CHAPTER 126: OVERWHELMING POWER

Aurelus expected the level 27 knight to at least use his strange, oddly crafted weapon in battle, but instead, the boy switched to a sword and faced him without even a hint of hesitation.

"What is this? Just when you had the advantage with that artifact, you suddenly switch to a sword?" Aurelus’ voice rumbled like fire as he landed heavily on the ground.

Steam hissed off his skin, his fiery aura burning the water clinging to him.

"Really? A melee fight with me?" His grin widened into a beastly expression.

HAHAHAHA!

The sound of his laughter thundered across the ruined stone plaza, bouncing against the walls and pillars, sharp and mocking.

The other members of Dark Fate erupted with him, their cruel voices layering over one another like a chorus of vultures circling a carcass. They too found the scene ridiculous, almost insulting.

It was laughable because Aurelus was not just anyone.

Before becoming the founding king of Austerra, he was already a legend. A renowned adventurer, a master swordsman feared across the continent. Long before he ever drank the drop of blood of the Holy Phoenix, he had lived and bled with the sword.

He fought with it, breathed with it, and survived with it.

That blade had carried him through deserts where the sun killed men quicker than beasts, through the jagged ridges of the Dragon Mountains where scaled monsters ruled the sky.

Tens of thousands of creatures had fallen beneath his edge.

And now, with the Blood King’s sword in his hand, his strength magnified by divine flame, some measly level 27 knight dared to challenge him to a duel of blades?

"This is the greatest joke I have seen in years, ahahaha!"

His laughter rolled like thunder, sharp enough to sting the ears.

"Even Wilfred, envoy of the Empire, could not kill him because of his swordsmanship!"

One of the Dark Fate members shouted between gasps of laughter.

"And that was despite the massive difference in their levels!" another added.

"True!"

The spectators clutched their sides, tears forming at the corners of their eyes as they laughed, mocking Auren’s choice.

But the young man did not falter.

Auren’s steps were steady, his eyes sharp, his confidence unshaken. He held his sword low, his grip tight, his fingers pressed against the hilt of the Divine Rapier with solid determination.

"I know everything about you, Aurelus," Auren said calmly.

The smirk on Aurelus’ lips twitched, his interest sharpened.

Auren let mana seep into his weapon, his blade faintly glowing as his breathing slowed. He whispered a command in his mind, activating Tiger Focus.

His pupils tightened, his vision sharpened until the world itself slowed. Mana threads glowed inside Aurelus’ body, like veins of fire running through stone.

He could see them all. He could see which limb would twitch, which muscle would tense, which strike would be chosen before it even began.

His own version of the Byakugan.

Aurelus smirked, sensing the shift in the boy’s aura. He continued walking, each step cracking the ground beneath his boots.

They were twenty meters apart, yet the clash of their auras already bent the air.

Auren’s bluish aura rolled forward like waves, fighting back against the crimson tides of Aurelus’ flame.

"Oh really?" Aurelus stopped mid-step, eyes glinting. "Did you also know you are about to lose your head?"

FLASH!

The earth splintered under his sudden change of weight.

His body blurred into a streak of flame.

In the blink of an eye, Aurelus was in front of Auren, his blade already mid-swing, arcing straight for his throat.

’So fast!’

Auren’s mind screamed.

But Tiger Focus kept his thoughts razor-sharp.

He had already anticipated such a move, his instincts screaming before Aurelus even lunged.

Within a second, the former king had crossed the twenty-meter gap, yet Auren’s body was already moving.

After all, this was not the first time he faced speed like this.

Back in Runewood, he was like a dull knife sharpened into a fine blade thanks to his experience.

There, he had fought the speedster Elven tribe leaders, Vulkris, the White Alpha, and the young elves who thrived in forests where speed decided life or death.

Safe to say, Auren was not green.

And so, before the onlookers could even gasp, Auren’s own skills ignited.

[IRON SKIN]

[WIND RUN]

[SWORD AURA]

CLAAANG!

The collision was deafening. Sparks exploded as their swords clashed, the impact shaking the air.

Shockwaves rippled outward, toppling loose stones and rattling the walls of the broken ruins around them.

Robert, Mardonio, Austaire, and the others stared with their eyes wide, mouths gaping.

None of them had been able to follow Aurelus’ movement. Yet Auren, a level 27 knight with a fake frame alias of Nathan, had not only followed, but met him head-on.

’Impossible.’

Aurelus’ own face twisted in surprise, his pupils shrinking as his mind tried to grasp it.

’He parried... on time?’

Mid-air, still carried by his own momentum, Aurelus felt his strike redirected. Auren used the force against him, twisting it into a counter strike.

STAANG!

Aurelus’ eyes widened further as he barely blocked the counter aimed at his shoulder.

’He can even counterattack at this rate?’

Something inside him stirred, something that had long slumbered.

’The last time I felt such threat was against Wilfred... It’s been a long time since I felt this alive.’

His lips peeled back into a wicked grin. His battle instinct was waking.

"My turn." His voice dropped low, almost growling.

With a sudden flare of fire, Aurelus’ massive wings burst wide, halting his fall and giving him control in the air. He shifted in an instant, swinging down with a sweeping arc that howled through the air.

’Easy,’

Auren thought, slipping his head aside as the greatsword barely missed him by inches.

But he had miscalculated.

The blade’s bulging design carried force beyond its edge. A violent shockwave erupted, hammering outward like a gale.

’What the—’

CRASH!

Auren was caught and hurled back, his body slamming into a jagged boulder. The rock cracked, dust exploding around him.

HAHAHAHA!

Dark Fate roared with laughter again. To them, Auren looked like a mosquito swatted away by a giant’s hand.

"What ridiculous power..." Austaire whispered, her hands trembling. Fear rippled in her eyes.

"I can’t imagine what would happen if that hit me," Robert muttered, his voice breaking as he clenched his fists.

Rage and helplessness coiled in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to leap to Auren’s side, but his body betrayed him, weakened from wounds. He knew distracting Auren now would only doom him.

’hmmm.;

Mardonio on the other hand is too focused learning from the battle. As a battle maniac himself, such fight is a valuable information to learn of his opponents. Especially against Aurelus.

Inside the choking dust cloud, Auren groaned, his teeth grinding against the pain.

"I guess I can’t do it the Matrix way," he muttered bitterly, dragging himself up. His enchanted leather armor was cracked but had absorbed much of the blow. His breath came heavy, but his resolve did not falter.

"You better keep up, boy," Aurelus’ voice boomed from above.

The fiery king descended like a meteor, blade raised for a crushing overhead strike.

SLASH!

BOOOOM!

The impact rocked the ground, exploding rubble upward.

But Auren had anticipated it.

He leapt back just in time, his MJ boots blazing with power, propelling him away from the worst of the shockwave.

And yet, Aurelus was only warming up.

’Let’s see how far can you go young man.’

[SWORD AURA: BLADE OF DOMINANCE]

His sword erupted in crimson light, glowing brighter than the sun, and then a line of pure destruction ripped across the world.

A sizzling scar of flame split the ground, soared into the sky, and even tore through the clouds themselves.

The air trembled with the weight of the skill.

"wha the-"

Auren’s eyes widened.

It was too familiar. Reminded him of Vulkris’ Prominence Beam.

A single touch of that spell would erase him. He knew he could not afford to let it graze him.

Even the distant royal guards back at the east searching for him halted, their heads snapping toward the beam.

"What the heck is that!?" one archer gasped, his bow slipping from his hand as he stared at the sky.

"Everyone! Proceed to the eastern district! Scouts report Dark Fate is setting up a massive spell formation. A bigger threat is looming and we must stop them!"

A commander barked, trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"Any word from the King?" another whispered nervously.

The commander lit a cigar with shaking hands, smoke curling around his scarred face.

His eyes scanned the kingdom, smoke and fire billowing in every direction. The nobles hid behind fortified walls while commoners cowered in their homes.

The city was being devoured tonight.

"The scouts confirmed it," he said low to his aide.

"Dark Fate members are preparing something devastating. And the young King... the way he’s been summoning soldiers to his side against the Empire’s envoy... I fear he is not with us."

Silence. The aide’s jaw tightened.

"I feel the same," he admitted.

The commander spat the cigar’s ember into the dirt. His teeth ground together. "And that red beam just now. I know exactly who it came from."

"Who?"

"The signature skill of the previous king. The Ruthless Aurelus."

The soldiers around him froze, blood draining from their faces. They remembered that name, that power. The soldiers gathered, their faces losing hope.

"could it be both of the Golraths are fighting the Empire’s envoy away?"

"Then... if both the previous king and the current king are against us... who going to stand for us?"

Then one of the soldier mumbled,

"If only princes Austaire is still alive."

"..."

They all looked at him, their eyes having the same sentiment. After all, of all the descendant of king Aurelus, only Princess Austaire from the Katana household was true, compassionate, honest and holds justice in her heart.

"I heard she too had long died in an ambush while escaping to Khodian."

"Then... There is no more hope for this kingdom." the commander said as he crushed the remaining cigar on his feet.

....

"Shit. Shit! Shit!"

Back in the ruins, Auren darted like a blur, dodging the red beam by a hair’s width.

The ground burned behind him, seared black in a long stretch of molten stone. His lungs heaved, sweat dripping down his temples.

"Whew," he exhaled, his body trembling.

He wasted no time. Snatching a mana vial, he uncorked it with his teeth and downed it in one gulp. Cool energy spread into his veins, steadying him.

Aurelus watched with a cruel smile. "

That should teach you—"

BANG! BANG!

His words cut off as Auren rose, no longer holding a sword but two gleaming Magnum Krakabooms on his hands.

His eyes shone with Tiger Focus, his body alive with Wind Run and every buff he could muster.

"What a persistent cockroach." Aurelus mocked while raising his sword.

BANG! BABABANG!

Bullets rained down like steel hail.

TING! TITITING!~

Aurelus spread his fiery wings, shielding himself.

Sparks flew as bullet after bullet ricocheted, deflected as though they were no more than pebbles hitting steel.

But behind the storm of shots, Auren’s lips curled into a sly grin.

"Just as I expected," he muttered. His hand flicked, and a white, semi-transparent sphere shimmered into existence.

Runes crawled across its surface, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.

It was no ordinary grenade.

It was upgraded, re-forged, made to do more than just knock down a Night Stalker.

It was made to kill.

Auren raised it, his eyes sharp with determination.

"Have a taste of this."

KABOOOOOOM!