"Thank me for saving the lives of their subordinates? It"s already a wonder that they spared my life after discovering the potential I had." Lionel says as he shakes his head.
"Because they find that you"re a threat?" Nightin asks, unacceptance on his face.
The soldiers looked around in confusion, their General and that ninth grade n.o.ble of a young age had been in a standstill for moments now. Their face was devoid of any expressions, making it impossible for the soldiers to decipher their thoughts as well.
Only Matthias who knows more knowledge thanks to the minor guidance of his brother Hysan. They were communicating through telepathy which they possess as well, but theirs was too weak to hide the fluctuations in the air.
"You"re a smart chap, but time doesn"t wait for anyone and while I was given the chance and time to develop, but I"m still far from my peak potential even so."
"You may not know about it yet, but I can roughly guess that the contract states that you only have lesser than a hundred years to develop."
"How do you know?" Nightin asks back, not in surprise but curiosity of a cat.
"I"m unable to divulge the details to you yet, but just know that before the time limit stated in the contract is up, your strength must at least be equivalent to the current me."
"By the time your contract ends, I should be at the 100th star myself and stand beneath the strongest experts who have been cultivating before me."
"General Lionel, just what is it that all of you are trying to hide from me? I"m being expected to work hard for a cause I don"t even know and none of you are willing to tell me why!" Nightin says in grievance.
"I"m sorry, but this is the orders I"ve received from the higher ups and as a solider, I"m obliged to fulfill and carry out my duties as given." Lionel replies coldly, before asking "How about this, do you want a try at challenging a Martial Saint? I"ll suppress my cultivation that compare with the weakest Martial Saints."
Hearing Lionel"s suggestion, the first movement between the two was a nod from Nightin before the dashed towards each other, a sword against a spear clas.h.i.+ng in the air, the shockwave from their impact causing a explosion which sent many soldiers flying back.
Many of the soldiers were shouting out in disarray, why did a fight break out suddenly?
Within a split second, they have already exchanged tens of moves, neither of them were backing down and the clash would always end with them keeping them footing.
"Quite some speed and endurance you have there, but can you compete with me in terms of laws when I don"t hold back?" Lionel asks with a smile on his face, the figure of a lion behind his back.
"What I cultivate is the Jungle law of pride, the ruler of the jungle serves me and gives me his boundless strength, but don"t worry as I"ve only activated the first form of the three." Lionel says as his spear stabs forward again with nearly double the strength.
He"s fast! Nightin reacted by parrying with his sword, but the surprise attack had caught him unguarded as his body propelled backwards, his legs kicking off the wall at the last moment before landing on the ground with a elegant spin.
Arrows of order and chaos surrounds him like a tornado, the arrows of order infused with wind while the arrows of chaos while infused with flames.
As his arrows spiralled forwards from trajectories that targets Lionel vitals, Nightin stood back as a crescent of blood formed before him as he followed up soon after.
"Your arrows may seem impressive, but that"s all there is to them." Lionel states calmly, his spear spinning around his body to deflect the arrows.
Nightin remains silent as he slashes forward as they exchange moves once again, but he holds the upper hand this time as Lionel retreats backward with every clash.
This was the blood crescent true essence, the faster his speed, the stronger his strikes and it"ll only acc.u.mulate until it reaches a stage where his opponent falls unless he"s forcibly stopped.
"Lion"s roar!"
Lionel slashes an arc before him with immense strength which caused both of them to stagger backwards. His spear was already pointed at Nightin"s face by the time Nightin regained balance after losing the momentum.
It"s now! Nightin thought to himself as a pillar of flame descended from the air and give him the time needed to retreat, leaving Lionel helpless to chase on as his spear dashes through the air.
He was taking a risk to finish Nightin off right now.
"I"m sorry General Lionel, but I really have to win this." Nightin says as flames spiralled around the Samsara sword in his hand, streaks of wind gazing past his face and causing most soldiers to lose balance.
"This is, me at my strongest! Wrath of the Phoenix!" Nightin slashes forward, only consuming about twenty percent of his spirit essence this time, but the explosion this time was so immense that even Lionel was shocked by the intensiveness of this combat.
Lionel himself knows that while his cultivation is still suppressed, he has already brought out the strength of the first sage realm alongside with his natural battle instincts, but Nightin was still able to contend with him even so.
"Young lad, can you defeat a middle stage Martial Saint?" Lionel says as his cultivation grows stronger expontientially, his spear stabbing forward as wisps of nature energy gathers around it.
"Jungle law! The strength of cohesion!"
All of the soldiers could only stare as they keep themselves close to the wall, all of them activating their spirit energy together in a defensive manner only to be barely protecting themselves. Within their hearts, they were screaming, someone tell me just what the h.e.l.l is going on!
But of course, Nightin and Lionel both didn"t have the time to care about those soldiers as they collided once against midair. This time however, the one sent flying was Nightin as blood leaks from his robes, blood seeps out of his mouth and his body was so damaged that even his bones can be seen.
"This is merely the beginning!" Nightin dashes forward again without any forewarning, shocking Lionel who was currently catching his breath.
What the h.e.l.l! Lionel cursed as his spear parried the attack, only to realise that Nightin"s current strength was just way too much for him to handle. While others would have got much weaker with this degree of injury, it wasn"t worth mentioning compared to the inhumane pain and torture which Nightin had went through.
What would be a disaster for others, ends up being the blessing in disguise for him as it liven up his blazing desire for combat. Coupled with his blood crescent which grows stronger slightly with the amount of blood he loses, it"s only now that he"s at this peak strength.
Just like this, Nightin began to send Lionel flying backwards and in just a few slashes, Lionel"s back slams into the wall heavily as he groaned in pain.
How is this happening!
"Just where does your limit lay?" Lionel asks as his cultivation base grows again, this time to the late stage Martial Saint realm.
"This is... My limit." Nightin says as his body falls from the air.
"Careful!" Lionel shouted as he regains his full cultivation base and catches Nightin before he lands on the ground.
"You"re one headstrong youth."