Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1306: The Hidden Masters

The result of the spar between Harkan and Rudra ended with the latter’s victory. And as all the onlookers from the Beast Empire watched with palpating hearts… the guests had proven their might.

Many people, belonging to a variety of species within the Nadur Empire, couldn’t believe their eyes; some were dazed as if they were inside a dream, while others could only be stunned in shock as they could not absorb what just happened in front of them.

Rudra not only won overwhelmingly, but he also achieved two consecutive wins without even receiving a scratch. Both times, he simply broke apart the opponent’s weapons with his sheer physical strength.

That simple fact alone declared his irrefutable dominance over his enemies.

Harkan, on the other hand, was mortified as he kept staring at his split weapon. Half of the blade was cleaved and fell on the ground, while less than half remained attached to the original body.

“No… my weapon!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

It was right then… the victor of the spar spoke up nonchalantly.

“I guess that should be enough for some entertainment. Are we done for the night?” said Rudra as he looked directly at Jaro, the Heavenly King of Metal.

“That’s… that’s…” stammered Jaro as he too was taken aback.

He, his son, his clan, and his entire military garrison were humiliated by just one basilisk-kin in their own fortress. This was enough to bring shame to their entire troop as well as Jaro’s authority as one of the Heavenly Kings.

But in every sense, it was a fair fight, and they could only accept the result.

“You!… What kind of trick did you pull?!” said Harkan, his eyes filled with fury.

“Trick? That word isn’t in my dictionary.

Not that I keep a dictionary,” responded Rudra.

“Lies! How can a Quasi-Legendary weapon be broken by mere few clashes, inside a suppression barrier at that?!” asked Harkan, unable to admit his defeat.

“Hah? Are you going to act like a sore loser?

You and I fought under the same rules. We exchanged our moves, so you should know that I am physically stronger than you.

As for your weapon breaking… it wasn’t because it was weak.” iterated Rudra.

BOOM!!

ROAARRR!!!

Soon, Atlan let out a ferocious roar as Rudra stopped concealing the weapon’s aura.

The draconic roar resounded in the banquet hall, spreading a wave of killing intent and freezing people in fear.

“My weapon was simply superior.” he declared confidently.

Shock!

Even Jaro was bewildered on the spot as soon as he heard the roar.

“No way… that’s a legendary rank weapon with a Dragon’s will residing inside it.

A basilisk-kin using a weapon with a dragon’s will… how is that even possible?” spoke the Heavenly King of Metal as his own mind was bamboozled.

Dragons and Basilisk were enemies, a tale as old as time. Every empire in the world knew about their rivalry for millions of years.

Even their blood worked like poison to each other. Yet somehow, this warrior from the Rakos Empire was comfortably wielding such a weapon and commanding it effortlessly.

“Feel lucky that we fought inside a suppression barrier. If we fought as saints… not only would you have died a meaningless death, but this entire junction would have been destroyed, with all the people in its range.

Even I can’t exactly control it when it gets too excited, you know.” boasted Rudra nonchalantly.

The crowd went silent again after hearing the truth. And it made them widen their eyes again because this was a phenomenon unheard of.

“You… how old are you?” asked Jaro.

“Less than 50 years.” replied Rudra as he yawned.

In reality, he was only 6 years old based on how normal beings in this world aged.

But he was not a natural-born entity but a creation of a divine ability. Hence, he lied blatantly to keep his cover in front of his allies.

[What?! Is he not even 50 years old? How the hell did this kind of genius get born in the Rakos Empire out of all places?] thought Jaro to himself.

“And exactly what part of the Rakos Empire were you born in?” asked the black pantherkin.

“Oh, that…” said Rudra as he started thinking about an answer.

[If there is a clan of Basilisk-kins in the Rakos Empire that could birth such a genius who can even control a dragon’s will… then it can be troublesome for all of us.

The Empress herself would like to keep those people under her control if she heard about him.

I must find out the truth before she makes her move.] he thought to himself again.

“I wasn’t exactly born in the Rakos Empire.” said Rudra.

“Really? Do your ancestors also hail from the Beast Empire then?” asked Jaro with a sense of relief.

“No, I was actually born in the Abyss Empire.” declared Rudra.

Shock!

Another wave of shock spread across the hall as even the 6th-stage saint from the Abyss Empire’s forces was taken aback.

[What? Was he part of our empire? But didn’t he appear with the Supreme Commander that day during his coronation?] thought the Gatthikra saint.

But before more misunderstanding spread…

“Not the hidden one, but the one that is attached to the Southern border of the Rakos Empire.

I was born within the Abyss Forest.” clarified Rudra.

“What?! You’re from the Abyss Forest?” asked Harkan with a widened jaw.

Why did it matter that Rudra was born in the Abyss Forest?

It was simple… the real Abyss Empire that existed in Vantrea was a den of Godbeasts currently.

And one of them was the Godbeast Basilisk.

If Rudra was born in the Abyss Forest… it strongly indicated that he could be one of the direct descendants of the Godbeast himself.

While the Godbeasts did not reproduce like normal beings, they earned that moniker after killing the previous one.

And they often shared the same bloodline ancestry as the Godbeast itself.

So if a Basilisk-kin hailing from the Abyss Empire was present here… it meant that the warrior in question had similar bloodline purity.

One could suspect that he even had more purity than the Basilisk Clan among the True Descendants.

[That explains it! No wonder he is a 6th-stage saint despite being this young.

Even the empress wasn’t a 6th-stage saint until she was already 200 years old.

This young warrior may even surpass her and their entire clan one day.] he thought to himself.

[Father… someone like that, we shouldn’t allow him to leave.

He will be a big problem to our empire if he keeps growing in the future, even after the Great War is finished.

I propose we act now and subjugate him. We can later use him as a bargaining chip with the Empress.

And we shall wash away the shame from this incident as well.] said Harkan telepathically.

Jaro also weighed the pros and the cons of his son’s proposal. And quickly made his decision…

“Restrain him! He dared to use such an overwhelming weapon in a sacred duel.

He won both spars because he cheated using that weapon. He dared to disrespect our empire’s customs right in our own home!” said Jaro, quickly coming up with an excuse.

“Huh? What bullshit is that?

There was no rule that I had to use the same tier of weapon as the opponent. Besides, aren’t you the one who suggested the spar in the first place?

How could I cheat if I didn’t even know this spar was going to happen in the first place?” asked Rudra.

In simple terms, it was a justified argument against the claims made by Jaro.

“Silence! You wretched outsider scum! You dare sully our Beast Empire’s pride with such treacherous actions?” said Jaro as he signaled the guards to apprehend Rudra.

Harkan also grabbed another weapon from a soldier and led the operation.

Swoosh!

However, before he could even react… Rudra appeared right in front of him and grabbed Harkan by his neck.

“Be careful. There is a limit to my patience.” spoke the basilisk subordinate as his eyes glowed.

He quickly clenched his fist and used Lucid Reality on Harkan, and put him inside a dream world to render him helpless.

Even though they were still within the barrier, Rudra didn’t have restrictions like other normal saints.

“Unhand him! You shall pay for your crimes!” declared Jaro.

And it was right then…

BOOM!!

Two greatly oppressive auras burst forth and reverberated in the banquet hall instantly.

And their target was none other than the Heavenly King of Metal himself.

[Impossible! Weren’t those two just 6th-stage saints?] thought Jaro as he reacted and activated his own aura to protect himself.

He turned his head around to look at the snakekin and the gatthikra, but the very next moment, he was left stunned.

Because the source of those terrifying auras was not the two saints who previously led the entourage to this banquet.

While they and Rudra were only 6th-stage saints, the hidden masters turned out to be none other than… The two remaining cloaked warriors.

Rustle!

Rustle!

Both of them took off their cloaks as they revealed their true strength as…

Intermediate 7th-stage saints!