The air around him seemed unusually still.

The faint warmth from the Eclipse-Sun Sword began fading, and the crimson flames along its edge grew smaller.

Within seconds, they disappeared completely.

The chamber fell into near darkness.

Only the weak light from a few ordinary lamps built into the walls remained.

Holden looked down at his sword.

The blade was still there.

Its dark metal surface remained intact, but the black and crimson flames that usually surrounded it were gone.

He tried sending a small amount of energy into the weapon.

Nothing happened.

The energy remained inside his body, refusing to flow into the sword.

Holden tried again.

The result was the same.

His cultivation hadn’t disappeared.

He could still feel the enormous power contained within his body.

But whenever he attempted to release that energy beyond himself, the strange field prevented it.

A System notification appeared.

[Warning!]

[External Energy Suppression Field Detected!]

[Field Type: Null-Zone.]

[Effect: External Cultivation Energy Manifestation Suppressed.]

[Elemental Techniques: Unavailable.]

[Energy-Based Movement Skills: Unavailable.]

[Internal Cultivation and Physical Reinforcement: Unaffected.]

Holden read the notification carefully.

Then he glanced toward Zahn.

Interesting.

The generator wasn’t stripping away his cultivation.

It was preventing him from using techniques that required releasing energy outside his body.

That meant Hellfire Cleave wouldn’t work.

Neither would Void-Step.

Even his Abyssal-Bone Wings would be unable to deploy properly while the field remained active.

But his physical strength was still there.

His speed.

His Aether-Steel body.

And, most importantly, his 10,000x processor.

None of those depended on releasing energy into the surroundings.

Holden flexed his fingers once.

Everything felt normal.

His body was just as strong as before.

He looked toward Zahn.

The commander was watching him with a satisfied expression.

"Well?" Zahn asked. "Noticed anything?"

Holden raised the Eclipse-Sun Sword slightly.

"Yeah. My sword stopped glowing."

Zahn chuckled.

"That’s one way to describe it."

He stepped forward.

"Inside this chamber, your elemental techniques are useless. No fire. No lightning. No teleportation. Nothing that requires you to release cultivation energy."

He gestured toward the surrounding walls.

"The field covers the entire room. And with that door sealed, there’s nowhere for you to escape."

Holden glanced at the steel entrance.

"Right."

Zahn frowned slightly.

The response wasn’t what he’d expected.

Most cultivators panicked when they realized their techniques were gone.

Some desperately tried activating their abilities again and again.

Others begged for a chance to leave.

But Holden was standing there, looking almost bored.

Zahn decided to continue.

"Do you know how many people have died in this room?"

Holden looked back at him.

"I’m guessing you’re about to tell me."

"Five."

The commander raised one hand, spreading his fingers.

"Five assassins from the Royal Intelligence Division. All Rank 3 cultivators, sent here to eliminate me."

He slowly lowered his hand.

"Every one of them thought their abilities would be enough to defeat me. They relied on powerful techniques and enchanted weapons, just as you do."

Zahn’s expression hardened.

"But once the Null-Zone activated, they couldn’t use any of those things."

He paused.

"And none of them left this room alive."

Holden studied him for a moment.

"Sounds like you’ve been busy."

Zahn ignored the comment.

"Magic makes people careless. They spend so much time learning powerful techniques that they forget the basics of combat."

He reached toward his waist.

A long, curved saber rested in a plain black sheath.

Zahn slowly drew it.

SHING!

The polished steel blade caught the faint light from the emergency lamps.

It was a simple weapon, with a narrow curve and a leather-wrapped handle. There were no enchantments covering its surface, and Holden couldn’t sense any magical energy coming from it.

Just a well-maintained sword.

Zahn raised it slightly.

"This, on the other hand, requires no magic."

Holden glanced at the saber.

"Nice sword."

"I’ve carried it for twenty years."

"Good for you."

Zahn’s eyes narrowed.

He was beginning to find Holden’s responses irritating.

"I’ve spent thousands of hours training with this weapon," he continued. "Long before I became a commander, I was a soldier. I fought on battlefields where powerful techniques weren’t always enough to keep a man alive."

He adjusted his grip.

"My swordsmanship has been tested in real combat. Against trained soldiers, assassins, and cultivators who believed their strength made them untouchable."

Holden nodded.

"Sounds impressive."

"It is."

Zahn took another step forward.

"And unlike you, I don’t need flashy abilities to win a fight."

Holden glanced toward the Eclipse-Sun Sword in his hand.

Its flames were completely gone now, leaving only the dark Rank 4 blade.

But the weapon was still solid.

Still sharp.

And more than strong enough to withstand ordinary steel.

Holden almost smiled.

Does he really think the fire is the only thing that makes this sword dangerous?

Zahn continued speaking.

"Without your techniques, you’re just a young man holding a sword. You may have impressive cultivation, but that won’t teach you how to use a weapon properly."

He raised his saber into a comfortable guard position.

"And I have twenty years of experience dealing with opponents exactly like you."

Holden looked at him.

"Exactly like me?"

"Confident young cultivators who believe raw power can solve every problem."

"Right."

Zahn gave a thin smile.

"You’ve done well to reach this far. Destroying my defensive networks was an impressive move, and I won’t pretend otherwise."

He glanced toward the sealed door.

"But once you entered this chamber, the situation changed."

The commander slowly began circling toward Holden’s right.

"Outside, you had your powerful techniques and your little tricks. In here, you have none of them."

Holden turned slightly to keep him in view.

Zahn continued.

"This room was designed for situations exactly like this. A powerful enemy breaks through the outer defenses and believes the hardest part is over."

He tapped the flat of his saber against his palm.

"Then the door closes, the Null-Zone activates, and suddenly that enemy has to fight without relying on magic."

He stopped several feet away.

"That’s when I finish the job."

Holden regarded him quietly.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The chamber was still.

Outside, the battle for Eagle Peak continued, but the thick stone walls blocked most of the noise.

Only the occasional distant crash could be heard.

Zahn seemed perfectly comfortable in the silence.

He had clearly rehearsed this situation many times.

Everything was supposed to happen according to his plan.

There was just one problem.

Holden wasn’t frightened.

In fact, he looked more amused than anything else.

After another moment, Holden rolled his shoulders.

Then he lifted the Eclipse-Sun Sword and rested it against his right shoulder.

The movement was casual, almost lazy.

Zahn frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting comfortable."

"Comfortable?"

"Yeah. You talk a lot."

The commander’s jaw tightened.

Holden glanced around the chamber.

"So let me get this straight. You built an entire room to stop cultivators from using their techniques."

"Correct."

"And now you’re planning to beat me with an ordinary sword."

Zahn’s eyes narrowed.

"There’s nothing ordinary about twenty years of training."

"Never said there was."

Holden adjusted the sword on his shoulder.

"But I think you’re making a pretty big assumption."

"And what assumption would that be?"

"That I need those techniques to fight."

Zahn stared at him.

For the first time since appearing in the chamber, the commander seemed unsure how to respond.

Then he scoffed.

"Every cultivator says that until their abilities stop working."

Holden smiled.

"Well, there’s a first time for everything."

Zahn’s grip tightened around his saber.

"You think this is a joke?"

"No."

Holden lowered his sword slightly.

"I just think you might’ve gone through all this trouble for nothing."

The commander studied him carefully.

His grey eyes moved across Holden’s body, examining the relaxed shoulders, steady breathing, and complete lack of tension in his stance.

Something wasn’t adding up.

The young man had just lost access to his strongest techniques.

He was trapped inside a sealed chamber with a Rank 4 military veteran.

And yet he looked as though he was having a normal conversation.

Zahn had seen confidence before.

He had also seen arrogance.

But this was different.

Holden wasn’t desperately pretending to be brave.

He genuinely didn’t seem worried.

"What are you smiling about?" Zahn demanded.

Holden looked at him.

"You said something earlier."

Zahn frowned.

"What?"

"That magic makes cultivators weak. That they get so used to their abilities that they forget how to fight."

"I did. And I stand by it."

Holden nodded.

"Fair enough. Some people probably are like that."

He lowered the Eclipse-Sun Sword from his shoulder.

"But you made a mistake when you assumed I’m one of them."

Zahn raised his saber slightly.

"Oh?"

Holden’s expression remained calm.

"You built this trap for people who can’t do anything once their techniques stop working. The five assassins you mentioned probably relied on their abilities to get them out of trouble."

He glanced toward the sealed door.

"So when you took those abilities away, they had nothing left."

Zahn remained silent.

Holden turned back toward him.

"But that doesn’t mean the same thing will happen to me."

A faint smile returned to his face.

"Fire was never the only reason I could beat my enemies."

The commander let out a short laugh.

"You think you can defeat me with swordsmanship alone?"

Holden shrugged.

"Guess we’ll find out."

Zahn shook his head.

"You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid."

"People keep telling me that."

"And how many of them are still alive?"

Holden considered the question for a moment.

"Depends on whether they tried to kill me."

Zahn’s expression darkened.

The answer had been delivered so casually that the commander couldn’t tell whether Holden was joking.

He tightened his grip on his saber.

"Enough."

Holden nodded.

"Finally."

He lowered the Eclipse-Sun Sword until its tip pointed toward the ground.

The blade rested comfortably in his right hand, while his left arm hung loosely at his side.

It wasn’t a formal guard stance.

He wasn’t raising the sword to protect his chest or preparing to block an attack.

To an ordinary observer, he looked completely open.

But Holden knew exactly what he was doing.

His 10,000x processor was already following Zahn’s movements.

The position of his feet.

The angle of his saber.

The way his shoulders shifted whenever he changed his grip.

Every small movement revealed something about how the commander preferred to fight.

Zahn favored his right side.

His saber was held at an angle that allowed him to strike quickly while protecting his upper body.

The stance was balanced, with his weight distributed carefully between both legs.

It was the posture of an experienced swordsman.

Holden could see that immediately.

And he had no intention of underestimating it.

He’s good.

The commander had spent years refining his swordsmanship, and it showed.

But skill wasn’t the only thing that mattered in a fight.

Speed mattered.

Strength mattered.

And being able to read an opponent’s movements before they completed an attack certainly helped.

Zahn looked at Holden’s lowered sword.

His expression grew colder.

"You’re not even going to raise your guard?"

Holden glanced at his weapon.

"Do I need to?"

The commander stared at him.

Then he smiled.

"You’re going to regret that arrogance."

"Maybe."

Holden adjusted his grip slightly.

"But somehow, I doubt it."

Zahn’s eyes narrowed.

The older man had spent decades studying opponents, learning how to recognize weakness from the smallest movement.

He knew how frightened soldiers behaved.

He knew how inexperienced cultivators held their weapons.

And he knew how overconfident fighters usually reacted when facing someone stronger.

But Holden didn’t fit any of those patterns.

His sword was lowered.

His stance looked relaxed.

Yet nothing about his posture suggested carelessness.

The commander couldn’t see any obvious opening that didn’t also leave him exposed to a counterattack.

That bothered him.

For the first time since activating the Null-Zone generator, Zahn felt a trace of uncertainty.

He quickly pushed it aside.

There was no reason to hesitate.

He was a Rank 4, 2-Star cultivator with twenty years of battlefield experience.

His opponent was a young man who had just lost access to his strongest abilities.

Whatever strange confidence Holden possessed, it wouldn’t change the outcome.

Zahn slowly raised his saber.

"Let’s see how long that smile lasts."

Holden’s expression settled.

The faint amusement disappeared from his face, replaced by calm concentration.

"Go ahead."

The commander shifted his feet.

His right shoulder moved slightly.

The saber rose.

And Holden’s processor immediately recognized the beginning of an attack.

He tightened his grip on the Eclipse-Sun Sword.

The next moment, Zahn struck.