Chapter 152: If He Is Guilty, I Will Bring Him to Justice

Julian charged him, his sword becoming a whirlwind of blades, unpredictable and razor-sharp movements. He managed to slice the skin of Kroger’s forearm, to graze his cheek.

But it was like attacking a hurricane. Kroger took the hits, pushed through, and his fist sank into Julian’s stomach. The young man doubled over, all the air expelled from his lungs, before collapsing, vomiting, unable to get back up.

"Kuh !! *Cough*, Fuck! *Cough*"

Kaiser was alone. His <Eye of Perception> showed him Kroger’s monstrous aura, the devastating energy of his muscles. They had managed to inflict a few gashes on him, but nothing more.

"Two A- ranks and one B+, and they can’t compete with a rank S? The difference is way too big."

"And the A- rank warrior," Kroger said while wiping the blood from his cheek. "Show me what you’ve got."

Kaiser knew a frontal attack was suicide. He used his speed, circling around Kroger, launching <First Movement: Crescent Moon> from a distance, sharp aura blades that forced the Lycan to parry. Rather than quality, he maximized the quantity of projectiles.

He used <Repulsion> to deflect the rare stone debris that Kroger threw at him and <Attraction> to briefly disrupt his balance.

For a moment, he seemed to hold on. His <Aura Farming> allowed him to maintain this exhausting pace without weakening. He even managed to trace a new gash on Kroger’s thigh with a quick feint.

But Kroger had had enough. "Enough playing around."

He ignored the next wave of crescent moons, letting them wound him.

He closed the distance in a single leap. Kaiser, anticipating with <Eye of Perception>, attempted an ultimate dodge and a full-power <Aura Repulsion> to escape.

Kroger’s fist grazed his head. But the shockwave of aura, the sheer violence of the impact, was too strong. The indirect hit struck Kaiser.

In an instant, the constant, inexhaustible flow of his <Aura Farming>... stopped dead.

"Shit!"

Suddenly, he was empty. His aura was still present but now limited, dropping drastically. The fatigue he had kept at bay crashed over him all at once, heavy, crushing. He fell to his knees, gasping, his swords clattering to the ground.

"Get up! Maximize your coordination."

...

Meanwhile, on the Tenebris continent.

On the barren rocks of the quarry. The air was filled with dust, guttural cries, and the acrid smell of scorched blood. Kris, his spear projecting tongues of flame, finished off the last hobgoblin with a precise thrust to the throat. The creature collapsed gurgling. Around him, a dozen students, all bearing the insignia of the Imperial faction, were catching their breath, wiping away sweat and soot.

"Congratulations to everyone. We have secured the East side," Kris declared, his voice strong despite the fatigue. He sighed.

Once the area was cleared and the mission rewards collected, Kris returned to the Imperial faction’s advanced base camp. Under a pavilion set up to shelter from Tenebris’s violent winds.

The third in the overall ranking, leader of the Imperial faction, had a relaxed air but whose natural authority emanated as he calmly discussed with a few subordinates.

"Greetings to the Imperial Prince," Kris announced as he approached and gave a slight bow.

Adrian Dantalion turned his smile toward him. "Chill, bro. You can just call me Adrian. After all, we’re brothers, aren’t we?" he said laughing, but his golden eyes remained scrutinizing.

"Yes... Prince. We have secured the area."

"Good, good. I never doubted you." Adrian stood up and patted Kris’s shoulder familiarly. "I intend to give you a central position in the faction. Come, let’s discuss while walking."

They left the pavilion to venture into the arid lands dotted with extraction craters. Students passed in groups, transporting materials or ores on carts. The landscape was a raw and utilitarian expanse.

"You have potential, Kris," Adrian began, hands behind his back. "Real martial talent, unwavering loyalty... qualities essential for the future of the Empire. When I become Emperor, I will need generals I can count on. Solid men by my side."

Kris felt a slight pang in his heart. "Prince... the current Emperor is still young and vigorous."

Adrian smiled, but his eyes, at that moment, turned cold as steel. "The Emperor is getting old, Kris. Time passes for everyone. So tell me, when that day comes... which side will you stand on? By my side, or by my brother Julius’s?"

At first, Adrian had paid only distant attention to Isabella’s little brother. But ever since Kris had awakened the Pendragon lineage... it was another story. More than a pawn, he could become a trump card.

"Uh..." Kris scratched his head, uncomfortable. Court politics was a minefield where he didn’t feel at ease. "I don’t know if there’s a big difference between being by your side or by Prince Julius’s. But you can be sure that I will always be on the Empire’s side."

Adrian burst into soft laughter. "You resemble Duke Randal a lot. Always politically correct." His laughter stopped abruptly. "Then I’ll ask it differently: between me and Julius, who is the cooler one?"

"Huh? You... I guess... you?" Kris stammered, caught off guard.

"Ah ah ah! You’re a funny guy, you know." Adrian’s laugh was warm, but meeting his golden gaze, Kris felt a slight shiver run down his spine.

’I didn’t know Prince Adrian was so terrifying up close,’ he thought.

Now he understood why Godwin Pendragon had kept his distance; even Isabella seemed nervous since his awakening. Because Kris was now eligible as a potential heir, a dangerous status for Godwin, who ultimately had never tried to attack him.

Adrian always seemed smiling and easygoing, but... Kris instinctively activated his combat sense, a sharpened perception of intentions. An icy chill ran through him. Adrian’s aura wasn’t hostile, but it was vast, deep, like an iceberg beneath calm waters.

[A/N: Deep and unfathomable cultivation 😂]

"I have an important question I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time," Adrian continued, his smile fading.

"I’m all ears, Prince."

"I’ve noticed that you’ve already had a conflict with Count Paragon’s son, that Kaiser D. Paragon. What happened between you two, exactly?"

"Prince, you want me to be frank with you?"

"Obviously."

"It might sound crazy, and hard to believe, Prince."

"Say it anyway. I’ll judge for myself."

"On the surface, Kaiser may seem talented and gifted with the sword..."

"That’s true, from my investigations. He suddenly became powerful. At his awakening ceremony, he was even worse than his late brother."

"Prince Adrian... Kaiser is someone treacherous. He was always that powerful. And far more dangerous than people think."

"No kidding? You seem sure of something."

"About three years ago..." Kris swallowed hard, the memory of that night catching up to him. The mere recollection of the Aura Kaiser had emitted that evening tightened his throat.

"I wanted to investigate an illegal market, and there... Kaiser is the leader of a powerful illegal organization. Organ trafficking, slaves... everything you can imagine that’s most treacherous. That night, if I hadn’t escaped... I would have... of course I should have informed the Empire, but I was too afraid for my life."

Adrian took a thoughtful pose. "I won’t hold it against you. After all, anyone would have been afraid in the face of such cruelty."

"Thank you for your understanding, Prince."

"He must have a lot of connections, if he’s as you describe." Adrian thought aloud, his mind turning toward a certain Kitsune he was close to. A Kitsune with an Art that transformed aura into lightning; that wasn’t something you found everywhere in Arcadia’s jungles.

"He surely does. That Neon city he sometimes talks about, it’s probably Babylonian technology," Kris added.

"I see... Well, I’ll investigate on my side. And thank you, Kris. Your sincerity... is very rare in our time. I will gather evidence. And if he is guilty, I will bring him to justice."