Chapter 279 - 265: Attribute Transformation Works Every Time (5/10)

Chapter 279: Chapter 265: Attribute Transformation Works Every Time (5/10)

"As you say."

The blond man calmly replied, "I’m just a half-baked talent."

"Yes, Axel, that old dog, wants to use Yisen as an ’Echo’ or even a ’Mirror’ vessel, allowing his daughter to give birth to his future flesh and blood—Afrina, that foolish woman, knows nothing. She genuinely likes my older brother and isn’t aware that it was her own father who killed Ely, thinking she finally has a chance."

As he spoke these words, Ian keenly sensed that Patrick’s emotions were greatly fluctuating. If not for the Silver Chip, he might have even been deceived by the latter.

Suppressing his anger, but still appearing indifferent on the surface, Patrick looked around at the smooth metal fragments surrounding him, staring at his own distorted and shattered reflection in the pieces: "Ian, you must understand, if Yisen were alive, the outcome would certainly be more miserable than death."

"Yes, I’m a half-baked talent."

"I hope Yisen Gard can escape this detestable fate. If it’s necessary for that old thing to turn Yisen into an ’Echo’ or even a ’Mirror,’ I’d rather kill him myself."

"I wish to protect my family from Axel’s conspiracy, yet I can’t give up the glory and favor from the Emperor that my family now enjoys."

"If Yisen knew nothing and lacked the potential to advance, then at most, Axel would be looking for another experiment target—as far as I know, the ’Mimetic Night Shadow’ Bloodline of the second Prince’s maternal family has a symbiotic power nearly akin to our Ellen Family’s ’Eclipsing Light Refining Dragon,’ even stronger in replication."

"It’s just that the only eligible descendants in the line of the second Prince are females, and they are too young, not really fitting the conditions for an Echo... not as suitable as Yisen."

"Yet even so, they could still be used... If Yisen knew nothing and did not reveal any flaws, then Axel’s target would shift to other test subjects."

At this point, Patrick sighed self-deprecatingly and then laughed: "Of course, faking death would be best, in that way, it wouldn’t affect the Ellen Family at all."

"Just for safety’s sake, it’s best if Yisen knows nothing."

"You’re lying."

Ian stated firmly, "You have hidden much information."

But then he shook his head indifferently: "I don’t care that you’re lying, I just want to tell you that I can tell, you still have ’killing intent’ towards me, towards Yisen Gard."

"Moreover, you’re too naïve. You’re indeed just a half-baked talent."

Laughing scornfully, Ian raised his hand and pointed to his own chest: "If there really was such a plan, then wouldn’t there be a sneak attack already planted in Yisen Gard?"

"Even if this place is deep within the ruins, and blocked by the Natural Spiritual Energy Field, it cannot negate the possibility."

Patrick was slightly taken aback.

"So that’s why you let him leave..."

The blond noble muttered to himself; indeed, he hadn’t thought of that.

After undergoing Weyges’ baptism, Ian had long cultivated such vigilance—he certainly didn’t trust that Spirit Energy could penetrate the South Sea Relic Cluster’s powerful Spiritual Energy Field that could even alter celestial patterns, but being cautious is always better than being incautious.

Meanwhile, Ian once again raised his sword, disrupting Patrick’s subtler emotions of ’am I really inferior to a fourteen-year-old?’

He also reached out and firmly grasped the hilt of his sword at his waist.

"Even if I have the intent to kill, I’ve always restrained myself and never struck..."

The noble said meaningfully, "Do you truly want to fight with me?"

"No."

And Ian seriously said, "It’s you who want to fight with me."

"Patrick, you don’t think that after attacking Master Gossay, Viscount Grant, and Yisen, we could let you leave alive, do you?"

"The original words back to you."

Raising his sword, pointing it at the sullen-faced blond man, the white-haired youth calmly declared, "Patrick."

"—If you could die here, that would be the best option!"

Ian’s words were like arrows, and he began to mobilize the Origin Quality within his body, causing his pure white hair tips to take on a mix of faint blue and light gold luminescence: "If you’re not a half-baked talent and truly consider what’s best for Yisen Gard, then you know what you should do!"

Patrick silently held the Mithril Longsword at his waist, seemingly in contemplation.

But Ian knew that even if Patrick did indeed see Yisen as his own offspring, there was no possibility he’d ’go to die.’

Colluding with Elf Pirates, contacting Natives, causing such significant losses, even using the Ether Armor Offshoot to attack—Patrick’s determination was probably deeper than he realized.

The facts were indeed as Ian had thought.

"You’re right,"

Patrick drew his sword, a mithril alloy longsword that was slender and sharp, with visible blue-green lightning coursing over it.

Suddenly, a visible murderous intent surged in his eyes, and his tone became bitter cold, "I indeed cannot die like this. Even if I must die, I must be killed openly and honorably by Ailes or Teacher Gossay. Only then would it hold meaning."

"And at the very least, I must cripple Yisen Gard... and kill you—smart boy. Although most of those secrets are your own deductions, sometimes, knowing these secrets themselves is an invitation to death."

"It’s Marquis Ellen, isn’t it? He holds something over you and offers the temptation you desire..."

Ian’s eyes shone with a watery light, and in the center of his pupils, the silver iris twinkled with dense inscriptions characters as he said with a light laugh, "From the very beginning, you had no choice, only, as foolish as you are, you didn’t know it."

"Yes—I’m just a foolish, incompetent man."

At that moment, a black flesh-and-blood rose bloomed from Patrick’s shoulder, revealing a splendid core of blue-green-red within.

The man muttered disconsolately to himself, "You really can see through people’s hearts, kid. It makes me wonder if Ailes actually knows about this side of you."

"If he did, with his personality, he wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully."

The flower that bloomed from Patrick’s shoulder wilted in an instant, followed by something like moving blood spreading across his entire body—it looked like blood but was thicker and heavier, covering the blond noble’s body in a breath and clearly outlining his silhouette.

It was the Ether Armor Offshoot of the Ellen Family, Dimflower.

Although it was not the true Ethereal Armament, it was more powerful than ordinary armor suits and fitted the combat habits of the Ellen Family members.

Even though he claimed to be an incompetent, Patrick’s talent was not low. He could clearly sense that Ian’s combat power was far stronger than he had imagined, and the Spirit Energy was definitely not the ’Observation Spirit Energy’ the boy had shown.

If he merely regarded the opponent as a powerful First Energy Level Spirit Energy User, he was very likely to lose, or even die—thus, without holding back, he directly activated the Ether Armor Offshoot, attempting to crush the opponent with sheer brutality.

But the unexpected occurred.

Ian raised his hand, lifting the water gun in his grasp.

"Fire."

Casting the power of surging waves, he pressed the trigger, and the pressurized water jet burst forth instantly!

—Sizzle—

The water jet raced forward, but this water jet was not the colorless and transparent pure water... but rather was mingled with a strange shade of black!

Patrick didn’t pay much attention to this splash of water, casually dispersing it with his hand.

The blond noble intended to utter some mockery, like ’Is this what you plan to use against me?’ But before the words could leave his mouth, he sensed something was wrong.

Pipa—the current began to jump erratically, and the previously calm Ether Armor Offshoot that covered Patrick suddenly sprouted spikes, resembling a sea urchin, and it writhed continuously. The head, which had been covered, also became exposed due to the anomaly in Dimflower, revealing his astonished face.

"Yisen’s blood?! He even told you about this secret?"

—Even the Marchioness didn’t know of this!

Raising his head in disbelief, looking at Ian, Patrick fully understood why the other party was so confident. He probably had known for a long time that Dimflower Seedling had a flaw: unlike the main body, the seedling cannot automatically comply with the wearer when in contact with the same Dragon Blood of Light Erosion.

After all, being a separately derived offshoot intended for outsiders, it had flaws in recognizing commands.

At this moment, the weakness of the living-armored Ether Weapon was exposed!

Of course, Ian didn’t need to speculate; he had already seen the Ethereal Armament, Dark Brilliance, and needed only to call up the relevant data with the Silver Chip.

Before Patrick could even finish speaking, the young man’s sword light had already flashed upon him.

Even as a Second Energy Level Sublimator, he could only barely see a glimmer of pale golden light in his field of vision out of astonishment.

In that instant, Patrick had only one thought in his mind.

—Wait, wasn’t Ian a water-based Sublimator?

—How did he suddenly become earth-based?!