Chapter 79: Book 3: Chapter 19 – Slowly Revealing His Talent
Instead of replying, Ace simply jumped up and then, under the shocked eyes of the remaining cultists, he jumped off the air like it was solid ground.
"Ooh no you don't!" Garoa, The team leader, roared as he launched himself into the sky in pursuit of his attacker.
As shocked as he was by Ace's ability to move through the air like that, he refused to let an unknown teen escape so easily after killing one of his men right under his nose.
He may not be able to fly or walk on air, but as a warrior of the ninth rank, the power he used when jumping wasn't something Ace could compare to at his current level. He'd barely made it 50 meters when he was forced to turn to block a strike that would've otherwise cut him in two.
'What was that?' thought to himself as he stared down at the small crater created where Ace crashed into the ground. 'Some sort of Battle Qi?'
The moment before Garoa's sword made contact with the shaft of Ace's glaive, both the polearm and his upper body turned pitch black in colour.
As a ninth-rank warrior who'd been alive well over 100 years, he'd seen all sorts of abilities and techniques, but everything Ace had shown so far was a first for him.
Watching Ace roll to his feet, he could see from the fight in his eyes that the youth was far from done.
"You three," Garoa called, talking to the three seventh-rank warriors under his command. "Go and capture him."
"Yes, sir," The three answered in unison before drawing their swords and charging at the boy.
Though they too were shocked by the prowess of the youngster before them, they could now sense he was only at the fifth rank.
An awe-inspiring achievement for a youth so young, but they didn't believe he could jump two ranks to defeat any one of them, let alone all three of them. As far as they were concerned, he was only able to kill their superior because he caught him off guard. In a direct confrontation, he wouldn't be able to close the gap in strength.
Unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed. Despite being three against one and being two ranks higher, they were unable to gain a single advantage. Ace showed an incredible level of skill that allowed him to completely control the flow of the battle, but there was something else that made Garoa and Roquen, the last remaining eighth-rank warrior, stare in disbelief.
"Is he…"
"Mmh," Garoa nodded, an imperceptible light flashing in his eyes. "He fused both states of wielding."
"I only just comprehended wielding heavy as though it were light recently… Just who is this kid?!" Roquen asked, unable to believe his eyes. "He can't be older than 15, and yet he's comprehended the fused state of wielding and is able to hold his own against three fully grown warriors, each of whom is two ranks full ranks superior."
"I don't know, but if I'm right, he's still holding back," Garoa answered as he watched the ongoing battle, the interested light in his eyes getting brighter with each passing second. "Roquen, you go and help them."
"Me?" The halberd-wielding cultist asked back.
Though Ace was undoubtedly the most talented youth he had ever seen, he didn't believe he would be able to fight against him, a warrior of the eighth rank.
It had to be remembered, the gap in strength between each rank only got bigger with every breakthrough. Ace may be able to hold his own against three warriors of the seventh rank, but he could slaughter five of them with ease.
But when he saw the impatient look in his superior's eyes when he turned his attention towards him, Roquen knew better than to not obey.
Seeing his subordinate obediently make his way to the battlefield, Garoa turned his attention back to Ace.
He didn't know how Ace was able to turn his body and weapon black in colour, but since he wasn't using it now, it was obvious Ace was holding back. He may not know how much the boy was holding back, but he was determined to find out, one way or the other.
He was right. Ace was holding back. He was trying to waste as much time as possible to give Leonel the time to get here. Alone he was no match for Garoa, but with Leonel's support, he might just stand a chance. Unfortunately, as strong as Ace was, he didn't want to test his luck against an eighth-rank warrior and three seventh rank-warriors, especially when he still had to face the big bad boss.
It was only then that Roquen understood, Garoa's concern. His eyes bulged as he watched Ace, who, just moments ago, seemed to be evenly matched against his three subordinates, suddenly explode with power and speed catching them all by surprise.
"STOP!" Roquen bellowed furiously as he furiously stomped on the ground, causing a web of cracks to appear beneath his foot as he launched himself in the boy's direction. But why would Ace listen to the command of an enemy?
The first of the three cultists in front of Ace could only watch in horror as the boy's now jet-black glaive sliced straight through the battle-qi protecting his neck like a hot knife through butter.
Garoa watched with a hint of appreciation as Ace elegantly flowed from a perfect [Slash] into a thrust, the blade of the youth's polearm piercing straight through another of his subordinates.
Most would expect the leader of a team who watched his men being massacred to make an attempt to intervene or at least show some sort of frustration, but Garoa only smiled.
It was slightly unsettling for Ace, who always kept an eye on the fearful warrior, but he didn't have time to think about the meaning behind it.
As he pulled his glaive out of the second cultist's head and moved to chop the final of the three in two, the eighth-rank warrior appeared just in time to block the descending polearm.
"Didn't you hear me tell you to stop?" Roquen asked coldly, suppressing the shock he was currently experiencing.
Seeing Ace's strength was one thing, but feeling the power behind his last attack was completely different. He no longer looked at Ace as though he was just a young genius whom he could kill when he wanted but as an opponent no weaker than himself.
"Why would I listen to someone trying to kill me?" Ace sneered before suddenly disappearing out of sight.
The last rank seven cultist breathed a sigh of relief when his superior appeared just in time to save his life, but that relief seemed to be short-lived as Ace suddenly appeared beside him.
"Do you really think I'd let you kill any more of my men?" Roquen asked, his halberd moving to intercept the glaive of his brazen young opponent.
"Then you can die first instead." Ace snorted coldly upon realising he wouldn't be able to kill his target with the appearance of his new opponent.
As a warrior of the eighth rank empowered by battle-qi and able to wield heavy as though it were light, Roquen had a distinct advantage in terms of speed and power, and yet, he held no advantage in their battle.
Ace was by far the most skilful warrior he had ever seen – at least out of all the mortals he had ever seen. Not even Garoa could compare in a battle of pure skill.
Even as Magrun, the subordinate he just saved, joined the battle, Ace was able to hold his own without suffering a single injury. With both of them joining hands to fight him, Ace was able to use one to hinder the other, keeping them from gaining the upper hand.
'Almost there, not much longer!" Ace thought to himself as he felt Leonel's presence getting closer and closer by the second. 'As soon as Leonel arrives, I'll kill these two, and we can face their leader together.'
'I can sense it.' Garoa mused as he intently studied Ace. 'You're still holding back. Let's see if you can still hold back if I…'
Ace's calm and composed expression changed when he saw Garoa take a step in his direction. There was no way he could fight that man on his own, let alone with the support of two powerful subordinates.
'Fuck it!' Ace shouted in his mind.
If he was going to be forced to fight Garoa on his own, he couldn't allow anyone else to support him.
Roquen stared wide-eyed at Ace as the space around him suddenly became compressed. "Im…
Impose?!"
As higher-ranking members of one of the most powerful forces on the continent, every single person present understood what those words represented.
Even Garoa halted in shock. Not even he, a rank-nine warrior who had once been hailed as a genius, had comprehended impose yet. For a boy who wasn't even a tenth of his age to have comprehended not something that had eluded him for several decades… How could he not be shocked?
Ace didn't care how shocked they all were; the only thought on his mind was killing his targets as quickly as possible.
The closer his glaive got to falling on Roquen's head, the stronger the constriction became.
Unfortunately, although he was shocked by Ace's sudden burst of power, Roquen's fight-or-flight response kicked in. With his fire-elemental battle-qi already coating his body, he was able to barely jump back just in time to avoid being bisected.
"Tch!" Ace kissed his teeth regrettably when he saw his primary target escape with just a long gash running down his chest. Still, he didn't allow his regret to get the best of him. Even if he couldn't kill Roquen, he would definitely kill his subordinate.
"NOOOOO!" Magrun roared unwillingly as he felt the constriction of space envelop him and the demonic youth's glaive pierce through his head.
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Book 4 - Chapter 30
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