Chapter 74: Let’s see whose sword is sharper

A few minutes earlier in Soleine’s abode.

Emperal looked at Soleine seriously, who stared at him without blinking her eyes.

"If I dare take this insult lying down even when I have the option to fight back, I might as well surrender my sense of self."

He said, his dark eyes glowing intensely. Soleine looked at him, thousands and thousands of thoughts passing through her eyes in a blink.

But she didn’t interrupt him; her eyes were enough for Emperal to continue.

"Soleine, I’ll ask just this one thing..."

Emperal exhaled. "Can I trust my back to you? Whether your answer is yes or no doesn’t change anything for me. I’m only asking because...I once trusted someone completely, and in the end, I was betrayed."

He said, his eyes serious.

One of the major mistakes in his life was...entering that damn tournament and getting ignored during the worst period of his life.

But...what could he do about it? He had nothing back then, and his trust in her was so deep that...he never had this sort of conversation with her.

"Yes"

Soleine opened her mouth and spoke just a single word. That’s it.

Emperal’s smile widened when he heard that. "Heh, then just sit back and watch the show."

Saying that, he jumped down onto the stage.

Present...

Emperal’s gaze dropped onto the Verth Shaper, who was smiling through his teeth.

Emperal shook his head when he saw this. "You must be thinking that just because you have a higher cultivation, you can crush me, right?"

"Oh? Aside from that nasty mouth, you even have some brains. Not bad, hehe."

Garou grinned, the air slowly starting to change around him.

"Indeed, that is what would have happened if we were in a jungle. But, unfortunately for you...We are civilized Dragons."

Emperal slowly raised his hand, the back of his palm starting to glow brightly, much to the shock of Garou.

Suddenly, he felt something shifting in his body. A major shift.

"W-What is happening?"

He couldn’t help but take a few steps back; his entire body felt like it was on fire.

"This..."

Aldric was speechless when he saw this. "Of course, there is no way that woman hadn’t thought about this."

Marren nodded. "His cultivation is indeed being sealed. But still, that doesn’t take away the fact that he is two major realms above that...man."

For the first time in a few decades, Marren saw a small smile on Aldric’s face.

"My lord, are you interested in this fight?"

She couldn’t help but ask. Aldric nodded honestly.

"It has indeed been a while. The past few years were incredibly boring and routine. This...will be entertaining."

...

"Y-You sealed my cultivation!" Garou roared in pain, unable to stop himself from pointing a trembling finger at the approaching figure.

"Why are you still crying? I have reduced your cultivation, yes. But it is still one major realm higher than mine."

It was indeed through Soleine’s mark that he was able to suppress his cultivation. And he did it at Verth Wielder Stage One.

"What are you say—!!"

Garou hurriedly ducked, just in time for a fist to rip through the air.

"Hmm, so your reactions are still the same, huh? Good, that makes it more fun."

Emperal smirked, and...

BOOM!!

The ground beneath Emperal cracked as he vanished from his position, leaving thick traces of burnt marks.

BOOM!

Before Garou could even recover, a fist slammed into his ribs. The force behind that strike directly broke three of his ribs...sending the Dragon sprawling across the stage.

The entire summit gasped when they saw this.

Garou coughed violently, his body skidding a few meters before he slammed his hands into the ground and stopped himself.

"T-That speed...! Let alone a Verth Seeker, even a Verth Wielder couldn’t move like that!"

Marren’s expression changed drastically when she saw this; even Aldric watched this with his brows raised.

"The movement technique...it’s something fundamentally different."

Above the arena, Elder Blazefang’s face darkened. He could clearly see Emperal wasn’t just bursting through the air.

It was controlled speed, a monstrous speed controlled with extraordinary precision.

Garou stood up slowly. "What a fool...I have been. In blind arrogance, I provoked someone I shouldn’t have. Now, I’m just an entertaining piece of meat to be crushed in front of everyone."

His ribs screamed; he could feel the disorientation in his chest. But...it slowly started healing.

Even though his cultivation was compressed to Stage One Wielder...the vast pools and elements he had mastered over the ages...couldn’t be suppressed.

He looked at the man standing a few meters away and exhaled lightly.

"Brat, I’ll show you why I am feared among the Dragons back in Draventhar."

A dense aura began to materialize around him, his skin tightening, giving way to thick draconic scales. Though they couldn’t be called scales, his skin had indeed been hardened to a terrifying degree.

Emperal just watched him, standing there. Why was he not attacking him when he had the chance, and Garou was vulnerable? Well, there were two major reasons for that.

One, he wanted to test his core strength and not his Soul attacks. And two...his pride. He wanted to trample down his face in front of the very Princess who had humiliated him.

"Heh, you’ll surely regret this."

Garou smiled, and the next thing that happened surprised even Emperal.

Water droplets started gathering around his arm, slowly coating it in a flowing layer of water.

"Aren’t you from the Blazefang Clan? What is this water element?"

Emperal couldn’t help but be puzzled, but it wasn’t long before he saw the water from his hand slip and shift into a sword in his hands.

A sharp and long sword.

Emperal couldn’t help but whistle when he saw that. "Now that is one sharp sword. Not bad"

Saying that, he turned towards Soleine, who sighed. She waved her hand.

The Stormvein Blade ripped through the air and fell in front of Emperal. Grabbing it, he gave it a few swings.

"Let’s see whose sword is sharper."

With a smirk, he dashed towards Garou.

"Hmph! How arrogant!"

Garou, of course, didn’t stand around. Twisting his body, he leapt towards Emperal, his blade glowing.

"DIE!!!"