Chapter 297: Act 64 – The King of the Underground (Fifteen) (First Update) (Seeking Support, Thank You for Your Support)
Brendel’s ears were sharp, but he wouldn’t eavesdrop on the conversation of a few ordinary young boys dozens of meters away. Moreover, he was preoccupied with familiarizing himself with the longsword in his hand—this was a magical sword, though considered quite ordinary, slightly lighter than an average longsword.
This sword could at most be classified as a low-level magical item, and Brendel had actually used similar swords before; however, he had long forgotten their names as they had served merely as transitional gear.
The young man swung the sword casually, leaving two shallow traces in the sand as the wind swept through. This action caught Kuran’s eye, causing him to brighten slightly. “So it is the White Crow Sword Technique—” The elder had recovered from his earlier surprise but soon raised an eyebrow again.
“The White Crow Sword Technique is one of the secret sword techniques of the Erluin court. How did this kid learn it?” he wondered silently.
However, the same actions sparked controversy among the young boys—
“What is he doing?” Mahler asked, furrowing his brow in confusion as he saw the white light flickering on Brendel’s sword and the haze rising around the sand.
“Creating smoke, I suppose?” Joeka replied uncertainly. “Searching for opportunities to defeat his enemies in the smoke. Battles require brains, you know, Mahler?”
“But won’t he also not be able to see anyone in the smoke?”
Joeka was taken aback, rolling his eyes in annoyance. “Well, there must be some special technique; otherwise, would anyone create trouble for themselves? Just think for a moment—”
But Kewen interrupted them. After watching for a long time, he finally confirmed, “He’s getting familiar with the sword.”
“Familiar with the sword?”
“That sword was given to him by Captain Kuran,” someone mentioned.
But is it really okay to switch swords just before battle? Even if these boys had not seen much of the world, they understood that this would surely have an effect, and they couldn’t help but look towards the arena—at this moment, Brendel had already stopped his movements and appeared prepared.
Medisa stood with her silver spear at the young man’s side; due to the descent underground, her unicorn did not accompany her as usual. However, even on the ground, the ancient battle skills of the Silver Elf were equally formidable.
Kuran had experienced this firsthand and dared not underestimate this young girl.
The northern door of the arena opened once again, revealing the hell hound that had previously died once. This massive beast clawed at the ground with its forepaws, its three enormous heads emitting low growls as three pairs of blood-red eyes scanned the area, seemingly searching for its earlier enemy.
Its appearance elicited low sighs, as if some did not expect this thing would rise from the dead.
This time, having learned from the previous experience, the monster from the River of Sulfur seemed to have learned its lesson. It waited for the arena’s master to release it from its chains before shaking its black-red fur and entering the arena.
It snorted, revealing a cautious expression, circling carefully closer to Brendel and Medisa.
To outsiders, it appeared that the big dog had learned a lesson, but Kuran sensed something unusual in the air.
The elder stared at the center of the arena, sniffing slightly, unable to help but frown in complaint, “This little guy can’t control his aura, enveloping the entire arena in his presence. In comparison, that young girl is much gentler…”
His frown deepened: “But what is this scent? An element? What element is this, so strange…”
Because the surroundings were becoming increasingly cold, even white frost appeared on the walls and sand, and the flow of air seemed to stop, as if the entire space was filled with a sinking, stagnant sensation.
Even the group of boys several dozen meters away felt as though their bodies were ensnared in a quagmire, let alone the hell hound directly in front of Brendel.
The young man stared into the six massive blood-red eyes of the dog, maintaining a calm expression. However, the creature did not feel quite as composed—it felt as if a heavy mountain was pressing down on its body, both front and back paws locked in chains; it was difficult for it to attack, let alone move forward.
The hell hound instinctively lowered its three enormous heads, as if trying to resist this overwhelming power.
“Huh?” Kuran was momentarily taken aback.
At this moment, Brendel clearly felt the words “stillness” and “stability” in his mind; he sensed that he could almost touch those rules—just like during his battle with Cabais, the power of the elements seemed to be in his grasp, ready to be wielded at any moment.
He knew this feeling was just an illusion. Compared to the golden stage, the power of the elements felt like a triggering attribute, uncontrollable.
But now, this attribute had clearly been triggered.
Everyone, including the boys, noticed something was off. They saw the enormous, two-story-high beast that actually knelt before Brendel, its limbs and chin touching the ground—like a subject bowing to a king.
It had to submit because the immense power rendered it immobile.
Meanwhile, the young man stood still, watching the hell hound, as if he was naturally accepting this submission.
Everyone was stunned by this scene; Kuran was left dumbfounded—what element was this? The aura of a king?
“Medisa, go,” Brendel said softly. Unlike everyone else, he felt a powerful force within him roaring to dominate everything, as if a terrifying beast was ready to break free at any moment.
He even had the strange illusion that with just a raise of his hand, the world would fall apart.
A power like that of a deity.
Then the Silver Elf Princess moved, her silver spear transforming into a silver line stretching forward, the tip flickering with a cold, deadly light.
Time seemed to stretch with that strike; everyone watched as the simple silver line traced a semicircle across the arena, slowly approaching the hell hound.
As long as it advanced, it could pierce through the three enormous heads of that demon in a single blow.
But at the last moment, under the oppressive aura of impending death, the big dog finally broke free from Brendel’s elemental power. It exerted all its strength to lift its head and jump backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
Unfortunately, an odd thought flashed through Brendel’s mind; it felt as if the world was under his control. With just a mental command, he forcefully pulled the beast back. With a soft ‘thud,’ Medisa’s small body lifted the spear, piercing through the three enormous heads and then swung forward, tossing the unfortunate hell hound.
Its corpse thudded heavily onto the sand.
A single strike ended its life.
The boys, including Mahler, were all stunned.
Kuran almost thought he could hear his own jaw hitting the ground; the elder couldn’t help but instinctively touch his chin to confirm that part was still attached to his body.
Space-type elements—he was utterly shocked.
“That is…” Joeka felt as if his throat had been choked, the latter half of his sentence was stuck in his stomach. But no one mocked him because they all felt the same.
Brendel himself caught onto this; he looked at his hand, feeling uncertain. Whether it was spatial locking or time stopping, they were infinitely close to the power of existence.
But while he was astonished, Medisa had returned to his side. “Lord,” she asked with some surprise, as the sensation from that strike was, of course, stronger for the one who executed it than anyone else.
But Brendel waved his hand; he himself couldn’t confirm anything just yet. At that moment, a thunderous voice echoed above the arena:
“Mortal, do you wish to continue the challenge?”
“Of course.” The young man replied with a mix of excitement and anxiety.
Evarian soon entered the arena.
“This time I will come.” Brendel stated, feeling that his control over the elements was gradually waning after hitting its peak; he needed to experiment quickly to confirm his doubts.
Medisa looked at him, perhaps guessing his intentions, and nodded slightly.
Brendel lowered his longsword in his right hand and walked toward the gray dwarf lord.
The cold aura once again pressed down heavily on the opponent.
Evarian froze slightly, letting out a soft grunt. The gray dwarf immediately dropped the ostentatious act he had when entering the arena, which was meant to exert pressure on his opponent. His small eyes sparkled with seriousness as he took down his war hammer from his shoulder, gripping it with both hands and lowering his center of gravity into a combat stance.
This time even Joeka noticed the tension—it was an instinctive alertness that came when a beast encountered danger—
But was that young man truly so terrifying?
He stared closely at Brendel, unable to imagine that the somewhat easygoing young man he had interacted with could possess a danger that made a steel fortress of a dwarf tense up with just one look.
He might be somewhat capable, but after all, he was still so young! Joeka recalled his own experiences; in fact, Brendel’s reaction back then was quite similar to that of the cavalry guards in the mines. He thought they should have about the same strength.
Though that would already be considered impressive in the eyes of this young boy.
But he quickly realized how terribly wrong he was because Brendel had already initiated his strike. Seizing the last opportunity, the young man surged forward.
To others, it was fast—remarkably so. They couldn’t even catch Brendel’s trajectory; they only saw his figure vanish and then reappear, seemingly teleporting right in front of Evarian.
Space left rippling waves behind him—
The gray dwarf froze in surprise, but his rich combat experience made him howl and raise his war hammer to block. But in that moment, his actions froze; Brendel’s sword edge seemed to exist in a state between existence and nonexistence—gliding through his defenses, slipping through the gap between his helmet and chestplate, piercing his throat.
The dwarf’s eyes widened in shock, and he only managed to emit a faint ‘gurgle’ sound.
Brendel had already appeared like a ghost before him, placing one hand on his war hammer while gently pulling back his sword, spraying a fountain of blood, before the heavy fortress came crashing down. Dark blood slowly spread out from the dwarf’s body.
…
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