CHAPTER 4 – PART ELEVENClay was standing, surrounded by unconscious people. He rendered all of them incapable of fighting the moment he decided to challenge the Dragon Emperor. When his challenge went to the Dragon Emperor, he could not refuse and had to consider his face and reputation.
By this time, Caltec, Isaac and even Jon and Mor had gathered in the arena just behind Clay. As it was him who taught this people how to blend into the surroundings completely, he was able to sense them coming and telepathically told them to come.
While his challenge remained unanswered for the span of a minute, Jacquellin, Regulus, and the elf woman began a conversation.
[(How do you think our Lord would do against the Dragon Emperor, being an undefeated warrior for the last few centuries?)] Asked Regulus to the two women, then Jacquellin answered him saying, [(You"re the ones who fought him already, so you tell me if he"ll even last a few seconds?)]
Regulus went into deep thought for a second before finally arriving to the conclusion that, [(I think he"d be more likely to lose after a few exchanges. The Dragon Emperor employs a lot of magic and his magic power really scares the h.e.l.l out of me. On the other hand, the techniques of the Lord is nothing but extraordinary. I have never fought anyone who is unarmed and has bested me in brute strength ever. That"s why it"s hard to gauge their strengths.)]
[(I think the Lord would prove to be someone not trifling. He was simply playing around when he fought me in my berserk state. And to think that even a single thought of him could render every single warrior on stage except us unconscious, that"s just scary. However, that can also be achieved by the Dragon Emperor without doubt, although to a large expense of mana but still, it"s doable. The only thing that bothers me is that the Lord"s attack did not even stimulate the mana in the surroundings or if it did, it calmed down right after leaving no time for our perception to actually notice, which one is scarier to think of you be the judge.)] The elf woman explained, [(By the way, you can call me Ak"Aina, since I think we"ll be seeing more of each other from now on.)] then she added her introduction.
To her this name was something naturally given, but to the two who heard this… [(Ak"Aina?!)] They both reacted in a way that"s totally expected of someone who just heard something absurd or just that surprising.
Ak"Aina, that name has rung all over the continent because of an incident that happened a long time ago involving the elves of the Fairy Forest.
Some human rulers had found out that there were women that possessed incredible beauty, totally mesmerizing and worth a lifetime of suffering just to know. The ruler took to these words as something he was ent.i.tled to have as well, so the elves became the object of his obsession. Skirmishes, forced marches that lead to the discovery of the Fairy Forest was funded and brought to fruition when finally, a forest fairy, and an elf was caught by the human ruler"s soldiers. The name of that elf was Ak"Aina. She was but a child then, so her weariness was close to non-existent and followed the soldiers towards the human country.
This incident incited the then ruler of the Fairy Forest, Ak"Amari into action and sought to find Ak"Aina at all costs. It was not out of worry for Ak"Aina that she mobilized the whole Fairy Forest, but because of the danger that she posed to her human captors.
You see, Ak"Aina was a child of blessing. She was blessed with a brute force that could not be taken as a joke. Add to that the natural agility of an elf and the magic capability of one, and you"ll be inviting disaster if handled unskillfully.
This was exactly what the human ruler did. He desired for the young Ak"Aina then, l.u.s.tfully. The young Ak"Aina was a fully grown woman with beautiful looks already. She was in her fifties then, but the ruler did not know that, and fifties for the elves were mere childhood years.
So when he wanted to do some nasty things to the elf, she made known to the human realm that elves were dangerous while being beautiful as well by eradicating the entire castle"s soldiers and other men. Left within that time were the women who had nothing to do with it.
Thus, the name Ak"Aina rung a very loud bell inside the heads of Regulus and Jacquellin.
[(You"re really that Ak"Aina??!)] Jacquellin asked in total unbelief.
[(I see that my name is still known to the other races. I thought after a century or so it would already be forgotten. I guess not. However, I am that same Ak"Aina, destroyer of the Empire"s line at that time.)] Ak"Aina lowered her head in reminiscence of the past that happened and lamented the bad reputation her name has got.
[(And you were defeated by that human Lord? Wow! This is something else!)] Regulus made a whole other point from what he heard, typical of a man whose fists do almost all the talking.
[(Then when you say he was playing around with you, you meant?)] Jacquellin asked again to confirm.
[(Yes, he was playing around when he fought me. He dealt blows that were easy to predict yet because of his speed and accuracy, I had to counter it with punches that exhausted my mind. Plus his landed blows were as soft as normal punches from little children in my tribe, you can imagine that right? The only real shot he fired was the last one where I really thought I would die immediately from my internals being torn into tiny pieces but even then he never stopped surprising me.
[(So if you ask me if he has a chance with the Dragon Emperor, I can only say that I can"t predict what would happen.)] She finished her sentence with that and continued to watch out for the coming of the Dragon Emperor.
Suddenly, an oppressive force came with momentum tumbling down on those who came to witness the tournament, that same force which they felt when the voice of the Dragon Emperor appeared earlier. The Dragon Emperor finally made a decision and has come.
This thought was written all over the faces of the mult.i.tude.
Resounding steps then started to be heard from the corners of the entrance hall where all combatants came from before entering the arena. There, a single silhouette dominated the area; a presence so bold and wide could be seen clearly. The Dragon Emperor, having the head of a dragon, scales tightly compressed covering his skin, horns that scream authority and glory, and eyes as sharp as blades. His claws were great and his jaws well-defined. His tail was calmly hanging behind him, a sure tell that he was confident.
Each step, the hearts of the spectating warriors beat like it was its last. Each step corresponded to a single beat as if their hearts and steps of the Dragon Emperor were one.
"Hmm.. he"s using and huh. It"s a spell that makes a certain group or race to react the way the caster wants and then take the energy generated from that to strengthen oneself. A good measure he set up. Right now he"s not using it actively and just casted the spell in a dormant state, when he does use it, it will probably give him strength equal to or maybe even greater than the combined strength of a whole race of dragonkin, a strength that may come close to is telling me?"As soon as Clay saw the Dragon Emperor"s shadow and looked carefully, messages popped up in front of him and told him of all that he needed to know about the Dragon Emperor. His stats at the moment were a level above the Demon Emperor and Regulus, but not a tier higher than theirs. If he takes on the siphoned energy, then his strength should go a tier higher, and may just kiss the roof before becoming
The Dragon Emperor was no fool and could sense that Clay was someone he should fight seriously and cautiously. Notwithstanding the confidence he had, he still put some countermeasures in place just in case.
However, he was making a mistake in thinking that he would be fighting Clay.
Clay inside his head was thinking of how he would fool the Dragon Emperor into fighting his subordinates. He wanted this to be their graduation exam, a Graduation from basic training and leveling up to the intermediate training, although there"s no such thing.
"Keep your act together and act as if you"ve been here from the start. The moment I propose the fight, show yourselves immediately and with a bit of drama. This is your graduation, once you successfully beat the Dragon Emperor, the strongest being in this continent; I will train you to the very peak that I have attained in terms of technique and power. Show me the results of your training!"
[[[[Yes, Sire!]]]]
All four of them answered promptly and loudly in their telepathic communications.
A minute or so of the pressure-filled arena as the Dragon Emperor walked towards it, he finally arrived and faced Clay while also glancing at the three people behind him. He saw the Demon Emperor, the Beast King and the Brutal Elf all watching intently what would happen. He took this as them admiring him very much and did not shoo them away.
[] The Dragon Emperor queried. Clay looked at him directly and said," []"The Dragon Emperor looked at him in surprise and then wanted to start laughing but he could sense that this person called Clay was not being funny and actually was serious. He had to take this on seriously if he is to be seen as someone amicable and n.o.ble.
Then Clay actually said right after," []"Right then, a thick fog of steam from the cold air covered the area behind Clay and slowly, silhouettes appeared and it counted four. They were the four subordinates Clay has been with for a few years already and has his trust. They are his loyal retainers. Isaac, Caltec, Jon and Mor, four souls who were caught up in Clay"s leadership and his way of doing things.
[[[[We have heard your call, Sire!]]]]
The four of them rehea.r.s.ed those lines just for this in their heads and it came out very pleasing and powerful. With the shout that they did, the whole arena became silent and the fog slowly disappeared from sight totally revealing them.
A battle of the ages, something that shouldn"t happen at all was underway with the help of Clay, the four retainers versus the Dragon Emperor. This battle will be recorded in history as the Battle of Hark, where the Dragon Emperor and the Loyal Retainers of Clay clashed to prove once and for all that humans can also be supreme even without magic.
This was a battle that would shake the whole Alleucanth with its sentient beings underneath the sky.