The Gods' Decree

This was something Niesha always chided others doing. She has always believed in the right path with no short cuts. Yet did she really have another option? With this, Niesha became a bit indecisive as her hands fiddled against her black skirt.

She looked at Taf who wore a cheeky grin as though he has seen the inner turmoil boiling within her soul. It could be seen he somewhat found it intriguing her dilemma. This was indeed correct as Taf wondered what option would the seeming incorruptible Niesha choose.

"You don"t have to decide now. Do not be baited into making a decision now. Let"s wait until the end of the tournament before planning the way forward."

May advised knowing this was indeed a hard decision for Niesha as she pinched Taf for what he tried to accomplish. As she spoke however instinctively both Taf and her eyes met for another reason.

In a flash, Taf had his arms around Niesha swiftly moving her from where she previously stood. She was startled by Taf"s actions until hearing,

Boom!

The ground shook as spiderweb-like cracks formed spanning a radius of 80 meters. When the dust settled a man could be seen in its center. He was tall with broad shoulders, on his head was blonde mohawk with dark highlights. In his hands was a large Warhammer which was twice the size of Taf"s previous weapons.

His gaze was cold as his eyes saw the one fitting the description he was previously told. It was Taf who had placed Niesha aside having avoided the attack by this newcomer.

"You dared to defy?!" The man questioned in a harsh tone as suffocating winds started to spiral around him. What was odd was that his qi was barely ignited yet it yielded such a response.

Haha!

"Defy you? I don"t even know you. But I will make it interesting and say yes. It is I, the defier of all things."

Taf burst out into laughter as he spoke. It was as though this newcomer had told him the funniest joke. Yet Niesha to his side recognized the man who spoke. It was the #2 s.h.i.+noda who was known for his tyrannical ways. She wouldn"t have been as surprised to see him if Taf and May had told her what unfolded the night prior.

Uncaring of Taf"s words s.h.i.+noda seethed as though stating a fact,

"For every member of my squad you have injured I will break a limb. For every stone that I have lost due to your actions, there will be a droplet of blood spilled from your body."

Taf however remained calm. Truthfully he had no clue who this fellow was and what was the grievance but from his qi, he guessed it was one of the top three disciples. His attention then turned to Niesha indicating for her to distance her self.

Not wanting to be a hindrance she sprinted off with the broad sword on her back. Having noted that Niesha had gone off in the distance, Taf then watched as s.h.i.+noda smashed his giant Warhammer on the ground. With the earth-shattering impact, large chunks of rocks could be seen.

He then stamped his feet as one by one the rocks floated in the mid-air before,

Wack! Wack!

s.h.i.+noda ruthlessly cracked his hammer against them as whistling sounds could be heard as they ripped through the air. There target Taf who seemingly had a bullseye of his head. Yet Taf did not flinch or seemed by any means perturbed by his actions.

 ?Elemental Art -[Earth]- Trans.m.u.tation?

With his right hand outstretched, Taf sidestepped while watching in slow motion as the first rock was in the process of pa.s.sing his body. With barely a touch of his hand, the rock could be seen deteriorating into dust before forming what could be seen as the handle of a hammer.

In seconds the first rock was now transformed into a makes.h.i.+ft Warhammer as Taf swiftly turned defense into attack. He launched himself at the two other ma.s.sive boulders before smas.h.i.+ng them from whence they came.

Wack! Wack!

They were returned in kind and to s.h.i.+noda"s amazement, he found himself quickly having to change tactics. Taf counter was so unpredictably, he who was previously on the offense, now saw himself having to quickly dodge the attacks.

"This kid?!" He thought but s.h.i.+noda"s soon found that that was the least of his problems, as he felt a pointy cold object nestled against the back of his skull.

He then heard what could be misinterpreted as an innocent voice,

"You think way too highly of yourself. Lucky for you this a tournament or else your brain would be scattered all over this luscious forest."

There was May moments away from making s.h.i.+noda meet his maker. He sneered however as dust spiraled around his hand and a sharp blade could now be seen. His hand was then thrust backward in order to counter May, slas.h.i.+ng at her with his blade.

Yet as the makes.h.i.+ft blade made contact with what s.h.i.+noda thought was May. All he heard was the shattering of ice and when looking behind him, May was nowhere to be seen. It was this moment that s.h.i.+noda realized he had overplayed his hands as the two weren"t seeming pushovers as he expected.

They fought neither like teens nor beings of lower cultivation. How could this be? Soon a long red spear could be seen in his hand. With quick actions, he spun it around in twirling motion casing gayle force wind to form around him.

When seeing his action Taf made no moves. If he or May were to rush inside this man-made dust storm it would simply be playing into the hands of s.h.i.+noda. 

Puh!

Like a bullet, he saw a flaming spear tearing toward his head. With this A serious gaze now graced his face becoming truly irritated by this fellow. Was he serious trying to mortally wound him? As Taf readied to parry away the spear he saw a hand plucking it from the air while in midflight.

"Brother s.h.i.+noda, is this any way to treat your junior brother? I simply can"t sit idly by as you try to bully one with such high prospects."

Speaking was a handsome man in late twenties. By his features, it seemed as though he was perfectly sculpted. It was Jason the prized disciple of the Dark Abylis Sect. He turned around smiling at Taf who wore a bland expression.

During this time the dusk cloud settled and s.h.i.+noda could be seen with a look of discontent on his face. Just as he was about to get serious Jason found the most inopportune time to interfere. This was the last person he wanted to meet. Knowing fully well he was no match for the number one genius even with them being both half-step Lords.

"Little brother I am Jason. With me here you are safe from harm. I have heard such promising things and I must say I am quite relieved to see another budding genius in this sect of mine."

Jason smiled as he addressed Taf who at the moment didn"t mind feigning ignorance. This fellow"s words were so nicely spoken but he by no means believe him in the slightest. Just by his tone, it could be seen how highly he thought of himself. Since when was the Dark Abylis Sect in his owners.h.i.+p?

"Big brother it is I who has become humbled in your presence. When spoken of your name is seemingly exhausted to heavens." Taf uttered having decided to play the game.

His words were apparently appreciated by Jason who calmly patted Taf"s shoulders. But in his mind, he sneered at the child"s seeming ignorance. How could he let s.h.i.+noda interfere in his plan? If his grandfather and that old crow the grand elder saw this child as the future of the Sect. He would show them how senile they truly had become,

Still, he had a smile resembling a caring older brother as he gazed upon Taf. Some consoling words were then spoken from his lips.

"Don"t you worry younger brother, your safety is my priority. No one will dare harm you while I am around?"

His attention then s.h.i.+fted to s.h.i.+noda and without an utterance, s.h.i.+noda knew there was by no means he could harm the one who calls himself, Sir Mouse

Despite this, there was a burning desire to get his revenge. If he couldn"t directly hurt the youth, he would simply target another who is equally to be blamed for an unpaid debt.

The now-deceased Darwin had made him an offer he simply could not refuse at the time and with it, he would be treated like a king for the rest of his life. Now with Darwin"s death, it signified all was null and void and it was all due to the actions of this b.a.s.t.a.r.d and his companion.

Boom!

s.h.i.+noda then sped off in another direction having glimpsed May in his peripheral view. Though he was no match for Jason, not even he would be quick enough to stop him before he had arrived at his next target.

In his mind, she was frozen in place due to fear of actually being spotted, but just as he was about to smash in hammer pulverizing May small waist-

Cling!

A spiked mace intercepted the attack and before May he saw the #3rd rank Barthelemu,

"Still with the temper, s.h.i.+n s.h.i.+n. I would leave if I were you. Would be a pity for one of the favorites not making an appearance in the final."

Bartholemu uttered as he parried away the ma.s.sive hammer. In return s.h.i.+noda coldly glared at him before smirking at May. It seems today was their lucky day and there was by no means he could unleash his vengeance.

He didn"t give a d.a.m.n about their genius status. They outrightly disrespected him and ruined his plans which could not be tolerated.

It was however a pity he did not know by his action of maliciously attacking May he had just unwisely awoken a sleeping wild beast...

Unedited version

To be continued...

Please go to to read the latest chapters for free